That Forever: A Small Town, Friends-to-Lovers Romance (That Boy® (Chase & Devaney) Book 3)

I wake up with Dani’s face next to mine. Which makes all the crying and complaining Alyssa did about boys last night worth it. Having Dani in my arms, tangled up in a bed that is way too small for both of us—even fully dressed—feels like heaven. Usually, I’m up and ready to go work out in the morning, but today, I don’t want to move. Don’t want to leave her.

But I have to, so I lean closer and kiss her forehead gently. I don’t want to wake her, but I also don’t want to leave without saying goodbye.

When her eyes flutter open, she smiles at me.

“Good morning,” I say, giving her another sweet kiss.

“What time is it?”

“Six thirty. I need to get to the gym. You need to go back to sleep.”

“Uh-huh,” she says as I carefully slide out of bed, trying not to make too much noise or move the bed too much.

I go to the gym, feeling happy. Really happy.

But the second I get to the locker room, I see an upperclassman named Bart Stetson. I don’t want to say he’s been hazing me, but he certainly hasn’t been welcoming.

“You’re here early this morning, Hype,” he says to me.

He’s been calling me that since Treyvon showed my list of goals to a few teammates, trying to get buy-in. Some of the guys loved it, but a lot of the current starters didn’t. They thought it was me being some cocky incoming freshman. Bart specifically said that I’m all hype. Thus, the nickname. And to be honest, lately, I’ve been starting to wonder if he’s right.

“You know, just because you set some high school records doesn’t mean you can just come in here and start,” Bart continues. “Half the guys on the team were also standouts in high school.”

“Yeah, I know,” I say, but I can’t let him think he’s intimidating me. “And you’re just like the senior guys who gave me shit back then. Still, somehow, I managed to become the starting quarterback and earn their respect. I hope to do that here as well. But I know I have to prove myself.”

“Damn right you do. And you really can’t compare it to high school. This is a whole different level.” He looks me up and down before turning his back on me and saying as he walks away, “And I don’t think you’re cut out for it.”

I sit down on the bench in front of my locker and close my eyes, knowing I can’t let him get into my head. Knowing I’ve been prepping for this all my life. To be here. To practice. To get better. To make a difference. And most importantly, to win and prove to myself that I’m ready for the next step—going pro.

“He’s a dick,” Treyvon says to me, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“Yeah, I know. There are guys like him on every team,” is what I say, but what I’m thinking is that for some reason, it’s worse with this guy.

And I just realize it’s because Bart reminds me of Hunter Lansford. It’s one thing to get crap from teammates. I’m used to that. I’ve handled it. But Hunter did more than that. He messed with Dani. Screwed up my life with her for a couple of years with his stupid homecoming proposal. Yes, I know, in retrospect, that was my and Dani’s fault for being apart after that, but in my brain, the two are tied together, so when Bart bugs me, it affects me differently. It feels more personal. Like I’m not just fighting for me, but also for the life I have planned with her.

And although I’ve studied what it takes to have the mindset of a champion and it’s helped me over the years, both on and off the field, sometimes, it’s hard to compartmentalize things when it comes to her. She has the ability to make me feel incredibly balanced and completely off-kilter all at the same time.

“You two have fun last night?” Treyvon asks me.

“Not really,” I tell him. “Her roommate and her boyfriend of all of three weeks broke up, and there’s been a lot of crying and carrying on about it.”

“Women,” Treyvon says with a knowing nod.

“What about you?” I ask.

He rolls his eyes. “You heard what she said to me when you left, right?”

“Yeah.”

“All lies. We made out, and then when I tried more, she got offended. Hello, mixed messages. I asked her to leave.”

“Women,” I say with a laugh. But there’s only one woman on my mind. And I need to figure out a way to spend some more alone time with her.

Later, after running some sprinting drills, I ask Treyvon, “Any chance you could maybe sleep somewhere else tonight?”

He claps his hand across my back. “About time you asked.”

“Does that mean yes?”

