Page 131 of The Right Kind of Wrong

Blake didn’t have time to be affected by all of the incredibly sweet things Monroe had just said to her because, at the same time, it all clicked, and Blake’s lips split into the biggest smile. It stretched across her whole face, making her wide, surprised eyes crinkle with its force. “You wanted tonight to be a date?”

Heat spread through her body, making it feel impossibly hotter against the sweltering summer night.

Monroe nodded, blue eyes trained on Blake. “Clearly, I’m not great at asking for what I want. Or at being direct. Or, for that matter, even knowing what I want sometimes. If you can’t tell, I’ve never done this before.”

Blake bit her lip. Of course she wanted to go on dates with Monroe! She’d wanted more for weeks now, even when they hadn’t been sleeping together.

But even if Monroe liked the idea of actually dating, it was far different from the reality, the one where they’d be under the Cypress Falls microscope.

Venturing there wasn’t something Monroe should do solely for Blake’s benefit. Blake was adamant about that.

And sure, Monroe had grown up adjacent to all of Dean’s gossip, but this time, it would be leveled at Monroe herself. Blake had been there. Was still there, a lot of days.

“I thought you’d want to keep things private,” Blake cautioned. “I promise you that I don’t expect us to throw a parade or anything, Monroe. I know all too well what this town can be like.”

Monroe started pacing again, running her hands through her hair. “Yeah, but at what point does privacy become secrecy? I was talking to Denny and . . .”

“And?” Blake questioned, tilting her head to the side. God knows what advice he was giving her, even if it was well-meaning.

“Denny has been dating someone for two freaking years, and they’re still not out. It just really got me thinking. I don’t want that to be me. I’m going to be living here, in Cypress Falls, and the sooner that I stop caring what these idiots think of me, the better off I’ll be.”

“Wait . . . what?” Blake’s mind felt like it had screeched to a halt. Then again, in a way that made her feel like the most oblivious person in the world, it all made complete sense. “Denny’s gay?”

Monroe looked genuinely amused. “Yes. I really thought you’d gathered that by now.”

First learning about Holland. Now Denny. Blake herself, even. The point that Monroe was making was coming into sharp focus.

But, clearly, Blake sometimes struggled to see what was right in front of her. “In my defense, I didn’t even know that I was gay until recently, so give me a little slack.”

Monroe smiled at that and took a step closer to Blake. Then another.

Blake felt the flutter in her chest when Monroe stood in front of her, placing her hands on Blake’s hips and backing her toward the building.

This was her Monroe.

Sometimes frustrated. Always with the best intentions. Genuinely caring in a way she didn’t like to let the world see.

Blake instinctively brought her hands up to wrap around Monroe’s shoulders and was rewarded when warmth spread across her palms.

“Well, isn’t it lucky for me that you realized it,” Monroe said playfully, Blake’s back hitting the wall with a soft thump.

She sighed, the flutter shifting down to her stomach, the heat spreading through her limbs. Blake threaded a tendril of Monroe’s hair through her fingers. “I don’t want you to do something because you think that I want it. Not if you don’t want it, too.”

Monroe looked at her seriously. “What about the pacing and the ranting gave you the impression that I don’t want this?”

The words lodged in Blake’s chest. Maybe they hadn’t clarified what this was, exactly, but that didn’t stop the feeling like they were walking through a door into something decidedly more serious.

One that Blake herself had absolutely no qualms about walking through. If there was anything that the last eight months had taught her, it was that the only way to live life was on her terms. This town be damned.

Monroe added, “Maisie is out there defending gay rights, getting kicked out of daycare for it. I think we could all serve to take a page out of her coloring book.”

Blake smiled. “He really did have it comin’.”

Monroe groaned. “I took her to the arcade last night, where she played a shooting game for an hour straight. I’m not sure if I’m sending mixed messages to her, but a punishment just didn’t feel right.”

Blake pulled Monroe closer, their bodies melting together. She ran her fingers along Monroe’s temple. “You’re doing an incredible job.”

“Debatable. But anything that I am accomplishing is mostly because you make me feel like I can actually do this,” Monroe admitted, and Blake’s whole chest swelled up with pride. She wanted to be that person for Monroe, and it meant so much that Monroe was actually letting her.