Page 62 of State of Grace

“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?”

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