“Hell yeah, dog. I think I’m going to message this cutie I hooked up with before Christmas break and see if she wants a repeat. She’s older. Lives off campus.”

“Lucky her,” I say seriously. “I’m going to get a smoothie. Wanna join me?”

“Yeah, I’m starving. Definitely need to refuel and hydrate.”

Once we’re at the smoothie bar with drinks and power snacks in front of us, he says to me, “How do you think our chances are for this fall? Like, really?”

“Well, there are three quarterbacks in front of me with collegiate playing experience, but supposedly, the starting role is up for grabs. At least, that’s what they told me when they recruited me.”

“They always say that though, don’t they? You practice good enough and you’ll start. And I think it’s true. I’m just trying to figure out how to stand out.”

“Stats,” I tell him. “Although your position coach will see you every day once spring practice starts, for now, it’s all about the stats. How we’re doing in the weight room. What they see from us when we’re running our drills. How focused we are.”

“Do you think we could help each other?” Treyvon asks. “You’re a quarterback. My job is to tackle them.”

“Film,” I say out loud even though I was sort of thinking it in my head.

“What?” he asks.

“We want to beat out the competition on our own team, we should study the film from last year. See where we can do better than they did.”

“Oh, I like that idea. Let’s make a night of it. I mean, not tonight, obviously, but soon.”

“Deal,” I tell him.

I’m just leaving the stadium when I get a call from my sister.

“Haley, how are you doing? How’s the leg healing?”

“Doc says pretty good,” she tells me. “In theory, I’m halfway through my time in this cast.”

“I thought they said six months?”

“They said four to six months, so Damon has got me meditating. I’m going to heal myself in four months.”

I let out a laugh. “That’s awesome. I miss you guys.”

“Well, you’d never know it. We don’t hear from you all that often.”

“Sorry, trying to learn how to juggle everything. You’d think spending less time in classes would mean more downtime, but I’ve replaced that with gym time.”

“How’s it going? Like, everything. I talked to Dani earlier,” she says, and I’m suddenly worried.

“What’d she say?”

“That you guys had fun at the frat party last night. That you and Eddie are friends now.”

“I think Eddie and I have been friends since she brought him home. I just didn’t want to admit it.”

“Heard you’re an honorary frat boy.”

“Yeah, I guess. It was just nice to be able to go to something like that with Dani for once.”

“You’ve got to make time for someone important to you. Thus, my call. You’ve got to make time to check in with your family and friends who miss you.”

“Speaking of friends, how is Pace doing? How are things with the two of you?”

She lets out a sigh. “We aren’t together. Haven’t really been since the accident. At first, I thought it was just the simple fact that we were both just trying to heal. To feel good enough to even think about someone else. But it’s like, I don’t know. I think he feels guilty. That it’s his fault. He thinks he ruined my future. How I might never be able to play volleyball at the same level again.”

“That’s a lot.”

“It is. And sometimes, I do sort of think of what-ifs. What if we hadn’t gone out? What if I hadn’t been in the car with him? It’s been a painful process. I haven’t really told anyone this other than Damon, but I’ve been having dreams where I relive the accident.”

“Oh, Haley, I’m sorry. I can’t imagine what that must have been like.”

“It’s not the crash itself that was the bad part—it happened so fast that I barely remember it. It’s after. I was shaking Pace, trying to get him to respond. I thought he was dead. And in my dream, he is.”

“Do you think you need to talk to someone about it? I think you need to tell Mom and Dad.”

“If it keeps going on, maybe. Damon and I have been trying to work it out. The other reason for the meditation. To heal in all sorts of ways.”

“Were you in love with Pace?” I dare to ask. Part of me doesn’t want to know anything about my little sister’s love life, but at the same time …

“I definitely liked him a lot. Probably was in love with him. Just wasn’t ready to admit it to myself, you know? But things definitely felt more serious with him than any other boyfriend I’ve ever had.”

I’m trying to gather my thoughts to think of the right thing to say to her when she goes, “Ohmigosh, did Damon tell you about Ainsley Archibald?”

“Is that one of Tripp’s relatives?”

