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 Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2018 10:35 am
With the Charity Ball behind them, Priscilla Stratford had taken the following few weeks off to relax and unwind from the hassles and stress of trying to plan a successful gala. Granted, most of the financial aspects of the organization came from Chase's ends and the gowns from Trey's but she liked to think that it had all been tied together nicely by her own contributions.
Days had been spent relaxing around the house - sprinkled in with a few shifts at the mall - so when her boyfriend had suggested they take a night to themselves and go out to eat, she'd been delighted at the prospect.
Dressing up nicely was more like a hobby to the young heiress than a chore, picking out a particular dress to match the manicure she'd gotten only days earlier. Earrings and necklace went with whatever hairstyle she was feeling and after a short ninety minutes or so, she'd been ready to be escorted out to one of the cars and towards whatever restaurant he'd chosen for the night's affair.
By the time they made it to the table, she'd already shown her new attire off to several pairs of jealous looking eyes on top of a handful of lustful ones. So, overall - not a bad start to the evening, as far as she was concerned.
"Father was impressed with the gala, by the way."
The linen napkin was daintily placed into her lap as rose colored eyes lifted to meet whiskey. "He said it was quite the talk over at the yacht club, for a few weeks even."
Preening was an understatement, where Priscilla Stratford was concerned.
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Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2018 8:14 am
Despite the lovely appearance of his date, Chase's attention was not wholly hers. He had clearly been distracted throughout several points of the ride over and even when they were seated at their table and drinks were ordered. Fingers tapped the edge of the water glass as he stared at a point past his girlfriend but when she spoke, he blinked and sharp whiskey-gold eyes focused on her.
His smile was a weary one that barely lifted the edges of his mouth and didn't reach his eyes. He cared little of Mr. Stratford's opinion on what he did or how well he did it, but Priscilla was very much a daddy's girl and he wouldn't squash her pleasure at this simple thing so readily. "As it should be," he replied, smile somehow thinner than before. "I wouldn't be a very good boyfriend if I couldn't give you a party talked about long after for your birthday."
And after missing their anniversary and her birthday last year, there had been making up to do. Which was exactly why he'd given her the jewelry she was now wearing and why he had decided on the venture he was about to bring up.
"As you know, my birthday and the anniversary of...my homecoming approaches," he paused, wrists settling on the table while he gazed at her face, trying to read her expression. "I was thinking that you and I go overseas for it."
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Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2018 11:38 am
Holding a conversation with herself under the simple guise of including him in it wasn't a far-fetched practice for Prissy these days. Chase was a busy man, she'd reason to herself, with his fingers in too many pies to count. It was a blessing that he even had time to spend with her, that he wanted to spend time with her and that it wasn't a figurative bone thrown her way out of sheer pity when he asked her to attend functions by his side.
Fingers moved up to play with the necklace's chain as the waiter brought their drinks. Babbling about the Gala had seemed like something that might draw his attention back, but it seemed she'd lost him to his thoughts once more.
That is, until he brought back the affairs of last year.
The hand that had been reaching for her glass paused, the fingers curled around the stem as she waited for the other shoe to drop. She knew well that the anniversary was upon them - girls did not forget their boyfriend's birthdays, after all - but hadn't brought it up since....
Well, dark matters like that weren't proper dinner conversation, for one.
His next suggestion stunned her for a moment.
"You want to take a trip?"
Pause.
"Just... you and me, right?"
She didn't give him enough time to answer before she was pushing her chair back, depositing her napkin onto the empty plate in front of her before practically scrambling her way out of the chair and throwing herself into his lap. Arms moved to wrap around his neck as the sheer excitement was written across her face. "Oh Chase, that sounds so wonderful. You're the absolute best!"
A few startled patrons a few tables over started clapping politely, probably assuming the excitable woman had just been proposed to, judging by her over-the-top reaction.
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Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2018 1:54 pm
Chase wasn't allowed much time to respond to her question, or react at all, when Prissy was plopping herself into his lap and cooing over the idea of being taken somewhere for his birthday. The uneasiness that was bubbling in his chest, a low rumbling that vibrated through his bones, was settled by her weight against him and his hand found the small of her back to support her.
"Just us," he promised, a softer and more genuine smile on his otherwise tired face.
He'd gained most of his weight back through the help of Suri's carefully curated meals and the chef he'd been forced to hire after the potato incident because of someone's jealousy. He was back to regular work outs in his otherwise erratic schedule and he was (mostly) eating enough to compensate the caloric burns and the muscle rebuilding he focused on but sleep still chose to evade him more often than not.
And Chase couldn't shake the bags beneath his eyes that were nearly as permanent as the scars on his skin.
"I was thinking Europe. Being...home probably isn't in mine, or our, best interest. Two weeks, overseas, with nothing to concern yourself with but me."
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Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2018 2:54 pm
One hand rose to gently collect his face, fingers prompting his jaw to turn as she guided his mouth to hers. Prissy didn't care that she was still in his lap in the middle of a crowded restaurant. She didn't care if she made a spectacle of herself - she liked attention anyhow - not when she could savor the excitement coursing through her as well as the feel of her boyfriend's hand at the small of her back.
A break. They were finally going to get a break away from all of the stresses and hardships, of the drama and heartache that they'd gone through over the last year.
"Paris? Could we take a stop in Paris?"
Resting her head against his throat, her legs crossed themselves as she toyed with the buttons of his dress shirt. Visiting Europe was always a delight but there was something especially nice about the idea of spending it with her favorite person. And for once, she didn't have to share him with the rest of the world.
"I think it's a wonderful idea."
Another kiss on his cheek and she was beaming. "You're too good to me, Mr. Black."
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Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2018 8:54 am
Her kiss was accepted easily, Chase leaning in afterwards so that their noses brushed against each other. "If that's what you'd like, yes." His agreement was easy, thumb rubbing gently against the base of her spine.
Prissy settled against him and he pressed his cheek against the top of her head, letting her curl into him despite the publicness of their outing. Only after she moved to kiss his cheek did he tap her back to indicate that she needed to return to her seat.
She would have time to appropriately thank him after dinner.
"It's the least I could do," he admitted, straight his outfit after she returned to his seat. Fingers fidgeted with his cuff and he set his wrists against the table again, accepting his glass of whiskey from the waiter who'd circled back. "I have to appreciate my girlfriend appropriately after everything we've been through."
There were underlying reasons for his desire to get out of the city, but those didn't need to be said. If he had Prissy believing it was just about them, that was fine.
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Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2018 10:54 am
She left his lap without much prompting, having been appropriately doted on to satisfy her never-ending need for affection (for the time being, at least). It didn't matter if anyone was staring; she was with her favorite person and he'd just invited her on a European getaway trip on his birthday.
Of all the people in the world that he wanted to spend his birthday with, he wanted to spend it exclusively with her. With her!
No fighting with Silk or Suri for attention, no coffee shop or music business to distract him from his beautiful girlfriend - they were going to have a vacation all to themselves and Prissy couldn't have been any happier at the thought of it all.
Their food arrived shortly after but Prissy could hardly pay enough attention to eat the overpriced meal in front of her. Fork twirling around in her hand, she was far too busy daydreaming about the sights and the shops and all the packing she was going to have to do when they got home.
She was going back to Europe!
And this time, she was going alone with Chase!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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