Arielle dropped her hands at her sides and walked down the three steps onto the paved patio, then moved down the sidewalk. She still had her keys in her hand, so she tossed them in her purse. “Don’t forget the people that talk to their fish.”
“Right. And fish. Can’t forget them.”
Arielle heard birds chirping above her, and sure enough there were two in the large oak tree right next to the house. It was winter, so she hadn’t expected to see many birds and she had no idea what kind they were, but she hightailed it out from under them. She didn’t want to get pooped on. It had happened once before when she was a little girl. A blue jay had pooped above her and it got in her hair. She would never forget how hard it had been to get the watery, white crap out.
She sat down in Blake’s car, buckling her seatbelt. “I hope the movie is good.”
Blake gave her a sexy smile, hooding his eyes. “Oh, babe, I don’t think we’ll be watching most of it. I’ve got other plans for you.” He pulled out of her driveway and onto the road.
She lowered the tone of her voice, turning it as seductive as she could. “Promise?”
He stared at her for a few seconds, too long for his eyes to not be on the road. Then he whistled. “All right, Ari. What the heck are you doing? Do you want me to wreck? I thought you said Ari pancakes weren’t on the menu.”
Arielle burst out laughing. She’d almost forgotten when she’d told him about Ari pancakes. After a minute, she composed herself and leaned forward, turning the music up, and did her best to pretend to ignore his comments. She sang loud and proud, knowing he wouldn’t judge her for it. Heck, she could fart right now and he probably wouldn’t care…well, maybe not.
***
When Blake parked the car at the movie theater, he said, “Stay right there.” Then he came around and opened her car door for her.
“Well, thanks. Such a gentleman.” Arielle stepped out and Blake closed the door.
She started walking and Blake tucked her arm into his. She smiled up at him and he kept staring straight ahead. Arielle followed his gaze to find Jess and Damien standing close together, right in front of the movie theater.
“Hey, you guys,” Arielle said, slipping her arm out of Blake’s and running up to Jess. She wrapped her arms around her best friend. “How long have you been here?”
Jess shrugged her off. “Not too long.” Her eyes flicked to each movie poster hanging outside the theatre, anywhere but at Arielle. When she sniffed and rubbed her nose, Arielle began wrapping a strand of her long hair around her finger.
Blake wrapped an arm around her waist. “Shall we go in?”
“This movie theater doesn’t have anything new,” Damien said, shuffling his feet as he walked toward the double-door entrance.
“This theater isn’t for new movies. They get films after they’ve been shipped off from bigger theaters,” Blake stated.
“So we have to see the first Hunger Games because you’re too cheap to go to a bigger theater?” Damien asked.
Jess moved behind him, whispering something in his ear, but Arielle couldn’t make it out.
There was something off with Damien and Jess. Arielle’s best friend wasn’t the same, but she put the thought in the back of her mind. She didn’t want to believe it. Not yet. Even though all the signs were smacking her in the face.
The Hunger Games was already playing when they walked into the dark theater. They were about twenty minutes late, so they slid into the back row. Damien and Jess went first, followed by Blake, with Arielle bringing up the rear.
There were about five other couples in the room with them and they were all spread out. The seats were harder than regular theaters, maybe because they were so old and the cushions had been worn down from years of overuse. Arielle leaned close to Blake, sliding her arm through his again.
He gave her a heart throbbing smile. “You’ve seen this one, right?”
She nodded. “Who hasn’t?”
He grinned even bigger as he touched his lips to hers. When the kiss deepened, Arielle could feel every beat of her heart. Her hands trembled as she wrapped her arms around Blake’s neck.
After several minutes in what she considered Heaven on Earth, she pulled back with a smile which started slow and built into a sappy grin. She didn’t think she could stand any time soon because her knees were so weak. She held in a breath, then released it. “Mmm. I like kissing you. It’s nice.”
“It could be nicer.” Blake leaned forward again and Arielle put her hands on his chest, stopping him.
