Love is Blind

by Shayna B

  “Definitely. That okay with you?”

  “Yeah, I’ve always liked this song and this band. They have good music.”

  So for the next hour and a bit, we practiced playing the song. Blake had gone to get his guitar, so he sat on the bench facing the opposite way from me. We goofed around a little as well, which made it a lot more fun.

  When Blake had finally had enough, he put his guitar down. “I’m done for now. I want to go do something else.”

  I turned my head to look at him. “What do you want to do?”

  He stood up and stretched his arms over his head. “I don’t really care; I just need to move around a little.”

  My eyes lit up. “I know; we can go shopping!”

  He dropped his arms back down to his sides. “Shopping?”

  “Yeah. We can buy clothes to wear for the talent show.”

  “Can’t you just go by yourself?”

  “Nope, you have to come with me.”

  “I haven’t gone shopping in two years,” he whined.

  “All the more reason for you to come with me. I’ll buy you an ice cream after.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Oh yeah, because ice cream makes everything better.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “It does. Suck it up, you’re coming with me.”

  “Were you always this bossy?”

  I thought about it for a minute. “I think so. Now let’s go. We can see if Sophie wants to go as well.” I grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the room to search for Sophie. I found her in the living room watching TV. “Hey, we’re going to the mall to go shopping. Want to come with us?”

  She looked at me with raised eyebrows. “You convinced him to go shopping?”

  “Yup. Want to help torture him?”

  “That sounds like fun. Just give me a few minutes to get ready.” She scurried out of the room.

  Blake groaned and ran a hand over his face. “Damn women are ganging up on me.”

  I put my arms around his waist and hugged him, resting my cheek against his chest. “It won’t be that bad. Besides, at least we get to spend time together this way.”

  His arms came around me as he kissed the top of my head. “That’s true I suppose. I won’t bring Abby with me, since you and Sophie will both be there. Just don’t randomly abandon me if you see a pair of shoes that you really like.”

  I laughed a little. “No promises. That reminds me; I wanted to ask you something. Do you have one of those cane thingies?”

  “Cane thingies?”

  “Yeah you know. Those sticks that fold up and you use them to find your way around.”

  “Oh those things. Yeah I have one but I barely ever use it. I almost always have Abby or someone with me as a guide when I go somewhere new, so I’ve never really needed it. Why?”

  I shrugged. “Just curious. I’ve never seen you use one, so I just wanted to know if you had one or not.”

  “I can show it to you sometime if you want,” he offered.

  A wicked grin spread across my face. “Are you offering to show me your stick?”

  “Oh ew, that’s gross,” Sophie said as she came back into the room.

  I laughed. “Oddly enough, that isn’t exactly what it sounded like.”

  She shuddered. “I don’t want to know. Let’s just get going before you make me gag.”

  Blake laughed. “Oh this could actually end up being fun. I didn’t realize this kind of stuff made you uncomfortable, Sophie.”

  “You’re like my brother, Blake. I really don’t need to hear about what goes on between the two of you.”

  Blake grabbed my chin and tilted my head up so that he could kiss me softly. “Payback is going to be fun,” he murmured.

  I pushed him away. “Don’t make her uncomfortable. I know it always used to make me gag when I saw Jake and Amanda together.”

  “Who are they?” Sophie asked.

  I froze as I realized that she didn’t know about my brother. “Uh, no one. Let’s get going.”

  Sophie looked at me curiously for a minute before nodding. “Sure. This is going to be so much fun.”

  Blake sighed as I started walking with him to the front door. “You so owe me after this,” he told me.

  “Yeah, yeah. That’s what you always say.”

  Chapter twenty-one

  When the next weekend rolled around, I was both nervous and excited. Blake told me he had planned everything out, but he wouldn’t tell me anything other than that I should be ready by six on Friday night. That confused me, since I was the one who would be driving.

  But at six o’ clock on Friday night, my doorbell rang and I went to answer it. I opened the door and raised an eyebrow at the man standing there. “Can I help you?”

  “Are you Hailey Baker?”

  “Yes?”

  “Mr. Adams sent me to pick you up.”

  It was then that I noticed the limo parked out front, and my eyes widened. “He rented a limo for the night?”

  “Actually, he rented it for the weekend,” the guy informed me. “Are you ready to go? I’m supposed to have you at your destination in twenty minutes.”

  I nodded and slipped into my coat and grabbed my purse. I called out a farewell to Jared and Liam, and then followed the driver out to the limo. He held the door open for me and I slid into the seat, giving him a bright smile before the door closed. I gazed around the spacious vehicle and saw a single pink rose sitting on the seat with a piece of paper sitting underneath it. I scooted over and raised the flower to my nose so I could inhale the scent. Picking up the paper, I read what the typed words said.

  Hailey,

  I hope this surprised you. Jack is taking you to meet me and we have him and the limo for the weekend. I want you to be able to relax and not worry about having to drive us everywhere. See you soon (well, not really see, but you know what I mean).

  Love, Blake

  I was torn between laughing because of the last sentence, or swooning over the sweetness of the entire thing. When I first met Blake, there was no way I would’ve believed he was capable of this kind of romance.

