Page 65 of State of Grace

“Bonjour, Alexis. How was rehearsal?”

“It was good, great, actually. It went off without a hitch, so this will be good.” Sitting down on the ottoman, Alexis put her hands on her lap and looked over at Emily and Harper before looking back at Sophia. “So, I need to tell you something, and I need you not to freak out, or judge or anything else like you normally do.”

“Oh, what did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything.” Alexis held her hands up. “Blake asked tonight if she could watch Harper tomorrow while I work, and I told her that was ok with me.”

“I thought Emily and I were watching her?”

“Well, you were, but this will give you a break.”

“I don’t need a break from Harper.” Sophia was on edge, and it caught Alexis off guard. She’d always been protective of Alexis and Harper, but Alexis thought she’d be happy to have a night alone. “Blake doesn’t even know the first thing about taking care of Harper. I, however, have done it for five years and am an expert in all things Harper.”

“Yes, I know that. But Blake is going to take her to the park and play with LEGOs and make grilled cheeses for lunch.”

“I love grilled cheese!” Harper interjected from the other side of the room.

“Lex, are you sure this is a good idea?” Sophia’s brown eyes were skeptical.

“Yes, I am.” She firmly nodded. “Blake’s been around Harper for the past couple of months, and they get along great. I mean – Harper, you like hanging out with Blake, right?”

“Yup, I love Blake. She sings Frozen with me, and she gives me her fries.”

“Oh, well, how can I compete with that? I only helped birth her and raise her and took care of her when she had her tonsils out.” Sophia waved her off dismissively but a sly smile formed on her lips. She tended to pretend she didn’t want them all around when in reality Sophia wouldn’t have it any other way. Alexis reached out and put her hand on Sophia’s knee.

“I told Blake that Emily would be home during the day and you’d be home after classes, so she knows that if she gets overwhelmed or needs help or anything, that you two will be there, ok?” She waited for Sophia to nod. “This will be good for them. Especially if…”

Alexis stopped herself, but it was too late. Sophia had caught her drift on where her sentence was about to go, and there was no turning back now. Standing up, Sophia grabbed her hand as she pulled her into the kitchen out of earshot of Emily and Harper.

“How serious are things between you and Blake?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged but couldn’t help but smile. Things had been getting serious with Blake, but Alexis had been too scared to say it aloud. Her track record in relationships was horrible, and she didn’t want to mess things up with Blake. Alexis cared too much about her to ruin whatever they had going between them. “I mean, I like her, and she likes me too, and…I don’t know.”

“Lex, you know more than anything that I want you happy. But,” Sophia paused, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, “be careful, ok? You’ve only known Blake a couple of months, and things are happening fast between you two.”

“Fast?” Alexis scoffed. “We haven’t done anything but make-out on the couch, and we haven’t even had a real date considering Blake doesn’t want to go out alone in town at the risk of someone seeing us together.”

“Uh-huh.” With her hand on her hip, Sophia waited for her to go on.

“I like Blake, Soph. If she’s going to be in my life – in Harper’s life – then I need them to be comfortable around each other. I need to know that Blake can handle Harper on her own and that Harper is comfortable around her. Otherwise,” she let out a laugh although nothing was funny, “I don’t know if this relationship can work.”

“And I want you two to work.”

“Really?”

“Really.” Sophia nodded before she rolled her eyes and laughed. “After all, if you have a woman in your life and your bed, perhaps I can spend more time with Emily in our bedroom.”

Alexis playfully shoved Sophia’s shoulder as the two laughed. She was beyond thankful to have a best friend like Sophia. Someone who understood her and loved her, and cared about her more than Alexis felt like she was worth. In Sophia’s presence, Alexis always felt safe. Taking the magnetic notepad off the refrigerator, Sophia scribbled down something before tearing off the paper and handing it to Alexis.

“Here. Make sure Blake has my number and Emily’s and tell her not to hesitate to call me, oui?” A raised eyebrow told Alexis she meant business. “And tell her I will be checking on her throughout the night, and if she wants, I can make her and Harper dinner since Blake doesn’t strike me as a cook.”

“I’ll tell her about the offer. Thank you, Soph.” Heading back into the living room, Alexis walked over to Emily and Harper. Harper jumped off Emily’s lap and wrapped her arms around Alexis’s legs. “Are you ready for bed, baby girl?”

“Not really.” She shrugged. “Can we watch a movie first? Like we do with Blake?”

“Sure thing.” Scooping Harper up, Alexis put her on her hip as she looked back at Sophia. “See, everything’s gonna be great.”

“We shall see, mon amour.”

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