Page 91 of State of Grace

“Blake.” Alexis moaned as Blake pressed down harder, curling her fingers more. Success happened unexpectedly as Alexis’s body arched, causing her breasts to rise from the water as water splashed out of the tub and onto the hardwood floor. “Oh my god! Oh, Blake! Oh!” She’d always been loud during sex, but Blake sent her over the edge in more ways than one. Alexis tightened her grip on Blake’s arms once more as she brought her knees closer to her body while Blake kept pressing down. “Blake!”

Alexis came in such euphoria that she immediately knew she never wanted to experience that again except with Blake. Her body had exploded in one swift movement and come back together at all once, leaving every limb limp. Once she caught her breath, Blake slowed her fingers down as she rubbed Alexis’s clit. Alexis grabbed Blake’s hand quickly, keeping her from moving inside of her.

“I can’t take another orgasm right now.” She was breathless; her body limp against Blake’s. “If you move your hand, I know that’s what’s going to happen.”

Blake slowly eased back into the tub, pulling Alexis closer to her with her free hand. Alexis’s trembling legs extended slightly out in front of her as she rolled her head back to kiss Blake. She caressed Blake’s cheek in her hand as she studied her sky-blue eyes that held so much love for her it made Alexis want to weep with happiness.

“Can I have my hand back now, please?”

Grudgingly, Alexis nodded as Blake kissed her nose. Blake removed her hand slowly, and the sensation elicited a cry of pleasure from Alexis. She brought Blake’s hand to her chest, laying her palm between her breasts. Alexis knew her heartbeat had to be faster than a bunny being chased by a fox.

After a few silent moments, their breathing returned to normal, and Alexis stood and got out of the tub. She extended her hand to Blake to help her out. Blake grabbed a bath towel from the linen closet by the bathtub and handed it to Alexis before taking one for herself. Neither woman spoke, blissfully exhausted as they dried each other off before heading back into the bedroom. They changed into t-shirts and pajama bottoms, laughing they each preferred the same nighttime attire.

Taking hold of Alexis’s hand, Blake pulled her onto the bed beside her. They cuddled up beside each other as Alexis settled her forehead in the crook of Blake’s neck and breathed in the smell of the lavender that lingered on her skin. Wrapping their arms around each other as if it was something they had done every night, the two started drifting off to sleep.

Those three potentially dangerous words lingered on Alexis’s lips as she drew small circles on Blake’s arm with her fingertips. Never in her twenty-seven years of life had Alexis ever muttered those words to anyone but Harper and her best friends. Never once to anyone she loved because, until Blake, Alexis had never been in love.

“Blake?”

“Hmm?”

“I love you.”

She heard Blake’s breath catch in her throat as she sat up slightly. Blake kissed her softly, and Alexis’s smile formed as they kissed.

“I love you, too.”

Alexis could have stayed in Blake’s sleepy embrace forever. Their legs and arms were a delicate weave that Alexis would never have thought would be comfortable. Blake’s legs were wrapped around Alexis, keeping her close to her body. One of her arms was wrapped around Alexis’s waist, and the other was under Alexis’s neck. Her arms were squished somewhere between their bodies, and Alexis never wanted to move.

The phone on the nightstand had other ideas for the morning.

It had been continuously vibrating for a good five minutes as Alexis finally forced her eyes open. She could tell by the short vibrates that they were texts, and she assumed it was Sophia or Emily, or more likely, both asking her how the night went. They were nosy, but they loved her. Alexis didn’t want her perfect night and perfect morning to come to an end yet, answering the phone would mean that she’d be back in reality.

“Leave it.” Blake pulled her as close as she could to stop Alexis from getting up.

“What if it’s Harper?”

“Isn’t she with Sophia and Emily?”

“Yes, but,” Alexis reluctantly pulled her arms free from Blake’s embrace, “they wouldn’t text unless it was an emergency. I gotta get it.”

Placing a kiss on her lips, Alexis rolled out of Blake’s embrace as her bare feet hit the cold floor. The chill of the morning made her whole body shiver. Alexis picked up the phone, and her heart sank to the floor. There were over twenty missed messages and phone calls from Sophia and Emily. Quickly opening up the message thread from Sophia, Alexis fought the urge to throw up.

Sophia’s screenshots were an article posted about Blake’s show being picked back up and due to resume filming in a few days. While that news alone wasn’t a bombshell to her, the part that ripped Alexis’s heart out were the three pictures posted at the top of the tabloid article. One had the caption, “A summer fling for Calloway,” which made her stomach churn. They were snapped at the restaurant last night, and Alexis knew then what a terrible idea it was to go out in public with Blake.

“What the fuck is this?” Turning the phone around, Alexis showed Blake the picture that was already burned into her brain. Blake was up and sitting on the edge of the bed within seconds. She reached out for the phone and grabbed it from Alexis. Her eyes quickly scanned the screen as she stood and ran her hand through her hair.

“No.” Blake shook her head as she paced in front of the bed. “No, no, no.”

“Blake, what the fuck?” Snatching the phone out of Blake’s hand, Alexis fired off a text for Sophia to come and pick her up. “How did my picture get plastered over the internet without my permission or hell, even knowing that it was being taken?”

“I have no idea, Lex. I didn’t know about them either.”

“And that article? It mentions that you’re going to be in a spin-off series. Is that true?”

“I don’t know.” Blake shook her head. “I told you everything I knew last night. The only thing Salem said was that it was a TV movie. I mean,” she grimaced as she shrugged, “she mentioned the new studio had talked about a spin-off, but I haven’t signed on for anything.”

“This article seems to indicate otherwise.”

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