Arielle turned the TV on and sat on the couch. Blake sat by her, but on the opposite end, still trying to give her the space she needed. She hesitated around him now and didn’t like it one bit. Before, she had been able to be herself with him no matter what, but she didn’t know how to get back to that place.
“So, how’s everything been?” Blake asked.
“Fine.”
“What have you been doing?”
“Nothing.”
“Why not?” he asked.
“Because.”
Blake scooted closer her, the heat from his arm melting into her own. She tried to move away but she had nowhere to go, so instead, she slid off the couch and sat on the floor.
Blake frowned down at her. “If you are going to try, then try. This isn’t trying, Ari. One-word answers isn’t trying.”
She shrugged. “I know. I’m sorry. I can’t help it. It’s not the same.”
He joined her on the floor. “I know. I screwed everything up, but…never mind. Maybe I should just go.”
He stood up and started walking toward the door.
She stood too. “No. Don’t go.”
He met her eyes. “Are you sure?”
She forced a smile. “I’m sure. Stay.”
Together they sat down and watched TV.
Blake left after about an hour, and Arielle went upstairs to write in her journal. Her parents still hadn’t come home, so the house remained quiet. She turned her radio on and cranked it up loud, way louder than she would have if Mom and Dad had been home.
She wrote about what happened with Blake and how nothing had changed—she still cared about him no matter how hard she tried not to. Blake had planted himself in her heart and her feelings for him still grew even though she’d stopped watering them a long time ago. Okay, she thought. What is wrong with me. Now I’m comparing Blake to a plant…
“Anyone home?” a voice called upstairs. Footsteps followed.
Arielle’s heart stopped as she froze, pen poised on the paper of her journal.
Blake peeked his head around her door. “Hey. I’m back.”
She blew out the breath she’d been holding. “So I see.”
He stepped inside. “What are you doing?”
She slammed her journal closed. “Nothing.”
“Is that a journal? Are you writing about me?” Blake bent down and grabbed her journal out from under her.
“Give it back!” she yelled.
He ran out her door. “No way. Not until I see what you wrote about me.”
She heard him thumping down the steps and stood to follow him, almost falling as she ran after him. She slapped her hand against the door to catch herself before she slammed into the couch. “Come on, Blake! Give it back.”
But he stood in the kitchen with the notebook open. She didn’t know if he’d read it or not, but it looked like he had. When he met her eyes, he snapped it closed, holding the book out to her.
She smacked him in the chest. “What the hell is wrong with you? That’s mine!” She snatched it away from him.
“I was kidding.” He paused, folding his arms behind his back. “I didn’t read anything.”
She took a couple of deep breaths, secretly thrilled he hadn’t read it. The book had his name inside the pages more than her own. It would have mortified her.
“What are you doing back?” she asked.
“My grandparents weren’t home and I forgot my key. You care if I hang out?”
She shook her head. “No, that’s fine. Let me put this away.” She ran her journal upstairs and came right back down. Blake stood in the doorway.
His hair had gotten longer, she noticed. It was still short on the sides, but the top had grown so much he could probably French braid it. She laughed.
“What’s so funny?” he asked, shifting his weight to one side.
She held a finger up. “Wait here.” She ran to the bathroom and grabbed two hair ties and a small mirror, then joined him again. “Stay still and don’t move. Turn around. No peeking.”
She worked his hair into pigtails, laughing the whole time. When she finished, she grabbed the small mirror, holding it in front of his face.
“Wow, Ari. You should go into the hair biz.”
“I’m not done.” She pulled her cell phone from her back pocket and snapped a few selfies, putting her cheek right up against his. “Now I won’t ever forget the boy who wore pigtails.”
“You’d better not post that on social media.” He frowned.
“I won’t.” She chuckled. “Even though you’d deserve it if I did.”
The hairdo broke the awkwardness and they spent the rest of the afternoon together watching movies. When her parents came home, they made dinner, and after Blake ate, he called his grandma, who had arrived back at his house, and he went home.
