“I think I made my point,” he said, chest heaving as we turned the corner that led to our street. My heart sank a little for Blake. His car was entirely rebuilt over the years from scraps. Unlike my date from hell, we didn’t come from the type of family who could afford flashy and freakishly fast cars. I spent the rest of the ride filled with regret. I had no idea what I had ever seen in Hunter Knight.
When we got home, all the lights were off, which meant my dad and Maggie were already in bed. Blake unlocked the door and we quietly walked inside and up the stairs to our rooms. I took a shower to scrub the makeup off my face and wash away the enormous amount of hairspray I’d used to hold all those curls. Once I was dress in my pajamas, I padded down the hall to Blake’s room. When I saw his light was still on, I knocked lightly.
“Yeah,” he called and I turned the knob. Blake was lying on his bed wearing only a pair of basketball shorts with his hands folded behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. It was hard to take my eyes off his bare chest or the tattoo written in script across his ribcage he had gotten just after graduation. He told me it was words from a story he read as a kid. I didn’t know exactly what it said because I was never brave enough to get up close to read it.
“Why were you at the dance tonight?” I asked as I walked to stand beside his bed. He only responded with a shrug. “Blake?” I tried to prod him a little further for an answer. His first reply to everything was usually a shrug.
“I was headed to The Spot with Neil when he got a call that his sister was wasted, so I followed him there to check on her.”
“Oh.” I thought about how Hunter had been drinking, which meant there must have been a place where everyone was disappearing to get alcohol.
“Were you drinking?” He turned a hard glare to me as he sat up.
“No,” I fired back instantly, feeling a little insulted he would even ask me such a question.
“Because Cammie was sloppy drunk when we found her, which made me look for you to make sure you weren’t doing the same thing. You’re better than that. Then when I saw you with that guy and heard what he was saying . . .” His voice trailed off and he closed his eyes tight. “Nobody will ever disrespect you in that way again, Tayia. I promise.”
“But how can you promise that, Blake? You’re driving back to school tomorrow. You can’t always be here to protect me.”
“I want to. It’s my job.” Blake reached up to wind his finger into a loose, damp lock of hair that had fallen from my messy bun. “Besides, I’ll be back for Thanksgiving, which is almost a month away.” He gave me a small smile. “Do you think you can manage to stay away from guys like that until then at least?”
I nodded but didn’t speak. I was too busy trying to pull air into my lungs. Being this close to him was torture enough. Even though his movements were completely innocent, my heart still sped up. Instead of getting up and leaving, I asked him if I could stay with him for a while. When Blake nodded, I got under the covers and he lifted his arm so I could lay my head on his chest while he switched on the television.
We were halfway through a movie we’d seen a million times before my eyes began to drift closed. I twisted in Blake’s arms, and in a sleepy haze, I lifted one leg to rest over his thigh, the movement purely instinctual. He turned then reached down to pull my leg up and over his hip. The hard bulge in the front of his pants was unmistakable, and I couldn’t stop myself from rubbing against it. The sensation felt so good that I rocked a second time and moaned while he hissed, thrusting back.
“Tay,” he murmured sleepily as his lips brushed lightly along the side of my neck. My eyes shot open wide. I immediately jerked my leg away and sat up. Blake must have realized what was happening because he sat up quickly, too.
“Shit,” he said and rubbed a hand over his face. “Shit.”
“Shit. Shit,” I echoed.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Blake apologized. “What the fuck is wrong with me?” he growled and got off the bed.
“No, it’s me. I’m sorry, Blake.”
“Tayia, my head is all messed up right now. I haven’t been sleeping that well lately. Maybe you should go back to your room.”
“Blake, I—”
“Please,?
? he pleaded with closed eyes.
“Okay.” I threw off the covers and slowly walked to the door. I looked behind me to see Blake had his back to me as he stared out of the window. My heart begged him to turn around and tell me he’d changed his mind, but I already knew our hearts were not synced. It was a constant struggle to accept that these emotions were one-sided. I knew I had it bad, and I was also coming to realize I would be willing to endure the torture if it meant having him hold me like that again.
Chapter Four
A little over a year after the homecoming dance, and the awkward moment in Blake’s room, I was standing on the dock in Key City waiting for him. Our family was spending Christmas in Pennsylvania. My dad and Maggie left the day before so they could pick up our grandparents and meet us at the cabin near the Blue Ridge Mountains. I chose to stay behind and ride with Blake. I looked forward to spending twelve hours in the car with him. He hadn’t been able to make it home for Thanksgiving. It had been months since I’d last seen him, so I was anxious to catch up. That was until I found out his new girlfriend, Lucy, would be joining us.
He told me a while ago over the phone that he’d started dating a girl he met in Charleston. She didn’t go to his school but she was a friend of a friend. There were no words to express my heartbreak, although I did my best to sound upbeat and happy for him. He’d had girlfriends in high school but none whom lasted more than two or three months. So, I remained optimistic that the same would happen with Lucy. Except my devastation was multiplied when I realized their relationship had lasted five whole months and Blake was tagged in a status update she posted.
Lucy Zendecki is in a relationship with Blake Jones.
Along with the post was a picture of the two of them smiling with the sides of their faces touching. It was like taking a cold knife to the gut. The rational part of my mind knew I should want him to be happy and hope Lucy was good for him, but the emotionally greedy part of me wanted his relationship with her to fail miserably . . . and fast.
I heard the rumble of Blake’s car approaching. He always had a thing for muscle cars, especially if it was a Chevy. He’d pick that up from my Dad who loved to work on car engines as a hobby when I was growing up. After he retired from his job as a ferry operator, he decided to open the only auto repair shop in town. Blake was going to school to be properly trained as a mechanic and to eventually become a business partner and help run the shop.
When Blake came to a stop in front of me, he flashed a grin as he climbed out of the car, and I noticed the passenger side was empty.