A/N.: I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas for those of you who celebrate it and got lots of presents!! I asked for a sexy boyfriend from Santa but as always, he did not get me a sexy boyfriend. I'm starting to think maybe Santa isnt real. LOL jk :3 Of course he's real. XD

Also, just a heads up im very busy for New Years and etc. The next update will be around 10 days. Im just posting this as a heads up bc a couple of you guys appereantly didnt understand that it was Christmas and that I have a family and a life. Let me be clear that I DONT MIND ppl asking me for an update! Im actually very flattered by it! Your excitment makes me want to update sooner also! What I DO mind is when some of you ask me to update HARSHLY and RUDELY (usually via private messages). I AM writing this story out of my own free time so please, please, please dont make me feel bad about myself just bc i havent posted in 7 days. Im trying to complete this story as soon as I can, but idk, making impatient and rude remarks about me isn't going to make me post faster. If anything, it might have the opposite effect.

ANYWAYS, i hate to sound like SUCH a brat bc Im honestly so blessed to have so many wonderful, supportive readers. I would say 99.99999% of you guys are amazing through the roof, but theres just like a few of you that idk... sound like you're yelling at me. Im sure you dont actually mean to but remember Im reading your messages in text form, and sometimes your messages sound really harsh. (So keep that in mind and put lots of happy faces) Anyways enough of my horrible rant, I WISH EVERYONE A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! TRG will be back in 2014!!!! <3333

  61. Crave You

            Krislynn couldn’t even understand why he was acting that way. Chase had came back with this petrified expression on his face and she had quickly sensed something terribly wrong had happened, but now he was just being juvenile whimpering on the sand at her feet. “Just tell me what’s wrong!” She spat the words out a little too harshly, but she had been asking several times already and he had ignored her and continued to babble nonsensical things. Now she was getting ticked off and she couldn’t even help it.

            “I was… I was molested!” He sobbed.

            Krislynn laughed. “Stop it. Seriously, what happened?”

            “I was molested!!!!” He shouted. His gray eyes peered at her angrily through a glaze of tears and she felt disorientated and confused. He was what? How could something like that happen? But then again, Chase was enormously popular with girls – a fact that she had almost forgotten since he had dedicated so much of his attention to her recently.

            “Did you run into some girls who threw themselves at you? I thought you liked that.”

            He shook his head and through fragmented phrases explained to her what had happened to him while he was inside Troy’s trailer. “My virgin lips,” he cried. “My innocence!”

            Immediately, Krislynn laughed. “So this whole time, you were actually right? He actually had a thing for you?”

            “This is why society is falling apart!! People would tell the cops that somebody is after their life, and they would never believe it until that person is found dead somewhere on the side of a ditch! This is exactly what happened! You sent me to him! You actually sent me into a tiger’s den!”

            Krislynn couldn’t find a way to comfort him. As much as she wanted to place herself in his shoes to see how badly getting kissed by a boy was, it just wasn’t that traumatizing to her. “Come on,” she whispered at last. “Let’s go buy you a lot of mouthwash and you can disinfect the Troy on you.”

            Two days later, Chase was still moping about it at home. He hadn’t gotten out of the house once and refused to go to work. No matter how hard Krislynn tried to convince him, he had strengthen an iron resolution not to listen to any further advice given by her.

            On Wednesday evening, Krislynn had decided enough was enough and dragged him out of the house to go grocery shopping with her. He went reluctantly, but as they pushed the shopping cart around, placed fourteen bottles of mouthwash inside the cart. “Seriously, stop!” She gave his hand a quick swat when he reached for another bottle and placed most of the mouthwash in their cart back to where they belong. She left him with five and glowered at him to tell him not to mess with her.

            “You have to go to work tomorrow. How could you skip work just because of something like that? Pete said he was going to mutilate you if you don’t show up tomorrow. I already told him you’d go.”

            Chase ruffled his hair and took a glance at himself when they passed some table mirrors on sale down the aisle. He hadn’t shaved for two days, and honestly, this really wasn’t his style, but he was beginning to think he didn’t look too bad with some scruff on his face. “Fine,” he muttered. “I’ll go. We’ll rearrange the schedule and shoot all of Andrea’s scenes that don’t require Troy’s appearance.”

            “You can’t avoid him forever.”

