Page 7 of Chase
For a moment I let her see me as well. I let my guard down and let her in.
I inhale, wishing I could still smell her. She smelt like strawberries and cream. I wanted to pull her to me and hold her close. When she started shaking, I just wanted to wrap my arms around her.
I’ve never had these kinds of feelings; I’ve never wanted to hold a girl before. I don’t date. I don’t do relationships.
Yasmin has me intrigued. She almost knocked me off my feet. She seemed so timid and quiet. I could tell she was standoffish at first. I want to see what she’s like when she’s comfortable.
I don’t know what I’m going to do when I see her again.
There’s no doubt that I will see her again. I don’t think I could stay away even if I wanted to.
I open my eyes as Rhys pulls into our usual park in the back. Rhys drives a sleek Lexus. His car is tame compared to Arden’s obnoxiously large SUV.
Arden comes from old money. His family name is pretentious thanks to his grandfather and great grandfather. His dad continued the legacy and then built a real estate empire that takes him and his new wife away for long periods of time, leaving Arden and his sister at home alone.
Even though Arden has a massive house and staff, he still chooses to spend most of his time with me in the lesser part of town.
My dad died when I was four. Mum never dated again. Her focus has been raising me and my friends and keeping a roof over our heads. My grandfather on dad’s side moved in a few years ago to help out.
Our friendship is different. The money doesn’t come between us. I don’t have a lot but we make do. Arden is constantly buying us stuff and helping out. At first we argued about it, but I came to realise that was just who Arden is. He looks after his family.
We met in preschool and have been friends ever since. Sharing a birthday sealed our friendship. We turn 18 in two weeks. He’s planning “our” party. I honestly have no fucking idea what he is going to do.
I lean against Arden’s SUV. Rhys joins me, followed by our honorary female group member Ally. We wait for Arden to join us. He doesn’t keep us waiting long.
“You guys are not going to fucking believe what happened this morning.” He says while straightening his vest. A vest that’s not part of the school uniform but he wears it anyway because that’s just what he does. He even paired it with a bowtie today. Jesus Christ, he is obviously ready to kick this term off with a bang.
Arden is the dictionary definition of over the top. If you looked it up, there would be a picture of him and his fucking bowtie.
“Your doctor called, and you have the clap again?” I ask.
“Your swimmers finally broke through the latex and a baby mamma showed on your doorstep?” Ally questions.
“You looked in the mirror this morning and decided today was the day you finally come out of the closet? Congrats bro, I always knew the constant stream of pussy was just a front.” Rhys deadpans. It causes Ally and I to laugh and Arden to throw a punch in his shoulder.
“You motherfuckers. All of you,” He says staring us down individually but then landing on Rhys. “Especially you. I’m not gay and you know it, but if I were you’d definitely be my type.” He says as he winks at Rhys. Rhys just rolls his eyes at him.
“Right, so no, I don’t have an STD, no one is pregnant, and I’m not gay. BUT when I got in my car this morning there was a surprise in the back seat. A very unwelcome surprise. Stacey was in there topless. The girl can’t seem to take a hint. I actually think she might be stalking me now.”
Ally starts laughing. “She pulled a Brooke on you.”
“A Brooke?” he asks.
“Brooke does the same thing to Lucas in One Tree Hill to get his attention and she was desperate to try anything to get your attention.” Ally can barely contain her laughter. Arden just stares at her confused.
I roll my eyes at him. Arden gets stalked at least once a year. Every girl tries to tie him down, but much like me, Arden doesn’t date. He just sleeps around like the man whore that he is. Most girls try to date him for his money.
Stacey is a girl he slept with a month ago. She just happens to keep popping up everywhere we are. I’m beginning to wonder if she has a tracker on his car. Because he usually sleeps at my house, so how did she know he was at home?
“How did she get in? Did you forget to lock the gate again?” I ask.
“No, asshole, I locked the gate. Martha let her in. She told her that she was here to give me an assignment we worked on over the break. So not only did I have to get her to put her shirt on and get her out of my car and off my property, but I also had to talk to Martha. She now knows that no one is allowed in with out my say so. You guys all have your own code so no one else should be showing up unannounced. Hopefully.” He finishes dramatically. He pretends to be annoyed but honestly, he thrives on the attention. I just worry one day something serious may happen.
I look at the time on my phone and nod towards the school. We need to start heading it. The last thing we need is to be late on the first day. Although Mr. Williams would let it slide.
As we start heading in the direction of the gate, I hear her before I see her.
“Crap, shit, mother-trucker.” She kind of squeals as she stops herself from falling over.
