a reason?” Chase took a deep breath before he looked over at her. “I never believed that before, but I hope you’re right. I hope it will all make sense to me one day.”
She smiled sadly, and when he noticed her eyes were glassy, he cleared his throat, looking away from her. Chase tightened his hand on the wheel, fighting the overwhelming urge he had to reach over to her.
“There’s a positive to all this, though,” he said, wanting to convince her. “I mean, I spent the first part of my life trying to please my father, and the second part of it living for my mother. And now I don’t live for anyone but myself.”
Andie said nothing, and after a minute, Chase turned to her. “I know that sounds selfish and insensitive, but Dr. Seuss says it’s okay.”
“What?” she asked with a tiny laugh.
“Come on, English major, you’ve never read Dr. Seuss? ‘Be who you are, and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.’” He turned his eyes back to the road. “I do what I want to do. I refuse to hold back what I’m thinking or what I’m feeling anymore. And if someone doesn’t like it, then they don’t need to be in my life. If that makes me an asshole, then so be it. I don’t want to spend any more time trying to make other people happy. Life is much more enjoyable when you’re surrounded by people who just accept you for you.”
The car grew silent, but he could see her still fiddling with her fingers out of the corner of his eye. “You don’t agree with me,” he finally said.
“No, I do…I just…” She trailed off.
“Are you really going to try and dispute a Seussian point? Isn’t that sacrilegious?”
Andie laughed. “No, I just…I just think that sometimes, it’s better to do what you know is right.”
“Even if that means living according to someone else’s standards? If it means denying yourself happiness?” he asked. “You think that’s better?”
“Well, maybe not better, but it’s…smarter sometimes? Or safer?” She shook her head quickly. “I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m saying.”
There it was again, that bizarre reference to being safe.
Chase glanced over at her before he said, “Are you telling me you’ve never done something just for you? For no other reason besides the fact that it was what you wanted? Screw consequences?”
“Yeah, when I went snooping around Justin’s wine cellar. Look how that turned out.”
Chase laughed before he said, “I’m serious, though. You’ve never tossed aside everyone else’s opinions and just went for something you wanted?”
She shrugged, saying nothing as she looked away from him.
He watched her for a moment before he turned his eyes back to the road. He understood what she was trying to say. Christ, hadn’t he told her only yesterday that he’d never known anyone who played by the rules as much as she did? Of course the idea of blowing off other people’s expectations and conventions sounded foreign to her.
But she hadn’t balked at his notion. She hadn’t even mocked it. She just seemed completely terrified by it.
They fell back into an easy silence as he switched lanes. There was the strangest feeling in his chest. He felt…buoyant. There was no other word for it. It felt surprisingly good to talk about that part of his life again. And he realized the reason for that was because he was discussing it with someone who genuinely gave a shit.
He looked over at her; she was completely lost in her thoughts, and Chase noticed the crease between her brows, the one that appeared whenever she was fighting a frown.
He didn’t want her to be frowning. He wanted her to feel the way he felt.
He opened his mouth to speak just as they rounded a bend in the road, and a wide lake appeared on the left. His eyes flashed to the broad expanse of water, and the idea dawned on him almost immediately.
Without even using his blinker, he abruptly pulled the car onto the shoulder.
Andie sat up straight in her seat. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
He unbuckled his belt and got out of the car, walking around to her side. “Come on,” he said as he opened her door.
“What happened? What are we doing?” she asked, confused.
He held one finger up to his lips and then crooked it at her, beckoning her out of the car. She glanced at it and then back up