i still love you • blake griffin

•five•

Three weeks went by, and surprisingly, Vivian hadn't heard from Blake since Sloan's party. It wasn't like she missed the constant calls & texts, seeing if she was okay; she was just worried.

In the middle of looking at potential venues for a party she was planning for Heidi Klum, Vivian's phone chimed. She tore her eyes away from the screen to see who had texted her, and it just so happened to be Blake.

From: Adulterer 💔
Are you busy?

She sent him a quick text, telling him she was actually busy and continued her search. She found three venues that would be perfect for the type of party Heidi was throwing, so she sent her an email asking when it would be possible to visit them.

Between searching for venues for Heidi's party and calling caterers for another, Vivian completely forgot about lunch. And considering she was eating for two, she was starving.

"I knew you would be hungry."

Vivian looked up from her phone, and Blake was standing in the doorway with bags of food in his hand. She furrowed her eyebrows, confused about how she didn't see him standing there.

"How long have you been standing there?" she asked as he walked into her office.

"Long enough to know you're starving my child," he said, referring to the loud growl that came from her stomach.

"I wasn't starving anyone," she argued. "I was just too busy to eat. Speaking of which, why are you here when I told you I was busy? And where have you been the last three weeks?"

Blake laughed at Vivian's back to back questions as he emptied the bags on her desk. He smirked to himself at her last question because he could hear the worry in her voice.

"Why? Did you miss me?"

"Nobody missed you," she lied. "I just thought something happened to you, that's all."

Blake could always tell when Vivian was lying, and he knew she was lying.

"So you're saying you were worried about me?" he asked, an amused smile tugging at his lips. "That's so sweet."

Vivian dropped her head and rubbed her temples, only so Blake couldn't see her smile. She couldn't understand how someone that she disliked could still have such an effect on her.

"Anyway, why do you keep showing up at my house and job unannounced?" she asked before taking a bite out of her sandwich.

Blake looked up at his ex-wife, wondering how she would react to what he wanted to say. He knew she probably wouldn't give him the answer he wanted but he figured since she was actually talking to him these days, it was worth a try.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about something." Vivian looked up and nodded for him to continue. "I want you to move in with me."

"Oh, Blake." She laughed and wiped an invisible tear. "You always did know how to make me laugh."

"I'm serious, Vivian."

Her smile disappeared, and she sat there, trying to figure out why he would want her to move in with him. Yes, she was carrying his child but to her, that wasn't a good enough reason for the two to live together.

"Wh...Why do you want me to move in with you?" she asked after a few minutes of silence.

He smiled. "Because you're having my baby, and I want to be there for you. I don't like that you're pregnant and living alone."

She liked that he actually cared about her and her living situation, even though she would never admit it — along with a lot of other things. However, she couldn't shake that one petty thought floating around in her head.

"Did you ask Brittany to move in with you when she was pregnant?"

She told herself she wouldn't say anything, but she couldn't stop herself. It was like word vomit.

Blake groaned at her response. "How long are you gonna continue to be petty?"

She smiled. "Forever."

He couldn't help but laugh at Vivian because he already knew she couldn't stop being petty even if she wanted to. It was embedded in the woman's DNA.

"But for real, Blake, why would you want to live with your ex? Don't you think that's a recipe for disaster?"

"I already told you, I don't like you living alone, and I wanna take care of you. And it would only be a problem if you make it a problem."

She couldn't help but think that she & Blake were going backwards. They were supposed to be divorced, but they were having a baby and now Blake wanted her to move in with him.

"I honestly like living alone," Vivian shrugged. "And I don't need —"

Blake rolled his eyes, and let out an aggravated sigh. "I know, Ms. I Don't Need a Man to Take Care of Me, but I want you closer to me. I don't want you to rely on someone else when you have me."

Vivian laughed at Blake's impersonation of her, then she smiled because she didn't know he cared so much.

"All I'm asking is that you at least think about it," Blake said when she wouldn't say anything.

She sighed. "Alright, Blake, I will think about it."

He grinned, knowing he was another step closer to getting Vivian back.

•

"This isn't the house I remember."

After some heavy persuasion from Blake, Vivian, against her better judgement, gave in and moved in with him. She knew it was a bad idea, but Blake was a very persistent man, and it didn't help that he recruited Natalie to help him.

"I moved into a bigger place for my son," he said, standing next to her.

"You're tryin' to tell me your old house wasn't big enough for you, a small child & Chaney?" He glared at her, and she put her hands up in surrender. "Alright, I'm sorry. Are you gonna let me in?"

He opened the door for her, and she was immediately greeted by Blake's dog, Chaney.

"He always did like you more than me," Blake said, watching Vivian scratch the top of Chaney's head.

"Well I like him more than you too." She walked further into the house, noticing how spacious it was. If Blake's son were a hyper kid, it was definitely the perfect place for him to run freely. "So do you have any house rules I should know about?"

"Don't bring strange men back here after your little dates," he joked, although he was actually serious.

"No one's gonna want to date a pregnant divorcée, so you have nothing to worry about," she said, a little discouraged. "But I don't wanna be here when you bring home your little skanks."

"I don't bring women home," he scoffed, making Vivian roll her eyes. "And even if I did, I wouldn't bring them here."

Blake didn't necessarily lie, but he didn't tell the whole truth. When he would go out, he would actually leave with a woman he wanted to sleep with, but he never took them to his house. Surprisingly, he had some common sense.

"Mhm, sure," Vivian mumbled. "Well, since all of my stuff is already moved in, thanks to you, I'm gonna go take a nap. Don't wake me up unless the house is on fire, you have food, or you're dying."

She went upstairs, with Chaney following close behind, and Blake sighed to himself. He knew living with Vivian would be hard, especially considering she hated him at the moment; he just figured it would all be worth it in the end.