I try to think of Blaine instead.
Blaine Wilcox. I’ve had a crush on him for so long I thought it would never become anything more.
“Ahhhh!” a crowd cheers from the left of us. Selma stands beside me as I look toward the noise. It’s a group of our friends playing beer pong, and from the looks of it, the team whose turn it currently is, is having to make trick shots.
I continue to observe the party, taking in all the sights. My gaze stops instantly when I find Aspen watching me from across the way. He’s sitting on a barstool, a new girl’s arm draped over him. She whispers something in his ear, but he doesn’t give any type of response.
Nope—none. All he does is stare at me with a taunting smile.
It makes my stomach feel like Jell-O. I quickly avert my eyes, pulling the beer bottle to my lips only to find it empty. “We need more,” I tell Selma, grabbing her by her skinny elbow and pulling her toward the kitchen—away from Aspen’s weird looks.
“Found you,” a voice whispers in my ear as soon as we walk into the kitchen.
I turn around to find a smiling Blaine, holding a bottle of water. “You did.” My own smile peeks through.
“Can I get you anything?” he asks, placing his hand at the small of my back and directing me toward the counter where all the drinks are fanned out.
“That would be great,” I respond quietly, moving a stray strand of hair behind my ear.
My back feels hot; right between my shoulder blades, I feel this intense heat. I’d blame it on where Blaine’s hand is resting, but his is lower.
This heat is from a gaze.
A gaze across the room I’m trying very hard to ignore.
11
Lily
Past - Age Nineteen
“So, what’s the look we’re going for today?” Selma asks two days later as she helps me get ready for my first date with Blaine. She continues to pull out different variations of outfits from her closet to give me more to choose from.
Selma and I don’t exactly have the same style, but I’m trying to feel out all my options before going on a date with Blaine. Where my style is more flashy, Selma’s is more casual. The only tight clothing she ever puts on is the spandex we wear for volleyball. I, on the other hand, live under the motto: if you’ve got it, flaunt it.
She pulls out a long willowy skirt that would be great if I were going to a church service for my first date. I give her a vehement shake of my head as she waves it in the air.
“Gotcha. Not the skirt. Is anything catching your eye?” She holds up a couple of different dresses and a blouse.
“Ohhhh, this one!” I pull out a sweater dress. I’ve never seen her wear it, but it looks perfect for a first date outfit.
Selma’s eyes drift over the fabric. “All yours!” She steps away from the closet she shares with my brother and walks into the bathroom.
While she’s in there, I slip out of my clothes and slippers then carefully put on the dress. It falls about mid-thigh on me. The camel color is a few shades darker than my skin tone, which typically has a nice tan to it. But it’s been a long time since I’ve been in the sun—hence the more washed out look I’m currently rocking.
My feet take me to the mirror that hangs on her and Maverick’s closet door. I decide to braid the top half of my hair back and let my natural curls hang low. I look put together, but not overdone. Blaine has been out to Lenny’s with us after I played a volleyball tournament all day and barely had the energy to change. I don’t have to get all done up for him, but I do still want to dress to impress. At least a little.
I find Selma brushing her hair in the bathroom. There, I swipe some mascara on my eyes and some pink gloss on my lips. I check my phone to see if I have any missed texts, noticing I have one from Blaine saying he’s on his way.
“He should be here soon,” I tell Selma. I drift over to my gym bag that sits atop her bed, pulling out a pair of booties followed by a pair of thigh high boots. I brought both options depending on what outfit I chose to wear.
“Definitely the thigh highs,” I say out loud, more to myself than to Selma. I can’t ever picture her wearing these shoes.
My butt thumps against their soft comforter as I sit down and pull each shoe on. I stand, walking back to the mirror to check out the completed look. “Do you think he’ll like it?” I ask Selma, before finding her eyes through my mirror. She’s beaming.
At times like this, I feel so lucky to have a best friend like her. I don’t know where I’d be without her. We’ve been friends longer than she’s been dating my brother, and I love that even though she’ll probably marry him one day, I know she was my friend first.
