Shit. I was hoping she wouldn’t go there. My mind wanders to all the times our housekeeper slash my mother figure, Maria, asked me that question, and the little smile she gave when I admitted I didn’t know.
You will, in time. And it will be so obvious you’ll wonder why you didn’t see it before,she always said. I always thought it was bullshit, meant to soothe an anxious child. But when Alexis meets my gaze, I'm not so sure.
“Right now? To keep you safe and look hot doing it.” I wink, but this time, that adorable blush I chase is nowhere to be found.
“Blake,” she says sternly.
I fake a wince. “Oops, I’m sorry, Sunshine. Tragic backstory cannot be unlocked until you’ve reached Level One Girlfriend.”
“Fake girlfriend,” Alexis mumbles as she rests her head against the back of the couch.
“Semantics.”
“Fine. How do I reach level One Girlfriend?”
I tap my chin with a finger. “You can come to my game on Friday. Then we can do that cliché romance movie thing where I score and then point to you in the crowd so everyone knows you’re mine.”
“That sounds radical,” she says, her voice small again. “You know, if you do that, there’s no going back for you.”
“Are you having second thoughts? Because my offer of just giving you the money still stands.”
“No, no—it’s just…I don’t want you to regret this.” Her face is unreadable, but there’s a sadness in her voice I would recognize from miles away. The sound of it tugs at something I’d long buried, and I feel my walls crumble fast.
“Hey,” I gently place my hand on her lower leg, slow enough that she could easily swat it away. She doesn’t. “I made you a promise, and I’m not breaking it for anything.”
“Why not?” Alexis meets my gaze, and the sight of those silver-blue eyes glossy with tears is my undoing.
I don’t have an answer. In theory, I could make captain without Levi’s help, and though scamming the school out of a couple of grand is a great joy, it’s not like I need it to breathe. So why did I agree?
With a start, I realize it’s because Iwantto do this. For Levi, who aside from Raf is the closest thing I have to a friend. But more so for Alexis.
Sweet, clever Alexis, who despite me being everything she should despise is constantly checking on me, if I'm sure about doing this with her. Who, even without knowing me, somehow feels responsible for my happiness and is willing to sacrifice herself to guard it. Who is one of two people who actually believe in me and what I can do, with no strings attached.
A strange feeling rushes through me as I study the pattern of freckles on her cheekbones and nose, the way their warm color offsets her eyes.
God, how pathetic. Up until a week ago she probably didn’t even know my name, and my attraction to her was kept in a locked safe far from reality. How is it that a girl this quiet can be so enchanting?
I used to think it was the fact that she didn’t seem to care much about me or the guys, or that she never really responded to the flirtations thrown her way. That it was the challenge I was after, notherspecifically. But now…
Now I know better.
“Because you’remy girlnow,” I say. “And I know that it’s technically a fake title and that you think it means nothing. But it means something to me.”
Alexis releases a breath, her head slightly tilted as she takes in every inch of my face. I move my arm to lean on the headrest as I hold her gaze, but her eyes flit away to the empty space at my side.
A flutter passes through my chest as she crawls forward to curl up into my side. For a moment I’m breathless, the move so unexpected it leaves me frozen in fear of upsetting her. But then I push that fear aside and pull her into my chest, my lips brushing the top of her head.
My voice is barely audible, but the words are more for me, anyway. “I’ve got you.”
I’m not sure how long we stay like that, her body curled into my side, the TV the only thing breaking our comfortable silence. But I never want it to end.
Which is why, when Alissa slams the front door shut and Alexis jolts, I want to curse the former for ruining a perfect moment.
“That’s by far the least exciting form of foreplay I have ever seen.” Alissa throws her coat onto the back of a chair, shaking her head. “Really, guys. What if someone looked through the window? They’d think you were just friends.”
“We are, though,” I say, and though Alexis stays quiet she does something even worse: she retreats into the corner, far away from me and the arms that miss her already. I sigh.
“I’ll let you two talk,” I tell her quietly. “Text me if you need anything, okay?”
