Free Just for the Summer (Chasing Carolina #0.5) by Danielle Jamie

around his waist, I pull my body into his and try to hide the smile on my face. I’d be past embarrassed if he knew I started writing a sexy romance novel with him in mind.
    I can’t help but laugh, because I’ve actually been working on something since we got here. I’m only two chapters into it, but the male character’s looks are based on Chase’s. Like I said, he’s burned into my brain and I can’t escape him, even in my writing. “What if I really, really suck and no one has ever told me?”
    Reaching out with his free hand, he cups my chin and tilts my face up to his. “I seriously doubt that. One day, when you’re famous, I’ll track you down and get a signed paperback from you. Mark my words—you will achieve your dreams, Ashlynn.”
    I’ve never met a man who captivates me the way he does. He is handsome, but there are many good-looking men in the world. Hell, we have a plethora of smoking hot guys at the University of Georgia, but there’s just something about Chase’s face. Everything about it, from his light scruff to his beautiful blue eyes, and his perfect lips I could spend every waking second kissing, has me falling for him.
    To hear him talk about my dreams, letting me know he believes in me, means more to me than he’ll ever know. Evan, from the moment we started dating my freshman year, had constantly told me I was wasting four years on a degree that’d lead me to nowhere but living with my parents. He told me I should go a ‘more prestigious’ route, either majoring in Psychology or a Medical Degree.
    I hate it’s making me emotional hearing Chase talk like this, telling me he believes in me and my dreams. I blink away the tears threatening to fall. Thank God it’s dark outside so Chase doesn’t notice.
    To Evan, my goals were nothing but a childish pipe dream, and not a real career, like his Law Degree he’s working towards. For a while, I allowed his negativity to get to me, but over the last four months of being away from him, I’ve used writing as a form of therapy. I’ve written one or two short stories about cheating, asshole boyfriends getting exactly what they deserve, and it made me feel a million times better.
    “You don’t know how much it means to me to hear you say you believe in me. So many times I’ve been told I am wasting thousands of dollars a year on a gamble, instead of building stepping stones towards a successful career. If I fail as a writer and end up homeless, at least I know I’ll sell one copy to you.” I laugh up at him.
    “Those people are idiots. Plain and simple. And for the record, I’d buy a million copies.”
    There goes my heart again, pitter-pattering against my ribs like it’s doing the freaking Irish jig.
    Chase slides his hands into my back pockets and gives my butt a squeeze, making me squeal as he leans down to kiss me. Before his lips can touch mine, I wiggle out of his grasp and run down the beach laughing.
    “Hey! Where are you going?” he calls as I run ahead towards the long fishing pier. The waves are crashing against the large wooden beams that hold the pier up.
    “Come here,” I tell him, holding my hand out.
    I toss my sandals onto the sand and walk into the water. It’s chilly, but the air is warm, making it feel good on my legs as the waves crash against my shins.
    “You seem to like it when I chase you,” he whispers into my ear as he comes up behind me, hugging my back into his front. I melt into his embrace.
    “I wanted to get you somewhere private, where no one can see us,” I tell him as I lay my hands over his resting on my hips.
    He presses kisses to my neck as he murmurs against my skin, “Is that so?”
    My body becomes blanketed in goose bumps as his hands move to my waist and slide under my tank top. His warm hands on my stomach make every inch of my body awaken, and the all too familiar ache between my thighs from last night returns.
    “God, every time you touch me, I swear I lose all sense of