State of Grace: A Moonflower Cove Romance
Page 19
“What’s so repulsive about being a mother? I mean, we were talking yesterday about how you wanted to be a mom one day and,” Alexis couldn’t hide the sarcasm in her voice even if she wanted to, and she did not, “I’m a mother. So I’m a little offended that you seem repulsed by that.”
“And I still can’t believe you’re a mom.” Blake shifted in her seat, so she was face to face with Alexis. She put her head on the headrest and sighed deeply. “You’re way too pretty to be a mom.”
“And you are way too drunk right now.”
“No, I’m not.” Unbuckling her seatbelt, Blake leaned across the center console, inching her face closer to Alexis’s. Alexis held out a hand to stop her and pulled back from her.
“What are you doing?” Her voice was barely a whisper. Blake’s breath was warm on her cheeks, and Alexis could smell the lingering liquor. Images from a night Alexis had pushed so far in the back of her mind came flooding back to her. Reaching behind her, she opened the car door and scrambled out of the car. “Come on; let’s go inside.”
“Fine,” Blake got out of the car and followed Alexis to the door. Alexis punched in the code to the door before spinning around and looking at Blake. She yanked open the door, holding it open for Blake, who stumbled up the stairs as Alexis walked as close behind her as she could to ensure she didn’t fall back down the stairs. Alexis moved past her at the top of the stairs and opened the unlocked door; Blake followed her inside.
“I don’t have a guest room, but you’re welcome to sleep on the couch if you want.”
“The couch is fine.”
“Super.”
“Where’s the bathroom?”
“Down the hall to the right. There’s an extra toothbrush under the sink if you want it.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Alexis set her bag down on the bench by the front door and walked over to the small closet as Blake disappeared down the hall. She took down a few blankets off the top shelf and took them over to the couch, making a place for Blake to sleep. It was surreal to think that they were making out on that very couch two nights prior. Turning on the electric fireplace, Alexis turned out the rest of the apartment’s lights and waited for Blake to come back out.
She begged her mind not to get lost in the thoughts that had tried to plague her mind since they were in the car. Thoughts of the night that ended up bringing Harper into her life. Thoughts of a man whose face she’d never seen and yet saw vividly in her nightmares. Alexis covered her face with her hands as she focused on her breathing. When she heard soft footsteps down the hall, she turned to face Blake.
“You ok?”
“Yeah, are you?”
“Yeah, I’m ok.” Alexis forced a smile. Blake had sobered up enough to have dropped the attitude she’d had before. “I got some blankets set up on the couch, and I turned the fireplace on because I didn’t know if you liked to sleep with it warm or cold.”
“Either’s fine. Thanks for letting me crash here.”
“No problem.” As Blake sat on the couch, Alexis took a few steps backward to the door. “I’m going to go across the hall and pick Harper up from Sophia’s, and I’ll be back. Make yourself comfortable.”
“Thank you, Alexis.”
“Yeah.” Heading out the front door, Alexis pulled it closed behind her as she braced herself for entering Sophia’s apartment. She knew her best friend would know something was wrong, so she had to keep a brave face. “Hello?”
“Shhh.” Sophia was sitting in the rocking chair in the corner of the room with Harper fast asleep in her arms. She had a book in one hand with reading glasses perched on her nose. “She’s been asleep for about an hour already.”
“Thanks for watching her.” Alexis carefully took Harper from Sophia’s lap and put her on her hip. Harper woke up enough to snuggle into Alexis’s embrace.
“She’s about to be too big to carry like that.”
“I’ll do it as long as I can.”
“You doing ok, mon amour?”
“Yeah, just a long night at work.” She kissed Harper’s head. “I’m going to get this one to bed. Good night, Soph.”
“Good night, Lex.” Sophia stood, pushed her glasses into her hair, and kissed Alexis on the cheek. With a smile, Alexis headed back across the foyer and back into her apartment. She’d expected to find Blake still awake but was surprised to see her already passed out on the couch. Blake hadn’t bothered to cover herself up with the blanket, so Alexis carefully draped it over her body while she balanced Harper on her hip.
