Young & Wild & Free

Blake’s playoff season was just starting and she was nursing a tender wrist. Phoebe encouraged her to soak in the tub and relax as much as possible and today she was going to be taking advantage of the great bath in she and Shawn’s master suite bathroom.

She was supposed to be hearing by next week if the Crunch were going to offer her another season in Edmonton. Sure, she had been a great point producer and was a fan favorite, but in that league there were no guarantees. She was also ready to be absolutely done with school. Finding time to do her online homework was tight now that she was getting into playoffs and it was truly the least of her worries.

Realistically, next season would be when she could get offers from schools should they ask her to come play for them, but only if she had a team to actually play for.

Glancing at her phone from the tub she saw a text from Taylor.

From: Hall
lunch on me? I can pick you up in half an hour.

Two weeks had passed since he approached her at the arena and they text one another occasionally but she had yet to go out with him. Blake had tested the waters a little bit, wondering if getting back together with Taylor was what she really wanted. She knew that she’d never decide if she never actually spent any time with him.

To: Hall
Can we make it dinner? I have PT in half an hour.

She replied, instantly worrying Taylor. Why was she going to PT? Had something happened at one of her games? He followed the Crunch on twitter but all they really updated during games were goals and penalties.

From: Hall
Are you okay? What’s the PT for?

To: Hall
I’m fine, just a little maintenance work on one of my wrists.

That, and she wanted a little more prep time before she spent time with Taylor for the first time in a long time. Her phone buzzed again with another text message. She picked it up, expecting it to be Taylor with another message telling her when he’d be by her place.

From: Kane
how’s that bath treating you?

She couldn’t control the blush that overtook her features when she read the message. She and Patrick talked almost all day every day and he knew pretty much everything that she did, including the fact that she was planning on taking a long, hot bath that day.

To: Kane
it’s heavenly.

She knew that if we were going to eventually try something again with Taylor, she’d have to give up talking to Patrick so much, and tell him what happened between the two of them. Getting out of the bath, she got dressed quickly and dried her hair into long, beachy waves. The drive to the center where she did her physical therapy was quick and she smarted through a few exercises before snapping her brace on under the sleeve of her sweatshirt.

Glancing at the clock, it was just after three and she was starving. She stopped through McDonald’s on her way home and polished off a McChicken and a snack wrap before even arriving back at the house. She saw Phoebe’s car in the driveway and hopped through the door, excited to see her billet mother in the kitchen, opening up the box to a pizza.

“Oh my God, yum.” She groaned, grabbing a slice.

“Good to see you, too.” Phoebe laughed as Lilly giggled from her carrier that sat atop of the granite counter. “How’s the wrist?”

“It’s good, getting better.” Blake smiled, making face as the baby dressed all in pink. The twins were on a field trip with their adventure club for toddlers so it was just the girls at home. “Taylor’s taking me to dinner tonight.” She added, sitting down at the center island. Phoebe turned back from the open fridge where she was grabbing the bottle of ranch.

“Well then you better stop eating all this pizza.” She raised an eyebrow.

“That’s all you have to say?” Blake laughed.

“Well you’re an adult and you’re smart and you can make your own decisions. You know we love Taylor, but what you do is up to you.” Phoebe reasoned, to which Blake nodded softly. She liked that Phoebe knew she could make her own choices.

“Is it weird that I’m a little nervous?” Blake asked, taking another bite of her pepperoni pizza.

“No, I don’t think so, I mean how long has it been since you’ve been in a room together?” Phoebe asked, “I mean Tay’s a good guy, he shouldn’t make you nervous, but I can understand how the interaction might.” She offered. “Does he know you’ve been texting the party boy?” She asked, referring to Patrick. Blake shook her head no when she wanted to roll her eyes at her billet mom.

“Of course not.” Blake wanted to laugh. “You know how Taylor is, Patrick would be stone cold in the ground if he knew that we… were still talking.” She censored herself from revealing that she and Patrick had done more than just talk.

“That’s definitely going to be something to lay out on the line.” Phoebe replied, fixing up a bottle for Lily. “So what are you going to wear?” She asked with a grin, making Blake giggle.

“I was hoping you could help me pick something out.” Blake replied, making Phoebe nod with a wide smile. There were few things that Phoebe loved more than dressing Blake up like her own personal Barbie doll.

•••

Taylor’s pulse jumped as he rang the doorbell at the Horcoff residence that evening, just after 6:30. He half expected Shawn to be at the door, but seeing Phoebe there put him a little more on edge than seeing his captain.

“Tay.” She smiled, “What are the plans for tonight?”

“I was going to take her out to get something to eat, maybe over Pampa, then whatever she wants after, maybe a movie or walk around downtown.” He shrugged.

“Good idea, she’s hungry. Make sure she takes her pain pill for her wrist and have her home before eleven, she has practice in the morning.” Phoebe instructed. Taylor nodded as he heard heels coming up behind Phoebe. “Have fun.” She winked before disappearing back into the house.

“Hey B.” Taylor smiled, making Blake blush right off the bat. He knew she always loved it when he called her B.

“Hi.” She stepped into his arms for a hug. Taylor led her back to his car, opening the passenger door for her and shamelessly checking her out as she got into the Navigator. Blake wore cork wedges, upping her height a few inches but still shorter than Taylor by a few, dark denim jeans that looked like they were made for her body and a flowy coral top accented by gold buttons down the front. She also wore a gold ring and gold earrings that just peeked through her curtain of dark, silky straight hair. She looked gorgeous.

