by Kylie Key
“Any more of those brownies?” Alex joked, and I could have kissed him.
“I could ask Mom to make some,” Lily said, “or get her to teach you.”
“That sounds like a plan,” I said, trying to gain momentum for the idea.
“Okay,” Ethan said, “Let’s do it.” He tentatively put his arm around Lily’s shoulder. Her smile widened and Olivia took hold of her hand.
“We could play Twister again,” she said and everyone groaned, except Ethan, who said, “Yay, that sounds fun!”
Who would have thought that Twister and hot chocolate around a fireplace with my River Valley High friends and Alex, the exchange student would become my favorite thing?
Chapter 14
Alexander
She did it again!
Blaire Ashley kissed me.
If I told my friends about it, I’d never hear the end of it.
They’d wonder why I was letting her initiate everything, why I wasn’t taking control.
Here’s the thing: I was here for three months. And then I’d be gone.
Back to the other side of the world.
I’d had enough heartbreak to deal with; falling for a girl temporarily might make life easier for me at this moment, but in the long term I was going to suffer. And she would too. It was better not to get involved.
Or was it too late?
Like it or not, was I already involved?
Crazy as it seemed, I loved the wind. It meant I could tuck Blaire under my arm and take her to my truck. I wished we had miles to walk, I didn’t care that the wind was literally taking my breath away. Blaire did that to me anyway.
An afternoon at the Bloomfield house turned out to be just what I needed after my meltdown of the day before. Both of Lily’s parents were there and her mother mixed up her famous brownies and we sat around the fireplace playing card games.
But as much as I was enjoying myself, I couldn’t wait to leave so I could have Blaire to myself. After the kiss in the truck, I had high hopes that there was something developing between us. There had to be. One kiss might have been accidental, two couldn’t be. Unexpected, inexplicable, I was now overcome with a carefree feeling that I should throw caution to the wind and go with it.
Whatever would happen, would happen.
Life was short, you had no idea what might be around the corner. Life was there to be lived. Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all—wasn’t that the saying? William hadn’t had a girlfriend, had never kissed a girl. That had to suck.
At the first opportunity to leave, I jumped at it. Blair’s phone had pinged and she looked at it and said, “My aunt,” like she was embarrassed.
“I can take you now. If you have to go.” I didn’t want to sound overly keen, but yeah, I did want to get her alone.
“Are you sure? You don’t mind?”
“It’s no problem,” I said, politely thanking the Bloomfields for their hospitality. Lily walked us to the door and grabbed our jackets for us. Lily and Blaire hugged and whispered in each other’s ear. I turned away and pulled on my beanie, hearing their giggles.
Blaire’s Great Aunt’s text hadn’t been a summons home, more a checking in, there was no urgency to go home. Relieved, I suggested we go somewhere and she directed me down by the river. The rain had stopped but the weather whipped around the truck and the water was dark and choppy, almost like waves.
“I feel like I haven’t seen the river for weeks,” Blaire said.
I wasn’t sure what she meant. The river ran through the center of the town, and was only a mile from school. Though her house was further out in the suburbs.
“Those houses over there look pretty grand,” I said, my eyes casting to the opposite side of the river, houses dotted on a hill.
“That’s Covington Heights.”
“The posh area?”
“Yeah,” she rolled her eyes to the side, her words barely audible, “the posh, snobby area.”
“Like that accent you came out with? Tell me I don’t sound like that.”
She laughed, and covered her mouth. “No, you don’t. It wasn’t very good, was it?”
I smiled, taking her in, the way she’d scrunched up her nose, the sprinkling of freckles across her nose, her sparkling eyes behind the large glasses, her full, luscious lips.
“What?” she asked. “What are you looking at?” I must have been staring. “Cat got your tongue?” She poked hers out at me, wrinkling up her cute little nose.
I took the initiative and leaned forward, our lips pressing for a second. We separated, eyes glued to one another, a smile, a surge in my heart, a rush of blood. I was risking so much, putting so much on the line, but feeling alive...isn’t that what life was about?