“I swear if I wrote this in my diary, not even I would believe it,” she mumbled before carrying Harper down the hall to her room. Tucking her in, she kissed Harper on the cheek and turned on her Disney Princess nightlight before heading out the door.
She tiptoed back down the hall and watched Blake sleeping. Her chest’s methodical rise and fall were accompanied by soft snoring sounds and made Alexis laugh to herself. For a moment, she contemplated going across the hall to tell Sophia about her night with Blake and how she was starting to freak out about being with Blake.
But instead, Alexis flipped off the lights and went to bed knowing full well that she would get little sleep thanks to her overactive mind.
Chapter 21
The smell of pancakes and syrup mixed in a heavenly combination as Blake stirred awake on the couch. She pulled off the Marvel Comics blanket that had been carefully tucked in around her and wiped the sleep from her eyes. Blake looked around the unfamiliar apartment and tried to remember where she was. Of course, the two plastic lightsabers lying in front of the TV were a dead giveaway.
Standing up and stretching, Blake remembered every drink she’d downed the night before, thanks to the pounding in her head. She wasn’t one who usually drank too much, but after the argument with Isla, Blake had needed something to take the edge off. Walking into the kitchen, Blake leaned on the archway as she watched Alexis flip a pancake perfectly. Her head bobbed to some song in her head, and she looked happy in her sweatpants and T-shirt with a flowing, almost sheer robe on over it.
The entire sight in front of her made Blake’s heart yearn for the morning she’d wake up to a scene like that in her own house. She’d wanted a life outside the entertainment industry for years. However, the older she got, the more that opportunity seemed to be slipping away from her. Blake had thought she’d found it with Salem, but she’d been insanely wrong about that one. Salem was only interested in how being with Blake increased her name recognition.
Before becoming Blake’s agent, Salem was a total unknown in the industry. She’d arrived from some small midwestern town looking for a change from her marketing job, and since Blake was in desperate need of new representation, she’d hired Salem the same day they’d met. It didn’t take them long to acknowledge the chemistry between them, and within a few months, the two were living together. Blake had never been satisfied in that relationship; she’d often wanted something more than Salem wanted to or was able to give her.
Blake wanted a family. A real family that had family dinners together and had holiday traditions and wore matching T-shirts on vacations. She wanted that more than she’d ever verbally admitted to anyone. If she told anyone in her circle, they’d have laughed her off the soundstage. None of her co-stars were married, and the one person that had a kid only saw their kid every few months. It wasn’t the life Blake wanted, and seeing how perfectly domestic Alexis’s life was made her realize how badly she wanted a change.
No, how badly she needed a change.
“Morning,” Blake cleared her throat as she walked over to the L-shaped kitchen counter and sat at the barstool. She ran her tongue across her bottom lip as Alexis looked over her shoulder and smiled at her.
“Hey, good morning. Did you sleep ok?”
“Yeah, I did. Thanks.”
“The couch doesn’t look like much, but it’s comfy to sleep on.” Alexis plated three pancakes before putting more batter onto the griddle. She han
ded the plate to Blake, who couldn’t help but smile at the Mickey Mouse-shaped pancakes. It was the most Alexis thing that she could have done; Blake didn’t have to know Alexis well to know that much. The plethora of Disney décor in the kitchen was a dead giveaway that the Mouse was well-loved in the Holland household. “When I was pregnant with Harper, it was the only place I could find any comfort the last couple of months.”
“It was comfy.” She nodded toward her plate. “Do you do this for all your guests?”
“I do it for the needy live-in resident who lives here rent-free.”
As if on cue, Harper came into the kitchen wearing Doc McStuffins pajamas. In her hand was a Mickey Mouse plush, and her eyebrows furrowed as she stopped in her tracks and looked at Blake then Alexis. She shyly darted over to Alexis, hiding her face from Blake with Alexis’s robe. Harper looked like a miniature version of her mother, from her gorgeous dark blonde hair to her goofy smile.