            “Then I’ll avoid him as long as I can. If I see his face, all I’m going to be able to think about would be him pushing me against a wall! Besides, I’m scared he’s going to force himself on me again. Once is already way too much. I don’t think I’ll be able to survive a second assault.”

            “Then I’ll just go and have a little talk with him.”

            Chase pressed his lips together and watched Krislynn push the shopping cart a few feet ahead of him. “What would you say to him?”

            She stopped and had to tilt her head to the side and think about it. “I’ll say…” She tapped a finger on the side of her chin. “Ah! I know. I’ll say, back off Troy! Chase is my man!”

            Pouting, Chase reached out and hooked his fingers through the belt loop on the back of her jeans. He tugged Krislynn back to him and she came lurching backwards until her back touched his chest. “Would you really say that?” He asked. He smiled at her sheepishly as he folded his arms around her from behind and pressed the side of his cheek against hers. “Would you?”

            He could feel her face warming up and smiled even harder when she nodded. “Why- why not.” She stammered. “I want to protect you.”

            It was so lame, he thought, letting a girl protect him when it should be the opposite way around. He wasn’t going to stoop that far, but it made him happy that Krislynn would even consider wanting to protect him. “You have to say it with more intimidation though,” he chuckled. “Do it with more swag. Like you're from the hood.”

            Krislynn cleared her throat. “Back off Troy!” She shouted, snapping her fingers and working her neck. “Get your own! Chase is mah man!”

            He laughed and released her from his embrace. “Don’t do that tomorrow,” he said. “You’re just going to embarrass yourself.”

            She wrinkled her nose at him and Chase placed his hands on top of hers so they could roll the cart down the aisle together. Krislynn was trapped inside his arms and though she didn’t really mind, it made walking uncomfortable. “Do you want to push the cart yourself?” She asked.

            He lowered his head and pressed his cheek against hers again. “Why? What’s wrong with what we’re doing now?”

            “It makes it hard to walk.”

            “So?”

            She bit her lips. “People keep staring at us.”

            “Let them.”

            Krislynn’s cheeks reddened and she averted the gaze of people looking and smiling at them when they passed. Especially the elderly seemed to be giving them a ‘oh how good it is to be young and in love’ kind of look, but that really wasn’t the real story was it?

            “Oh.” Her embarrassment suddenly came to a halt when she realized what she had come to the store for. “Pickles,” she said. “What aisle is that in?”

            Chase shrugged. “I thought you hated pickles.”

            “I know,” she moaned. “I do, but lately I’ve been really craving– ”

            “Pickles?”

            “No. Just the juice.”

            “Aw! That’s gross! You want to drink the pickle juice?”

            “In a martini glass!” She smirked, turning the cart down an aisle she thought would contain the pickles. When she found them, she picked up two jars before they purchased their things and left the store.

            At home, after dinner, the two of them sat down for a movie and some cuddling on the couch. Chase had a bottle of mouthwash for easy access on the coffee table, and Krislynn was nursing a martini glass of pickle juice in her hands. The amount of content a martini glass could hold was small however, and after her second glass, Krislynn threw away her class and drank the juice straight out of the pickle jar.

            Rather than watching the movie in front of him, Chase was extremely disgusted and couldn’t take his eyes off Krislynn as she polished the entire jar of pickle juice and opened up the second. Even though she drank up the juice like it was liquid cocaine, she wouldn’t touch the pickles and Chase was beginning to wonder if they just sold the juice without the pickles at the store.

            “You’re such a weirdo,” he muttered. “How could you even drink all of that?”

            Krislynn threw him a glare as she licked her lips. “Just drink your mouthwash and let me drink mine!”

            He turned away from her, poured some mouthwash into his mouth and gurgled it before walking off to the washroom to spit it out. When he came back, Krislynn had finished her second pickle jar and was hesitantly chewing on the tip of a pickle. She furrowed her brows when he sat down beside her. “It’s no good,” she muttered. “Pickles don’t taste good after all.”

            “Well you seem to like the juice.”

            “Maybe it’s the texture? I don’t know. I just don’t like it.”

            “Then don't eat it.”

            “But then it’s such a waste! You don’t like pickles either so it’s not like you’ll eat them.”

            He smirked. “Why don’t you put them in the blender?” He teased. “You could make a pickle shake… or a pickle smoothie. Mmm… Pickle smoothie. Yum.” Krislynn scrunched her nose at his sarcasm and picked up her pickle jars before leaving for the kitchen. “You really going to make it?”