And Blaire made me feel so alive.
I reached out to her, my finger tracing along her cheekbone, down along her chin, ending in the groove below her lower lip.
This wasn’t in the plan, shouldn’t be happening, but like an impending mudslide, I couldn’t stop it. I kissed her, long, slow, my mouth lingering on hers and not wanting to let go. Blaire filled me with hope, with desire, with life.
The windscreen was fogging up, my knee was in an awkward position and it was unfortunate but necessary to separate. We both gulped more air into our lungs, readjusted our positions and like some electromagnetic force was at work, we were drawn back together.
I blocked out the voices that tried to assert themselves in my head. Warning me that making out with Blaire Ashley was not smart, that I was on track for a disaster.
I ignored them.
The next day I went to the library at lunch time, foregoing the need for food. I was overcome with a sort of invincibility, that nourishment was unnecessary as long as I could see Blaire. She was at one of the back tables, her nose stuck in a graphic novel book.
“I used to turn my nose up at these classics,” she said, as she showed me the cover of Great Expectations. “But these are neat to read. And so easy.”
“Uh, Charles Dickens,” I said. “Pip finds out that wealth and class are less important than love, loyalty and self-worth.”
“Thanks for the spoilers,” she said, closing her eyes and placing the book down on the table.
“Sorry, sorry, sorry,” I said, picking it up for her. “I thought you were basically finished!”
She tilted her head and looked at me with puppy dog eyes. I took it as a plea to kiss her, and obliged. Her lips would be my sustenance.
“So.” She smirked when I released her peanut butter flavored lips. “Is that the moral of the story?” she asked, flicking through to find her page. “That wealth and class aren’t important?”
“What do you think?”
“I haven’t really had time to contemplate it yet,” she said, looking thoughtful, “but I can see how people are judged by how much money they have. I know the book is set in the olden days, but I guess it’s still relevant. Even today people judge you on how you look and what you wear and where you live.”
Her words hit me in the heart. I’d seen how Rebecca and Josh had reacted to her that first day, dismissing her on first impressions alone—a geeky girl with oversized glasses and style-less clothes. Perhaps in any other situation I would have overlooked her, too. But I was thankful I hadn’t.
I had a bizarre thought that I wanted to tell her who I really was—that back home I had a title, that I came from a line of nobility. Would she think of me differently because of that? My name, my family title didn’t define me, but it was an entitlement. It opened doors that ordinary people couldn’t access, and right or wrong, it was how life was.
I didn’t think that Blaire, an ordinary small-town girl who wore chainstore clothes and had a sick mother and lived with her Great Aunt and Uncle would understand the privilege that I came from. It was a world away, literally and figuratively. She wouldn’t have any concept of a life with household staff and the peerage system and the family history that dated back centuries.
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She looked up at me, eyes teasing. “And they judge you on whether you read the graphic version or the 500 page novel.” She playfully bumped my arm. “You’re judging me, aren’t you?”
“You don’t know that I read the novel,” I said. “I might’ve watched the movie.”
“Is there a movie?”
“There’s always a movie.”
“Did you, though?” Her eyes narrowed and she took hold of my sleeve. “Did you read the book?”
“We had to at school,” I conceded, “It was required reading.”
She huffed a triumphant laugh. “See, I knew. So, you were judging me?”
“The only thing I’m judging you on is your ability to kiss,” I said, my heart jumping at my own cheesy words.
Her eyebrows rose. “You’re judging me on my kissing ability?”
“Yeah, gotta problem with that?” I rubbed the tip of my nose against hers.
Her lips twitched and she whispered, “You have great expectations?”
I smothered my laugh by testing her lips. But you can’t kiss when you’re both laughing. You know, I loved everything about her—beautiful eyes, clever wit, her adorable mouth, her kindness to her friends.
And I wondered what would happen if I told my parents and friends that I had for a girl from River Valley, a girl so different from me.
