Chasing Roxi (Princeton Falls Book 1) Read online

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  Chapter 1

  Three days after high school graduation and I was bored out of my mind. I looked around the pool to check out everyone. I quickly found my two best friends just a couple of feet away from my lounge chair. The very best view came from the lifeguard across the pool from me. He was sitting in his lifeguard stand, looking all hot in his red swim trunks and sunglasses. Chase was his name, and he was my dream guy.

  As I daydreamed about kissing Chase, my best friends Jacki and Mikayla splashed me and snapped me out of my lovely kinky thoughts.

  Mikayla said, “I don’t know why you don’t just go talk to him. He watches you the whole time you are trying to get your tan on, so I know he likes you….”

  Jacki chimed in, “Yeah, he must love your new bikini because he has not taken his eyes off of you since you laid down on that lounge chair.”

  In my head, I thought there was no way Chase thought a green-eyed freckled redhead was his dream woman…. Guys always want the blonde, right? Or the brunette… But not the redheads. It would take a special guy to love a redhead.

  I fell back into my daydream while we all laid out to absorb all the vitamin D that Mother Nature offered us on this gorgeous day. Redheads do not really tan, but I was at the pool for more than just a tan. If nothing else, I had a great view of that fine man across the pool from me.

  I was deep in thought when Jacki said, “Let’s go, I am so hungry, we are outta here.”

  The sun was setting as we gathered our towels and bags and bottles of sunblock and headed to get some dinner. We decided to go for pizza. I think there’s more to picking the Pizza Shack than just the pepperoni. Jacki had always ogled over the waiter, Chris, every time we went there. She has had a crush on him since 8th grade but was always too chicken to say anything.

  Once we got there, it didn’t take us long to find our favorite table and we quickly piled in and sat down. We always picked the same table because it was in Chris’ section. Chris came over and took our drink order, and then he left and came back with our sweet tea and mountain dews. We asked for a pepperoni pizza and he placed our order.

  Jacki flirted, “Thanks for the cold drinks. Does it feel hot in here to you?”

  Chris blushed seven shades of red, and shook his head “Yes.”

  I giggled and broke the silence as Chris walked to the kitchen, “OMG Jacki can flirt!”

  Jacki elbowed me and blushed a little, but she didn’t disagree about trying to flirt! I was so proud of her for at least trying to get Chris’ attention. We have all waited on that spark to officially start. Mikayla winked at me. I didn’t even have to say what I was really thinking. She already knew what I would do before we left.

  We talked until Chris came back with our pizza. We were silent and as he put plates on our table, silently screaming inside. All three of us burst into hysterical laughter. Hopefully, we would always be like this. Our friendship bond had helped us know each other better than our own families knew us.

  We finished eating and as we left a tip for Chris, I wrote Jacki’s name and cell number on the receipt. I hoped he would take the hint and make the official first move. I knew Jacki flirted a lot, but she would never take control and ask him out.

  Mikayla said, “Let’s go cruise for a while and see who else is out.”

  I figured we should stay out as long as we could because we only had 64 days until we would all go away to college. Mikayla and I picked the same college, but Jacki was moving out of state for a photography school. Her college would be about two hours from the college that Mikayla and I were planning to attend. Time is of the essence, something my Dad always told me growing up. I decided to seize the time we had in our little bubble before everything changed….

  We piled into Jacki’s pickup and started cruising down Main Street. We saw lots of high school friends out cruising too. We flagged one of our friend’s trucks down and asked what was going on and found out there’s a party down on the sandbank at the river. That was perfect! We already had our swimsuits, so we headed down to the banks and saw what was happening down there. When we got there. We visited with about thirty other people we went to school with. We mingled with them for a while. The whole time, I kept an eye out for the only man I wanted to talk to. But I hadn’t spotted him yet.

  After we talked to everyone else that we wanted to talk to, we headed back to the truck. Just as we were getting in the truck, Chase and Chris got out of their cars.

  I nudged Jacki and motioned over their way and said,”You know we can’t leave now!”

  Mikayla rolled her eyes at us, but she knew it was true. So, we all walked back down on the sandbank and laid out the big blanket we had in the truck to sit on.

  Chris walked by and said, “Thanks for the number.” Jacki looked at me. She asked what he meant, so I whispered in her ear what I did. She shoved me on the arm and said, “Thanks a lot!”

  Jacki walked off with Chris. They went by themselves to talk or kiss or whatever. I looked at Mikayla and she said, “How long should we wait for them to come back?”

  I laughed and said, “She drove us. We don’t have a choice, do we?”

  We decided to move our blanket down to the bonfire since the sun had set and it was getting cooler. We talked to several other friends and then Chase walked by and I swear my entire body heated up! I felt like a perfectly preheated oven. I was a smooth 360 degrees because that man was so hot, I would spin completely around just to take in the view of his hot body.

  Chapter 2

  As I practically drooled over Chase as he walked by, he came over and asked if he could sit down by me. I think my face was as red as my hair and I couldn’t even say a word, I just shook my head yes.

