Page 38 of State of Grace

“Ok, but listen,” Isla pointed a finger at her, “if I tell you, you cannot tell Alexis you know about it, ok? This isn’t something I should even tell you, but I love you, and I want you to know that Alexis is closed off for a reason. Although judging by the scene I witnessed, she’s not as closed off as I originally thought.”

A playful slap in the arm by Blake accompanied Isla’s comment.

“Michelle was this TA at the college here in town when Alexis was a freshman. Alexis fell hard for her, but Michelle,” Isla seemed to choose her words carefully, “used Alexis, let’s say that. Because of how she treated Alexis, a lot of shit went down between them, and one thing led to another, and here we are today. And no, I will not go into detail about it because it’s not my place to say anything else. And promise me one thing?”

“Ok…?”

“Don’t press her to talk about her past unless she offers it up to you.” Pulling the Jeep into the garage, Isla turned it off as she looked over at Blake. “And Blake, if she does ever offer that up to you, let her talk. Don’t interrupt, ok?”

“Should I be worried about what’s hiding in Alexis’s closet?”

“No, she’s scared enough for everyone.” Isla sadly sighed. “If she trusts you with it, then she cares about you. Alexis isn’t close to many people, and we were all there when shit went down, and since then, she hasn’t let anyone new into her life. It’s a big deal if she trusts you.”

Blake nodded and swallowed hard. She could tell Alexis had been hurt; Alexis had all but told her that herself. But at that moment, Blake wanted to run back to the apartment and tell Alexis that she was more than anything some bitch named Michelle made her believe.

Chapter 14

Through long shifts, even longer rehearsals, and a fun day with Harper at the park, the kiss had lingered on Alexis’s lips like a tattoo. Every time she thought about it, she couldn’t help but smile. She wanted to savor the sweetness of the moment forever, so much so that she hadn’t even told Sophia it had happened. Alexis knew Sophia well enough to know that she would have talked her to death and made her start to doubt if she should even be interested in Blake in the first place.

Sophia was protective; Alexis would give her that. But sometimes, her protectiveness came out in ways that drove Alexis crazy. It was always Sophia’s way or the highway, and she wasn’t one to budge on what she thought was the right path for everyone’s life. The worst part was that Sophia could dish it out, but she couldn’t take it; often, instead of rocking the boat, Alexis would let Sophia tell her what she thought was the thing Alexis needed to do and just nod.

Which was precisely why Alexis had chosen to stay in her happy bubble.

At least until the next day at game night when she knew she’d end up spilling her guts after one too many drinks. Alexis rarely drank anymore, but game nights with her best friends were the exception. She’d become a lightweight after having Harper, and it often took less than two full drinks to make her buzzed.

She certainly would have downed a whole bottle of any liquor to give her the courage to talk to Blake after the rehearsal. Although Blake had been at every rehearsal, Alexis hadn’t gotten to talk to her since the night they kissed. She’d wanted to, of course, but the timing was always off. They’d leave at different times, or Blake would get caught by another cast member wanting to pick her brain on their performance.

“Ok, gang, that was fantastic!” Bryce ran up the stairs on the side of the stage as she clapped her hands. In the audience, Blake was standing and clapping as well. They’d successfully run through the first three numbers without a hitch, and although Alexis was exhausted, she was also exhilarated. Her eyes found Blake’s in the audience as her smile spread wide across her lips at the adorable wink Blake sent her way. “That’s a wrap for tonight; tomorrow, we’ll try to add another number.”

As everyone dispersed for the night, Alexis wasn’t surprised to find Blake waiting for her by her car. She leaned against the car and had her hands in the pockets of the lightweight jacket she was wearing. Blake was looking down at her Converse sneakers, which gave Alexis a few moments to take in the view. She was stunning but not in the way Alexis had expected when she’d first seen Blake on TV. Instead, without all the makeup and her hair falling in soft curls around her face, it was a more natural beauty that stole Alexis’s breath every time she saw her.

“Hey.” Alexis tapped the toe of Blake’s shoe with her own, and her blue eyes looked up at her. They went soft as the faint lines around her eyes crinkled with her smile. She savored the fact that the smile was solely for her as she nervously tussled her hair. “You waiting on me?”

“No, this car is just really comfortable to lean on.”

“Good call.” Reaching out, Blake took hold of the strings on Alexis’s hoodie and pulled them slightly. “I haven’t gotten to talk to you in forever.”

“It’s been a week.”

“Ahh, so you know how much time has lapsed.”

“Well, that was one hell of a kiss.” Alexis lowered her eyes and licked her bottom lip before slowly looking back up at Blake. She wanted more than anything in the world for Blake to kiss her again, but she didn’t want to be needy and ask for it. Thankfully, Blake must have been feeling the same way as she pushed herself off the car and pressed her lips quickly onto Alexis’s. The kiss was quicker than the other night; they were both aware people were still milling out of the theatre and into their cars. But it still made Alexis’s heart flutter. “Is it weird to say I’ve missed you even though we really haven’t hung out that much?”

“I know what you mean.” Blake nodded. She ran her hands down Alexis’s arms, causing shivers to run throughout her body as she took hold of her hands and squeezed them. “I wanted to give you some space after…after last week. I wasn’t sure how you felt after that, and after Mom said that you might be interested in me too, I…”

“Wait, what?” Shaking her head in confusion, Alexis pulled her hands from Blake and studied her face. Panic was written as clear as day all over Blake’s face, and she immediately tried to backtrack.

“I mean,” Blake crossed and then uncrossed her arms over her chest rapidly, “she saw us kissing, so of course, it came up on the ride home.”

“Did she say anything else about me?”

“No,” her voice was a higher pitch than usual. Alexis crossed her arms and gave Blake a look that always worked on Harper when she was in trouble. “I mean, sort of, but she told me not to tell you that she told me.”

“What,” she forced the lump in her throat down with a swallow, “what did she tell you?”

Her mind was racing, swirling with the worst-case scenarios of what Isla could have told Blake. There were skeletons in Alexis’s closet that she would rather never see the light of day again. They were her darkest days, and Alexis had locked them up so tightly in the recesses of her soul that she knew there was no way she’d ever be able to open up to anyone enough to tell them about those days.

Including Blake.

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