Chapter 15
In the blink of an eye it was like my life suddenly changed again. Alex and I were together all the time. Granted that week was full of rehearsals, but Alex was hanging out with me in the library. The table by the D—H books was the most private and least frequented corner of the library, so that’s where we met every lunch break. We’d kiss, but only after I made him eat Margaret’s peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and cranberry muffins. With every empty lunchbox I took home, the next day’s seemed to be fuller. Today Margaret had given me an extra cookie.
I couldn’t remember when I’d ever looked forward to going to school so much. Certainly never at Covington Prep.
And I was no longer fretting about my ludicrous situation, of being labeled a thief and my mother seemingly disowning me. They were things I couldn’t control. My focus was solely on school, the Christmas play, my friends, elf makeup and Alex. Okay, Alex was at the top of the list. But it was as if my life in Covington had been forgotten, Blair P a distant memory.
The full dress rehearsal was deemed a success, apart from the side of the sleigh falling off. Olivia had picked it up and held it for the rest of the scene. It was rectified with some glue. The performance for the school went well, with the cast all agreeing that our play had received the most applause. The kids had loved it. And I’d felt calm and relaxed because I had painted my makeup on so thick that Bella wouldn’t have recognized me if we were face to face. Probably Jack wouldn’t have either.
But the high from the concert faded when I had a phone call from Mom that evening to say she was looking forward to me coming home for winter break. Like, home to Covington Heights. My heart hitched, and not in anticipation of seeing her and Dad, but because it meant I wouldn’t see Alex, or Lily or my friends for two weeks. I would have to make up a story that I was returning home to be with my ill mother. And I’d miss the Snow Party Lily had invited us all to the day after Christmas, a family tradition even though the chance of snow was less than twenty percent, and I wouldn’t make Chloe’s New Year’s Eve sleepover. And Alex. Yeah, I’d miss seeing Alex, a lot.
“Do you think it’s a good idea?” I said.
Mom snapped. “What do you mean, Do I think it’s a good idea? People think you’re at boarding school. Of course you’d be coming home for Christmas!”
My chest felt heavy. And sad. But different to being banished from Covington Prep. There was a genuine ache in my heart that I would miss all these people dearly, Margaret and Tony, too. I’d grown into my little life at River Valley High, simple, ordinary, but where I could exist as me, where I could be...real.
And it had me thinking, what if Blaire Ashley was the real me, and Blair P was the imposter?
With only one more day of school and the concert performance in the evening, I suddenly had a lot to organize. I hadn’t done any Christmas shopping and I wanted to get something special for my friends, and of course Mom and Dad. Zara Raymond might have stolen my idea of giving out Christmas stockings at Covington Prep, but I could make some for my friends at River Valley High. With the mall open till late, I asked Margaret to help me pick out some fabric and candies. And I wanted something special for Alex and Lily. Gift buying was easy when you were a Pennington and had unlimited funds, but Blaire Ashley couldn’t give out extravagant presents. I thought that choosing something on such a small budget was going to be difficult, but it wasn’t. I found a cute sequinned keychain and matching purse which would be perfect for Lily, and when I saw a Keep Calm and Drink Hot Chocolate mug, I grabbed it for Alex, hoping he would be amused by the reference to his English heritage.
I stayed up late sewing stockings. Once I had the first one done, they were relatively easy to make, and I added individual details to each, buttons on Olivia’s, pompoms for Chloe and sequins for Lily. I didn’t have a machine that could embroider names, but I was pleased with how they turned out. I did some research and managed to sew a replica of the British flag, the Union Jack, in red, white and blue and attached it to Alex’s.
It made me all teary-eyed. Alex was due to go back to England in two months, and now I wouldn’t see him for the next two weeks. For the first time ever, I was dreading the holidays.
My parents declared it unwise to attend the Winter Concert. Somehow I’d expected it. They had their Christmas Party to prepare for, and Mom said I’d just die when I saw the tree and the decorations. The designer had gone all out in a gold and white theme. I thought of the tree at Lily’s house, covered in a jumble of homemade ornaments. Mrs Bloomfield had kept a cardboard bell that Lily had made in kindergarten, and the angel on the top of the tree was one her brother had given Lily as a gift one year. It had an eye missing. But every one was a cherished memory, even the twisted strands of tinsel.