“You really were oblivious to everything going on around you that summer at the lake,” she says. “She’s the hot babysitter.”

“Damon’s future wife,” I say with a laugh as it comes back to me.

“Exactly. He went to a family thing with his mom and Van, and she was there. They are texting some. He’s all hot and bothered by it, but I read the texts. I don’t think she sees them as anything more than friends. Or some kind of stepcousins.”

“Did he have the same reaction when he saw her this time?”

“Apparently, he’s in love. Of course, that hasn’t stopped him from hooking up with Rachel Musgrave,” she says, laughing again.

“That’s new. I’m missing all the gossip, huh?”

“Yeah, basically. Just don’t be a stranger, okay?”

“Okay, Hay. Love you.”

“Love you, too. Tell Dani hi for me.”

“I will.”

Sort of new.

Devaney

Chase texts me after he’s done working out and asks where I am.

A few moments later, he’s knocking on my door.

When I open it, he grins at me, then pulls a bouquet of flowers out from behind his back.

“What are these for?” I ask him.

“Just because I love you,” he says sweetly.

I stand on my tiptoes and give him a kiss. “They’re beautiful, Chase. Thank you.” I take them from him so that I can put them in water. Then realize we don’t have a vase. “Hmm,” I say, looking around.

Chase grabs a big plastic soda cup and holds it up. “This work?”

“Yeah, it will,” I say, laughing as I arrange the flowers. “Although, after last night, I’m surprised you still love me.”

Chase takes the cup out of my hand and sets it on my desk, then pulls me into his arms. “Tell me you really don’t think that.”

“Oh, I, um, I just meant—”

“It wasn’t the ideal situation, but I woke up with you in my arms. I spent time with you. And something as silly as that certainly isn’t going to make me stop loving you. You know that, right?”

“I, um …” I stutter out because I want to say that I absolutely know it. And in my heart, I do, but sometimes, in my mind …

“You’re hesitating,” he says, letting go of me and sitting on my bed.

And I can see the defeat in his eyes. I can also tell he’s tired. While I was lying in bed reading, he was at the gym working his butt off for four hours.

And I instantly feel bad. “It’s just … I didn’t mean it like that, really. I was joking. But you’re right in the regard that this is all still sort of new with us. This move from friends to more. I’ve always joked with you, Chase. We’ve always had fun together. Should we stop that?”

“No, of course not. I’m sorry. Today’s been a weird day. I just took it wrong.”

“Okay,” I say, not wanting to press it. “Anything you want to talk about?”

“No, but I have good news.”

“What kind of good news?” I sit on the bed next to him.

“Treyvon is spending the night out.”

“Does that mean …” I ask, my eyes going wide with anticipation.

“That we get the dorm room all to ourselves? Why, yes, it does.”

I lean over and give him a happy kiss. “I’m ready for tonight to start now then.”

“Do you want to go out to dinner, like somewhere nice? Get dressed up?”

“Actually, what I want is to wear my sweats and order pizza with you. Think we can wrangle up a tent?” I can’t help but smile.

“I’d go buy one, but I don’t think it would fit in our room. You know, if it wasn’t so freaking cold though, that wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

“What wouldn’t be?”

“Camping. That’d be one way to be alone.” He walks his fingers up my thigh with a smirk on his face.

“Yeah, I don’t think so. I think the hotel idea was a little more my speed.”

He kisses my nose. “Let’s go get some ice cream, wander around town, and then we’ll do just that.”

And we do. It’s like the perfect afternoon. Holding hands. Wandering around downtown. Stopping in a few shops. Getting ice cream. Kissing.

Lots of kissing.

He drops me off at my dorm and says he’ll be back to get me later. Even though I know we’re just chilling and I’m wearing sweats, that doesn’t mean I don’t want to get all dolled up and possibly even wear something sexy underneath.

Perfect pairing.

Chase

“All right, dude,” Treyvon says as he’s getting ready to leave for the night. “I’m looking fine. Got my wallet, a little cash, and plenty of condoms. How about you? I have a big box in my bottom desk drawer in case you ever run out.”

