Sequel: Happily Ever After
Status: Complete

Even Lovers Drown

Chapter 46

Blake's nerves tingled with clumsy excitement. The soft hand grasping hers warmed her skin. Precious innocence shone from the emerald eyes staring up at her, sparking thoughts of delicious sexual fantasies only Saylor could embody. Saylor against the wall, Saylor on the floor, Saylor over her knee, Saylor begging for more, Saylor in any and every position regardless of whether or not it could be realized in reality, flashing through her head in quick bursts. Because Saylor held her hand. Such a small, insignificant gesture in comparison to those she had shared in venue backrooms, and she felt more aroused than she had in the presence of any groupie.

And when Saylor's full lips twisted in an inviting smile, Blake nearly shoved her against the wall and took her there.

But she resisted. Barely. Violating Saylor would ruin their yet to start date. The encounter with the pushy twins had already threatened to do so. After all, Saylor had listened to the conversation. Blake needed to keep her urges locked away until she could seclude herself in her bunk and take care of things, or risk losing all possibility of dating Saylor.

"Let's go," Blake said.

Hands fused in loving embrace, Blake began walking and Saylor followed her. Despite the empty hallway, they kept close as they strolled to their destination. Their arms brushed, their hips bumped, and neither made moves to change that. Saylor didn't pull her hand away or put distance between them. And Blake wanted to close the distance further.

If only.

Blake stopped at the door marked "Employees Only," the location of their date. Nerves excited, she looked at Saylor. Piercing green eyes met her blue ones, sending another shot of arousal through her. Blake stifled it quickly. She'd have time later to take care of that.

"Ready?" Blake asked, reaching out and gripping the doorknob.

"Are we supposed to go in there?" Saylor asked.

"I pulled some strings."

She'd pull any string she had to, to be with Saylor. Anything Saylor wanted, she would find some way to get it. If it made her happy, she would. Because she wanted Saylor. Because she needed Saylor. This wouldn't end as badly as her experience in high school. Even if having her meant slowly battling the emotional destruction "Katie" left her in.

Blake couldn’t forget the heart-breaking memory of Saylor in the midst of nightmare. Saylor’s cries, her pleading, for an end to whatever pain she was reliving were etched forever in her memory. Saylor had been hurt, so badly her dreams were scarred. Blake would never forget and she wouldn’t forgive the woman who caused her so much pain.

That woman didn’t deserve forgiveness.

"If we get in trouble, I'm blaming this all on you," Saylor said.

Blake laughed. "We're not going to get in trouble." She twisted the doorknob and pulled the door open, reluctantly letting Saylor's hand fall from hers. "Now, get in there."

Saylor hid the discontent she felt at the absence of Blake's hand under an amused smile and raised eyebrow. She hadn't been ready to let go. Not quite yet. Blake's hand in hers made her feel what Katie never could and letting go made her desperately miss the contact. She would find another way to get close to Blake in the midst of their date, another way to hold her hand or sit close enough for their bodies to touch. Blake wouldn't mind.

She pulled her eyes from Blake's intense blue gaze, hoping to ease her touch-driven thoughts long enough to get through the door. Those eyes didn't leave her, though. Her skin heated, her stomach boiled, under the blue eyes roving her. Even as she strolled into the "Employees Only" room, Blake's eyes were glued to her. She could feel them and she liked it.

Remaining consciously aware of Blake's gaze, Saylor glanced around the small room. Pizza boxes created a tower on the table, far more than she could eat regardless of how hungry she was. Brightly colored candy littered the space not dominated by the pizza and a cooler sat on floor, unknown treasures hidden inside the cold nook. Pillows congregated in front of television, a videogame system Saylor didn't recognize lounging carelessly in the space between them.

Cute.

"So, um," Blake started, letting the door click shut and appearing next to Saylor. "I thought we could play some videogames and eat pizza. Uh." She ran a nervous hand through her hair. "You probably don't like videogames, but it was either that or play pranks on Andy, which we can do if you want."

Playing videogames and eating pizza in the relaxing atmosphere of an "Employees Only" backroom. There was no reason to get dressed up in clothing she hated for the sake of impressing her date and strangers at a fancy restaurant, no reason for her to be uncomfortable acting like someone she wasn't. She could wear her ripped jeans and loose tank top and eat till she was too full, and Blake would make no criticism. Saylor didn't think Blake would make her change anyway. She could have made reservations at an expensive, five-star restaurant and she would have let Saylor wear whatever she pleased. Because Blake wasn’t Katie.

"It's perfect," Saylor said, smile wide. "You can teach me how to play."

Blake's nervous frown cracked, becoming a pleased smile. "Okay, cool, yeah."

"But I think you bought too much pizza." She nodded to the tower on the table. "I can't eat all of that."

A flush crept up Blake's neck, dusting her skin a light pink. "I didn't know what you liked."

"So you bought a lot of pizza?"

That didn't seem like a very rational thing to do. Blake wasted her money buying the stack of pizzas when she could have asked Saylor what she preferred. She wasn't sure how buying so many, no doubt random, pizzas was going to help Blake ensure she got the right one anyway.

