AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The air heated around us as I stared into blue eyes I knew as well as my own. Surveying Blake’s face, I took in the black mascara streaks and her puffy eyes. Her hair was still meticulously pulled back into a braid, falling over her shoulder, the end resting on her chest. I watched as it rose with each breath she took until I remembered it was my best friend’s little sister I was perving on.
Locking eyes with her, I searched for something to say. She looked… different.
And I didn’t think it was just the hundreds of dollars of makeup on her face. Blake’s eyes swirled with emotion, and I tried to decipher what they were.
Hope? Fear? Gratitude?
No, that didn’t feel right. It was more charged than that… more innocent. Almost like she saw me as a white knight swooping in to rescue her on horseback.
This might be a Mustang, but I was no white knight.
Nothing good would come from her looking at me like that.
It didn’t matter that the sick feeling I had in my gut all day had disappeared, or how hard my heart thumped in my chest at her nearness.
Or how much I liked her looking at me the way she did.
This wasn’t who I was in her story. I couldn’t be.
Clearing my throat, I turned back to the front and tightened my hands on the wheel before stealing another glance.
“You good?” I asked, ignoring how raw my voice sounded.
“Yeah. I am now. Thanks, Hawk.”
“No problem, Blazy. You know how it is. If Bry says jump, I don’t even ask how high.” I said the words, but they tasted bitter in my mouth, their meaning like sawdust on my tongue. Our relationship was more than that, and it didn’t feel fair to the three of us for me to classify it that way, but I couldn’t take them back now.
Shifting the car, I turned the knob for the radio, needing something to drown out the silence that had become oppressive.
As I headed onto the highway, I tried to think of a place to take Blake. I had to assume she was running away from her wedding and people would be looking for her, wanting answers.
Tapping my fingers on the steering wheel, I debated my options. I didn’t live in town anymore, and there was no way I’d take her to my old house. My sister had her second child a few months ago, so it would be chaotic there. Not to mention that Wren was horrible at keeping secrets. She’d spill to the first person who asked her.
“I can’t believe I just did that,” Blake whispered, her breathing increasing. I glanced over, taking in her hands as she twisted them in the fabric, her nails mere stubs. She looked up, her eyes watering and horrified as she stared at me.
Shit. I didn’t do tears.
Taking the next exit, I swerved into the first lot I saw and parked the car. Facing her, my hands wavered in front of me as I tried to figure out how to make the tears stop. Did I wave them around? Was there a call sign for this? Panic inched up my throat as her tears fell harder.
“He was a bit of a tool, if you ask me,” I blurted, catching her off guard. “Anyone who hates pizza can’t be trusted. Plus, he didn’t understand baseball at all.”
“I kind of liked that,” she admitted, sniffling her nose, the tears slowing.
“Yeah, well. It might’ve been cute for a while, but imagine it five years down the road. There’s no way your father or brother wouldn’t come to blows with him.”
“Maybe.” She shrugged one shoulder, her eyes fixed on her hands. How did a shoulder appear so sad? I needed to keep talking. She stopped crying when I spoke.
“What made you want to marry him in the first place?” I asked, curious and hoping I hadn’t just poked the wound.
“The proposal,” she started. I snorted, shaking my head, and cut her off. I couldn’t believe it.
“Seriously? I didn’t take you for a girl to like something like that. It sounded idiotic to me. Like he wanted to prove to everyone how romantic and thoughtful he was. If you’re going to make that commitment to someone, it should be private. No one else needs to be involved in that. That way, once she says yes, you can celebrate by fucking on any available surface.”
“Eep! Um.” Blaze coughed, fanning her face. “Actually, I was going to say I only said yes because I just wanted the proposal over. I hated every second of it.” Her face turned tomato red, and she kept waving her hands, her voice growing higher and faster as she spoke. “What you said sounds nice. More my speed. Except for the whole sex thing. I wouldn’t know.”
“What the fuck?” I scoffed, glaring at her like she was spinning the worst bullshit ever. “No way you’re a virgin.”
She rolled her eyes; some of the fearless Blake I knew as a kid emerged as she stopped her hand dance.