“No, I think he’ll love it! He’s already told you he’s been pining over you. You could wear anything and that man would love it.” She gives me a big squeeze and starts collecting all of the clothes off the bed and floor. Even though she loses almost everything, she’s still somehow overly neat.
“Someone’s here!” Maverick shouts from the living room. Then he resumes yelling at whatever game he’s watching on TV.
“It’s time!” I give myself a once-over and hug Selma one last time.
She puts my lip gloss in my purse before handing it to me. “Have fun. I love you—and don’t be nervous!” She shoves me out of her room just in time for Blaine to walk up their front porch steps.
I open the door to see Blaine standing there in a dark gray button-down and jeans, and a large smile on his face. My eyes travel back up to find his hand out, holding a bouquet of flowers.
“Blaine, hi! These flowers are beautiful, thank you.” I try to take the flowers from him, but he pulls me in for a hug instead.
“I figured I’d start sweeping you off your feet now.” He pulls me in even closer to him.
I have to lift my head to look up at him to make eye contact. “It really means a lot, thank you.” I start to pull away and admire the flowers, but before I can leave his grasp fully, he leaves a quick peck on my forehead.
“Can I leave these here for the night?” I ask Selma, who’s watching all of this unfold from the living room.
She gives me a nod, then heads in the direction of their small kitchen area. I follow her in, holding the flowers as she searches for a vase.
“What do we have here?” Aspen swaggers out of his room. He leans his elbow against the kitchen counter as he peers around the room, inspecting.
“Blaine and I were just on our way out.” I try to avoid looking at Aspen’s bare chest on full display.
He reaches into the bowl on top of their kitchen counter, pulling out an apple. It makes a loud crunching sound as he bites into it. Aspen chews loudly, his eyes dragging up and down my body. “Were you?” he asks in a mockingly sweet tone. His green eyes accuse.
Selma has to pry my hands away from the cellophane wrapped flowers.
My eyes narrow on him as he continues to chew as loud as a horse, not bothering to use manners. What the hell is he up to?
“Well, it was good to see you, Selma. Maverick, Aspen.” Blaine makes awkward eye contact with the three of them, holding his hand out in front of the door for me to take.
I shoot Aspen a dirty look as I exit the kitchen, meeting Blaine at the door.
“You ready?” he asks, taking my hand.
I don’t bother to look back at the people in the living room. Selma will undoubtedly text me as soon as I walk out the door, Maverick is too enthralled in the game he’s watching, and Aspen—well, Aspen can shove it where the sun don’t shine.
“Yep!” I squeak, a little too much pep in my voice.
Blaine’s hand envelops mine as we both mutter a brief goodbye. We walk out the door, heading toward his car hand in hand.
“Where to?” I question when he opens my door. I give him a big smile to show my appreciation as I step into the car.
“Can I surprise you?” he asks as I slide into the smooth leather of his interior. His hand stays propped on the door as he waits for my a
nswer.
“Sounds good to me.” I shrug, giving him a thumbs up, which in hindsight probably wasn’t very sexy of me.
We make small talk during the beginning of the ride, but after a few minutes, it dies off into a comfortable silence.
“What are you thinking about over there?” Blaine interrupts my thoughts, nudging my hand with his.
“Nothing too interesting,” I respond quickly, not wanting to tell him I was wondering why Aspen had decided to ramp up his oddness on our way out.
The car turns into a popular spot near campus. It’s a park, but on Friday and Saturday nights, a bunch of food trucks park there. It happens to be one of my favorite places to go to, and it holds my favorite meal in the world.
“I want pancakes,” I tell Blaine, grabbing his hand and moving toward my favorite vendor. Selma, Aspen, and I always come here on the weekends. We all love the pancakes and could talk to the owner of the food truck for hours.
