At one time in her life, she used to cry herself to sleep because of the teasing, but Jess always cheered her up and made her forget about the mean kids. At least for a little while. Bullying happened, even though the schools did everything they could to stop it. It was just the way things were. Writing about it in her journal helped. She had a feeling one day she’d reread her journal and write a novel from all the bad things that happened to her in high school.
It took her a long time to realize she wasn’t ugly. Everyone held a beauty inside them which shone on the outside as well. Accepting her beauty had been one of the hardest lessons she’d ever taught herself. She still struggled with it a lot more than she cared to admit.
Blake stood at the door, knocking, as she walked up behind him.
Arielle laughed. “Blake, I live here. You didn’t have to knock.” She pushed past him but Dad already stood at the front door.
“Ari, what ya doing? Who’s that behind you?” Dad asked.
“Dad, this is Blake.” Arielle swallowed hard, pulling Blake in the house and closing the door.
Blake stuck his hand out. “It’s nice to meet you, sir.”
Dad raised his eyebrows and shook Blake’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you too, Blake.” Dad paused. “Come on in, you two. Unless you are going out.”
Blake took a few steps into the old country home. “If it’s okay with you, I’m volunteering tonight to decorate a house for the Christmas Trail and wondered if Arielle could come with me.”
Dad’s eyes twinkled with amusement. “Sure, as long as you can answer me one question.”
Blake leaned against the back of the couch in the living room. “Sure, anything.”
Dad smirked, leaning against the wall opposite Blake. “Where’d you learn how to drive?”
Blake shrugged. “The state of South Carolina.”
Dad laughed. “I guess that will have to do.”
Arielle chuckled. Her dad didn’t like many people, but he sure seemed to like Blake, which made her like him even more. He’d been right, she shouldn’t have worried. But she didn’t understand how he’d gotten her dad to not kill him on the spot. After all, Arielle was the baby and the only girl.
Her dad’s laughter pulled her back to the conversation happening in front of her. “You know, they say you can tell a lot about a man by his handshake, and if the claims are true, I think you’re gonna turn out pretty darn good.”
Blake grinned, but looked away. “I’m glad you think so, sir.”
Dad settled in his chair and started rocking back and forth, inspecting how close Blake stood to Arielle. Days like these she wished her mom was home because she would never embarrass her like Dad did, but he couldn’t work because he fell a long time ago while at work and hurt his back. He hadn’t worked since because most days he could barely walk.
Dad smiled, showing his tobacco stained teeth. He didn’t smoke, but he chewed tobacco, which Arielle hated. “So, what are your intentions with my daughter, young man?”
Arielle could hear Blake swallow as her own cheeks turned to fire. She couldn’t believe her dad. He couldn’t be any more embarrassing. She tossed her backpack in the corner of the room and sat down on the couch, tugging on Blake’s arm to have him join her.
She shook her head at her dad, mouthing, “Stop it,” to him, but he grinned wider in response. “Dad, you don’t need to go all super-protective father on me now. Be nice.”
He put his hands up in surrender. “I am bein’ nice, Ari. Asking this fine young man what his intentions are is nice.”
Arielle opened her mouth to respond, but Blake stopped her by placing a finger over her lips, then dropped his hands to his sides “My intentions are simple. I would like your permission to take Ari with me tonight. I would like to get to know your daughter. She is something special, I think.” Blake met her eyes, fixated on her and only her. The moment was intense and Arielle looked away first.
Dad raised his eyebrows. “Well, I’d say you have my permission. You guys leaving, then?”
Blake stood. “I have to get some homework done, so I will pick you up around five.” He paused to meet her dad’s eyes. “If five is okay?”
“That would be all right. And, Blake, just so you know, you can also tell a lot about a man by his eyes and his ability to make eye contact.”
Blake smiled. “What do mine tell you?”
Dad laughed. “The jury’s still out, son, but making eye contact is a good start.”
Blake waved and then went out the front door as Reed came in. “What’s going on around here?”
