As this was all finally sinking in, it was starting to ache. Chase's heart hurt. Literally, there was a pang in his chest that he couldn't explain. It was like loss, even if he wasn't really losing anything. Potential, maybe? But he didn't know. Still, it was very much there.
He drew in a breath, that soft scent of her there and he tried to memorize it, even if he was aware that it wasn't like they weren't going to spend time together anymore. OH. God. He hoped to hell that this wasn't going to turn into that. He couldn't handle it if now they got all awkward and she avoided him again. It made him hold onto her a little tighter.
"You're the most important person to me, too," he told her, and heard it in his voice, a little bit of an undercurrent that wasn't a hundred percent steady. "But it'll be okay!" he rushed to assure her. Or himself. Both.