  Fifteen minutes later, the limo pulled to a stop and Jack hopped out to open my door. We were at a restaurant that I’d never been to before, but it looked fancy and I was glad that I was wearing a nice black skirt and dark pink blouse. I thanked Jack and went inside.

  The hostess greeted me and I told her who I was supposed to be meeting. Her eyes lit up when I said Blake’s name. “Oh, you are so lucky to have such a charming boyfriend!” she gushed.

  I raised a brow. Charming? Blake? Those two words didn’t really seem to go together, but I shrugged it off and followed her through the restaurant. We went past the main dining room and into a private area. As soon as we walked through the door, my jaw dropped.

  Candles were lit all around the room and there were dozens of pink roses everywhere. There was a cozy table set for two and Blake was standing by one of the chairs, wearing black dress pants and a blue shirt that nearly matched the colour of his eyes.

  I left the hostess and walked up to him, sliding my arms around his waist and leaning into him. “How did you plan all of this?”

  He wrapped his arms around me and pressed a soft kiss to the top of my head. “Sophie helped me with everything.”

  I pulled back a little so that I could kiss him lightly. “You didn’t have to go through so much trouble.”

  “Well, I can’t be a normal boyfriend when it comes to a lot of things. I figured treating you to a relaxing weekend is the least I can do.”

  I kissed him again, a little longer this time. “Normal is so overrated,” I murmured. “This is much better.”

  He smiled before pulling away so he could slide my chair out for me. “Have a seat,” he said.

  I sat down and he pushed my chair in for me. He kept one hand on the table as he went around to the other side and took his own seat. I gazed around at everything once more. “Did Sophie choose the flowers?”

/>   “No, I chose everything. She just helped make sure everything was set up properly, that’s all.”

  “This is amazing. I can’t believe you went through so much trouble for me.”

  “I figured with all the crap you put up with because of me, this was the least I could do for you.”

  I laughed lightly. “I don’t mind all the crap we have to go through. It’s worth it.”

  A waiter came in and placed a couple of drinks on the table, then disappeared again. Blake smiled at me. “I ordered everything already because I know what you like. I hope you don’t mind.”

  I sat back in my seat a little and regarded him closely. “Okay, who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?”

  He laughed. “Sorry, I know this might seem a little overboard. I just want to make everything as perfect as possible for you tonight.”

  My heart warmed at his words. “Mission accomplished so far.”

  The entire meal seemed like a dream to me. Blake and I chatted easily and the food was amazing. The wait staff was efficient and polite, always making sure we had what we needed without being in the way.

  When we finished eating, I linked my arm with Blake and we left the restaurant. Jack was waiting for us out front again, so we both got into the limo. “It’s about a half hour drive to the hotel,” Blake informed me.

  I kicked off my shoes and stretched out on the long seat, resting my head in Blake’s lap. His fingers lazily ran through my hair and I let my eyes drift shut, even though I wasn’t tired at all. It was just so relaxing. “So what else do you have planned for the weekend?”

  He smiled down at me and shook his head. “I’m still not telling you. You’ll have to wait and see.”

  I sighed. “Fine then, don’t tell me.” I lasted about another minute before breaking. “Please tell me?”

  He laughed. “So impatient. We’ll be going to some kind of show tomorrow, but that’s all I’m telling you.”

  I frowned a little. “A show?”

  “Yup.”

  “Damn it, now I’m really curious,” I pouted.

  “Don’t worry, you’ll like it. I promise.”

  I knew I wouldn’t get anything else out of him, so I let the subject drop. Blake reached up and felt around all the dials above his head until he managed to turn some music on. We spent the rest of the drive just relaxing and listening to the music.

  When we arrived at the hotel, the nerves came back full force. We walked to the elevators and Blake told me that we were on the sixth floor. Once on the right floor, he handed me the keycard and I was a little relieved to see that his hand was trembling a little. At least I wasn’t the only one who was nervous.

  We got to the room and I slid the keycard in. Once the door was open, we stepped in and I looked around. The suite was fairly large, with a separate bedroom. There was also a huge Jacuzzi tub just off the living room, and I fully intended to make use of that.

  I saw the bag that I had packed and given to Sophie sitting beside the couch. Another bag was sitting there as well and I assumed it was Blake’s. I let out a shaky breath before turning to Blake. “It’s a very nice room,” I said.

  I heard him let out a little breath. “I know. I came here earlier this week to familiarize myself with it so that I didn’t end up tripping and falling on my face in front of you.”

  I laughed. “That would have been entertaining, but I’m glad that you got to familiarize yourself with it. I know how much easier it is for you when you don’t have to rely on other people to lead you around.”

  He put his arms around my waist and nuzzled at my neck. “I don’t mind so much as long as it’s you leading me around.”

  I shivered a little as his breath tickled me. “You can be so corny and sweet sometimes,” I informed him.

  “Only with you.” He lifted his head and placed his forehead against mine. “You’ve made a huge difference in my life, Hailey. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”

  “Probably continued to be sarcastic and push everyone away. Now you’re just sarcastic,” I teased.