Dad winked, nudging Arielle with his shoulder. “Your sister’s got a boyfriend.”
“Do not, Dad. Stop it.”
He broke out in song, with Reed joining about k-i-s-s-i-n-g in a tree and Arielle had enough. Dealing with the guys in her house tested her limits. The fact that they thought they were way funnier than they actually were didn’t help.
With her face burning, she grabbed her backpack and ran upstairs to her room, the whole while hearing her Dad’s and brother’s laughter following her. Being the one girl in the house really made her wish Mom didn’t work so much.
Chapter 5
Another Perfect Moment
When Blake picked Arielle up, it had started to sprinkle. He came to the porch, where she was waiting for him so he wouldn’t have to go inside.
“You ready?” he asked.
She nodded. “Dad said to make sure I’m home by nine.”
“I can do that.” He grabbed her by the hand and together they ran to the car through the drizzle.
Arielle hadn’t noticed standing on the porch, but the sky had turned dark with angry clouds swirling through it. Any minute, heavy rain would fall for sure, so better to be safe inside the car. Since she’d worn a white t-shirt and no jacket, she didn’t want to get soaked.
In the car, Blake didn’t say much, but then again, neither did Arielle. For some reason she couldn’t get her leg to stop bouncing up and down…and they hadn’t even left the driveway. She picked at her fingernails—there wasn’t much to pick at—for about a minute before she brought them to her mouth and began biting. If she could ever leave them alone, they might grow, but so far, that hadn’t happened.
Arielle pulled a nail off with her teeth, but it came off too close to her actual skin, leaving a trail of blood. “Crap.” She spit the nail toward the ground, then wiped the blood on her pant leg, hoping Blake hadn’t seen, but she had kind of given herself away by speaking. When she raised her eyes to him, he stared back at her. She frowned as she gazed out the windshield, realizing they were sitting at a stop sign.
She turned back and widened her eyes at him. “What?”
Blake laughed. “You know, you shouldn’t bite your nails.”
She rolled her eyes. “And you shouldn’t watch me all the time because then you wouldn’t see me biting my nails.” She pressed her finger into her jeans to staunch the bleeding.
He made a right turn, then lowered the volume on the radio. “Listen, I know it’s a habit. I used to do it myself, until I realized how many germs live down underneath your nails, and you are putting those right into your mouth.” He made a face. “Ick.”
Arielle’s stomach turned. “Okay. Point made.” She reached down and turned the music back up, then turned it down again. “Shoot. I forgot to call Jess. She told me to call her when I got home from school.” Arielle almost mumbled the words as she spoke to herself.
“Do you have your cell phone?” Blake asked.
Arielle pulled it out of her back pocket, not such an easy task while wearing a seatbelt. “I do, but I don’t think I want to call her now.”
Blake glanced at her, smirking. “I’m sure she’ll understand. Tell her you were with a cute guy.”
Her cheeks flamed and she turned her head toward her window to make sure Blake didn’t see it. “Yeah, well, you can tell your family you were with a cute girl.”
Arielle had whisper
ed the words, remembering what he’d said to her yesterday, but his eyes were on her and he had a smile planted on his face. The guy had crazy good hearing. “Maybe I will.”
She fanned herself with her hand and continued to stare out the window at the country homes they passed, but they were few and far between. Neighbors didn’t live close together out here. There had to be room for all the farms.
Arielle looked up. Blake had the top up on his convertible, and even though it could start pouring at any minute, she wished he would put the top down. There wouldn’t be many warm days left before winter took over and snow started to fall.
“I say you put the top down,” she said with confidence.
“Yeah? If I do, I could sing a song to you.” He cleared his throat. After several seconds passed, he hummed the tune to “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head.”
Arielle snorted. “Don’t quit your day job, buddy.”
“I won’t. But seriously, I can’t put the top down.”
“Come on, Blake. Live a little,” she pleaded.