            “You’re disgusting.” He watched her search through the kitchen cabinets and paid her no mind as he turned his attention back to the movie. When Krislynn settled beside him a moment after, she was munching on the pickles delightedly after dipping it into a dark sauce.

            “Is that soy sauce?!” He cried.

            “No! Gross!” She rolled her eyes at him and stabbed another pickle with her fork before dipping it again. “That would be way too much sodium in one sitting.”

            “What is it then?”

            “Chocolate syrup.”

            “Oh my god!” Chase rubbed his eyes and got up. “Okay you know what? I know you’re a glutton, but this is a whole different level of something else. I can’t watch you anymore. I’m going to bed. Finish your crap and come up.”

            “I’m going to sleep in my bed tonight,” she warned.

            “No you’re not.” He walked behind the couch and bent over to give her a quick kiss on the side of her head. “You’re coming to mine.”

            Krislynn made a face as she licked the chocolate syrup dripping off her pickle before taking a bite. God, he was like a floodgate that exploded and now the water couldn’t be contained. She really shouldn’t have let temptation get to her and slept with him that night in the cabin. Now that he’s gotten the green signal, he wanted it every night. Good grief!

            The next day Chase showed up to work like he had informed Pete the night before and after gathering some courage found Troy so he could tell him off. Of course, Chase found a very open space with a lot of people watching so Troy wouldn’t be able to make an advance on him. Even though he had thought long and hard about what to say, he really wasn’t sure if Troy got the message.

            Troy said, “it’s my fault that I thought you’ve already come out, but I guess you’re still suppressing your sexual desires for me. That’s fine. I’ll be patient. You’ll come to me when you can come to terms with it.”

            Apparently when he ran into Krislynn sometime during the afternoon, he also told her, “Kristen, if you’re smart you’d leave him now because we both know who Chase is actually pinning for. That’s my friendly advice to you because I think you’re a sweet girl. But do what you want. Just don’t be surprised when he leaves you for me.”

            Chase didn’t even bother arguing about any of it. As long as he was “patient” and didn’t come to bother him that was good enough until the movie shoot wrapped up. Then Chase was going to avoid him for the rest of his life. 

            When the day ended, Chase took Krislynn out for dinner since it was late and they were both too hungry to go home and cook. They decided on Chinese and after getting their drinks, placed their orders. “Are you sure you’re okay with just orange juice?” He teased, raising an eyebrow at Krislynn as she sipped on the liquid. “I could run down the street and buy you a jar of pickles. I’m sure they won’t mind if I brought it in.”

            “Not funny! Stop teasing me about it already. I don’t constantly bring up your affair with Troy.”

            “Who’s Troy?” Chase asked sternly. “That never happened.”

            Krislynn sneered at him briefly before her lips puckered together like a fish. “Oh!” She pointed excitedly behind him. “Is that Jace?” Following the direction of her finger, Chase peered over his shoulder and sure enough, Jace stuck out like a sore thumb with his thick glasses and his yellow and red polka-dotted tie. All he needed was a blue wig, Chase thought, and he would fit right in with the circus. “Hey Jace! Jace!”

            Everyone in the restaurant turned to look at their table when Krislynn jumped up and started waving at him. He noticed her immediately and Chase thanked the lord that people looked away after he started towards them. “Hey guys! This is a surprise.”

            “Yeah. What’s up?” Chase checked Jace’s background, but it didn’t seem like LaCienega was anywhere in sight. “You came alone?”

            He nodded. “Yeah, I’m working late tonight. I was going to pick up some take-out and go eat it back at my office.”

            “Well since you’re here, you should just sit and eat with us!” Krislynn chirped. She looked brightly at the both of them and Jace turned to look at Chase.

            “Is that alright? I don’t want to be a bother.”

            Chase glared at Krislynn, but she only stared back at him with this absentmindedly-excited expression. “Sure, why would it be a bother?” He mumbled, but everything about the tone of his voice to the furrow of his brows said otherwise.

            “Well if you say so,” Jace said, and what could Chase do at that point about his clueless friend, but to let it completely slide? He hadn’t forgotten about the fact that Jace had feelings for Krislynn, but he acted normal when socializing with her, and Chase doubt that Jace was going to start making any moves on her any time soon.

