Chapter Twenty-Three: The Perfect Gift

22.4K 696 69
                                    

Running across the street, Chase made a beeline for the Land and Sea. He'd never been inside the small boutique before, even though it was one of the oldest shops in Blackwater. Actually, it was really called Emilia's Sea Stuff now, but everyone still called it the Land and Sea. Like everything else in town, things were really slow to catch on.

Much to the dismay of young people in town, Wal-Marts, twenty-four screen movie theaters, and trendy Apple stores were never going to part of their small town landscape. Most of the adults preferred it that way - they were staunchly against the bigger, flashier retail stores and did everything in their power to ban them whenever they came sniffing around. Chase didn't really care too much, since he had a car and could drive to the bigger cities to enjoy all that his own hometown was missing. Plus he was a bright kid, he recognized the fact that it was these very same non-progressive people that kept his dad's shop in business. Things in Blackwater were just the way they'd always been, and nothing would ever change that. People would also be calling it the Land and Sea no matter what it sold now or in the future, plain and simple. He pulled open the door and stepped inside the woman's clothing store.

Chase looked around trying to get his bearings. He'd never had any reason to shop here before. His mother was gone long before he started earning his own money to be able to buy things, and he'd never had any serious girlfriends before.

At least none as serious as Eliza.

She was the real thing, even if she hadn't chosen him over Dante a little bit ago. Chase knew he was the real reason she didn't want to leave the store and head to the lake with him. Even knowing that couldn't stop him from thinking about her great eyes, and that wonderful smile of hers. It just lit a fire in his blood whenever she just looked at him.

Eliza was so beautiful, and funny, and she made him feel things he couldn't even describe. He felt giddy and anxious and nervous all at the same time - but over all of it he just felt this strong urge to kiss her, to show her how much he wanted to be with her, how much he just wanted her. It was crazy really. He couldn't remember ever feeling so strongly about anyone else before, but Eliza was like a fever in his blood or an itch that just begged to be scratched. He just couldn't help himself.

And he didn't really want to either. For the first time in his life, he welcomed these newfound feelings. He felt...complete somehow.

Chase walked around the crowded store. It was cramped space full of women's summer wear. Boat pants, shorts, beach totes competed with other "sea" inspired items. It made it seem as if Blackwater was an ocean community like Cape Cod or Nantucket, instead of a landlocked town in the middle of Central Missouri.

The Black River was just outside of town and had given the town its name, but Blackwater wasn't anywhere close to a real sea. Chase guessed there must have been enough of a seasonal crowd coming through to enjoying the lake to support such a store. Even he'd spent most of his summers hanging out on the water with his dad on their old boat. His parents bought it the year they'd gotten married. They'd taken it out every weekend during the summer since he could remember. Even those last few years when his mom had been sick, they'd always gone out to the lake. It wasn't until Chase entered high school that his dad had stopped going so much.

His freshman year was the year his dad's store really took off, and they'd spent less and less time on the boat. Eventually his father had sold it to someone who'd actually use it. Chase had been sad to see the old boat go, especially because he'd had so many memories of him and his mom out on it, but he also understood why his dad had done it. He'd moved on. Still, even though he had to spend his days at the store, Chase tried to get out to the lake at least once a week. It really was a great time - all the kids from school were there partying, building small bonfires, or just hooking up. It was the only place besides the football field you could be sure to see everyone at some point in the evening.

Bad Company (Seven Deadly Sins #1) ✅ CompletedWhere stories live. Discover now