“Silly goose.” Alexis rubbed her back. “You know Blake. Say hello.”
“Hi.” Harper quickly peaked out from behind the robe as she giggled.
“Good morning, Harper.” They smiled at each other before Harper covered her face again. Alexis laughed as she tickled her side. Harper’s giggles were music to Blake’s ear, and not for the first time in her life, Blake wondered what it would be like to have a kid of her own.
“Go have a seat by Blake, and I’ll get you some pancakes.”
“Ok!” Harper ran over to the barstool beside Blake and pulled herself up to the seat. She set the Mickey Mouse plush on the counter, and Blake sat it up against the napkin holder. The move made Harper grin up at her. Alexis sat a plate of pancakes in front of her before handing her a Minnie Mouse fork. She set a container of syrup between them and raised an eyebrow at Harper.
“Don’t get that all over the counter like last time, ok?”
“No promises.” Harper giggled as Alexis took two mugs out of the cabinet and held them up to Blake with a slightly raised eyebrow. Blake nodded, and Alexis poured them full of coffee before filling a thermos that had been sitting on the counter beside the coffee pot.
“Cream or sugar or milk or nothing?”
“Cream would be great. Thank you.”
Alexis took the creamer out of the fridge, poured some into her mug, and handed it to Blake. A chime above the apartment door went off, and the three of them turned their heads toward the sound. Sophia breezed into the apartment and stopped in her tracks at the sight of them. Blake stifled a laugh at the array of emotions that flashed across her face from confusion to shock to intrigue to coy in a matter of seconds.
“Oh.” Sophia put a hand on her hip as she slowly strolled into the kitchen. She was wearing an elegant knee-length green dress with a scoop neck that showed off enough of her cleavage to make someone want more. Her heels were taller than anything Blake had braved on the red carpets. “I didn’t know you had company over.”
“Blake needed a place to crash last night.” The tone shift in Alexis’s voice was noticeable. While it was still friendly and upbeat, it held a hint of ‘don’t-talk-about-it-right-now,’ and Sophia clearly picked up on it. Beside her, Harper waved her fork at Sophia.
“Morning, Nonna.”
“Good morning, ma petite.” Sophia placed a kiss on Harper’s head before walking around to Alexis and kissing her cheek. Alexis handed her the thermos of coffee with the words ‘fairy godmother’ on it, and it made Blake smile once more. “Well, I’ll let the three of you get back to your domestic morning while I go teach students who never should have enrolled in an advanced English course.” She held up the thermos. “Thanks for the coffee.”
“Anytime.”
As elegantly as she entered the apartment, Sophia left in a breeze. There was a slightly rosy color in Alexis’s cheeks, and Blake winked at her across the counter. Alexis turned away from her and finished making herself pancakes and plating them. She turned around and took a bite, nodding a few times.
“I can make a delicious pancake.”
“No complaints here.” Blake bumped her shoulder slightly against Harper’s. “What do you think, Harp? Does your mommy make the best pancakes?”
“Yup!” Stuffing a large bite into her mouth, Harper smiled at them like a chipmunk. “Mommy, are we – are we going to the park again today, or do you have to go to work?”
“Mommy does have to work this afternoon, but I think Emmy is going to take you to the zoo with Maddie.” As Harper squealed in excitement, Alexis matched her enthusiasm and nodded. “Yeah, I thought you might like that.”
“I love going to the zoo with Emmy and Maddie. It’s my favorite.”
“No way.” Blake raised her eyebrows as she covered her heart with her hand. “I love the zoo, too. What is your favorite animal? Mine is the giraffe.”
“I love the elephants and the – Mommy, what is it called?”
“Rhinoceros.”
“Yup! Those.” Harper firmly nodded as she pushed her empty plate away from her. “I’m done, Mommy. Can I go play in my room now?”
“Brush your teeth first.”
Harper jumped off the counter, grabbed her Mickey Mouse plush, and darted through the apartment to her room. Picking up their empty plates, Blake walked around to the sink as Alexis waved her way.
