Page 33 of Because of Blake
“Hi,” I reply shyly.
“Can I come in?”
“Oh, yes, right. Sorry.” God, I’m such an idiot.
He steps inside, giving me a whiff of his cologne. A musky scent, with hints of juniper and sage. It’s heavenly.
“So, where is this dastardly disposal who attacked my friend?” Blake asks with a chuckle.
I laugh, waving him to follow me into the kitchen.
He sets the toolbox on the counter and bends down to get under my sink, giving me a front-row view of his ass. Disappointment floods me when, after a minute, he stands back up. “Okay, you’ve got a ½ horsepower unit. We’ll get the same one if that’s okay. We can upgrade if you want.”
“No, I’m sure the same thing will be fine.”
“Alright, are you driving, or should I?”
“What?”
“We have to go to the store and buy one, remember?”
“Oh, right. I can drive. It’s no problem.”
We climb into my car and head off down the road. My radio is turned down low, but I’m hoping it’s loud enough to muffle the sound of my heart hammering in my chest. I keep my eyes on the road and my hands on the wheel. I’m so nervous right now, I can hardly think.
“I like this song,” Blake breaks the silence.
“Oh, yeah, I do, too,” I say. As I reach over to turn the volume up, so does Blake and our hands bump each other’s. We both withdraw quickly, our awkward silence resuming. After a moment, I hear Blake chuckle, and he reaches over, turning the volume up.
I’m relieved at his ability to laugh at himself. I need to do more of that.
Blake’s fingers move to the beat of each song, tapping out the drums. It’s been a steady stream of Linkin Park, Queens of the Stone Age, and other such bands, and Blake seems to know every one of them. It’s not until Lady Gaga comes on that he reaches over and turns down the music. “How come your radio keeps playing all the good songs?”
“It’s my iPod.”
“People still use those things?”
I laugh. “It’s my old one from college. The power button doesn’t work, and the battery won’t hold a charge, so it became my permanent car device.”
“Nice to know I’m in good company with great musical taste.”
I check my blindspot for no other reason than to hide my heated cheeks.
“So, what were your big plans for today? You know, before the disposal explosion.”
“Nothing special. Do some reading, maybe a walk. I’ll probably fall asleep on the couch watching Hallmark movies tonight.”
“Wait. You listen to Disturbed, but you watch Hallmark movies?”
I fight the smile threatening to spread across my face. “And what’s so weird about that?”
“Nothing. You just keep surprising me, Maggie.”
The smile wins and I’m grinning from ear to ear. “So what were you going to do today?”
“The same as you. Except for the reading. And the Hallmark movie. I will take Oscar for a walk, though.”
I shoot him a sideways glance. “One out of three, not bad.”