Page 68 of Pity Present
Blake laces his fingers through mine. “I’ve come to the same conclusion.” After a beat, he adds, “My mom likes to remind me there aren’t endless chances to meet your person.”
“I think she’s right,” I tell him. “But at the same time, you can’t force yourself to make it work with someone you know isn’t right.”
“Like Kyle for you,” he says.
“Like Kyle,” I agree.
The fire makes a loud popping sound that momentarily breaks into the bubble of our conversation. Blake points to a loveseat that a couple just vacated. “Why don’t we go sit over there?”
Standing up, he leads me over to our new perch. As soon as we sit down, he puts his arm around my shoulder which makes me feel like the luckiest girl in the whole world.
Sounding nervous, Blake says, “I think Kyle is planning on making another play for you.”
“He already did.”
Leaning to the side so that he breaks contact between ourbodies, he implores, “Why would you do that? You know you deserve better.” Before I can put his mind at ease that I’m not at all interested, he continues, “Once a cheater always a cheater.”
“Relax, Blake.” Then I come clean. “I let Kyle think there might be a chance because I was trying to make someone else jealous.”
His eyes widen as realization hits. “You were trying to makemejealous?”
“I was,” I confess. “But I was starting to think it wasn’t working.”
“I didn’t want to lie to you, Molly,” Blake says. “I didn’t want to start anything based on a lie.”
“It’s a good thing you told me the truth then, isn’t it?” Blake’s shoulders remain tense like there’s something else he hasn’t told me. “Youhavetold me the truth, haven’t you?”
“I’ve told you what I can,” he says cryptically.
“Blake, you’re making me anxious. Are you in the witness relocation plan or something?” I joke. At least I hope it’s a joke.
Changing the subject, he says, “I’m more in the Los Angeles recovery plan.”
Not wanting to ruin the magic of the night by asking more about what he’s not telling me, I ask, “How long did you live there again?”
“Ten years.”
“I go out there once or twice a year to work for hotel chains opening a new branch. It always seems nice, if not a little unrealistic. You know what I mean?”
“Oh, I know. LA is the land of illusion. Everyone tries to sell you on an image, and reality rarely comes into play.”
“I prefer the Midwest where you know what you’re getting,” I tell him.
He clears his throat nervously. “I wonder what my life would have been like had I never moved out there.”
“That’s funny,” I tell him. “I’ve always wondered what my life would have been like had I left Chicago after college and gone somewhere else.”
“Do you think we would have ever crossed paths had either of us done those things?” he asks.
“I think it depends.”
“On what?”
Turning so that I’m fully facing him, I answer, “On whether or not we’re each other’s person.”
The look Blake gives me ricochets through my body like I’ve taken a direct hit from a lightning bolt. The hairs on my arms stand at attention and prickles of electricity stab at my skin. “The only thing that truly matters,” he says, “is what’s right here in front of us.”
Lowering his head to mine, he once again captures my mouth in the sweetest kiss imaginable. I force myself to not worry that there’s something he’s not telling me. In fact, I want time to stop right now so that I can ride the wave of possibility and see if it doesn’t lead exactly to where I hope it will.
