Page 42 of State of Grace

Alexis had shut down and shut Blake out so quickly that Blake hadn’t even realized it was happening until it was over.She was scared; Blake could see it in her eyes as the panic had taken over her body. Blake had wanted to pull her into a hug and let her know it was ok. But Alexis hadn’t wanted anything to do with her when she discovered Blake knew something about her past.

“Me and my big fucking mouth,” she mumbled to herself as she started to press the doorbell before stopping herself and pacing some more. If she could do it all over, Blake would never have pressed Isla to tell her about Alexis’s past. That way, she wouldn’t have been tempted to bring it up to Alexis. She’d been stupid to do that; Blake knew that in retrospect.

There was no denying that she was falling for Alexis, and until the night before, Blake was sure Alexis felt the same way. Her sweet personality mixed with her slight awkwardness made her thoroughly irresistible to Blake. She found herself wanting to get to know her better, and she also wanted to get to know Harper, which surprised her more than anything. She’d never been a fan of kids; she was more likely to avoid them like the plague.

“Screw it.” Pressing the doorbell, Blake tussled her hair as the intercom buzzed.

“Hey,” the voice was Emily’s, “I’m buzzing you in. Come on up.”

Blake headed up the stairs with the door unlocked and followed the sound of laughter to the apartment. It was deceptively larger than Blake had expected and featured a gorgeous spiral staircase in the center that led to an open second-floor balcony that overlooked the first floor. There was a large kitchen past the dining area where everyone had gathered in the apartment’s left-hand corner. Blake recognized Sophia, Emily, and Mason among the small group gathered around the kitchen island. There was another woman and two men that Blake didn’t recognize, and she waved at them all as she walked across the elegant hardwood floor to them.

“I brought this for you.” She extended the bottle of wine she’d picked from the liquor store on the way over to game night.

“You didn’t have to do that but thank you.” Emily quickly rounded the island and was at Blake’s side as she entered the apartment’s kitchen area. She took the bottle of wine before pulling Blake into a quick hug. “Everyone, this is Blake. Blake, this is Maddie, Patrick, and Jordan,” she pointed to each of them as she said their names, and they each waved at her. “And, of course, you’ve met Sophia, and you know Mason.”

“Bonjour, Blake.”

“Bonjour, Sophia. Comment allez-vous?” She prayed her high school French was still up to par. Sophia looked impressed as she picked up a glass of wine and handed it to Blake.

“Je vais très bien, merci de demander.”

“Bien sûr.”

“I like you.” A round of laughter from the group met the comment from Sophia.

“High praise for the newcomer.” One of the men, whom Blake thought was Patrick, tipped his glass toward Blake. He walked over and wrapped her into a bear hug as Blake held the wine glass out of the embrace. She was shocked by his overt friendliness, but something about it felt oddly comforting as well. “It’s great to meet you, Blake.”

“You too.” Blake took a step back as he released his embrace. “You’re Patrick, right?”

“Yes, and Jordan’s my partner.” He pointed to the shy-looking blonde sitting on the countertop. Jordan offered her a quick wave and a smile. “And Maddie is my twin sister.” Patrick grabbed Maddie’s arm and pulled her close. “Don’t we look just alike?”

“Oh, totally.” Blake played along as Maddie rolled her eyes.

“We’re fraternal twins, not identical.”

“I can see the resemblance.” She extended her hand out to Maddie, who firmly shook it. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Yeah, you too.”

“Nonna!” Behind them, the front door opened, and Blake turned around in time to see Harper whiz right by her and go straight for Sophia’s arms. Sophia twirled the young girl around in a circle before kissing her cheek and putting her on her hip. It was clear their relationship was strong, and it made Blake smile.

“Hey,” Alexis smiled quickly at her before averting her eyes.

“Hey.” As Blake turned to face her, Alexis kept walking into the kitchen and greeted everyone with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Alexis poured herself a glass of wine as they all made their way to the living room. Everyone had an assigned seat, it appeared, and Blake let them all find their spot before taking one on the ottoman pushed off to the side of the couch. Sophia, Emily, and Alexis sat on the sofa while Maddie and Mason curled up on the cozy-looking chair. Patrick and Jordan sat on the floor across from Blake. Harper walked over to Sophia and put her hands on her knees.

“Nonna, can I watch Frozen?” Harper tilted her head to the side.

“Of course, ma petite.” She picked up the remote off the end table and turned on the TV. After a few button clicks, the musical’s opening notes filled the air as Sophia adjusted the volume, and Harper made herself at home on the sizeable bean-bag style chair between Blake and the television.

“She’s obsessed with Frozen.” Alexis rolled her eyes as she picked up the dice off the Monopoly board game set up on the coffee table and rolled before handing the dice to Maddie on her left to see who would go first.

“Well, I mean, who isn’t?” Blake feigned confusion on who wouldn’t like the movie, which pulled a laugh from Alexis.

The game started with Sophia rolling the highest number – something that apparently happened often, if the groan that made its way through the group was any indication. It was easily the most intense game Blake had ever played. Houses and hotels covered nearly the entire board game, and people were beginning to throw money at each other after every turn angrily.

“Geez, you all don’t mess around.”

“No, we don’t.” Rolling the dice, Sophia let out a loud groan. “Fuck!”

---