"Well," Blake trailed off, looking pitifully at the boxes. She huffed. "Okay, so I got the cheese first because I figured it would be pretty hard to go wrong with cheese. But then, I realized you might be one of those people who won't eat pizza unless there's meat on it, so I ordered pepperoni. And I got the meat lovers pizza because Davy likes it and I thought you might like it, too. Then, I thought I might have been going the completely wrong direction, you know, adding too much. So I bought a cheese-less vegetarian pizza and a sauce-less cheese pizza. And I got ham and pineapple pizza because... I don't know." Sighing, she shook her head. "I got candy, too. Just in case you don't like pizza."

She put that much thought and money into getting Saylor the right pizza, actually narrowed down her choices before buying all she had come up with. And Saylor would have eaten every single pizza Blake had ordered.

But the pizza didn’t matter. Blake’s need to make her happy did. She felt good, adored, important, receiving Blake’s attention.

"Why didn't you ask me what I like? It would have been easier," Saylor said.

"I wanted to surprise you."

"You could have asked Davy what to get then."

He was always a usable resource in making surprises happen. Her half-brother, he knew Saylor well enough, and Blake had gone to him at least once for help. Aside from Saylor, he was Blake's most useful tool in finding out what she liked.

"He's the one who told me you like caramel-filled chocolate," Blake grumbled, shoving her hands in her pockets.

Or maybe, he wasn't that useful.

"Oh," Saylor said, "Well, cheese would have been fine. It's not my favorite, but I don't mind eating it. You didn't need to buy the rest."

"Yeah?"

She nodded. "But ham and pineapple is my favorite. You get brownie points for buying it."

"What do brownie points get me?"

"A hug?"

Perhaps a lame prize suggestion, but Saylor wasn't sure she could offer much more. The closeness of their bodies would be more than enough for her overactive mind. She didn't want to think about taking things further than that, how her body would immediately be overcome by nerves and anxiety, how she would make a fool of herself for tensing up or pushing Blake away.

Or maybe she was making anxious assumptions about what would and wouldn't make her comfortable. She wouldn't know until she took a chance. After all, Blake wasn't Katie, and Saylor's body seemed to have come to that general consensus. So why let irrational fear deny her the opportunity to try a little more than hugging Blake?

But a broad smile stretched Blake's lips, happiness brightening her blue eyes, and Saylor felt no need to question her decision further. Hugs were enough in exchange for the imaginary brownie points.

Blake spread her arms, an invitation for Saylor. "I'd like to cash in for a hug now."

Heart fluttering in excitement, Saylor stepped into Blake's open gesture, a silent acceptance of the invitation. Strong arms slid around her waist, pressing their bodies close together. Saylor's heartbeat quickened, her stomach flipped, her skin heated in desire, and the only thing she could do to satiate her mind's plea for more was wrap her arms around Blake's neck and cuddle closer, burrowing her head into the crook of Blake's neck and inhaling her peppermint scent.

Such a perfect fit. Like puzzle pieces meant to connect for the sake of creating a whole picture. Blake could make her whole again, Blake could fill the void Katie created, Blake could be her missing puzzle piece.

Taking a deep breath of peppermint, Saylor pulled her head away from Blake's neck and met her gorgeous blue eyes. "Alright, let's play videogames."

"Right, videogames," Blake mumbled.

She didn't move, didn't release her hold from Saylor's waist, didn't create the least bit of distance between them. Because she didn't want to. They could stand there in embrace until Andy barged in to break them up. Blake couldn't think of a more suitable date. Playing videogames and eating pizza was unnecessary when they could just hold each other.

An amused smile tugged on Saylor's lips. "You have to let go, so I can beat you," she said.

"But you've never played videogames before," Blake said.

More to clarify. She was sure Saylor said Blake would have to teach her how to play. Had she misheard over the rush of nervousness? Or maybe, she misinterpreted.

Saylor nodded. "Right."

That only meant one thing.

"You're not a sore loser like Davy, are you?"

The number of tantrums he threw over not winning a videogame match could rival Hayden's. Granted, he normally won, but when he didn't, World War Three would explode in whatever living room had the misfortune of hosting their game nights.

"When I win," Saylor ground out, a seeming attempt to erase any thought she would lose, "you're doing anything I ask for the rest of tour." She slipped out of Blake's hold. "I hope you don't mind losing."

With that, she snatched a pizza box from the table and strolled to the cushions. Blake watched as she made herself comfortable, plans for a more romantic date crashing around her.

"She's a sore loser like Davy," Blake mumbled, "perfect."

She should have planned a date playing pranks on Andy instead.
♠ ♠ ♠
Thank you to I am Cheese! :3, Tori the Elf, RwaR means i Luv you, choliecole, x-love-vs-hate-x, Catie Darling, Barbielovesyou, Ashleyy_J3, and CreativeClassic.
Sorry, sorry, sorry.
School sucks.
That's all I have to say about that.
I hope you enjoyed.
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xoxo
Dakota Ray