After turning on the water, I added soap and began the methodical ritual of cleaning up. Their whispers filtered to me from where they remained on the couch.
If they thought they were being subtle, they were not.
When my phone buzzed on the coffee table, Blake brought it to the kitchen, along with his empty plate.
“Thanks,” I muttered. “Can you?”
He set his plate in the sink, and then swiped the bar on my phone and held it up to my face. I read the text from Finn, letting me know he was on his way to pick me up.
Right on schedule.
“Thanks,” I echoed, nodding at the phone. As Blake turned it around to shut off the screen, I panicked. “Wait!”
But he set it down before reading anything.
Breathing a sigh of relief, since I didn’t need their opinions on my big plans with Finn, I refocused on the dishes. I waited for him to rejoin Adam, but he pushed up his sleeves and took his usual place beside me.
Moving over, I made room and handed him the first plate to dry.
“Thanks.”
I groaned as I thanked him for the third time.
Blake laughed. “What if we do a blanket ‘Thank you’ for anything I do from here on out?”
Blushing furiously, I nodded. “That’d be great. Tha?—”
I caught myself before I said it, and we laughed.
Returning to the task at hand, I relaxed, and things between us felt truly normal for the first time all evening. “How’s football going?”
“Done for now. We have a break over Christmas, but it’ll pick back up.” He dried off the plate and put it on the counter, holding his hand out for the next one. “I talked Adam into running with me over break. You in?”
“Running?”
He nodded. “Stadium training.”
I balked. “Why in the world would I do that?”
Laughing, he rubbed at a smudge on the plate. “Because exercise gives you endorphins and cardiovascular endurance is important for a long, healthy life?”
I said nothing.
He smirked. “Okay, fine. Because it’ll be fun to see how much he hates it.”
“I’m in.”
We shared another laugh as Adam called from the couch, “I can hear you, you know?”
“Sorry, buddy. The acoustics in this apartment are the worst.”
I snickered, getting caught up in the moment and ignoring my phone as it buzzed on the counter. “He’s going to be miserable. I can’t believe he agreed.”
Blake beamed at me. “I can be very persuasive when I want to be, Addie Barrow.” Then he nudged my side and motioned for another plate. “And the acoustics in the stadium are even worse. He’ll be so annoyed by the sound when he complains, he’ll just do it.”
Once he took the plate, I swatted at him. “You’re terrible.”
He snatched my soapy palm before it hit his chest, but he didn’t let it go. Instead, he tugged me to face him. “Is that why you’ve been avoiding the apartment?” he asked, but there was no accusation in his tone. “Avoiding…me?”