Blake inhaled the familiar smell of his Yankee Candle Co. air freshener and smiled, enjoying the familiarity. Taylor let her play DJ and talk about her wrist injury on the way to dinner. They didn’t have a reservation at the upscale Brazilian Steakhouse, but they used to be frequent customers and bypassed a long line of people to be seated right away.

“Oh God, I’m starving.” Blake groaned, eyeing up the menu. Taylor laughed at her outburst.

“Glad to see that hasn’t changed.” She looked up at him with a bashful grin.

“Girl’s gotta eat.” She insisted before the waiter came by to take their drink order. Taylor also ordered some appetizers for the table as well. “So how’s puck? How’s the noggin?” She asked.

“Hockey is… hockey. I’m getting to the point where I’m tired of the regular season and ready for playoffs.” He sighed.

“You’ll get your wish soon enough.” She nodded.

“The head is good, I’m all clear and whatnot, just physically healing, but that only gets better with time.” He winced, hating the way his hair looked now that it was growing back from his stitches.

“It looks good.” She replied, knowing he was self conscious about it. “If I didn’t know you sliced your head open like a cantaloupe, I wouldn’t even notice.” She shrugged, making him roll his eyes.

“How about you? How’s hockey?” He asked, even though he had been following the Crunch religiously since their break.

“Hockey is hockey, we’ve been doing well but recently I’ve only been doing okay.” She shrugged, taking a sip of her drink. “My wrist has been bugging me and it’s affecting my play. I probably shouldn’t be playing.” She mumbled, eyes downcast as she stared at her hands. “I’m ready to find out what I’m doing next year, if I need to start apartment hunting, if I need to start looking to try out for other teams, if I get to stay…” She sighed, feeling the pressure on her shoulders building. “It’s all just too up in the air right now but I have a lot of anxiety about finding out what I’m doing, too.”

“When do you find out if you’re going to be back on the Crunch next year?” Taylor asked, trying not to sound too worried.

“Next week.” She sighed with a small laugh.

“That’s not so bad.” He reached across the table and took her hand in his. “You’re the best player on that team, you’re the reason you’re number one in your conference. If for whatever crazy reason the Crunch don’t want you back, you’re going to have other teams banging down your door – tryout or not.” He insisted, watching as a faint pink blush came over her features.

“Thanks, Tay.” She smiled gently. For just a moment, it was as if they had never broken up – sharing a moment at their favorite restaurant, talking hockey and gazing into one another’s eyes. That moment was broken when her iPhone vibrated subtly on the tabletop she couldn’t move it fast it enough away from Taylor’s view to keep him from seeing Patrick on the screen. She didn’t look at the message but stuck the phone down into her little black wristlet. He pretended not to see it, but he could feel the heat of jealousy creep up the back of his neck.

Dinner was nice and the conversation between them was natural, she asked how his Mom was doing training in her new puppy and he asked how her classes were going, knowing she was going to be graduating soon.

“We should go out and celebrate.” He insisted as he signed for the bill. “That’s a big deal, graduating high school. When I graduated I was away from home and all I did to celebrate was buy a dozen donuts and eat them all myself.” He laughed, making her giggle. She naturally reached for his hand when they exited the restaurant, unaware and uncaring of whoever may be watching.

“Let’s go for a walk across Landon.” She said, speaking of the park and courtyard not too far from the restaurant.

“That sounds good, but let’s get you a sweatshirt or something.” He lead them back to the car and pulled one of his Bauer soft-shell jackets out of the back of his car, holding it up so she could slip her arms through the sleeves.

“Mm, warm.” She smiled as he zipped it up for her, gently pulling her hair out of the jacket. The feeling of his hands brushing against her neck gave her goose bumps and he pulled her into him noticing her shudder. They exchanged body heat for the briefest of moments before tilting her head up to look at his gorgeous eyes.

“Blake.” He stated.

“Hmm?” The vibration of her hum reverberated from her chest to his.

“I’m going to kiss you.” He whispered out, giving her just a split second to pull away if she wanted before pressing his lips against hers, reveling in the familiar taste of her Baby Lips lip balm he had bought for her countless times. A few moments later, the broke apart and she rest her head on his chest, just under his chin as she soaked in his heat once more. “I don’t want to be your ex-boyfriend anymore, Blake.” He began, placing a finger under her chin and tilting her face up to look at him. “I want to be your man again. I want to be the guy you rely on, the guy you can trust, the guy you spend all your time with.” He elaborated. “If you give me a second chance, I’ll never make you regret it. We have too much between us to just walk away and you know it.” He wanted to keep from pleading with her. Blake looked up at his grey eyes that glinted blue with his sweater. She bit her lip, weighing her options before nodding subtly.

“I’d like that. I miss you.” She whispered, watching as his thick lips broke out in a happy smile. He tilted his head up into the dark night before whooping out a happy shout, making Blake giggle as people around them glanced over in their direction. He pressed her lips against hers again with much more enthusiasm.

“I love you.” He grinned, “I know we haven’t talked in so long, but I do love you, Blake.” His face was still flushed with excitement.

“I love you too, Tay. I just need to get used to it again.” She gave him a small, lopsided smile to which he nodded.

One of the things she had to get used to was not texting Patrick anymore.