I’m basically pulling Blaine across the crowded area when I look back at him to make sure he doesn’t seem bothered by me taking the lead on the date. I ponder if I should’ve asked him if he even likes pancakes and if he was okay with me hijacking his dinner plans, but the grin on his face makes it appear as if he doesn’t care at all.
Let’s be honest, though. Who doesn’t like pancakes?
“I never pegged you as a breakfast-for-dinner kind of girl,” he says as we squeeze through a throng of people waiting in line at a taco truck.
“Pancakes are my love language. We come here a lot on the weekends,” I explain to him. “I also know the owner, Judas, and he’s awesome.”
We arrive at the food truck and sure enough I see Judas with a sly smile on his face. The man has got to be pushing ninety, but he still looks healthy as a horse.
“Lily! There’s my girl. I knew you had to be coming soon. It’s been awhile since you last had your pancake fix.” Just then, he looks away from me and notices Blaine. “And who might this young fella be?”
“My name is Blaine. I’m a friend of Lily’s.” Blaine draws me to him as he says it.
I look up at him, finding his eyes already on me. Man, that smile is a lady killer.
“Nice to meet ya.” With that, Judas starts to mix batter. He adds chocolate chips to it—my favorite. I love how he doesn’t even have to ask what I want. I’ve had the same order ever since the very first time we stopped at his food truck last year. “Can I get you anything, young man?” He briefly looks up from mixing before his head goes right back down so he can focus on his task.
“I’ll have whatever she gets,” Blaine says, leaning on the counter next to me. “So, what’ve you been up to, Lily? I saw Aspen the other day, but when I asked how you were, he didn’t have much to say.”
I listen to Blaine’s words as I watch Judas pour the mixture onto the griddle. My stomach starts to grumble, and I realize I’d been too nervous before the date to eat a decent lunch. “Not a whole lot. I’m afraid I’m kind of boring, to be honest. But my life just got a lot more interesting with this whole finding out you have a crush on me thing…” I look over at Blaine, playfully nudging him with my shoulder.
“I remember my first date with Arabelle. It was love at first sight,” Judas says.
I love when he talks about his wife. He gets a certain loving look on his face when they’re together or when he’s talking about her. They’re the cutest together—legit goals. “Where is Arabelle today? She’s normally here causing mischief.” At that, Judas and I both laugh. She loves to play pranks on him and their customers.
“She’s at the house gardening. You know her and that garden. It’s her happy place.” He takes our pancakes off the skillet, placing them in Styrofoam boxes. He then puts my normal toppings in a container along with containers of his homemade syrup. Blaine reaches for his wallet to pay, but Judas stops him with, “This is on the house. Happy birthday, Lily. Come back and visit soon.”
I run around the counter, climb the stairs to jump into the food truck, and give Judas a big hug when I reach him. When I’m tucked tightly into the crook of his neck, I whisper, “Judas, it isn’t my birthday.”
He gives my head a soft pat and says, “I know. But you should be spoiled like it is your birthday.” Judas gives me one last squeeze before slowly letting go. When I make eye contact with him, he winks.
As I fully detach myself from Judas, Blaine gives him a firm handshake. “Thank you, sir. I think we’ll be seeing you a lot. It seems like the girl I want to date really likes pancakes.” His words cause blood to creep to my cheeks, warming me all over.
“You know you aren’t getting out of here without a birthday song.” Judas reaches into my box and pulls out an extra pancake. I narrow my eyes at him, knowing full well he’s aware it isn’t my birthday. Or even close.
“For the birthday girl,” he continues.
I look down to see a double chocolate chip pancake. He knows my love for the double chocolate is real, I just don’t get it anymore because it puts me in a chocolate coma.
For my actual birthday months ago, I had three of those giant pancakes. I had to listen to Aspen insult me for a straight hour while every bite of those pancakes came right back up, his fingers tight against my scalp as he held my hair back.
One little false birthday pancake can’t hurt though, right?
Judas spoons whipped cream on it, sticking a birthday candle right in the middle. He sets the plate down in front of me before he and Blaine start singing a beautiful rendition of Happy Birthday. I try not to look too guilty when I blow out the candle, making a wish even though it isn’t my birthday.
