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  “As if you could ever be mysterious,” I said, breaking the silence and referencing his earlier comment. It was hard to keep from laughing as I spoke the words. “Right.”

  I smiled as I said the last part so that he would know I was teasing, and then, I reluctantly began collecting my things to leave. It took all of my strength to thank him for the ride and get out of the car. He looked at me longingly as I walked to the door. Fumbling with my key, I finally managed to ease my way inside, stumbling over the kicker when I turned to step through the door and wave goodbye at the same time.

  The phone was ringing before I could remove my shoes and coat. Sometimes, I wished Addie would calm down and give me a minute to catch up. I was prepared to tell her so much, but when I lifted the receiver a different voice greeted me on the other end.

  “Do you think I could come over later,” he asked. “I really can’t stand to be away from you.”

  I hesitated for a second. I was sure my mom wouldn’t mind; Chaseyn had some sort of strange power over her. Then, I remembered a quiz I had taken in one of my mom’s Cosmo magazines a few months ago. According to several relationship specialists, the best way to keep a man in your life was to keep him guessing. Rather than giving in to his every whim, you should be mysterious, play hard to get.

  “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” I said. “I’ve got a ton of homework to do, and Addie will be expecting a call.”

  “I swear,” he began. “You won’t even notice I’m there.”

  “When were you thinking would be a good time,” I asked. Just then, the doorbell rang.

  “Hold on,” I said, putting the phone on the counter as I made my way to the door.

  “I only got as far as the stop sign,” Chaseyn said, greeting me from the other side of the door when I pulled it open.

  Shaking my head, I walked back to the counter and hung up the phone. Chaseyn followed me into the kitchen. He picked up my book bag along the way.

  “So, where do we begin,” he asked.

  As if on cue, the phone rang. I checked the call display before answering.

  “Hey, mom,” I said cheerily. “What’s up?”

  I tried to feign surprise at the sound of her voice. She wanted to believe that she had caught me off guard by checking in on me, and I let her. We chatted idly for about two minutes before she felt she had done her motherly duties sufficiently well. She reminded me she would be home just past eight, as if to offer me solace for a few hours to phone my friends and conduct all-round inappropriate acts before her return. She knew I would never behave in such a way, but it was a considerate gesture. And, it was another clue that my grounding was coming to a quick conclusion.

  By now, Chaseyn had made himself at home. He had poured a tall glass of milk and was sifting through the pantry in search of snacks, pulling put bags of cookies and chips and placing them on the countertop. I was about to take a seat at the nook when the phone rang again. This time, I knew it would be Addie.

  “You never called,” she scolded before I could even get out a greeting. “You better have a good reason.”

  “Is a six-foot tall, green-eyed cookie fiend a good enough reason?”

  “He’s there,” she asked in disbelief. “What’s he doing?”

  Normally, I would refrain from speaking ill of another person in his presence, but Chaseyn was an easy target, and done, right, I knew he would play into it.

  “Right now, he’s acting like a child,” I said pulling the phone from my face so my mouth was angled in his general direction. He poked his head out of the pantry, mouth full of chocolate chips. He threw me an inquisitive look. I fanned him toward the living room, urging him to watch TV via hand signals. He refused.

  “Between the chocolate chips and the stubborn attitude, I’m not sure what to do with him.”

  Addie seemed sufficiently confused. She tried to get more detail, but since Chaseyn wouldn’t leave my side, I was reluctant to speak candidly. Question after question, all I would give her was one-word answers. I’m sure he was piecing together what he could out of my vague replies, but I was certain he couldn’t read too much.

  “I’ll send you an email later,” I sighed when I realized neither one was going to relent. It seemed the only solution that would satisfy Addie’s needs while ensuring Chaseyn wouldn’t be privy to every word.

  For the next few hours, I worked on my English essay, while Chaseyn watched my every move. It was unnerving, yet comforting. Having him there was nice, though I wondered why he didn’t use the time to complete his extensive homework assignments. At 8:17 p.m., the familiar sound of my mom’s car lingered in the driveway. By now, she would have seen Chaseyn’s incredibly conspicuous car out front of our house. The lights shone bright through the large bay window before she killed the engine. The car door slammed closed, and her footsteps thudded up the walk.

  “I’m home,” she shouted as a warning, obviously wanting to avoid any form of intimate activity that may have been taking place between Chaseyn and I. But, there was nothing to break up. She seemed shocked when we walked out of the kitchen, as if she had expected us to come from another, more comfortable part of the house.

  “Hi Chaseyn,” she said sweetly. “I didn’t know you were here.”

  “I’m sorry, mom. I should have asked your permission,” I said sincerely.

  “No need to apologize, Lia. Chaseyn is always welcome here.”

  It was hard to explain the way he charmed her, but something about Chaseyn put my mom at ease.

