Page 34 of State of Grace

“I would love to.” Blake’s smug smile was irresistible.

“Great.” Emily clapped her hands happily. “Do you want a ride?”

“Sure. I was supposed to text Isla to pick me up when we got done.” She pulled out her phone. “I’ll just send her a text and let her know I’m going to grab some ice cream with you two and to pick me up later.” Blake laughed nervously. “God, I feel like a teenager.”

“I’m Emily, by the way.” Emily’s quick shift in conversation caused both Alexis and Blake to turn toward her. She held out a hand to Blake and they shook hands. “I’ve heard so much about you, and it’s so great to meet you finally.” Turning toward Alexis, Emily let her eyes go wide for a moment before turning back to Blake.

“Nice to meet you, too.” Blake let go of Emily’s hand and put it into her pocket. “You work at the bar, right?”

“I do, yes.”

“I saw you there the first time I came in there.”

“Oh, you noticed me, huh?” It seemed like Emily was flirting with Blake, but Alexis knew it was all in good fun. There was no one on Emily’s radar but Sophia. Those two had what Alexis wanted one day. They were utterly in love with each other, and despite their ups and downs, they always stood by each other.

“I noticed Alexis, too.” Reaching out, Blake twirled a strand of Alexis’s loose hair around her finger for a moment. Their eyes locked together, and everything else around them disappeared. It was only Alexis and Blake, and nothing else mattered. Alexis would have stayed in that moment forever, but Emily’s not-so-subtle cough beside her pulled them both from their intimate moment.

“Well, then,” Alexis shook her head slightly and Blake’s hand fell back to her side. She loosely draped an arm around Emily’s shoulder. “Please forgive my friend here. She’s not used to being out in public around other people.”

“It’s ok.” Waving her off, Blake laughed as Emily shrugged to try to get Alexis’s hands off her shoulder. Alexis didn’t budge as she turned Emily around and faced her toward the driver’s side door.

The drive to the ice cream shop was short, and the only thing between them was the sound of Taylor Swift playing through the car’s speakers. Looking over her shoulder, Alexis smiled back at Blake. She was utterly unprepared to find Blake looking back at her with a slight pink color on her cheeks. Blake licked her lower lip; Alexis turned back around, embarrassed and excited. “Have you been here yet?” Emily opened the car door for Blake, and it didn’t go unnoticed by Alexis. She felt jealous of the simple gesture and wished Blake had been sitting on the same side of the car as she was so she could have done that.

“A couple of times, yes.”

“This place is the best.” Opening the door to Any Given Sundae, Emily smiled as Blake and Alexis walked in. Alexis watched Blake look around the multi-colored shop. It was a funky design with old license plates and hubcaps and bicycle tires all over the walls. The grey hardwood floor had large polka dots painted all over it, and Harper always made it a point to hop from one to the other every time they stopped by. “I recommend the cookies and cream. It’s mine and Harper’s favorite.”

“What’s your favorite?” Blake looked past Emily straight at Alexis. She felt she was in the world’s brightest spotlight with Blake’s blue eyes entirely focused on hers. Alexis noticed out of the corner of her eye that Emily’s mouth was slightly open, and she rested the urge to chuckle.

“Reese’s Cup yogurt with extra Reese’s Cups on top.” She proudly grinned as Blake rolled her eyes. Beside her, Emily let out an exasperated sigh. “And sometimes, if I’m feeling rebellious, I add some Oreo crumbles and chocolate syrup.”

“Sometimes I wonder who’s the child, her or Harper.”

“Most of the time, it’s me.”

“I can see that,” Blake agreed.

Alexis feigned hurt at Blake’s remark, which drew a laugh from Blake. As Emily placed her order, Alexis stood shoulder to shoulder with Blake and relished in the feel her closeness, their bare arms brushing against each other. Of course, Blake looked insanely better in her attire than the yoga pants and t-shirt Alexis had on. She nervously tugged at the hem of her shirt to pull it away from her stomach. There was still stubborn baby weight Alexis wanted to lose but always enjoyed ice cream more than exercise.

“After you,” Blake motioned for Alexis to place her order with a sweeping gesture of her hand and a slight bow. She put her order in as Blake followed behind her and did the same. “May I get one scoop of cookies and cream and one scoop of Reese’s Cup in a waffle cone, please?”

“Seriously?” Emily placed a hand on her hip from her place at the register.

“I want to know which of you have the better taste in ice cream.”

“You two are perfect for each other.”

The nonchalant comment left Emily’s lips so effortlessly that both Blake and Alexis froze and looked at each other to see if they’d heard her correctly. Alexis shrugged as she picked up a spoon from the metal cup by the register and stuck it into her large cup. Heading for an open table by the large front window, Alexis took the bench seat with its back to the wall as she watched Blake and Emily argue over who was going to pick up the tab. Emily won out, which was no surprise at all to Alexis.

“Your friend is mean.” Blake sat on the bench seat beside Alexis as Emily slid into the chair across from them. Her hand froze between her ice cream cup and her mouth as Blake’s hips bumped into hers, and she didn’t move away. There was plenty of room on the seat, they didn’t have to sit so close, and yet Blake had chosen to sit as close to Alexis as she could get; a move that didn’t go unnoticed by either Alexis or Emily - if the subtle look she gave was any indication.

“We basically kidnaped you and made you come with us. You’re our guest.” Emily reached her spoon out, scooped some Reese’s crumbles off Alexis’s ice cream, and put them on her own. It was the same thing Harper did, and Alexis couldn’t remember who had started it first.

“I was a voluntary participant in the kidnapping if you want to tell the police that.”

“Noted,” Emily nodded seriously, but a smile played on her lips.

Once again, the easy banter between them was so natural that it startled Alexis. Startled but didn’t scare her. She found herself enjoying the way Blake would touch her arm when she laughed at something, or the way she had wiped ice cream from the corner of her lips with more tenderness than Alexis knew was possible. Alexis had noticed how Emily’s eyes had widened across the table, and she hoped she wouldn’t comment on it. Whatever was happening with Blake was so new and uncertain that Alexis didn’t want anyone or anything to jeopardize it.

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