Chapter Fifteen
I flipped onto my belly as I tried unsuccessfully to find something to watch on TV. Since I had no hometown friends, it made spring break a very uneventful week. I had exchanged text messages with Casey and Lexi, but they were busy reconnecting with their high school friends. My parents and I spent a lot of time together, but by eight o’clock, they were unwinding for the night by watching television and getting ready for bed. Blake’s nightly phone calls were the one thing I looked forward to after the sun went down.
I shut off the television and took a minute to study my old bedroom. The reason I left my side of the dorm room bare was because I was trying to define college Autumn. I felt zero connection to the girl who had decorated my bedroom. There were cheerleading trophies and plaques next to pom-poms and sparkling hair ribbons. All of the furniture was the color of bone and accented with girlish touches like my pink frilly bedspread and a bedazzled lamp. The room was tacky and overdone and I decided it was time to redecorate. I supposed I never cared enough to bother changing anything after I quit cheerleading, but if I was going to spend breaks at my parents’, I should have a room that didn’t give me the urge to vomit.
My phone rang and my heart fluttered as I answered, “Hi, Blake.”
“Hey, what are you doing?”
“Thinking I may have decorated my bedroom using every teen girl cliché as inspiration. It’s giving me a headache just looking at the walls. No wonder I left my dorm room plain for so long.”
At the dorm, after hanging up Blake’s print on my wall, I had picked up a few more posters at the bookstore. I picked simple and feminine art prints, relaxing images I could get lost in before I fell asleep at night. The Georgia O’Keefe print evoked the most emotion because I could attach it to the memory of my trip with Blake to the museum. I was trying to locate the print of the painting he had chosen for his term paper, thinking it would be nice if we both had a physical manifestation of the turning point in our relationship.
“What are you doing tonight?”
“Probably read for a couple of hours before bed.” I shrugged although he couldn’t see me. I had thought of making up an exciting itinerary of what I had planned at home, but decided to drop the pretense immediately. I wouldn’t pretend with Blake and be embarrassed over who I was.
“Why don’t we go out? I’ll come pick you up.”
I sat up in bed. “Blake, it’s an hour and a half drive.”
“So what? I want to see you and of course you want to see my sexiness.” I laughed and he continued, “Come on, say yes and I’ll hop in my car right now.”
“Yes, of course.” There was no reason to hesitate. Although I would see him again in a few days, I wanted the instant gratification of being near him right away. “I’ll just let my parents know and get changed. I’ll text you my address.”
After we hung up, I took a quick ten-minute shower and tried to decide what to wear. We hadn’t discussed where we would go, but I figured it would be casual. I put on a black tank with a sweetheart neckline and a pair of black leggings. To break up the black, I added a gray open-knit cardigan. Instead of pulling my hair back like usual, I left it down and spritzed it to soften the waves. After applying a raspberry-colored stain to my lips and swiping my lashes with mascara, I felt ready to go.
I padded downstairs and found my parents watching game shows in the family room. My mom’s eyebrows lifted, as she noticed I had changed out of my yoga pants and T-shirt. “Are you going out?”
“Yes, Blake wants to take me out. Is that okay?”
My father nodded while my mother’s smile was strained. “Wonderful, we can’t wait to meet him.”
“Wait, what? You want to meet him?”
My mother stared at me as if I had grown a second head. “Of course. What did you expect? For us to be fine with some man honking his horn and you taking off without us at least getting a good physical description and a peek at his license plate?”
“Really, Mom? You went there?”
“I get that you’re in college and don’t have to answer to us while living there. But you told me Blake treated you with respect. I don’t think it’s very respectful to come to your home and not at least say hello to your parents.”
My dad put down his newspaper on the coffee table in front of him. “Your mom has a point.”
It was unavoidable—Blake would have to pass Vivian and Carl Dorey’s inspection before I left the house. Blake meeting my parents was awkward on several levels. For one, I didn’t know how serious we were about one another. Meeting the parents seemed like an event reserved for couples dating for months. Also, my mom could end up embarrassing me by trying to prove Blake unworthy of my affections. I imagined her quizzing him on art and literature to get her point across that there wasn’t much depth beneath his handsome exterior.
I wanted to avoid meeting Blake’s mother as long as possible. From what he told me, she sounded awful and would probably consider me a distraction in his pursuit for NFL glory. He was close to his sister, but I wouldn’t expect an introduction after only dating a couple of weeks.
When Blake arrived an hour later, my thumbnail was chewed to the quick. I had texted him to give him advance warning about coming inside before we went out, but he hadn’t returned my text. I assumed he was driving and didn’t have a chance to reply. I jumped out of the armchair when I heard the doorbell ring.
Before my mother could get to the door, I hurried over. Blake smiled as we locked eyes, but I could sense his disquiet. “Hi,” he said softly.
“Hi,” I parroted back. “We can head out in a sec.”
His movements were stiff as he walked by me into the house. His size was overwhelming and everything in the house dwarfed in comparison. My mother was waiting for him in the foyer, straining her neck to study his face. She held out her hand. “Vivian Dorey. I’m Autumn’s mother.”