            “Oh my gosh, I love your tie by the way! It’s so cute!”

            And there it was again, Krislynn’s horrid fashion taste that made her think everything about Jace was absolutely endearing. Chase inwardly groaned wondering if he had to sit through an entire dinner of this. “Oh do you?” Jace laughed, his cheeks turning a soft pink. “Thank you! I have this same tie in a lot of other colors.”

            “I’m surprised LaCienega even lets you walk out wearing those things,” Chase muttered. “If I was her, I might have secretly burnt them while you were out.”

            “Chase! How could you say that?!”

            Jace laughed. “She wouldn’t do that.” He rubbed the tip of his chin in contemplation. “She does lose a lot of my clothing in the wash though. But that can’t be her fault right?”

            Krislynn and Chase both gave him a weird look and while the waitress came around to take Jace’s order, Krislynn excused herself to go to the washroom.

            “I hope you don’t mind me asking,” Chase started when the waitress left and he felt like it was the right moment to ask. “I wanted to ask you last time, but I didn’t really get the chance to.”

            “Well go on and ask. You know I don’t mind.”

            Chase sighed. “I was just wondering about you and LaCienega. It just doesn’t seem right to me. If you don’t have any feelings for her, why are you marrying her? Out of pity? You’re way too nice, but you shouldn’t just marry her because she loves you.”

            “It’s not pity Chase.” A low sigh tripped out of his mouth. “If anything, it’s more like… an arranged marriage.”

            Chase’s jaw dropped down. Well out of all the possible things that could have happened, an arranged marriage had never occurred to him. It almost felt like a fantasy or a storybook. “In this day and age?” He sputtered. “An arranged marriage? Seriously?”

            “Kind of. I didn’t say it is one, but it’s similar to one. You know that my dad works for LaCienega’s father right? And even though he had a good job with lots of income, my dad always wanted to make partner. He would always go to all the parties hosted by Mr. Perez and through one of those parties, that’s how I met LaCienega. Mr. Perez has always been a doting father, and I guess… LaCienega might have shown an interest to me ever since a young age.”

            Sighing, Chase took a long sip of his beer. He couldn’t even believe it. So it was like this. He remembered the time LaCienega told him how the two of them met. Basically, she had liked Jace ever since the first time she met him, and had probably fawned about him in front of her parents for years. It was probably something both LaCienega’s father and Jace’s father wanted. On one side, Mr. Perez would be able to marry his daughter off to a smart, upright man that she was madly in love with, and on the other, Jace’s father would probably be able to make partnership at Mr. Perez’s law firm being his new in-law. 

            “You don’t have to say the rest,” Chase muttered. “I think I kind of get it.” Jace nodded, and smiled weakly that Chase didn’t force him to carry on. “But something like this… Is this what you want?”

            “I don’t really know what I want which was why I’ve been okay with this. My mother didn’t approve of my dad’s decisions of course… but that may be another story.”

            Chase groaned. The fact that Jace’s mother didn’t approve probably eventually led to their divorce. Seriously, he had never even considered Mr. Waite as the overly ambitious, greedy type, but what did he know? The last time he saw the man was almost ten years ago.

            “I don’t think you should go through with this. Seriously Jace, have you ever thought that you might be hurting LaCienega in the end? You said it yourself. That you’ll never come to love her. If you marry her, you’ll keep her away from finding someone who does want to marry her because he loves her. And what about you? You might not exactly know what you want to do right now, but whose to say you won’t later.” He cringed when he thought about Krislynn, but he had to say it. “And just like your feelings for Krislynn, you’ll find someone you’ll fall for again. Trust me. And when you find someone you like and someone that likes you, what are you going to with LaCienega? Cheat on her? Divorce her? For something like your father’s stupid ambition, you don’t have to pay the price for that. There’s way too much to lose.”

            Jace sighed, but before he had a chance to state his thoughts, Krislynn came waltzing back with the biggest goofball smile on her face. “I think I just saw Cameron Diaz in the bathroom,” she whispered, unable to contain her giggles. “Look! Look at this! I took a cellphone video!” Giggling she pulled her phone out and showed off the video to the both of them.

            Chase rubbed the side of his temple as he watched the suspicious blonde woman with a bandana over her head who could have been anyone inside the video. “Krislynn, I don’t think… I really don’t think that’s Cameron Diaz.”