***
The day before Christmas Eve, Arielle went to bed early but couldn’t sleep. She had butterflies swimming through her stomach because tomorrow was the big party they went to every year at her aunt’s house. She loved spending time with her family and this was the biggest gathering they would share.
When Arielle went downstairs to get a drink of water, the flicker of the TV drew her gaze. Her dad sat rocking in his reclining chair. “Dad, what are you doing up?” She glanced at the digital clock on the satellite box under the TV. “It’s three in the morning.”
Then she saw what played on the TV: Little Princess, one of her all-time favorite movies. It starred Shirley Temple and was one of the first movies the child star acted in which wasn’t in black and white. Of course, you could get all of them in remastered color, but it wasn’t the same as watching the old black-and-white films or the old color ones.
Ever since Arielle was a child she’d loved these movies. She used to watch them over and over so much the tapes she’d used back in the day got ruined. But there Dad sat, rocking back and forth and pulling an all-nighter to make sure he recorded every one of the movies, because from the looks of it, the channel he had it on had a marathon going on. It didn’t matter that he didn’t need to because with all the modern technology in the world, she could go almost anywhere online and find somewhere to watch it for free. The thought he put into making his children happy…she couldn’t believe she’d gotten so lucky to have him as her dad.
A lump formed in Arielle’s throat and her eyes filled with water. “Dad, you didn’t have to do this.”
Dad turned around and a big grin spread across his face. “Yeah, I know I didn’t have ta. But guess what? I’m your dad, missy, and if I want to stay up and make sure my daughter has her favorite movies, I’m going to.” He winked. “Now get on back to bed. Tomorrow is a big day and I’m sure your mom’ll need some help.”
“I’ll go, but I wanted to get a drink of water first.” Arielle started walking toward the kitchen. She flipped the light switch up on the wall as she crossed the threshold from the living room to the kitchen, but with her hand still on the fixture she glanced behind her. “Thanks, Dad. You are the best.”
“If you keep sayin’ those kinds of things, it might go straight to my head. Then it’ll swell even bigger.” He chuckled and turned back to the TV.
Arielle went into the kitchen, shaking her head the whole way. After she got her drink of water, she went back up to her room and fell asleep.
***
The next day, Arielle woke to her mom yelling upstairs. “Arielle, you have a visitor.”
She figured it was Jess, so she threw the covers off her and climbed out of bed. On her way out, she ran into her brother, who she hadn’t seen too much of lately.
Reed scrunched his face up. “Man, whoever came to see you needs to run the other way. Did you even look in a mirror?”
Arielle ran her hands through her hair, then dropped her hands to her sides and shrugged. “I’m guessing it’s Jess anyway, but who cares. Whoever came to see me this early should expect to see me in my pajamas. Where are you going?”
&n
bsp; He shoved past her to race down the stairs first. “Out. I’m meeting my buddy Clint and we’re going to work on some football passes.”
“Isn’t football over for the season?” Arielle chased after him, almost barreling into him as he stopped halfway down the steps.
He glared at her. “I wouldn’t expect you to understand, since you aren’t athletic or anything…but the reason we practice even when it isn’t football season is because we have to stay in shape for next season.”
Arielle laughed. “Yeah, I get it. You don’t want to sit around eating doughnuts and munching on chips so you get all tubby.”
“Exactly. No tubbiness allowed, or else everyone will start calling me Arielle.”
Arielle dropped her jaw, then ran down and caught up to Reed before he could make it down the steps. She launched herself at him, jumping on his back and rubbing her knuckles along the top of his head, a little noogie payback.
“Come on, Ari, stop it.” Reed laughed and flipped her off his back and onto the couch. She hadn’t even realized he’d carried her there.
“Stop.” She made her voice as whiny as she could. “Come on, stop. You’re such a sissy when it comes to noogies.”