Blake raised his eyebrows. “Oh, don’t worry, I do, but even if I wanted to give you what you wanted, I can’t. My car was in the shop yesterday and the mechanism that folds the top down was one of the things they fixed. Even though they said I could use it, I’d rather wait a couple days.”
“Ah. Okay. No biggie,” she said, but she felt stupid so she hid behind her hair as she leaned her elbows on her knees.
Blake put his hand on her back, swirling his thumb back and forth. “Next time, okay?”
She smiled at him, then nodded.
The house they would be decorating turned out to be about ten minutes away. Which meant Arielle wouldn’t have to beg Blake to leave early to get home on time. And she didn’t trust herself to watch the clock with him anyway. She had too much fun with him and often forgot to even glance at the time. She had to make sure she didn’t go home even a minute late since Dad had set her curfew. He trusted her now and Arielle had to make sure to keep that trust or she could kiss going out on school nights with anyone goodbye.
When he pulled up to the house, he turned the car off. Pine trees lined each side of the driveway, which were pretty small and hadn’t grown much yet. The trees kept her interest as her heart raced when she realized she was alone with Blake, in a parked car. While it wasn’t the first time, this one hit her harder for some reason. She rubbed her sweaty palms together, then wiped them on her jeans. She liked him. It was that simple. But what if she screwed it up? What if she did something so stupid he couldn’t stand her? Guess it would be his loss, then. Or maybe she’d turned into a head case…
When Arielle drew her gaze to Blake, he sat behind the steering wheel, not moving, staring straight ahead with both hands resting on the dash. His head tilted toward her with focused eyes, but not on her. He looked deep in thought, maybe sad. Maybe both.
She leaned back in her seat. “So, what’s the plan here?” Fishing for information wasn’t her strong suit.
Blake shrugged, looking out the windshield. “It looks like nobody is here yet. So I guess we wait.”
“Sounds good to me.”
The space inside the car filled with an awkward silence. Arielle wanted to find out what had made Blake’s easy-going attitude change, but she held back, a nervous feeling spreading through her stomach. She’d tried to make an attempt at a conversation and it didn’t go very well. What else could she say? She rolled her eyes up, trying to wrack her brain for anything to talk about. Coming up blank after several minutes, she blew out a breath of air, which calmed her a little.
“We could always talk. If you want…” Blake met her eyes.
She smiled at him. “Sure. Why not. What should we talk about?” Phew, she thought.
He shifted in his seat, stretching his legs out. “We don’t know each other well. Want to play question and answer?”
“Sure, but only if I get the first question.”
“Go for it,” Blake said.
Arielle wanted to ask if he’d consider dating her, or if he had a girlfriend, or what he thought of her, but she hadn’t built up enough courage yet. Instead, she went for an easy one first. “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
Blake looked out his window. “Honestly? I haven’t thought about it too much.”
“There has to be something you’ve considered doing for the rest of your life.”
“I guess.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Maybe the Army.” His smile didn’t reach his eyes as he glanced her way, a distance painted in his irises as if he no longer sat in the car with her, but had gone miles and miles away instead.
“The Army?” Her tone shredded her own ears, so it didn’t surprise her when he flinched. “Doesn’t the idea scare you?”
His blue eyes began to sparkle. “Of course it scares me, but shoot. If I run away from everything that scares me, what would I be?” He tapped his foot against the floor. “Think of the thrill of it all. Not only would I be fighting for my country and what I believe in, but I also get to travel, which is something I’ve always wanted to do.” He paused, rubbed his chin, and then a big grin spread across his face. “Plus, don’t you think I’d look good in the uniform?”
She playfully slapped his arm. “You’re an idiot. If I ever join something because I think the uniform looks good on me, you have my permission to call me an idiot too.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, well, you have to be good at something in life. Looking good is my thing.” He paused for a minute and Arielle thought he might be done talking, but then he said, “I can joke all I want, but the real reason the Army excites me is because I won’t have to see my dad.”
She stroked his arm. “I’m sorry.”