I hadn’t wanted the evening to end. After the concert we milled around backstage and I knew time was limited, I’d already told everyone I was leaving early the next day to visit my Mom. I handed Chloe and Olivia their stockings. They loved them, but Chloe was embarrassed that she didn’t have anything in return, saying she was starting her shopping the next day, but Olivia gave me a wrapped box with a selection of mini lip balms.
“I think your lips are getting quite dry with all the...uh...kissing they seem to be doing,” she said with a wink. I hugged her tightly.
Lily had a big box for me, but that wasn’t to be opened until Christmas morning, she said, though she let me open a small gift bag. Inside was a pair of cute elf tree decorations.
“You’re the red one, I’m the green one,” she said, “I know it’s cheesy, but it reminded me of us. See, yours has freckles.”
I smiled, in fact, I welled up. “I’m only going for two weeks,” I said, as we hugged. “I’ll be back.”
“I’ll still miss you,” she said, and tears rolled down my cheeks then. Totally not Blair P. She wouldn’t get sappy and emotional over a couple of elf ornaments. After more hugs and waves, Alex whisked me away to his truck. I had to take my glasses off to blot my weepy eyes and I assumed that my elf makeup was now more like that of a zombie.
“It’s gonna be a long fortnight without you,” Alex said.
“Huh? Fortnite? Is that what you’re gonna do when I’m away? Play Fortnite?” I wiped the tissue over my lenses to clean them.
“Fortnight. Two weeks,” Alex said, with a blank stare. “Fourteen days, you know, yeah?”
I frowned. “Is that another one of your silly English words?” I giggled. “Like your trou-zerzzzz.” I mocked him with my hoity-toity accent, but I’d laughed so hard when he’d called his pants trousers.
“Forget it,” he said, shaking his head and sm
irking. Leaning closer, he took my glasses from my hand and laid them on the dashboard. His fingers traced over my forehead, down my face, tucking my hair behind my ear, resting on my chin. “I’m gonna miss this face,” he whispered, sending my heart into wild flutters and my body into an electrified quiver. “My cute little elf.”
“My big...” I struggled for a good descriptive word. “My big...bad zombie.” It was all I could come up with, but it didn’t matter. Words were superfluous when a kiss was inevitable.
After my favorite kind of kiss, extra long and slow, Alex drove to my house.
“So, you’re leaving early tomorrow?” It was one of those awkward statements said to avoid reality.
“Uh huh.” Lying was the absolute worst, and I had a sudden urge to spill, to reveal my true identity, that of an heiress who’d been unfairly accused and condemned. But I liked Alex liking me, Blaire with an E. I had my doubts that he would even want to hang out with Blair P. The more I had gotten to know him, the more I could see how kind and sensitive he was, the type who would root for the underdog. He shunned the social hierarchy of the school, loved joking around with Lily, and he’d somehow brought out Chloe and Olivia’s true characters, which was not the stuck up cheerleaders I’d first perceived. They were just two girls who had been desperate to climb the social ladder.
“I bet you can’t wait to see your mother.”
I nodded. A gesture didn’t qualify as a lie, did it? “But what about you? Are you missing your family?”
Alex shrugged and looked down. “Yeah,” he said, but I saw the misty look and the heave of his chest. I guessed boys wouldn’t admit to being homesick, missing their moms and dads and friends.
“Your host family will keep you busy?” I asked brightly.
“Blaire?” Alex looked up, making my breath catch. His stunning blue eyes pierced mine, but for a moment they looked lost, and his throat bobbed, like he was having trouble swallowing. Being so far away from family at Christmas must be hard. I needed to be thankful my parents wanted me home. He reached out and ran his fingers down my hair, his gaze settling on my lips. “Yeah, they have plans. I’ll be kept busy,” he said, and his voice dropped to a whisper. “Tell me the moment you get back, yeah?”