  Chapter 14 - Routine

  The next few weeks played out in much the same way. Chaseyn arrived at my house each morning and brought me home every night. Most evenings, we ate dinner with my mom before retreating to my room to tackle our homework. As seniors, every grade counted, especially if I was going to make it into the Ivy League. Chaseyn convinced me to take on several extra-credit assignments to solidify my acceptance and give me a fighting chance at the scholarship I would need to secure in order to attend a facility of such high academic standing. Chaseyn had nepotism working in his favor. His mother, her father, and great grandfather had all traveled abroad from London to attend Yale. Over the years, they had bestowed healthy endowments upon the facility, making it practically impossible for them to refuse his entrance. Not to mention the fact that his exceptional academic average was second to none. Chaseyn would be accepted to any college in the country, and I wanted to be sure I had the option to stand next to him on the first day of class should our relationship last that long. I had my fingers crossed.

  My mother appreciated Chaseyn’s efforts. He was every mother’s dream—a boy who had only the purest of intentions, impeccable etiquette, and was an academic overachiever. From the perspective of the teenage girl, he was also a dream come true. Chaseyn was, without a doubt, a hopeless romantic with a seemingly endless credit line, impossible beauty, and boundless wisdom.

  At school, we shared only one class, English. It was hard to be away from Chaseyn the rest of the day, but the intimate hour we spent hovered alone together in the far corner of the cafeteria at lunchtime made it a little bit easier. I used to hate couples who sat entwined in one another’s arms, legs overlapped, staring deeply into each other’s eyes. Despite my best efforts, I had become half of one of those couples. We giggled and cooed over silly things as we shared our most private moments, hopes, dreams, and fears. Nothing felt as good as spending time enrapt in Chaseyn’s arms, and I didn’t care who knew how I felt about him. When it was impossible to be with him, I joined Britney, Chloe, Addie, and Lainie in frivolous conversations about everything and nothing.

  Two weeks after Chaseyn and I had taken our relationship public—though we hadn’t said so much, it was obvious by the fact that we were inseparable—Stella made another attempt at catching Chaseyn’s attention. Of course, she had been unsuccessful, but her outlandish actions had left a bad taste in my mouth, and the others were siding with me. We always knew Stella could be cutthr
oat when she wanted something, but this time, she had gone too far. One day after school, Addie and I made plans to meet the other girls at the mall. Stella had intended to join us, but an unexpected emergency required her immediate attention. When Chaseyn got into his car to drive home, he was greeted by a scantily clad Stella shamelessly hiding in the backseat. Stella was in for the bigger surprise when Chaseyn, who was appalled by her actions, tossed her and her clothes into the street and sped off. Word spread fast, and I had heard about the ordeal before Chaseyn even had a chance to reach his house. By the time Chaseyn finally called me, I had jumped to a dozen different conclusions, none of which turned out to be the truth. Chaseyn was livid with Stella, but he learned to lock his car doors. And, I learned I could trust Chaseyn.

  On weekends, Chaseyn would pick me up from work on Friday nights and escort me to whatever outlandish event Addie had planned for us as a double date with her and Rob. One week, she insisted the four of us spend the night wearing used shoes and sticking our fingers in 10-pound balls at the local bowling alley. Admittedly, it was a blast, but sometimes, her ideas were a little over-the-top. Once, she made us attend a gingerbread house competition at the local community center. I thought Chaseyn and Rob were particularly good sports for agreeing to take part. Occasionally, we would attend a party with some of the other kids from school, but most Fridays, it was just the four of us. I had made a deal with Addie that, no matter what, we would always spend at least one night of the weekend together. After all, she had been my best friend for as long as I could remember. I wasn’t about to sacrifice years of female bonding because a boy had finally thrown a look or two my way.

  I insisted that Chaseyn allow Addie’s driver to take me to work on Saturday mornings. There was no use in him losing out on a precious sleep-in day just because I had to save for my college career in the event that I wasn’t awarded with a full scholarship. Since my one-weekend grounding more than five weeks ago, my mom had been picking me up from work so that I could spend the afternoon volunteering with her at the clinic. Besides feeling good about helping out in the community—and scoring extra points toward my academic profile—my mom and I had finally found a common ground. Our relationship was expanding, and I was enjoying the extra time I spent with her.

  Saturday nights were reserved for Chaseyn and I to spend alone together. He always went overboard looking for ways to impress me each week. At first, he made small romantic gestures. The first night, he took me to an upscale Asian restaurant where patrons wear slippers and sit on the floor in a private suite. Chaseyn had clearly been privy to many refined experiences, but this was one of few for me. He sat poised with impeccable posture upon a fluffy cushion, chopsticks positioned with extreme precision between his thumb and forefinger. I, on the other hand, teetered on the edge of my makeshift chair, working hard to keep from snapping the chopsticks in two. Chaseyn clued in to my inexperience when a solitary noodle escaped my grasp, flying across the table and into his tempura. After that, he took a new approach. Realizing that sometimes less is more, the next week, he booked a private room at a local theater and stocked it with all of my favorite snacks—junior mints, cheese popcorn, and creamy caramels. Week after week, he never ceased to surprise me with his new and creative courtship ideas.