He frowned, then shook his head and smiled. “Okay, enough of that. Is it time for my question now?”
Arielle nodded. “Shoot.”
He shifted in his seat, tucking one leg under him. “Do you have a boyfriend?”
Arielle swallowed hard, but her spit went down the wrong tube and she started choking. It took a good minute for her coughing fit to stop, but when it did, she shook her head. “Nope, no boyfriend. How about you?”
His laughter boomed throughout the small car. “No boyfriend for me. Not yet. I haven’t met the right guy.”
She put a hand over her face. “Oh my God. I can’t believe I said that. Kill me now!”
He shook his head. “No way. If you weren’t here, who would make me laugh? Now quit being embarrassed and tell me why you don’t have a boyfriend.”
Arielle dropped her hand, then bit her lip. “Because guys aren’t interested in me.”
Blake folded his arms over his stomach. “If guys aren’t interested in you, then they are complete idiots.”
Arielle gasped in disbelief. She couldn’t believe what he’d said. “Okay, Mr. Hot Stud, why don’t you have a girlfriend?”
He shrugged. “I did. I met her on the beach one summer, but things didn’t work out. She wasn’t for me, and since then I haven’t found the right girl, but I have a feeling that might have changed.”
Her cheeks heated again and at this rate she figured they might as well stay red, no longer caring. She didn’t know what to say, so she stayed quiet. He had made her night. No matter what else happened, what he’d said a moment ago made her feel like she was floating and soaring through the air all at once.
The dark clouds had finally caught up to them and fat droplets of rain slammed against the windshield, pulling Arielle’s attention outside. She couldn’t look away as the ground soaked the rain up like a desert plant. There hadn’t been much rain lately, so the ground sucked it up greedily. But she still didn’t like it unless she’d tucked herself in her room with a good book. Then the rain could come all it wanted.
Blake turned the key, rolling her window up, but leaving his cracked a smidge, then he cranked the radio up louder, drowning out the sound of the raindrops. Guns N’ Roses “November Rain” was on the radio, which she fo
und a bit ironic. When his eyes met hers, his whole face lit up. “Get out of the car.”
“Um…how about no? It’s pouring out there!” Arielle chuckled, her voice layered with sarcasm.
Blake’s bottom lip stuck out. “Please?”
Arielle rolled her eyes. “For what? What can we do out there, other than get soaked?”
“Come on. Live a little.” He wiggled his brows as he used the exact words she’d said earlier. “I want to show you something.” Reaching out, he cranked the radio up all the way and without another word, opened his door and hopped out, slamming it behind him.
He’s crazy, she thought.
He jogged around to the other side of the car, stooping down so his face was level with her window. Arielle stared in disbelief as his white t-shirt became see-through, leaving little to the imagination. His blonde hair looked almost brown as the rain soaked every part of him.
Unbuckling her seatbelt, she sat up straighter with her hand on the door handle. She took a deep breath and hopped out, determined to not be a chicken for once in her life. Sometimes, she had to leap without looking, and why not start today?
The cold rain plopped down her face as it saturated her hair and she lost her breath for a minute as she adjusted to the change in temperature. After she shut her door, she faced him. “Well, I’m here. What do you need to show me?” Water splashed into her mouth as she spoke so she swallowed it down, not caring. She looked down and gulped, realizing if Blake’s white shirt became see-through, so would hers. Thank God she’d worn a bra.
Rain stung Arielle’s arms and face and Blake said nothing, so she turned to hop back into the car, wanting to forget this had ever happened, when he took her by the arm and spun her into him until they were chest to chest. Well, with the height difference, her chest was shoved against his stomach. At her height of five foot four, she would guess he was well over six feet.
When he placed a finger under her chin, she froze, but he tipped her face up and took one of her arms, wrapping it around his waist. He put his arm around her waist too, and took her other hand in his own, then he swayed back and forth, spinning in a circle as they danced. Right there in the pouring rain.
Crush: A YA Romance Collection Page 78