Page 100 of State of Grace

“I’m going. I’m going.” Turning left, Alexis looked at the numbers on the houses before spotting the one she was looking for. The navigation system told her she’d found her destination as Alexis pulled the rental car into the driveway. There were no other vehicles there, but there was a garage. Alexis had no idea what type of vehicle Blake would be driving. Turning the car off, she unplugged her phone from the USB cord and got out.

Not giving herself any chance to overthink, Alexis marched up to the front door and knocked. There was a video doorbell to the right of the door, and Alexis waved sheepishly at it in case whoever was on the other side was looking at it. Hearing the door unlock, Alexis stood up straighter and begged for it to be Blake on the other side.

“Alexis?” Considering she’d never met Salem, Alexis was surprised she knew her name. Which didn’t make any sense considering Salem had to know who Alexis was and what she looked like from the pictures posted online. “Are you looking for Blake?”

Duh, was the first response that came to mind but, thankfully, Alexis didn’t say it.

“Um, yeah.” She nervously twirled the ends of her hair around her fingers. “Is she here? Isla said she was staying here.”

“She met up with someone after work for dinner.” Salem checked her watch. “But she has to be on set early in the morning, so I can’t imagine she’d be out much longer. Do you want to come in and wait?”

Alexis didn’t have a chance to answer before an SUV pulled into the driveway. The bright headlights shining in her eyes prevented Alexis from seeing inside the tinted windows.

“Blake Calloway, everyone.” Salem laughed. “She never misses a cue.”

If Alexis hadn’t been so focused on the driver’s side door opening, she might have also laughed at Salem’s joke. But Alexis only had one thing on her mind. She needed to see Blake. As the door opened, she watched Blake step out as if in a daze. Blake blinked a few times as if unsure the sight before her was real or not.

“You’re here.” The words were dreamlike as the two closed the gap between them. Alexis went into Blake’s arms and let herself be enveloped in the tight hug. It seemed to put all the pieces back together that Alexis had struggled to do herself over the last few weeks.

“I am.” Alexis pulled away just enough to see Blake’s face. There were tears in her eyes, and when she blinked, a couple fell and ran down her cheek. “I’ve missed you so much, Blake.”

“I’ve missed you, too.”

Alexis ran her hands down Blake’s arms and intertwined their fingers.

“I should have called you weeks ago and told you that.” Alexis swallowed hard. “I am so sorry that I freaked out the way I did after the photos came out.”

“Lex, you don’t…”

“Please.” She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I need to say this because I need you to know it.” Blake nodded. “I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you. I know now that I overreacted, and I should never have shut you out like I did. I know you didn’t have anything to do with the photos being taken, and if I insinuated that, I am so sorry.”

“It’s ok, Lex. You were upset.”

“Still, that wasn’t an excuse to act the way I did. We’re a couple. We’re supposed to work things out together, right?” Again, Blake nodded but this time, a smile also started to form on her lips. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that I want to figure this out together.”

“I want that, too.” Blake pulled Alexis in as they wrapped their arms around each other’s waists. “I’ve wanted to tell you that for weeks too but I knew you needed your space. I tried to give it to you and I was miserable.”

“Me too.” Alexis dropped her head to Blake’s chest with a sad laugh.

“Well, at least it’s not just one-sided.”

“Definitely not.”

“I realized these last few weeks what I’ve known for the last few months.”

“What’s that?” Her voice was barely a whisper.

“That no matter how much I love acting, I’ll never love it half as much as I love you.” Blake lifted Alexis’s chin slightly with her index finger as their lips met. It was a soft kiss, a slow one that neither wanted to rush. Alexis leaned into her kiss and savored it.

“So, what do we do now?” Their lips were still tantalizingly close. “Where do we go from here? Are you moving here?”

Blake laughed. “Which question do you want me to answer first?”

“I don’t know.” As Alexis removed her arms from around Blake’s waist, she threw them up in mock frustration and laughed. “I mean, I just flew across the country on a whim to tell you I love you and I didn’t think about anything beyond that.”

“Well, lucky for you, I have been thinking beyond that.”

Alexis tilted her head and waited for Blake to continue.

---