“I don’t think it could be any nicer. Plus, I think we need to take a few breaths.”
Blake chuckled, wrapping his arm over her shoulders. “Anything for you, Ari. Anything at all.”
She leaned her head on his shoulder and enjoyed the rest of the movie, aware of every time he moved. Hypersensitive nerves had taken over every inch of her body ever since the make out session. Part of her wanted more. She knew what came after kissing. But no way did she think she’d be ready for it. At least not in a movie theater. Okay, maybe not at all, she thought.
Her youth would only last so long. She wanted to cherish it while she still could. And she was too young to be that serious about any boy.
No, she wanted to take things a lot slower, and hoped Blake would be on board.
Chapter 16
Hard Reality
Arielle stewed as Blake pulled into her driveway, shifting back and forth in her seat. As soon as the movie had ended, Jess and Damien had taken off. They wanted to go get a bite to eat, which was fine, but they hadn’t even invited her and Blake to join them. It was supposed to be a double date, but it hadn’t been. Jess had hardly said two words to Arielle, or Blake, the whole time they’d been in the theater. Something was up with her, for sure. Maybe Blake had been right.
“I think you might be right about Jess,” Arielle said, keeping her voice low. She felt like she was breaking the friendship code by talking to Blake about Jess, but she couldn’t keep quiet anymore. She needed to talk this out.
Blake parked the car and turned, rubbing her back. “I didn’t want to be right.”
Arielle blew out a breath. “How could either of them do something like this? Don’t they care about themselves at all?” Arielle paused and took a big gulp of air. “I don’t know what to do. I can’t call her out on something when I have no proof she’s doing it.”
Blake pulled her into his chest. “I’m sorry. I know this stinks, but maybe you should just come out and ask her? Be blunt with her. If you catch her off guard, maybe she’ll slip up?”
Arielle scrunched her face up. “I doubt it. She’s smart, way smarter than you or me.”
Blake laughed. “She might be, but if she’s doing drugs, it might be easy to trap her. I read a lot about it when my friend back home got hooked on something. If she’s on drugs, she’ll be angrier than usual, and if you call her out, she will deny it with everything in her, but she’ll yell at you and get accusatory too. Look for the signs.”
“I just hate this.”
Blake rubbed the back of her neck. “Me too. I wish I could help.”
Arielle didn’t move for a while. The comfort he provided helped ease some of her pain. When she sat up, her side hurt from the center console digging into her, but she didn’t care. She gazed at Blake. “Walk me in?”
“How could I say no?” Blake folded his fingers through hers and walked her to the door. He leaned down and kissed her with soft lips. When he pulled back, he tilted his head to the side. “I want you to know, I don’t want to pressure you into anything you aren’t ready for.”
Arielle scrunched her forehead. “What are you talking about?” The words were rushed, panicked. She knew what he was talking about, but in no way did she want to have a conversation about it. She’d already decided she wanted to be young while she could. Even though it made her smile that Blake didn’t want to rush her, honestly, she didn’t want to talk about the subject at all. Not even a little
bit.
Blake placed his palms on her shoulders and stood right in front of her. “I think you know what I’m talking about. And I think it worries you to have a conversation about it. But we are going to be adults soon and we need to be able to talk about this stuff.” He paused, his cheeks reddening. “I know it’s a little awkward, but I know kissing you makes me happy, which is enough for me. For now. But we’ll have to talk about the other stuff someday soon, I’m sure.”
Arielle looked at her feet, at the wooden boards of her porch, at the big bay window where she could see her dad staring outside from the living room, anywhere but at Blake. But he was right. If they were going to be in a relationship, they had to talk about the hard stuff and the embarrassing stuff. “Thank you. And I will be ready, one day. I promise. I’m just not ready yet.”
He nodded. “Me either.” Arielle blew out a sigh she didn’t realize she’d been holding inside and Blake laughed. “Okay, champ. Get in there so your dad stops staring at us. I’ll see you soon.” He gave her a quick peck on the cheek.