  He chuckled. “That I am,” he replied. He took my hand and led me to the sofa in the living room. He sat down and had me sit on his lap. “Are you nervous?”

  I nodded. “A little. The only other guy I was ever with was Marcus, and we both know how that turned out.”

  He tensed up when I said Marcus’s name, but didn’t comment on it. “I was only ever with my ex, Clarissa,” he said. “So neither of us had the best previous experiences.”

  I put my head on his shoulder. “No, we didn’t. But this will be different, right?”

  “Definitely. I have no intention of letting you go, so you’re stuck with me.”

  I smiled. “I’m okay with that.” I paused for a moment. “Are you nervous?” I asked quietly.

  “Honestly? I’m kind of terrified. I don’t really know what I’m supposed to do, since I can’t actually see you.”

  “Well, you use your hands to ‘see’ so you’ll just have to use them for that.” Then my eyes widened when I realized how that sounded. “Wait, I didn’t mean it like that!”

  Blake started laughing and he hugged me to him tighter. “Oh Hailey, I really do love you.”

  “That’s a good thing, because I seem to love you as well.”

  He used his hands to guide my face to his so he could kiss me. “You seem to, huh?”

  “Yeah,” I murmured as I sank into the kiss.

  Our lips moved together and the kiss was so tender that it made my heart melt a little. Even when it became more passionate, it was still achingly sweet. It was then that the nerves melted away from me. Being with Blake would be a totally different experience than anything that had happened with Marcus because what Blake and I had was much deeper than anything I’d experienced in the past. I knew that I’d never just have “sex” with Blake; it would always be making love with him.

  We moved into the bedroom and undressed each other slowly. There was an awkward moment when Blake asked me about birth control, but I quickly assured him that I was on it. We took our time before finally coming together and it was one of the most amazing experiences in my life. He held me tightly afterwards and that was how we fell asleep.

  When I woke up the next morning, I was lying on Blake’s chest and he had both arms wrapped around me. We were both curled up under the down filled comforter, and I was so comfortable that I was tempted to go back to sleep. But then the phone beside the bed rang, and Blake jolted a little before reaching over and fumbling for it. He picked it up, grunted a greeting and then hung up a moment later. He then snuggled in closer to me, obviously not wanting to get up.

  “Blake?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Who was on the phone?”

  “Wake- up service,” he mumbled.

  “Doesn’t that mean we should get up then?”

  He kissed the side of my head. “I don’t want to,” he stated.

  I grinned. “Me neither. But you obviously ordered a wake- up call for a reason.”

  He sighed and raised a hand to rub at his eyes. “What time is it?”

  I glanced at the clock. “Just after nine.”

  “Our appointment is at ten thirty, so we should probably get up and eat something.”

  “What appointment?”

  He grinned at me. “You’ll have to wait and see,” he replied teasingly.

  I huffed out a breath and watched as he climbed out of the bed and started feeling around for his clothes. I couldn’t help but admire his body as he finally located his boxers and pulled them on.

  “You know, I can feel you watching me,” he said.

  I smiled. “So?”

  He chuckled as he walked back over to the bed and carefully placed his hands on either side of me. “I was just stating a fact,” he murmured before kissing me lightly.

  “Are you going to tell me what the rest of the plans are for this weekend?” I asked as I ran my hands down his c
hest.

  He shivered slightly, but then quickly pulled away. “Nice try, but I’m still not telling you.”

  I pouted as he left the bedroom. I hated that he could actually be more stubborn than me sometimes. With a sigh, I got up and dug into my bag for some clothes. I pulled on a pair of pajama pants and then stole his t-shirt that was still on the ground and put it on as well.

  An hour later we were both dressed and in the elevator. He had told me to go to the second floor rather than the lobby, and I was a little confused at first. But I quickly understood when I saw the signs as the doors slid open. “A spa?” I asked.

  “Yeah. We’re both getting massages and you’re getting a manicure and pedicure as well, plus some facial scrub thing that Sophie said you would like,” he said.

  “What will you be doing while all of this happens?”

  He shrugged as we walked into the spa. “Waiting for you like a good boyfriend, I guess. I have my Ipod, so I can listen to some music. And the massages are last, so I’ll be with you for that.”

  I turned to face him before we got to the reception desk. “I don’t know why you’re doing all of this for me, but I’m not complaining.”

  “I just wanted to make this weekend special,” he muttered.

  I could tell he was a little embarrassed, so I didn’t say anything else about it. Instead I turned to the lady behind the desk and gave her our names. A moment later, a different lady came out from the back and asked us to go with her.

  For the next two hours, I was primped and pampered and by the time I went into the massage room, I was utterly relaxed. Blake was already in there, sitting in a chair waiting for me. When he heard me come in, he stood up. “Having fun yet?” he asked.

  “Definitely. You bored out of you mind yet?”

  He laughed. “It wasn’t that bad. I managed to have a nap, so the time actually went by fairly quickly.”

  When the two masseuses entered, Blake and I were directed to change rooms so we could get undressed and put our robes on. After that was done, we went back out and it was at that moment that I started feeling a little unsure. I pulled Blake to the side so I could talk to him. “Blake, do they know about the scars on my back?” I asked quietly.