Page 11 of Because of Blake
My eyes pop open and my head whips up to find Blake and Oscar standing on the sidewalk. His face is rife with concern and his chocolate eyes are locked on me.
I must look worse than I thought. I swallow and push off of the tree. “Hi, Blake. Yes, I’m fine. I was out for a run and got over-heated.”
His eyes soften, but the worry in his features remains. “Should I get you some water?”
“What? No, you don’t have to do that. I’m heading back home. It’s just around the corner.”
“You’re going to walk the rest of the way, right?” He arches an eyebrow and gives me a one-sided smirk, sending butterflies through my stomach.
Don’t throw up, Maggie.“Of course I’ll walk.”
He drops the eyebrow and his eyes narrow. “Maybe I should walk with you, just to be safe.”
The butterflies dissipate, and I let out a feathery chuckle. “You don’t have to. I’ll be fine.”
“It’s no trouble. I’m going the same way you are. Come on.” Blake waves me on, and I have no choice but to join him.
As soon as I’m on the sidewalk, Oscar makes circles around me, tying me up in his leash. When he jumps up to lick my face, he knocks me off balance, and I tumble into the grass, landing on my ass with a hard thud.
“Oh shit,” Blake says as he kneels down and quickly unties my legs. Once I’m free, Blake’s gaze crawls up me, lingering a moment on my chest before landing on my eyes. His irises darken and he clears his throat. “I’m so sorry, Maggie. Are you okay?”
Chuckling, I roll to my side before standing up. “I’m fine, thanks.” I twist my body to make sure I am actually fine and brush the dirt from my butt. As I turn around to face Blake, his head pops up, meeting my gaze before flicking away as he swallows.
He was looking at my ass. I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from grinning. Maybe I should buy some more of these leggings.
Blake clears his throat, rubbing the back of his neck. “You okay to walk?”
I nod as Blake and I fall into step. Although my stomach flips every time I look at him, it’s a welcome change from the heart pounding panic of Sydney’s text. As I focus on quelling the butterflies that keep returning, I realize neither of us are speaking. The silence kills me. We’ve spoken a few times in the last three weeks, and every time it’s been easy, but right now I can’t think of anything to say. This is incredibly awkward.
Why, though? I’m not trying to date him, so why do I have to worry about what I say? At this point anything would be better than this.“I should’ve worn shorts today. I’m sweating like a pig in these leggings.” I cringe at myself. On second thought, that was worse than the silence.
Blake chuckles. “Yeah, September can be deceiving. The air is cooler, but the sun keeps things pretty warm. Shorts would be more comfortable, but they probably don’t look as good as your leggings.”
I whip my head up to look at him in his wide eyes.
“Uh, I mean, those are nice leggings. High end, right?”
I nod, but his pink cheeks give me an urge to be bold. “Yes, they are, and it’s nice to know they look good from behind.” As the flirtatious words leave my mouth, a pang of guilt hits my gut.Stop flirting with him. He’s not Charlie.
Blake chokes on his inhale, and I want to giggle, but the moment is gone. “Where are the kids?”
I suck in a breath and release it slowly, not allowing panic to take over again. “At home. Sydney had a birthday sleepover and I had to get away from the giggling.”
He chuckles. “And let me guess, Dylan is tucked away on the Xbox?”
“You nailed it.”
“To be fair, pretty much every time I’ve talked to Dylan, the Xbox comes up.”
My mouth ticks up. Blake certainly pays attention to details. He’s learned more about my kids through the few conversations we’ve had in two months, than any of the men I’ve dated since Charlie. Considering most of them lasted less than a week, it’s not surprising, but it’s refreshing all the same.“Well, thanks for indulging him.”
“It’s no problem. I kind of enjoy it.”
I look at him as I scratch my cheek, dragging my fingers down my jaw. “You enjoy listening to a ten-year-old talk wildly about video games?”
Blake shrugs. “I play online with my friends, so I get where Dylan’s coming from. Depending on the game, it can get pretty intense with tournaments and stuff, though the ones I play aren’t for Dylan, yet.”
“Why?”