She went inside walking on clouds.
***
Over the next few weeks, Arielle spent almost all her spare time either studying or hanging out with Blake. He came over all the time, and her dad even took him outside and taught him how to shoot his old-fashioned shotgun with Reed.
Dad had taken Blake under his wing, in a matter of speaking. Arielle had confided in her dad about Blake’s home life and Dad had a way with fixing things if he could.
Arielle loved how much he liked Blake, and it left a lot of time for her to join her mom in the kitchen and learn some of those delicious homemade recipes Mom was so good at cooking.
Blake didn’t try to have “the conversation” with her again, but Arielle had a feeling it would come up sooner rather than later.
The third nine weeks of school ended and Arielle made honor roll again, but she wasn’t as happy as she should have been. There were only nine more weeks of school left before Blake went home to his family in South Carolina and she would be left alone.
As far as she knew, his mom had never talked with her parents when they’d been here for the holiday, and the chances of her dad and mom letting her go all the way to South Carolina without them were slim to none anyway.
How would their relationship stay strong when he was a million miles away? Well, maybe not a million…but close enough. They may as well have been a world apart when she didn’t even have her driver’s license, let alone the advantage of being old enough to travel alone.
Sometimes being young sucked.
After Blake left one night, she sat down with her dad in the living room. “Hey, Dad. What’s up?”
“Not much, Arielle. Had a nice afternoon teaching Blake to shoot.”
Arielle scrunched her nose. “I hope you didn’t kill anything.”
Dad chuckled. “Of course we didn’t. Unless you count old pop cans as bein’ alive.”
“Good.” Arielle grew silent and her dad stood from his chair and sat beside her on the couch, wrapping an arm around her.
He squeezed her close. “You wanna tell me what’s botherin’ ya?”
She shrugged. “Not so much.”
“Well, how ’bout ya tell me anyway.”
It all flooded out. She spilled everything that had been weighing on her mind. How Blake would be leaving at the end of the year, which meant it would be difficult for their relationship, how she would never be able to see him and it was impossible. Tears spilled from her eyes as she spoke, her voice loud to her own ears, and her words rushed together as they flew from her lips. She wanted to tell Dad about Jess too, but she couldn’t find the words. Plus, she hadn’t found out the complete truth yet. She couldn’t very well tattle on her friend before she knew everything, could she? No, she couldn’t.
When the last word left her mouth, Dad squeezed her harder. “Ari, your momma and I can see how head over heels you are for this boy. You’ve managed to keep your grades up the whole time you’ve dated him, and we are so proud of you. Now, I don’t wanna see you goin’ all over the world without your parents, but we can talk to Blake’s parents and set up some times we can send you down to visit and he could come on up here. Don’t worry, sweetheart, we’ll work it all out.”
Arielle threw her hands around his neck, almost tackling him. “Dad, you are the absolute best, not that you didn’t already know.”
“Well, since I’ve been told a time or two, I mighta had a feelin’.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot. I’m not supposed to tell you those kinds of things anymore because it will go straight to your head.” Arielle laughed.
He acted like he was smacking her arm, but missed at the last minute. “Hey now!” He stood, walking toward the kitchen. “Momma, Arielle’s teasin’ me again.”
His voice faded as he disappeared and Arielle couldn’t wipe the big grin from her face. She never considered her dad letting her visit another state as an option, but maybe everything would work out in the end. Maybe Arielle would end up graduating and marrying Blake and they would have the rest of their lives to be happy.
Or maybe she was jumping the gun and needed to slow the heck down because no way at sixteen should she be thinking about marriage.
Chapter 17
Best Friends or Worst Enemies
School would be over in a few more weeks, which Arielle dreaded. Usually, she looked forward to the last day, but now the end of school meant not seeing Blake everyday anymore, so she would love it if she could stay in school forever.
