“Thanks. Me, too.” Blaise took a sip of coffee. “Wes was the only one who seemed upset, which surprised me, but it’ll be okay. Things were better by the end of the night.”
“Yay!”
“Yes, yay.” Blaise told her what had happened. “When the bet came up, I told everyone you and I had discussed it. I didn’t want to lie, and then Mason chimed in. And…”
“Now I have permission from Dash and Wes to set them up on dates,” she finished for Blaise.
He nodded. “Dash offered to come by this morning. But Wes is spending the rest of the weekend at his place in Hood Hamlet. You won’t get to talk to him this weekend.”
“I’ll figure out a way to talk to him before you go home.”
Blaise rubbed his chin. “But you’ll be in San Francisco.”
“I know.”
His lips parted. “Does this mean you’re thinking about making an exception to your rules?”
“I am.” Which wasn’t like her, but this wasn’t a typical situation, either. She wanted this to work for Blaise and his friends, even if it meant changing how she did things.
“Thank you.”
Two simple words, but the emotion behind them took her breath away. She swallowed. “You’re welcome.”
He sipped his coffee. She finished her donut. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable. They didn’t need to fill the quiet with meaningless words. Being in the same space as Blaise was enough.
Finally, he stood and refilled his cup. “So, what do you want to do on your last day in Portland?”
* * *
That evening, as the movie credits rolled, Blaise sat next to Hadley on the couch. A blanket covered them. A fire crackled in the fireplace. A bowl of popcorn, boxes of movie candy, and drinks sat on the coffee table.
If this had been a date, it would be one of the best. But it wasn’t a date. Something he had to keep reminding himself. “Thanks for wanting to watch my favorite movie series today.”
Hadley smiled at him. “I’ve never seen theHarry Pottermovies all in a row like this.”
“Movie marathons are great, but it’s been a while since I’ve had time to do it.” Years, actually. This week with Hadley, he’d watched more television than during the first eight months of the year. Not that he minded.
“It’s fun.” She grabbed a piece of licorice from one of the candy boxes he’d found in the pantry. “Did you read the books?”
“I love them.” A fourteen-year-old Blaise had discovered a way to transport himself to another place—a safer place—when he cracked open that first book in the series. He’d read all night long. As soon as he’d reached the end, he started over. “I checked out the books from the library and read them as many times as I could before they were due.”
“Is Harry your favorite?” she asked.
“Who wouldn’t want to find out they were a wizard and their life was going to be completely different?” The words vomited out of him. Blaise couldn’t stop because the books had been his escape. “I mean…”
Hadley pressed her shoulder against his, her softness and warmth an appealing combination. “You related to Harry.”
Blaise’s face warmed. “In my daydreams.”
“And real life,” she said to his surprise. “Harry used a wand and magic, but you had something equally powerful to help you create a different life from the one you knew.”
His heart rate kicked up a notch. “What?”
“Your brain. Not to mention your determination.”
Her comparison touched him. “A wand and magic would have been cooler.”
She laughed. “True, but you used what you had.”