  At first, we didn’t talk much, we just shyly smiled and ogled at each other. There’s something about Chase that made me feel safe. Maybe it’s because he had been a lifeguard for two years at the pool. Or maybe it was because he was tall dark and handsome and all I ever dreamed about…. I couldn’t even tell you exactly how many dreams I have had about that man. Let’s just say in my lifetime, I had more dreams about Chase than I had dreams without him. It was a nightly occurrence, and one that I only prayed would continue! I snapped back to reality from my quick daydream of Chase when he spoke again.

  Chase said, “I have seen you at the pool with your friends practically every day during summer for the past two years… But I don’t know if you have a boyfriend?”

  I blushed again, geez what is it about him, I can’t make my words work. I take a deep breath and blurted out my question, “I don’t have a boyfriend, do you have a girlfriend?”

  Chase laughed and he shook his head “no.” I let the big breath out that I didn’t know I was holding and smiled from ear to ear. We were both single and it sounded like he did like redheads, or at least he seemed interested in this one!

  When you grow up looking different than anyone else around you, you always wondered if you were the right kind of pretty. I was an auburn-haired, freckle covered, green-eyed woman with eyes for only one man.

  Chase looked Italian with his nice tan skin, his dark chocolate eyes and his dark brown hair. If you looked up the phrase, “Tall, Dark and Handsome” in the dictionary; I was pretty sure there would be a picture of Chase as a referenc
e. His hotness made my heartbeat extremely too fast anytime he was around. It was exciting and I wanted more. I hoped by the end of Summer, I could find out what his lips tasted like and perhaps even more than that!

  I had a huge grin on my face when Mikayla said, “I’m getting a drink, you want me to bring you anything?”

  I replied, “Yes please, I need something cold.”

  Chase chimed in, “Yes for me too please.”

  Mikayla walked off and I was alone with Chase for the first time ever, only inches apart. I looked at him and we started small talk. We had a lot in common. We found out that we both loved Rock music, Italian food, swimming, basketball, and fishing. Not bad for a twenty-five-minute conversation! Mikayla came back to the blanket and handed us each a drink and we said “thanks” at the same time. She smiled at the two of us.

  As we were all chatting, Mikayla’s boyfriend Conner joined us. She greeted him with a kiss. I blushed again, and Conner said, “Roxi, are you going to introduce me?”

  I stumbled through the words, “Conner this is Chase, he is a lifeguard at the pool.” Inside my mind, I thought I should have introduced him as the hottest slice of man ever to bear the lifeguard uniform (AKA swimming trunks), but I restrained those thoughts.

  Conner started talking to Chase and I was relieved to not be in the spotlight for a minute. When you look different, sometimes not standing out and fitting in is a welcome distraction. I was basking in that thought at the moment, grateful for my friends.

  I got Mikayla’s attention and whispered my thanks to her for the great time tonight and thanked her for giving Chase and me a few minutes to talk alone. We walked back to the blanket and sat next to the guys. Conner was a bull rider, so he and Chase were talking about injuries, scars, and battle wounds. I am thankful that they seemed to be getting along like old friends, there’s nothing worse than awkward conversations.

  We continued our life discoveries and dove headfirst into another great conversation. Then out of the side of my eyes, I spotted Jacki and Chris as they walked by us holding hands.

  I teased Jacki and hollered, “You can thank me later!”

  And they both laughed and we all started talking again. Chris said, “You gave me the best tip I have ever gotten! I have been admiring Jacki for over a year and didn’t know if she really liked me or was that flirty to all guys!”

  I explained, “She has had eyes for you for years, flirting is her version of an ice-breaker. If she didn’t know someone, she was just overly nice to them to get them to open up, and it’s a no-fail method. I actually became best friends with Jacki after she used that same “niceness” method on me!”

  I described, “I had transferred to the same Junior High that Jacki and Mikayla already attended, and they were the first two girls who were really nice to me. Being a redhead, I was used to people making fun of me and calling me “carrot top” and other stupid pet names like “Red,” but Jacki stuck up for me and took me under her wing so to say. She took me around the school and the town and introduced me to Mikayla and we have all been the best of friends since then.”

  Chris said, “The same niceness has worked wonders on me too,” and we both smiled. Jacki was truly one of the nicest girls I had ever met. I wasn’t sure what life would be like without living in the same town as Jacki, but I had 64 days to worry about that. Carpe Diem, seize the day!

  It was late, after midnight now. We were all exhausted from the day, so we called it a night. As we were collecting our blanket and walking to Jacki’s truck, Chase asked for my number…..

  I thought to myself, “Awwwwww, he does like me!” A girl’s dreams can come true! I took his cell and programmed mine into his and he did the same with my cell. Now there was no excuse to not call and get to know each other better. The actual chemistry was there, just gotta see if there’s “more.”

  Mikayla asked, “Okay if I go home with Conner?”

  I hugged her and climbed in Jacki’s truck and we headed to my house. I thanked her for the great day and she thanked me for me giving her name and number to Chris. I knew these next two months would be the most memorable of our lives… I didn’t yet know how much my happy little bubble would change, but I had a gut feeling that it would be an amazing time!

