Moving Forward

Chapter Eighteen

"I do remember seeing you with another girl," I tease.

With this new subject to discuss, I hope to take the attention from us and pinpoint it to Blake. Watching him squirm about something is way more entertaining.

"What about her?" Blake shrugs.

"I don't know, Blake, what about her?" I laugh.

"Anyways, I'm sorry for stealing your bed and ruining your night," I explain.

Blake runs his hand through his hair and shakes his head, "You didn't ruin my night."

"Still, I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it." He shrugs his shoulders. "Do you want breakfast?"

Before I can decline his offer, my stomach grumbles and a smile slips onto his lips. Blake takes my grumbling stomach as his answer; he walks down the stairs and I quickly follow in pursuit.

Blake goes straight to the fridge while I grab a cup of water. Surprisingly, he opens the vegetable draw and there's a stack of food inside. He pulls out a range of ingredients and places me on the kitchen bench. I find the cutting board and knife while he grabs the pan and turns it on.

I chop the mushrooms and tomato while Blake cracks the eggs and fries the bacon. The smell of food wafting through the kitchen sets my stomach off.

When I'm finished chopping, I walk around the kitchen bench and take a seat. I watch as Blake easily commands the stove. He shakes one pan, stirs another, and before I know it, Blake's reaching under the cupboard for a pair of plates. He dishes up the food and grabs a set of knives and forks to go with it.

Blake and I take a seat at the table and dig in. The crispy bacon and salty eggs seems to cure the sickness in my stomach. Part way through the meal, Blake looks at me with a thoughtful expression.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"Nothing." He shrugs. "Just remembered your mother left the car for you to drive home."

"Okay, thank you for telling me," I respond.

"Do you like the food?" he asks.

"Yes, it's really good." I smile. "Thanks for cooking."

Blake and I finish breakfast and get up to clean the kitchen. He fills the sink with water while I grab a tea towel to dry the dishes. When we're finished, I put the towel on the bench and awkwardly stretch my hands over my head.

"So, where are the keys?" I sweetly ask.

"Just on the end of the bench." My eyes wander across the bench. The silver keys sparkle in the sunlight which captures my attention. I grab the keys and quickly pocket them.

"I've taken up enough of your morning, I should leave," I say.

Blake's lips part to say something, but the second our eyes lock, his mouth shuts. He busies himself with cleaning the sink to avoid looking at me.

"Well then, goodbye, Blake."

"See you later, Ava."

I walk to the front door and Blake eventually follows behind. The gravel crunches under our feet and then I feel him grab my hand. My body spins around by force and I come face to face with Blake. In a split moment, his lips meet mine passionately. Tingles float through my body which leaves my head spinning.

"I couldn't let you walk away another time," he says. "I hate seeing you walk away."

"I'm sorry." I chew on my lip.

"You say you're a ship with holes, maybe I'm the one to fix them?" he says. "How about we walk towards the future? Get back on the boat and see where the sea takes us."

"Hm, that sounds tempting," I mutter.

"Then what's stopping you from beginning our grand adventure?"

"I enjoy living with my parents and hanging out with Axel," I explain. "I don't think I could move back here and still have that sense of freedom, even if we do try to work out a way."

"You can stay with your parents if you like, Ava, whatever makes you happy," he says.

"And what about Axel?" I mutter. "I enjoy his company and he's the kick in the butt I need sometimes."

"Do you want to be with Axel?" Blake asks.

"Not in the way you're implying," I reply.

"Do you want to be with me?" He smiles.

Blake hooks his arm around my waist and draws me closer. I lean into his body and rest my head against his chest. His arms tighten around my body, thus squeezing an answer out of me.

"Yes," I respond.

Blake's hands grip on my waist as he tugs me away. His vibrant green eyes look into mine as his smile widens with happiness.

"Let's start over then," he says. "Hi, I'm Blake Rivers, and it's nice to meet you."

"This sounds ridiculous." I shake my head.

His grip on my waist tightens as he gently shakes me back and forth. My hair slips over my shoulder and I laugh at the excitement pinging through the air.

"Come on, please try," he begs.

"Fine." I huff. "I'm Ava Greyson."

"Can I please take you on a date?" he asks. "Maybe to a movie or dinner?"

In that split moment, I feel like my row of ducks are being tossed into a woodchipper without so much of a blink of the eye.

"Yes." I nod.

Blake leans in and cups my cheek with his hand. His lips softly meet mine and my heart skips a beat. I feel myself melting into his arms and everything feels so warm and comfortable. Although, these are the kind of kisses that got me in trouble to begin with  

What do you think will happen with Axel? Are you happy for Ava? Do you think things will work out better this time?