Someone laughed from the front door and it wasn’t Jess. Arielle peered over and realized Blake stood there, watching her fight with her brother. Oh my gosh. I just got out of bed! I must look horrible.
Arielle took a deep breath. But it doesn’t matter. I don’t need to impress anyone. Blake is a friend…nothing more.
Arielle waved. “Hey. What are you doing here so early?”
Blake shrugged. “I wanted to ask if you had any plans today.”
Arielle shrugged. “I was going to help my mom cook.”
“Which translates to Ari doesn’t have a single plan for the day,” her mom yelled from the kitchen.
Reed chuckled as he walked away. “Dang, Mom said it before I could. She probably wants you to go so you don’t burn anything.”
“Shut it, Reed,” she snapped. Turning back to Blake, a smile worked its way on her face. “Guess I don’t have any plans at all.”
“Would you want to come and meet my parents? They’re here from South Carolina.” Blake’s cheeks puffed out like he held his breath, waiting for her to answer.
Arielle tilted her head to the side. “Sure, but I have to change first. I can’t meet them like this.” She held her arms out to her side so he could see her.
Blake chuckled. “You have twenty minutes.”
Reed patted Blake’s back as he stood at the door. “Dude, have you seen her today? She’s going to need way more than twenty minutes.”
Arielle ran for her brother, but he’d already walked out the door. Blake caught her as she tried to barrel past him. “Calm down and go get ready. Your brother will be there later for you to get revenge on.”
Twenty minutes didn’t seem like enough time. At all. But living with her brother, who primped more than any girl Arielle knew, had taught her a few things. She might thank him if he hadn’t left because she could get ready quicker than most girls.
She ran upstairs, grinning so much her cheeks hurt. Blake wanted her to meet his family. It gave her hope for a future with him. Maybe she shouldn’t have been thinking that way, but she couldn’t help it. She still had the biggest crush on him and she didn’t think her feelings would change anytime soon.
***
When Blake pulled up to his house, Arielle’s stomach dropped to her knees. She placed her shaky fingers over it, then took a deep breath to try to calm her nerves, but no matter what she tried she couldn’t stop her jitters. Giving up, she climbed out of the car, placing her palm on the roof to gain her ground and steady herself. She shouldn’t be so nervous to meet his parents since she wasn’t his girlfriend anymore.
Knowing Blake’s dad had come made her even more nervous. He might be mean to her or yell at her in front of everyone, and she didn’t think she’d be able to handle that. Needless to say, she didn’t really care if she ever met the man.
She shook her hands out in front of her, deciding not to worry about anything. Making a good impression was important, but just being there showed what Blake thought of her, so she would be herself and everything would work out okay. She hoped.
She wore her favorite dark denim jeans paired with a pink and black flannel shirt. She’d pulled her hair back into a low ponytail that hung down her back, and she’d even put a little makeup on for the occasion. Nothing crazy, but enough to make her appearance less haggard.
If his parents didn’t like her, oh well. She wouldn’t lose any sleep over it because she was who she was and she wouldn’t change, not for anyone. It had taken her a long time, but she now realized her worth and she wouldn’t accept anything less.
In all the months she’d known Blake, she hadn’t been inside his house. She took a few steps to the left, almost running right into a coat rack, and admired the large, open room with two flower-patterned couches. She wasted no time tugging off her thick winter jacket and hanging the black coat on the rack since she’d started to sweat already.
The floors were all a dark wood with a maroon throw rug over them. A line of shoes ran along the wall by the door. “Do I need to take my shoes off?”
Blake smiled. “Yeah. It’s a rule.”
She slid her white tennis shoes off and hoped her feet didn’t stink up the room. Why that popped in her head, she didn’t know. Even though she accepted herself, it hadn’t taken away her self-conscience thoughts. No, she still had a mind just like all the other girls her age.
“Gram, we’re here.” Blake stepped in front of her and Arielle followed.
