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Will pulled out his phone. “I’ll send you the address so you can put it into your GPS, but it’s not too difficult to find.”
When the text arrived, Blake checked the message and copied the address into his map app, then studied the route. It didn’t appear to be too far from the elementary school, so he had a good idea of how to get there.
“I’m going to swing by and leave Ciara with my mom,” Misha said. “So I’ll see you all there.”
After Peyton followed his mom out, the rest of them got ready to leave. Charli bumped into Blake as she turned from the closet where she’d pulled her jacket out. They exchanged a glance as he stepped back to give her more room.
Dragging his attention from Charli, Blake checked to make sure that Amelia was ready. As he shrugged into his jacket, he looked around at the others, meeting Janessa’s curious gaze. Blake waited for her to say something. However, Janessa just gave him a quick smile before turning her attention to Charli.
“Let’s just go,” Charli muttered as she finished buttoning her jacket.
Will chuckled as he opened the door, waiting as everyone paraded past him before stepping out onto the porch and pulling it closed. They each went to their own cars, then headed to the high school.
Blake had no trouble finding the place, mainly because he followed Will. But he was glad to have the address just in case he lost sight of him. The town wasn’t huge, but it was large enough that Blake still didn’t have all the street names and locations memorized.
After parking next to Will, he and Amelia joined him and Janessa to walk to the doors of the gym. When Layla ran up to them, they paused to wait for Charli to also join them.
“No frowny faces allowed at a basketball game, Charli,” Janessa said as she poked her sister’s cheek. “So turn that frown upside down.”
Charli gave a huff and batted Janessa’s hand away. “Then stop annoying me.”
Blake reached out to open the door, then held it for the others. Charli glanced up as she walked past him. “Thanks.”
How was it possible for a single word to make him so happy? It shouldn’t be possible, but he couldn’t deny that it did.
“You’re welcome.”
Janessa also smiled up at him. “You’re a gentleman, just like my Will.”
“I try.” His mom had been insistent that he always be polite and respectful, especially around women.
Once everyone was through the doorway, Blake followed them down a wide hallway. Even before they reached the gym, he could hear the sound of shouts and multiple balls bouncing.
When they stepped into the gym, Blake was thrown back in time to his teen years. He hadn’t played any indoor sport at that time—his dad had preferred he play football—but he’d attended plenty of basketball games in the gym of his private high school.
The sights, sounds, and even the smells took him back to those years. And it wasn’t the worst memory. School hadn’t been bad for him, even though his dad had a lot of expectations of him. Thankfully, he hadn’t struggled scholastically, so his dad hadn’t ragged on him too hard about his grades.
For the most part, he’d enjoyed those years, and Blake really didn’t mind the memory of them. Of course, those memories were also closer to the time he’d spent with Charli, and he liked those memories as well.
He continued to follow the group as they walked in front of the bleachers until they reached a section where they climbed up the steps to the top. Layla led Amelia into the row in front of where Jackson, Will, Janessa, and Charli filed in and took seats.
Blake found himself on the end of the row, with Charli next to him. He purposefully kept some space between the two of them, guessing that she wouldn’t appreciate him getting too close.
If their relationship had continued as it should have, they would have had lots of nights like that one. Sitting together at basketball games would have been commonplace.
Blake felt a pulse of pain in his heart at the realization of yet another loss.
“Daddy.” Amelia stepped up on the bench in front of Blake, which brought her pretty much eye to eye with him. “Am I allowed to have a sleepover?”
Blake had a feeling he knew where this was going, and in order to preserve what little tolerance Charli had of him, he knew he needed to nip it in the bud. “Not yet, Berry. I think you’re still a little too young.”
He hated to disappoint her, but he did actually feel that she was a little young for a sleepover. And disappoint her, he did. Her expression saddened, as her shoulders slumped.
“How old do I have to be?” she asked, her eyes wide.
“I’m not sure. Maybe ten.”
“That’s so long.”