After school ended for the day, Blake drove her home, but couldn’t stay since he had work to do. She climbed out, but didn’t close her door, instead leaned inside by holding her arms over the roof. “You want to go to the movies tonight?”
Blake frowned. “I’m a little short on cash, plus I have so much homework.”
She smiled. “No, not the movies. Arielle’s movie theatre. In the living room of her parents’ home.” She winked. “Guess what? There will be popcorn and candy too.”
Blake nodded his head upward once, dragging the movement out. “Oh. Yeah. That movie theatre. Well, sure, it’s my favorite. I’ll run home and get my homework done first, but what time should I come back?”
Arielle tilted her head. “Six?”
“Sure, but what else is on your mind?” Blake asked, his tone of voice softening with concern.
“What do you mean?”
“You have the look.”
“What look?”
“The one you get when something is on your mind to the point where you can’t get rid of it until you do something about it.”
All the blood in Arielle rushed through her veins to pump her heart that had all but frozen with his words. She didn’t know how he knew her so well, but it showed he paid attention. “First, I love that you know my looks. And second, I am going to go see Jess. I haven’t seen her at school for a while, and when she is there, she avoids me like the plague so I don’t see her anyway. I need to find out what is going on with her.” Arielle’s stomach shook, like she might get sick just thinking about her friend. She had to see her, even though she already suspected what she’d gotten involved in.
Damien had introduced her to an addiction, but she was the one who didn’t want any help. She avoided her friends and everyone in her life, except for the person supplying her with drugs. Of course, Arielle might be wrong, and she hoped she was, but she had a sinking feeling in her gut that she wasn’t. Her instincts were all she had, so she had to learn to trust them.
Blake unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned into the passenger seat, then he kissed her cheek. “Well, Ari, just be careful. Remember what I told you and what signs to look for. If you need to confront her, I think it would be a good idea, but don’t expect the truth from her.”
“I have to try to help her, Blake. Someone has to.”
He touched her face before moving back into his seat. “Be who you are, Ari. Help your friend. It is the part of
you that makes you so special.”
She leaned over the center console in his car. “Thanks for understanding.” Leaving her own kiss on his cheek, and an imprint of her pink lip gloss, she hopped out.
She ran inside and dropped her backpack in the room right off the door and yelled, “I’m heading to Jess’s house. I’ll be back in a few hours.”
“Arielle,” Dad said, coming through the kitchen, “hold on a minute. Where’s the fire?”
Arielle tried to catch her breath. “I have to go see Jess. I haven’t seen her all week.” She didn’t tell her dad it had really been even longer.
“Can’t you call her?”
“Dad, it’s the first nice day we’ve had in a while. I thought a walk and some fresh air might do me good.” She opened her ears, listening for any noise in the kitchen. “Where’s Mom?”
“At work. She has to work her second job tonight so she won’t be home ’til late. I’m cooking, so McDonald’s it is.”
Arielle laughed. “Well, I’ll be sure I’m home in time for the best food in the world.” She stuck her tongue out, acting like she was heaving.
“Should I get Blake somethin’ to eat?” he asked with a glint in his eyes.
The finances were a little rough. Arielle didn’t think she was supposed to know, but her dad had been disabled since Arielle could remember and Mom had always worked full time. At first, when Mom had taken a second job, her parents had tried to keep it a secret. It didn’t work well. They had a hard time explaining why Mom was gone so many evenings during the week, so they’d finally spilled the truth. It made things a little harder, especially since Arielle didn’t see her mom most of the week. But they’d get through it. As a family.
Mom always did what she had to do to make it. Since Dad couldn’t work, she worked extra hard, most nights even coming home and still cooking dinner, but Arielle could tell her mom loved it so much in the kitchen she couldn’t breathe if she wasn’t in there making something. Most of the time, when Mom had a day off, she cooked or baked all day long, but sometimes, on a rare occasion, Arielle would find her sitting in her chair, crocheting. But her hands hurt her so much she didn’t do it often.
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