  After I was home for about thirty minutes, I got a text from Mikayla saying she was home safe. Four minutes later I got a text from Jacki saying the same thing. Okay, now I could shower and think about the day we had. Finally, everything was falling into place and things were going the way we always dreamed! Next, I slipped into some comfy jammies and cuddled up in my bed.

  I wrote in my journal:

  “Today was awesome. I introduced Jacki to her crush, then karma paid me back and I got to know Chase a little better! Best day of the summer so far!”

  Time ticked by faster than I realized and I drifted off to dreamland…

  Chapter 3

  As I woke up, I realized I was the last one up in the house. I heard my Mom talking to my Dad as my brother’s car pulled out of the driveway. I walked to the kitchen to get some breakfast and Mom said, “Late night Honey?”

  I smiled and said, “Nah, we just stayed out talking later than normal.” Mom smiled, she knew there was more to my story, but she wasn’t going to hear the whole truth until Dad left for work.

  I practically inhaled my cereal and milk and sat at the bar as I watched while Dad got ready for work and Mom packed his lunch. I wondered to myself if this what I would be like in ten years? Just me and Chase in our own house and with our kids. Oh wow, kids with Chase, I know they will be gorgeous….

  Mom walked by and said, “What’s that big smile for?”

  I giggled, “Just daydreaming, Mom.”

  She leaned in and said, “About who?”

  I answered, “The same man it always is, Mom.”

  She giggled back, “I remember what it was like when I first met your Dad…”

  I blushed, “Mom, please don’t embarrass me, it’s not even eight o’clock in the morning yet!”

  I put my dishes in the dishwasher and sat the milk in the fridge and cereal away in the pantry. Then I headed back to my room.

  I had a text from Chase!: “I had a great time last night! Can we meet up again today?”

  I almost melted into a big puddle! My heart was pounding so loud I thought my Mom would hear it from the other side of the house. I was so beyond excited to have heard from my hunky dream man!!!

  I forwarded his text to Jacki and Mikayla, added: “OMG, dreams do come true!”

  Jacki wrote back: “Wow, he didn’t waste any time!”

  Mikayla wrote: “Aww that is sweet!”

  I think I floated a foot off the floor, and I didn’t even notice that my Mom had come into my room. She was smirking with a big goofy smile, and asked, “What’s going on?”

  I showed her the text from Chase. She humored me and said, “Should I start planning your wedding yet?”

  I threw my pillow at her and laughed, secretly wishing I could say YES! She left my room and I called Mikayla. Jacki was not much of a morning person. So, I decided I should give her another hour to fully wake up. Then, my giddiness wouldn’t be overly annoying.

  Mikayla asked, “So what’s the plan for tonight?”

  I answered, “I don’t know yet.”

  She said, “Text him to call you to work out the details.” I finished up and we said goodbye.

  Then I texted Chase: “What’s the plan, call me with details.”

  It felt like an eternity passed by, but I looked at when I sent the text at 8:32 am and my phone rang at 8:38 am. A six-minute response, my 18-year-old self was shrieking with excitement that he really did like me!!!!!

  I took a deep breath and I answered, “Hello.”

  Chase spoke and my heart nearly exploded in anticipation, “It’s me” (as if he calls me all the time).

  I giggled.

  He said, “Why are you giggling?”

  I answered, “This is t
he first time you called me and you just say it’s me.” I thought it was cute. He asked what I had planned for the day and if we could meet up again. I told him my plans and we decided to meet up for lunch at the Main Street Café.

  When I arrived, Chase was already seated, waiting on me. That was another good sign, I thought to myself. I sat down next to Chase and was having trouble hearing what he was saying because my heart was thumping so loud.

  I blushed when he asked, “Are you okay?”

  I said, “I am fine, just nervous.” Shit, did I say that out loud? What is it with Chase, I can’t keep my eyes off him, my tongue gets tied in knots and I can’t control my heartbeat when he is near. I have never been this “into” a guy. This is a whole new ballgame for me. Little Red Roxi is trying to get her first serious boyfriend, her dream man, Chase to like her! My heart raced frantically, getting me so amped up and thinking maybe he already did like me!

  Back to reality… I asked Chase, “What are you going to order?” I was happy that the waitress came to interrupt us. She took our order and left. Finally, we could talk without interruptions. The waitress slipped our sodas onto the table, barely even stopping long enough to wink her eye at me and she left us alone again.

  I started up the small talk by asking him, “Do you have any siblings or pets?”

  Chase said, “I have a lab named Midnight and two sisters.”

  I replied, “I have a lab named Daisy and one brother.”

  We kept talking and finding out more similarities and the waitress came back with our food. I didn’t want to be one of those girls who didn’t eat in front of guys, so I tried really hard to eat while we talked over lunch.

  Neither of us realized it, but we talked so long at lunch at the Café that now the early dinner crowd was coming to eat! Chase said, “Want to go for a walk?”

  I said, “Yes.” We walked out of the Café and we walked down Main Street as we talked and laughed the whole way down five blocks. How was it possible that I went to high school with this guy and never really got to know him? I swam at the pool with him as the lifeguard for the past two years and never really knew anything other than the physical attraction I had to him. Am I that shallow I thought to myself?