“Good to know,” I tell him. “Have fun tonight.”

“I plan on it—oh shit, I almost forgot. Fake ID. We’re going to a club. Nothing like a little grinding on the dance floor to get you all worked up before you take her home. What are you all doing?”

“Um …” I start to say.

“Never mind. I know how it is when you have a steady thing. You don’t want to talk about it. But take my advice. Grinding is good.”

“I’ll remember that.”

“You got a fake?” he asks as he slides his into his wallet.

I chuckle, thinking about Damon and how we both do but never use them. “Yeah, I do.”

“Good man. Okay,” he says, checking his hair in the mirror one more time before he leaves. “Peace out.”

The second the door closes, I spring into action, tidying up his side of the room, cleaning our bathroom, doing a little redecorating, and putting clean sheets on my bed.

I shower for the second time today, not really sure why. But Dani always comments on how good I smell, and I just want everything to be perfect. Need everything to be perfect, so my life feels like it’s supposed to.

When I pick her up at her dorm, I find her dressed down, like we talked about. But at the same time, I can tell she put in some effort. Her hair is beautifully curled, and there’s makeup on her face.

I hold out my elbow to her and say, “Your chariot awaits, fair lady.”

She takes my elbow and says, “You drove here?”

“No. If I lose my parking space, I’ll never get it back,” I say with a laugh. “But if you want, I’ll give you a piggyback ride.”

“All the way to your dorm?”

“It’s not that far, just a few blocks,” I tell her.

She sways her head side to side, seeming to weigh her options. “Nah. I don’t want to wear you out before we get there.”

“Wear me out?” I put my hand to my chest in mock shock. “And just what sort of things are you planning to do to me tonight?”

“Well, I’m hoping the first thing you’ll do is order pizza,” she teases.

“Already done. In fact,” I say, checking the delivery app on my phone, “I have coordinated it to arrive when we do.”

She looks up to the ceiling, pretending to think of something else we can do, but she’s grinning, playing with me. And I love it. “Then, of course, we’ll have to eat it before it gets cold.”

“Of course. And then?”

“And then I might let you see what’s under these baggy sweats.”

I did time it perfectly. The delivery driver pulls up to the dorm as we arrive, and he’s thrilled he doesn’t even have to get out of his car. We take the pizza up to my room, and I hand her my key, so she can open the door.

“Chase! Ohmigosh! I love it,” she screeches when she sees what I did. How I took extra sheets and hung them from the ceiling and attempted to turn my room into one big tent. “It’s like our tent! Only bigger!”

She pulls me in the room, takes the pizza from my hand, sets it on my desk, then grabs the front of my shirt and pulls me to her lips. Hard.

Before I know it, she’s stripping off my coat, pulling my shirt over my head, and sliding her hands into my pants.

“I thought you wanted to eat first,” I tease her in between kisses.

“That was before I saw the tent,” she says, pushing me onto the bed. I try to pull her with me, but she resists. “Oh, not yet.”

She proceeds to slowly strip off her sweatshirt, revealing a pink lace bra with see-through cups that leave little to the imagination. I try not to drool and, again, try to pull her onto the bed with me.

“You like?” she asks but resists. “I’m not done yet.”

She slides off her pants, and I suck in a breath at the sight of her. “Damn,” I say, my eyes taking in her beautiful form.

The sexy bra is paired with the heart boxers I wore the other night. The ones I didn’t get to show her. She must have come over and stolen them from my room while I was working out today. The combination on her is practically devastating. The shorts remind me of all the times she’s worn my boxers, even sometimes to run around in outside. Or while lounging and watching movies because she said they were so comfortable. The boxers are a reminder of our past. The bra though is like our future. Grown-up. Sexy. The two of them merge into a picture of our life. Comfortable but exciting. A new path together. As lovers and friends. The literal perfect pairing.

“I like it very much, Dani.”

I reach my arms out toward her, and she walks into them.

