I shrug my shoulders as I head to my room to shower. Well I guess this beats my frozen dinner and the leftover tofu lasagna Ally had left for me. Yuck, just thinking of that makes me cringe. Ally was always trying to get me in on her vegetarian lifestyle but I was definitely a meat kinda girl.
I pulled out an off the shoulder burgundy sweater dress and paired it with a pair of black leggings and boots. Chase looked a little dressier than usual with his sweater that complimented his broad chest nicely so I figured this would fit the occasion. I blow dried my hair and worked my fingers through my loose curls and applied some light makeup. Caleb of course was still asleep, so after packing him a small bag to take with us, I tried to gently nudge him awake.
“Hey little man, wake up bud.” Not even a flutter of movement. I try shaking him a tad harder. “Caleb, Caleb?” Okay last resort, it works almost every time. I take a little bit of water and sprinkle it over his nose. He swats at his face with his tiny hand. Ah finally, we have movement. “Come on little man. You want to hang out with Chase today?” This immediately gets his eyes to pop right open. Ha knew that one would work, he’s been talking about how cool Chase is ever since he’s met him. I’m not gonna lie, it makes me a little jealous.
Caleb literally sprang out of bed after that and even got himself partially dressed even though his shirt ended up inside out and his shoes on the wrong feet. But with my help we were finally ready to go and I usher him out so we could meet Chase.
He hops out of his jeep with a small bouquet of daises in his hands and hands them to me. “Are these for me?” I ask, inhaling the flowery scent as he nods his head back at me. “Thanks Chase you really didn’t have to do that.” He grabs Calebs car seat for me and buckles him in after giving Caleb a high-five.
“Beautiful flowers for a beautiful girl.” He steps back and does another up and down look of me. “Well I liked how you answered the door earlier but this is definitely a sexy look on you too. Can I see that one again later?” I slap my hands on his chest and push back lightly before climbing into his jeep. “Thanks but I don’t think so. Now why don’t you try and keep your eyes focused on the road?”
We drive out to his moms house which is in a small town about 20 minutes from campus. Chase uses the ride to fill me in on his family a bit and all of the different personalities of his many sisters. “It might be a bit chaotic when we get there.” He looks over at me with a grin. I love the way his eyes seem to twinkle every time he looks at me. “Just be prepared when you get there, that many women together can get a little overwhelming.”
I clasp my hands together over my laps as I contemplate what Chase has just said. Okay maybe I should have just stayed home. I really wasn’t used to big family gatherings. Most of Allys family was spread out in different states so when we did get together it tended to be just us, her parents, and two brothers. I really wasn’t even sure how to define my relationship with Chase if asked, I guess we were friends. Right, friends? Friends didn’t really try to avoid each other.
“Hey,” he leans over and rubs his hand lightly over my thigh. “They won’t be that bad. I know they’ll love you. And Caleb will have a ton of fun. As long as he doesn’t mind tea parties.” He turns into a long winding driveway that stops near a sprawling Victorian house. One whole front of the house looks to be an arched sheet of glass with stained windows across the top and there’s scallops running across each of the arches. A wrap around covered porch curves around the other side of the house and is dotted with comfy looking rocking chairs and various kids toys strewn about. It basically looks like a blown up dollhouse and I’m instantly in love. What girl wouldn’t be?
“Wow,” I say as I step out of the jeep. “This is beautiful. You grew up here?”
Chase shakes his head as he pulls out the groceries he picked up for his mom. “No, we moved here when my mom got remarried to Chris, I think I was about twelve. He built the place, luckily it’s huge especially after they added more siblings to the mix.”