“Thank you so much, gentlemen! That was stunning.” I pluck the candle from my pancake before tossing it onto the food truck’s counter. Then I lift the pancake in front of my mouth and fold it hotdog style. My eyes roll to the back of my head as it hits my mouth. I forgot how delicious the double chocolate chip pancakes are.
Before I know it, I’m taking the last bite. I may be slightly embarrassed at the record time I’ve finished, but I’m hoping the guys didn’t notice since they’ve started a conversation of their own.
In my defense, Selma almost kicked my ass at the gym today.
I tune in to hear Blaine talking to Judas about what courses he’s taking this semester. When he looks over at me, he lets out a small chuckle. “You’ve got a little something on your cheek,” Blaine points out, his eyes zeroing in on something on my face. Before I can get it, he reaches over and removes it himself. “Whipped cream,” he explains, showing me the evidence on his finger. Just when I think he might ask for a napkin, he licks the whipped cream clean off his finger, sending my lady bits into overdrive.
Okay. Hellloooo, Blaine. Why do I want to rewind that and watch it all over again?
He continues his conversation with Judas like nothing happened.
“Beware of that child,” Judas warns. “She’s used up an endless supply of my napkins with her messy eating.” He hands me a napkin and I fake pout as I wipe my face clean. “You two better get going before your food gets cold,” Judas instructs as he exits the truck.
He pulls me into another big hug, one I gladly return all over again. I take a deep breath in of his familiar syrup scent before letting go.
He and Blaine exchange another handshake as a goodbye. While Judas is busy climbing back into the truck, Blaine slips some dollar bills into the tip jar on the counter. He grabs the food bag from me as we start to walk to find a spot to sit.
As we’re searching for an empty table, Blaine grabs my hand, surprising me with how comfortable it feels.
“You didn’t have to do that, you know,” I say, narrowly avoiding a toddler with a very sticky funnel cake in their hands.
“Do what?” He pretends to look confused, as if I didn’t clearly see him pay Judas.
“Pay Judas for the food.”
“Oh, that. I figured it was for the best. He needs to be compensated for his great pancake making skills.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone eat anything as fast as you ate that pancake. So, am I missing something? Your birthday is today?” He gives me a teasing grin.
I feel the redness seeping into my cheeks. Here I was, thinking I got away with scarfing down that pancake in ten seconds flat, but apparently I wasn’t as convincing as I believed. “Just you wait. They really are delicious! And no, he just wants to make me feel awkward. I hate when people sing to me.” I attempt to change the conversation to something else. “So, how about this weather, eh? Feels great outside.”
He shakes his head. “Did you really just use ‘eh’ in a sentence?”
I scrunch my face together as I say, “Maybe.”
“That’s absolutely adorable,” he says. He cocks his head toward an empty table a few yards away from us, silently asking me if that spot will work.
I give him a firm nod of my head, letting him lead the way there.
12
Aspen
Present
“Abso-fucking-loutely not,” Lily declares from the passenger seat next to me, her eyes staying focused on the sign directly in front of my windshield.
“Oh, don’t be that way,” I throw back, sliding my phone into my pocket. I reach to open my door, but Lily’s hand shoots out in front of my chest, blocking me in.
“No, no, noooo way, Aspen. You don’t get to escape this argument.” I let go of the door handle and turn my body toward her, raising my eyebrows when I realize her hand is still splayed across my chest. “Ew,” she sputters when she realizes it’s still there as well. As fast as it had shot out, she pulls it back and sets it in her lap, anxiously tapping her fingers on her thigh. She swings her sights from the sign we’re parked in front of over to me. Finally, she stops ping-ponging back and forth and focuses on me. “I’m not staying here.” There’s conviction in her voice, her gaze not wavering from mine.
The Road to Finding Us: A Standalone Second Chance Romance (Aftershock Series Book 2) Page 6