“No, no. Guests don’t do dishes. Leave them there.”
“I can wash dishes.”
“Dude, who said anything about washing them. That’s what the dishwasher is for.” Alexis jutted her chin toward the dishwasher. “I mean, I didn’t almost max out a credit card last year to buy it just to wash syrup covered plates by hand. So, leave them by the counter, and I’ll load it up later, mmmk?”
“You’re bossy. Do you know that?” Slipping an arm around Alexis’s waist, she pulled her close to kiss her. Blake could taste the syrup on Alexis’s lips, and she ran her tongue over Alexis’s bottom lip. “You taste good.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Blake let her mind wander to other areas of Alexis’s body that might taste as good, and she almost commented on the thoughts out loud. But their relationship was so new; it was only a few days old after all. She was aware that some people her age were more than comfortable sleeping with someone on their first date, but Blake considered herself slightly more old-fashioned. Marriage didn’t have to be involved, but Blake wanted a commitment level more than a fling.
And she wanted something more with Alexis.
“So, are you ok?” Pulling away, Alexis tucked Blake’s hair behind both her ears before framing her face. Her hands were colder than Blake had expected, and it made her whole body shiver. “I know that phone call yesterday made you upset, and after last night,” her eyes lowered before slowly looking back up at Blake. “That was a pretty intense spiral I saw you go down, and that’s saying a lot considering that I thought I had the monopoly on spiraling quickly.”
“Not a great way to start a relationship, huh?” Blake grimaced. She hated the fact that she’d gotten so drunk in front of Alexis. It hadn’t been her intent to get that wasted, but the bartender had kept bringing her drinks, and Blake had just kept drinking them. Alexis had hovered over her like a hawk, bringing her a burger, onion rings, and glass after glass of ice water. “I’m sorry about that.”
“Well, at least now I know the amount of liquor you can take before you become obnoxious, so that’s good to note.” Alexis playfully booped her on the nose, but her eyes were serious. “But seriously, you ok?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Pulling out of Alexis’s embrace, Blake leaned onto the counter and crossed her arms. Alexis started cleaning up the kitchen, but Blake knew she had her attention, and she decided she should open up to her. “So, you know Salem called yesterday. Well, she had news on the show.”
“Oh?” Alexis’s high-pitched voice was like a dagger to Blake’s heart. She tried not to overthink when Alexis turned her back toward her, seeming very focused on cleaning the counter with a damp rag.
“It’s ok.” Alexis shrugged but still didn’t turn to face her. “You were drunk, and I get it. Being a mom isn’t for everyone.”
“I know that, but here’s the thing.” Taking a few steps toward her, Blake took Alexis’s hand and waited until she turned to look at her. Blake slowly rubbed small circles into the back of her hand. “I want that. Someday down the road, I want to be a mom. I told you that.”
“I know, but,” she looked uncomfortable and pulled her hand from Blake’s. “I know that sometimes people can say things because they think the person they’re with wants to hear them, and then they realize that maybe they didn’t mean what they said.”
“But I meant what I said. I do want kids. I want to be a mom. I should have stayed home last night and not come to the bar.” Blake was frustrated. Instead of fixing things between her and Alexis, she only made things significantly worse. “I’m sorry. I’m doing this all wrong.”
“You’re upset. It’s ok.”
“It’s not ok.” Letting out a sigh, she took hold of Alexis’s hand once more. “I didn’t mean to start the day off with an argument, especially after you’ve been so sweet and made me breakfast.”
“Well, you have to eat.” Shyly, Alexis smiled up at her. Her eyes still held a hint of discomfort, but it seemed less than before. “And you did tell me that pancakes were your hangover food.”
“You listen very well.” Pulling Alexis toward her, she kissed her forehead. “You must really like me.”
“Don’t flatter yourself, Blake Calloway.” Another boop on the nose, and the tension between them seemed to fade. “Being a mom is great. I hope that one day, you find that out firsthand.”