“I’m Blake Preston. It’s nice to meet you.” His gaze moved over to the direction of my father, who remained on the couch.
My dad rose and took long strides to reach Blake. My dad pumped Blake’s hand vigorously as he said, “I’m Autumn’s dad, Carl. It’s always nice to meet a friend of Autumn’s.”
“Blake, do you mind taking off your sneakers? We have a no shoe policy around here,” my mother said, gesturing to her own bare feet. Blake looked surprised by the request and looked to me for guidance. I assumed he hoped, as I did, we would be in and out of the house in record time.
My mother was being antagonizing, but she only gave me an innocent look.
“It’s not necessary, Mom. We’re leaving in a minute.”
“What’s the rush? Blake may want to stretch his legs after the long drive,” she countered.
“It’s not a problem, I’ll take off my shoes,” Blake said and sat down on the bench my mother had in place to implement her rule. As Blake focused on untying his sneakers, I tightened my jaw and glared in my mom’s direction.
My mother ignored me and turned her attention back on Blake. “So, Blake, where are you from? Do your parents live nearby the school?”
“I have an apartment a couple of miles from campus that I live in year-round, but I grew up in Clark.”
My mother’s lip downturned and the lines on her forehead became more pronounced. She seemed displeased by his answer and I tried to puzzle out the reason. I guessed it was because he had an apartment and she had concerns about my virtue being compromised. I could’ve reassured her that if anyone had untoward thoughts in our relationship, it was me.
My mother temporarily distracted me, but I took a second to indulge in how gorgeous Blake looked for our date. He had rolled up the sleeves of his plaid button-down to his elbows and I noticed his skin had already taken on a deeper golden hue from his regular outdoor workouts. His jeans were distressed with a relaxed fit, hugging his muscular thighs before tapering off. His caramel brown hair was damp with the ends curling around his ears. With a small nick on the corner of his ch
in, I guessed he shaved before arriving to take me out.
Everyone was staring at me and my cheeks flamed as I realized I must’ve spaced out. My mother’s voice was strained as she said, “Blake asked where you would like to go, Autumn.”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe Valley Amusements? They have a pizza place, bowling alley, and arcade.”
“Sounds great,” Blake said and I was comforted when I saw the stiff set of his shoulders had relaxed.
“So, you play ball for Cook? How did the team do this year?”
I grinned at my dad’s question. I appreciated him trying to make Blake feel comfortable, especially after my mother’s likely upcoming inquisition.
“Good, sir. We were nine and four during the season and second place in the conference.”
“Blake was MVP,” I offered. “He had almost two thousand rushing yards and made eighteen touchdowns.”
Blake gave me a quizzical smile. “How do you know that?”
“I read a couple of articles about you in the campus newspaper. You told me you were good, but I didn’t know you were crazy good.”
My mom interrupted. “Do you want to borrow my black heels, Autumn? They would look nice with your pants.”
“Sure.”
“Okay, take a walk with me upstairs to grab them.” My mother volleyed her head between my father and Blake before she said, “We’ll be just a sec.”
Blake nodded while my father began asking him more questions about Cook’s football team. My father had no problem finding common ground with anyone and I was glad he wasn’t peppering Blake with uncomfortable questions about his intentions toward me.
Following my mother upstairs, I understood she was looking for an opportunity to talk in private. As we entered the master bedroom, she gently closed the door behind her. “Autumn, you can’t be serious.”
“What? You talked to him for five seconds and you’ve already decided you don’t like him?”
“Blake seems fine. It’s you that I’m concerned about. You’ve turned into an automaton since he arrived.”
I didn’t conceal the hostility in my voice. “Thanks, Mom.”
“I’m sorry, but it’s the truth. He had almost two thousand rushing yards and eighteen touchdowns.” She mimicked my tone in an unflattering way.
“So what? I can’t be proud of him? I used to follow football and those numbers are impressive.”
My mother’s brown eyes were sad as she studied me. “Why does this happen to you? Why are you so easily dazzled?”
I stumbled backward as if her words had reached out and shoved me. “I’m not seventeen. It’s different…”
“But it feels the same. The scene downstairs was all too familiar to me. Every basket Hunter made, I heard about. Every championship game Coach Bridges led the team to, I heard about. When will I get to hear what you’ve accomplished?”
I closed my eyes. “I am accomplishing things, Mom, every single day, but they’re not the normal things you talk about in polite company. I felt nothing for so long—like I was empty inside and all I could hear around me was white noise. I’m learning to deal with my emotions and not let them kill me slowly from the inside out. I’m learning to make friends and go on dates without counting the seconds until the other shoe will drop. I’ve discovered I want to help people and be a social worker. I’m smart and compassionate enough that it will be the perfect fit for me.”
My mother’s eyes filled and her voice quavered. “I’m sorry I jumped to the wrong conclusions. You sound stronger and I’m so proud of how you’ve found your own identity.”
“It has been something I struggled with and the reason I latched onto Faye and Hunter. But I’m not like that any longer. I’m supportive of Blake because that’s how he is with me. He’s interested in what I have to say and he’s just as impressed with me as I am with him.”
