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“I think that I’ll be able to manage,” he said. “I just have one question.”
“Shoot,” she said.
“Are you good? I mean, are you sure about Blaze and everything?” he asked. She was more than good. She was happy again for the first time in months, but she wasn’t ready to admit that. That truth was just for her. It was something that she wanted to keep just for herself for the time being.
“I’m good,” she said. “Thanks for asking, but I really don’t want to talk about me and Blaze right now. I'm afraid that I’ll jinx it or something. I know that sounds stupid, but it’s how I feel.”
“No, it’s not stupid at all,” he said. “I would probably feel the same way. I’m not very good at relationships either, if I’m being honest. I know that you and I have a lot of the same baggage from our childhood, but I’m happy to see you trying to move past all of that.” She wasn’t sure that she was getting over anything from her past. Honestly, all Blair was sure of was that she really liked Blaze. Hell, she had fallen in love with him, but there was no way that she’d tell anyone that. No, it was just another secret that she was going to keep to herself. It was her truth and that’s the way she planned on keeping it—for herself.
“I appreciate you saying that, Dell. Listen, I promise to answer the next time you call. Unless I’m at work,” she quickly added.
“Good deal,” he said. “Have a good night at work and don’t worry about me here. Now that I know you won’t be home at night, I’m going to crash in your bed every night. Your sofa isn’t very comfortable.” She had offered him her bed weeks ago, but he still slept on her couch just in case she came home from Blaze’s place.
“Yeah, I know,” she said. “Sorry I didn’t think about that, or I would have called you every night. Feel free to sleep in my bed. There are clean sheets in the hallway linen closet. Help yourself to whatever, Dell.”
“Thanks, sis,” he said, pulling her in for a quick hug.
“I’ve got to run,” she said. “I’ll just be a minute, grabbing the stuff that I need. Then, you’ll have my apartment all to yourself.”
“That was always my secret plan,” he teased. She couldn’t help her giggle as she walked back to her bedroom. Having her brother around was always nice but having him to talk to while she was trying to figure out things with Blaze, was pretty awesome. She had forgotten how good it was to have him to talk to and now, Blair was dreading him actually going back to work in about a month. She was going to have to find a way to keep in touch with Dell better, that was for sure.
* * *
Blair woke up to an empty bed and for just a second, she panicked. “Blaze” she called as she walked downstairs to the smell of coffee.
“In here,” he yelled back. “I’m making breakfast and I’ve got coffee.”
“Why are you up so early?” she asked.
“I hate to tell you this, honey, but it’s almost ten in the morning, and I’ve got to go to work. Don’t get me wrong, I really wanted to stay in bed with you this morning, but if I don’t get some bikes fixed, I won’t be able to pay my mortgage, and I kind of like living here.”
She looked around his kitchen and smiled. “I like living here too,” she said. They had been careful not to talk about her moving into his place or messy feelings. They avoided all talk about love and the future, but she was thinking about it. She had already fallen for him, but she really didn’t give much thought about a future with Blaze yet. She wasn’t sure if she was ready for anything like that yet, even if she wanted to be.
“Well, you know, you could move in here with me, if that’s something that you’re ready for.” He didn’t look at her as he made her coffee, and she knew that Blaze was worried that he had taken things too far.
“I’m not sure if I’m ready for that or not, Blaze, but I’d like to think about it. Can you give me a few days?” she asked.
“Really?” he asked.
“Yeah, really,” she said.
“I honestly thought that you might freak out, but you’re being really cool about this,” he said.
“Don’t be so surprised,” she said. “I told you that I’d keep an open mind, and I will.”
“Well, then, I will patiently wait a few days for your answer.”
“Thank you,” she said. Blair took her coffee from him and sat down at the kitchen table. Blaze brought breakfast over and handed her a plate.
“These are just a few of the daily perks you can expect, if you decide to move in—no pressure,” he teased.
She giggled and took a big bite of scrambled eggs. “Tempting,” she said. “What are the other perks that I can look forward to?” she asked.
“Well, you’ll get to wake up next to me every morning and go to bed with me every night. And we both know that I excel in bed. I mean, I’ve already demonstrated a few of the perks I’ll be offering there.”
“You have,” she agreed.
“And I’ll tell you how pretty you are every day and how much I love every inch of you,” he said, sliding his chair closer. Hearing him say that he loved her in any way always made her heart flutter. He didn’t come right out and give her the words, but she was sure that she knew what he meant.
