Love Me | Series Book #1

EIGHT

A shower of dirt came flying into my mouth leaving a splatter against my plain white tee, that would probably sell for 1 mil in some bougie art gallery. I sputtered, ridding my tongue of its germ-infested taste.

His laughter was a circus around me, his body nearly toppling over as he held a hand to his stomach.

I blinked. Once. Twice. Testing my own patience as I watched him shuffle towards me, arms outstretched. It had happened so randomly. One moment, I'm taunting him, that warning the swing will collapse under his weight, and the next I'm being sprinkled
by raining mulch. This was his idea of a fun time. As soon as we arrived, we were greeted with the disapproving looks from thirty-something year old parents. They gathered their strollers and pried their children away from the jungle-gym. I guess the sight of two teens sent their minds spiraling to the worst conclusions, because we definitely look like the delinquent type; sarcasm noted.

"Oh my god," his face was red. "I'm sorry-" he coughed, choking on his own amusement. "Kaya it was an accident I swear."

I waited. It wasn't until he tried to wrap his arms around me, that I pressed two hands on his chest and pushed with all my might, sending his body sprawling into the sandbox.

"That's!" I grabbed a handful of the sand and smeared it all over his shirt "For kicking dirt into my face!"

Chase thrashed around in the box, looking extremely hilarious given the size of it. I took the advantage to climb in while he was down, and wrapped my hands around his wrists.

"You're so dead," feeling devious, I released my right hand to grab another fist-full and sprinkled it along his hair, earning a grimace in response. Good.

He put up a false struggle against me, turning his head about as I continued pounding him with sand.

"I-" a laugh escaped from his mouth despite his attempts. "I apologized. Stop!"

I threw one final handful before releasing him from captivity. He jumped up at the first chance of freedom; the sand gliding off his body as he stood to his feet. I couldn't fight the grin that pulled at my lips after tasting the sweet sensation of revenge.

"Laugh now Kaya," he warned in his most threatening voice. However, threats from Chase didn't exactly qualify as anything remotely fear-provoking.

I followed his word and continued laughing at his expense just as he had at mine. His expressionless face lacked amusement as he watched me in my fit of hysterics. My laughter was so loud that I almost didn't hear my cell's text tone alert in my pocket. Almost.

Just like that, the moment was interrupted. My smile evaporated from my face as I reached for the device. Chase's dark eyes were trained on me as I quickly tapped in my 4-digit code and unlocked the screen.

"Your mom?" He guessed.

I'm so sorry. Baby please, talk to me. I love you so much, I just need to hear your voice right now.

I scanned the lines as his voice spoke them in my mind.

"I wish," I muttered beneath my breath.

I slid it back into my pocket and began trudging back over to the swings. The rusted metal cried as I shifted my weight onto it, and began gradually rocking forward. In less than a few seconds, Chase had joined the one next to me.

"It was Mason," he spoke. It wasn't a question.

I nodded without a word as I began to pick up speed. The wind seeped through my hair, probably sending it sprawling in every direction. I closed my eyes, inhaling the crisp Texan winter air as my mind drifted to a simple place.