My self-confidence was shaky and Blake’s encouragement meant a lot. When I was worried about my midterms or uncertain about our relationship, he didn’t let me wallow. Isolation was how I dealt with things before, but it didn’t work. Hearing Blake tell me I could do anything I wanted and to stop hiding from the world had transformed me.
“I won’t hold up your date, but as long as you promise you’re being careful, I’ll trust you implicitly.”
“I promise.”
Chapter Sixteen
Blake leaned me against the passenger door and teased my lips with his thumb. When his lips met mine, it was hard to recall the promise I made to my mother about being careful. His tongue slipped inside the warm recesses of my mouth and I shivered from anticipation. He traced a line with his forefinger down from my chin to my collarbone as we kissed and my skin protested when his touch disappeared. I squeezed his shoulders before rhythmically stroking my hands up and down his biceps.
When Blake pulled away, he playfully bit my lower lip before nuzzling his face into my neck. My spine tingled as I heard his choked whisper against my ear, “I’ve been waiting all week for that.”
Minutes before, we arrived at Valley Amusements and by the look of the steamed up windshields in the parking lot we weren’t the only ones making out. After I returned downstairs with my mom’s heels in tow, she shuffled us out the door. I figured she was too rattled by our conversation and decided to stop questioning Blake prematurely. Blake seemed to pick up on something being off, but didn’t ask me about it. Instead, he said my parents were nice and it was sweet how overprotective they were.
Shivering, I slipped my hands beneath his shirt. I massaged small circles around the hard planes of his stomach before walking my fingers lower, just above the hem of his jeans. Blake reached for me again and his kiss felt urgent. His hands were always controlled when we kissed, but his movements had turned reckless. Clumsily, he knocked the cardigan from my shoulders as his palms ran alongside my silhouette. He cupped my ass and yanked me to his body. Our breathing was labored as we broke the kiss. He grunted, “I missed you. I know you’re back on campus in three days, but I had to see you tonight.”
“I missed you too.”
“We better go inside before I keep you out here the entire night.” He kissed the tip of my nose before releasing me. When he took my hand in his, I liked the way he intertwined our fingers instead of limply grasping my palm.
I paused slightly at the entrance, but took a fortifying breath before pushing through the glass double doors. Although Valley Amusements was popular in Newpine, I hadn’t spent a lot of time there. My feelings were neutral about the hangout and it was the reason I suggested it for our date. My high school friends had preferred house parties where they could raid their parents’ bars and medicine cabinets. We had also gone to the mall outside of town often and it was the reason I steered clear of there on breaks.
“It smells good. Do you like the pizza here?”
“No, it’s awful.” I giggled at Blake’s expression, still giddy from our kiss. “But you’ll eat anything so I figured it was fine.”
“You act like I’m a caveman.” He lowered his already deep voice and growled, “Blake play football. Blake eat food.”
“I like your caveman side, especially when it comes out when we kiss.”
He looked placated. “That was hot outside. My mind has been in the gutter since I came to pick you up and saw you wearing something tight and black again.” He gripped my hand tighter. “You have no idea what you do to me.”
“You weren’t the only one, I might’ve had a naughty thought or two…”
“Really? You’re going to have to tell me all about these dirty thoughts later. Preferably in long and explicit detail.” Blake’s tone was joking, but his gaze burned as he stared down at me.
“I think you’re corrupting me, Mr. Preston.”
“Funny, because I think it’s the other way around, Miss Dorey.”
I silenced my retort when we reached the food counter. After we debated for a couple of minutes, we settled on a pie, wings, and a pitcher of soda. The tables we
re mostly filled, but we were able to snag a booth once a family got up to leave.
While we waited for our food, Blake twisted around to survey the bowling alley. Valley Amusements had a retro feel with yellow plastic chairs at the square tables, disco lights hanging from the ceilings, and linoleum flooring with decades’ worth of scuff marks. Leaning back in his chair, he said, “Is this where you hung out growing up?”
I shrugged. “Sometimes. More so when I was younger. My mother was big on setting up playdates since I was an only child and when the weather was bad, this would be where we’d go.”
His eyes widened. “Is that laser tag over there?”
I spun to look in the direction of Blake’s stare. “Yup. Probably the only upgrade done here besides a few new arcade games.”
“We’re playing. I haven’t played laser tag in years and I was outstanding back then.”
“Well, I’m good at it too. So prepare to get your male pride wounded when I beat you.”
His smile lit up his entire face. “And here I was planning to let you win…”
I groaned. “You were not! You’re only saying that now because when I win, you can pretend to have thrown the game.”
“Okay, I’ll bring it when we play.”
“Good,” I said, appeased. I pulled at the hem of my cardigan. “Sorry to spring the whole meet the parents thing on you. They insisted once I said we were going out.”
“It was fine, your parents were cool.”
“Are you sure? Because you seemed a little off when you came in.”
He wet his lips, triggering my need to memorize every indentation on them. His mouth was perfect and felt perfect when crushed against my own. His lower lip was swollen, a slightly bit fuller than his upper lip, leaving a permanent sexy pout expression on Blake’s face.
Falling for Autumn Page 13