  Sundays were now affectionately deemed “family day.” Family included me and my mom, Chaseyn, Kevin, and Addie. Occasionally, Rob would make an appearance, but his family was fairly strict about enforcing their own Sunday night rituals. Typically, my mom and I would spend the afternoon preparing the ingredients for an exotic meal. Each week, we tried to find something new and exciting that no one else had eaten before. With Chaseyn and Addie having traveled extensively around the world, it was a challenge, but we always managed to pull it off. The rest of the group would begin to gather around 3 p.m., sometimes lending a hand in the kitchen, and other times, hanging out in the living room watching live sporting events. Listening in, you could often hear Chaseyn and Kevin arguing over which games to watch. Chaseyn preferred soccer and rugby, while Kevin was all about the American classics—football, baseball, and basketball. I liked to hear them banter back and forth. Addie often tried, unsuccessfully, to mediate. Laughter always ensued.

  So much had changed since Chaseyn first appeared in Evergreen five weeks earlier. With the holidays just around the corner, I was excited to share our family traditions with him. My grandma would be arriving in a week, and I couldn’t wait for her to meet him. It would be impossible not to be impressed by his incredible personality and unconditional devotion to me.

  All my life, I had sworn I would never fall in love. I never wanted to experience the pain I knew my mom had felt when she lost my dad. Now that I had Chaseyn, I was willing to potentially suffer the most immeasurable pain if it meant that I could spend even one more minute with him.

  That scared me.

  Chapter 15 - Home for the Holidays

  “Grandma,” I yelled when I saw her come through the wide automatic doors of the arrivals terminal at the Denver International Airport. I ran to where she now stood, staring off into the direction of my voice but not quite seeing me. She was pushing an enormous trunk on a rolling cart with a gigantic handbag teetering on top. It was the holidays, and she would be showering us with an array of handcrafted goods. I threw my arms around her shoulders and held her in a tight embrace. Releasing her grip on the cart, she returned the impulsive gesture and then pushed me back so she could size me up. She twirled one finger out before her, signaling me to do a turn. My cheeks flushed; Chaseyn was watching from around the corner. I would pay for this later when we were alone. He would tease me relentlessly, I was sure.

  “Where’s your mother,” she asked when she was finally done embarrassing me.

  “One of the other nurses called in sick, so she asked me to come get you,” I explained.

  “When did you get your license, sweetheart,” she asked quizzically. “Your mother never told me.”

  She knew me too well. With Addie always watching out for me, and the lack of funds to purchase my own vehicle, I had never seen the point in getting my license. There was no way to avoid the inevitable.

  “Um, grandma, there’s someone I want you to meet,” I said shyly, signaling Chaseyn to join us. “Grandma, this is Chaseyn. He’s new here.”

  I knew I would pay for that later, too—especially when Chaseyn planned to use the opportunity to clarify our relationship.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Vanderwold. I’m Cordelia’s boyfriend,” he said respectfully. I looked at him scornfully. When my grandma turned to grab her things, he gave me a mocking glare. Then, he swiftly moved to her side to assist with her baggage.

  “Chaseyn,” she began, looking him up and down approvingly. She turned to give me a glare that said she was preparing to mock me relentlessly as well. “How come I haven’t heard about you before? You seem like a lovely young man. I can’t imagine why anyone would want to keep you a secret.”

  Unabashedly, she pinched her thumb and forefinger around his left cheek with the hand he had freed by taking her bags. I bet he wished he hadn’t done that. I wished she would refrain from such embarrassing behavior. I was thankful when we finally started moving toward the exit.

  “Ah, such a gentleman,” she said as Chaseyn instructed her to move ahead of him through the door.

  Chaseyn struggled to hoist the gigantic trunk into the backseat of the car. Not because of its weight—it looked light as a feather in his strong arms—but because of its awkward size. There was barely room to fit in beside it, and with the 50-mile drive home, I didn’t want my grandma to be cramped. I insisted she sit up front next to Chaseyn. She put on a show at first, suggesting she would be fine, but I knew she was secretly disgusted at the thought of being crunched between two slabs of metal for nearly an hour. I hopped in the back and hoped she would go easy on Chaseyn.

  Once we were settled and had traveled at least a quarter of the distance in uncomfortable silenc
e, grandma decided to unleash the full capacity of her shamelessness.

  “So, Chaseyn, tell me more about yourself,” she said innocently. I cringed at the thought of what might come next. She had no concept of how to filter her thoughts before expressing them aloud. “Let’s see. Where should we begin? Why don’t you tell me where you’re from, what your parents do, and if you’re sleeping with my granddaughter?”

  An explosive gasp escaped my mouth. From the side, I could see Chaseyn’s lips curve and his cheeks puff up. Her comments were not funny. I would have to scold him for his inappropriate reaction later.

  “Grandma!”

  “No. It’s okay, Cordelia. I’d like to address your grandmother’s questions,” he said coolly, winking at me in the rear view mirror. “I was born in London, but I have lived in 14 different cities in Europe and the United States. My dad died when I was 13, and I have nothing but the purest of intentions for your granddaughter. I wouldn’t dream of claiming her innocence without being in a committed, lifelong partnership.”