Sunkissed (Dreamboat Sequel) | Chase Stokes Love Story

Chapter 25

"I'm honestly not that big of a fan of the pumpkin spice latte," I said truthfully.

"Oh my god, literally it's so overrated," Rylie answered as she and I drove to Starbucks together.

Chase was still asleep when I woke up this morning but I wanted to get some caffeine before starting my day as we were up late last night talking with his family. Rylie and I had bonded quickly which made me happy. She and Chase were the closest out of any of the siblings and I wanted to make sure I made a good first impression. We were also closer in age so that helped a lot. We had originally started talking about how college life was as it sounded completely different from mine. Hers sounded a lot more like the college experience that most people had as mine was classes and rehearsals 24/7. Our true bond started when we started sharing opinions about Chase's long hair which had received a few protests from him.

I pulled into the line for the drive-thru that almost wrapped around the building, "Why is everyone here?"

"Probably all the Black Friday shopping," Rylie answered, "Which speaking of, we should definitely go check out a few clothing stores."

"I'm totally down for that," I nodded eagerly, "Maybe you can help me revamp my wardrobe."

"I would love that," she agreed.

We got our coffee and went on our way. The parking lot of the mall was packed with people and we ended up having to park far away, "Alright, they better have some good deals for this hike and a half were about to go on."

"As long as I come back with cute pair of boots I'll say this mission was successful," Rylie answered as we started our trek.

Luckily it was pretty sunny out and though 60 degrees it didn't feel too bad, or maybe it was the sweat from walking that far. Once at the entrance, we figured out what stores we wanted to hit before mapping out a route. "I should also get a cute outfit for the party tonight," I said as we sifted through the racks of clothing.

We decided to grab whatever we were interested in and would just try on back at the Airbnb as we didn't want to wait in the long lines for the dressing rooms. Rylie helped me pick out a few select items and showed me how to get a base set of clothing that you could mismatch to come up with a bunch of different options between the set. Once we had finished shopping we lugged the multiple shopping bags back to my car.

"I think Charleston is the perfect place to live, it's so warm during the summer, and though it gets decently cold it's not enough to snow and fall here is so pretty," Rylie said as we walked.

"Right? I was just telling Chase about how we should get a house like the one you guys are staying at," I answered and then stopped for a moment, "Sorry, I forget what our relationship looks like from the outside and how hearing that probably sounds weird for a couple that's been together just over a year."

"There's no need to apologize. There isn't a set timeline on how a relationship should go," she answered as we got to my car and I opened the trunk to load our bags in, "Sometimes you just know, and from what I've seen in the past day, what you and Chase have is real. I'm glad he's found someone like you."

"Thanks," I smiled, happy that I had gotten her approval, "I think I mainly overthink it only because of how much we are in the limelight and how most people would just expect it to fail because we rushed into it."

"Fuck what others think. They're not in the relationship, you are, and you do whatever makes you happy," she replied.

"Chase makes me happy," I responded simply as I shut the trunk.

"And you make him happy, so don't listen to anyone else's opinion or try to follow a specific timeline. You know what's best for you."

"Thanks," I smiled and she opened her arms for a hug. I leaned in and gave her a squeeze before we pulled away.