A short woman with a pixie haircut stepped into the hallway in front of them. She wiped her hand on her vanilla-colored apron and grabbed Blake’s shoulders, all but shoving him aside to stand in front of Arielle. “It’s so nice to see you again, Ari. Welcome to my home.”
Arielle’s heart raced. “It’s nice to see you again too.” She peeked over the woman to meet Blake’s eyes, but he stared at the coat rack.
The woman smiled. “Please come inside. You don’t have to stand in the doorway all day.”
Arielle plopped her shoes by all the others and stepped inside a little more. “Okay. Thanks.”
Gram hugged her and then turned toward where the smell of noodles and cheese wafted from. “I have to get back to the kitchen. We are making homemade pierogis. I hope you have an appetite.”
Arielle shrugged. “Pretty much all the time.”
Blake followed Gram and Arielle followed Blake into the kitchen, where a large dining table took up most of the room. The wood matched the color of the hardwood floor. Another woman stood beside Gram. Her hair was a darker blonde, but cut in almost the same short style Gram had. She was short and a little plump, but in a pleasant way. When she turned, her smile was like a bad cold, and Arielle found herself infected, returning the smile with sincerity.
She came forward and reached a hand out to Ari, who shook hers back. “I’m Blake’s mom. Blake has told us so much about you, Arielle.”
Am I all he talks to his family about?
“Thanks. I’ve heard a lot about you too.” Arielle ran a hand through her hair and peered over at Blake, raising her eyebrows because she hadn’t heard much at all about his mom, only a few things when they had been dating. Maybe Arielle could get to know her better today.
Blake’s mom tapped him on the shoulder. “Why don’t you take her to the front room and we’ll call you when dinner’s done.”
Blake nodded. “Sure. But where are Dad and Grandpa?”
“They’re down at the store getting a few last-minute things.” Gram chuckled. “Leave it to me to forget something on Christmas Eve.”
Blake grabbed Arielle around the wrist and tugged her toward the front room. He guided her to the two-seater couch and sat down with her. “So, now you’ve met my mom, and you already met my Gram.”
She nodded. “It’s nice to mee
t your mom and to see your Grandma again. But, you know, for someone who has told them all about me, you sure haven’t told me much about them, especially your mom.” And she remembered when she’d first met Gram, she’d said the same thing, so it did seem like he talked about her a lot. Which made excitement shoot through her.
Blake raised his eyebrows. “We haven’t had much time to talk lately.”
“And whose fault is that?”
He put his hands up. “All right. I don’t want to argue. I wanted you to meet my parents.”
“But why, Blake? Most of the time you bring your girlfriend to meet your parents and your family…I’m not your girlfriend. She’s in West Virginia. Why didn’t you bring her up here for Christmas?”
Blake stood up, wiping his palms on his khaki pants. “I’m not with her anymore.” His voice came out as a whisper and Arielle barely heard what he said, but her stomach flip-flopped at the words.
“What?” she asked, looking him right in the eye.
He raised his eyes from the floor and met hers. “I’m not with her anymore.”
There were no emotions on his face at all.
“What happened?” Arielle asked.
“She broke up with me because all I talked about was you.” He spoke as if it didn’t matter at all.
Arielle’s cheeks heated and she couldn’t seem to get enough air. She also had some fluttery stuff happening inside her chest, almost like the flap of a bee’s wings. She didn’t know what to say, though, so she kept quiet.
“Lunch is ready,” Gram yelled from the other room.
“Thank God.” Arielle slapped her hand over her mouth. She hadn’t meant to say anything out loud, so before Blake could speak, she stood and rushed into the kitchen, sitting down at the beautiful table.
Chapter 12
Christmas Eve
Lunch smelled great. Arielle had never had homemade pierogis before. These had real cheddar cheese stuffed inside with mashed potatoes and were covered in noodles, which happened to be her weakness in life. Any pasta dish she ate up faster than she could swallow it. As for pierogis, she’d always enjoyed the store-bought ones, but these looked so much better.
Crush: A YA Romance Collection Page 83