I just stare at her, running my fingers slowly across her soft skin. Touching the bra. Kissing the exposed parts of her.

I’m in total awe of this girl.

And tonight, there will be no rushing.

Good timing.

Devaney

We’re naked, sitting on the bed, eating the now-cold pizza. I was actually ready for round three because I’m pretty sure I will never get enough of Chase, but I could hear his stomach rumbling and figured we’d better feed him first.

It’s so wonderful, not having to hurry or worry about a roommate coming home. And we did take our time. Just luxuriating in being together. In a way, it reminded me of our first time, sort of. Like we were just discovering every square inch of each other.

Exploring.

Teasing.

Until it built up to a frenzy that couldn’t wait any longer.

Then being able to just lie here with him after. Not having to immediately get dressed. To have my head on his chest and run my fingers across his stomach until they wandered lower and got him worked up again.

I’m feeling deliriously happy. And so glad he loved the boxers. I’d had no idea when I snuck over to steal them today that we’d be alone tonight. Talk about good timing.

Chase holds a piece of pizza up to my mouth. I take a bite.

“Tonight’s been amazing, Chase.”

“Agreed,” he says dreamily. But then his face turns serious. “But it’s about to get better.”

I know exactly what he’s thinking, so I move the pizza box out of his lap, then take its place, grinding against him as we kiss.

We’re mid-sex when the door to his room bursts open, and Treyvon comes tumbling in with a girl in tow. The girl looks shocked and is about to say something, when Trey projectile vomits across the room, spewing it from the door to his desk and even onto his bed.

The girl looks like she’s about to be sick.

Chase grabs the sheet and quickly covers up our nakedness.

The girl says, “Sorry, lot of shots,” then quickly shuts the door behind her, leaving us in the room with Trey.

It’s obvious that he’s quite drunk.

“Um,” Chase says, picking me up and setting me on the bed, somehow managing to keep me mostly covered before standing up in all his naked glory.

“Dude,” Treyvon says, before lying down in the puke and passing out.

“Shit,” Chase says, tossing me my clothes as he pulls on a pair of pants.

He goes over and pulls Trey’s head up off the ground, trying to rouse him. He moans but keeps his eyes closed.

I am quickly dressed and trying to avoid the puke that seems to be everywhere between me and the door. “Do you want me to help you clean up?” I ask him.

“No, I’ll do it later. I’ll walk you home. It’s late.”

“Okay,” I agree. “Is there anything I can do?”

I can tell Chase is running options through his head. I’m sure he doesn’t want to get Trey in trouble, but he also doesn’t know how much Trey drank.

He grabs the phone and walks out into the hall with me, where he makes a call and explains the situation. Within a few minutes, three other guys are there, and Chase is leading me out of the dorm.

“What are they going to do?” I ask as the cold night air hits my face and I realize I didn’t grab my coat.

“Make sure he’s okay,” Chase says. He pulls me into his arms and just holds me tight, walking me back to my dorm in silence.

When he gets there, he stands outside the door and hugs me again. “I don’t even know what to say about all that.”

“I don’t either.” I let out a laugh. “The good news is that he was probably too drunk to remember seeing me naked.”

“And the bad news is that he ruined our night,” Chase says, looking upset.

I grab his chin and look him in the eye. “Our night was perfect. Cut a little short, but one hundred percent totally perfect. You made me a tent, Chase. I didn’t thank you for that because, well, I was too busy attacking you, but you made me feel special. And I appreciate that.”

“I just hate this. I thought college would be—”

“Different? That we’d be together all the time?”

“Yeah,” he says, looking at the floor. “And when we get to be alone, everything has to be so fast.”

“Honestly, that’s the hard part. I sort of feel like a hookup instead of your girlfriend.”

“And I never want you to feel that way, but it seems like that’s sort of how it’s going to be until we can get our own place. FYI, next weekend, we’re getting a hotel room.”

I smile and give him a kiss. “I love you. Do you want to stay here tonight?”

“I think I’d better go clean up my room, or we’ll never get the smell out.”

I nod, feeling sad when he walks away.