Blaze Read online

  “No, he was asking you to go to the game with him. God, how are you that clueless?”

  “He wasn’t asking me out!” I persisted.

  “Sure, whatever you say.” Jonna shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Oh, there’s Dylan. I think we’re going to skip classes this afternoon. Shh.” She put a finger to her lips and winked at me before adding, “I’ll call you later.”

  I stared after her for a while, contemplating what she’d said. Had Hunter asked me out? I guess I was so used to being ignored by guys that I’d completely missed it, and I felt like a jerk.

  I didn’t have any other classes with Hunter, so I didn’t see him again until the next day. When he greeted me with his usual smile and random joke, I was relieved. I told him I’d changed my mind about the football game and was wondering if he was still planning to go. His face lit up, and I knew then that Jonna had been right. He had asked me out.

  “Actually, I was thinking since you don’t like football maybe you would rather go to the homecoming dance together instead.” His grin was so infectious that I found myself nodding my head and smiling.

  And that was the reason I was standing in front of the mirror wearing my stepmother Maggie’s green satin, tea-length dress, and curling my hair for my first official date while Blake played twenty questions.

  “So, what do you know about him?” Blake pushed up into a sitting position.

  “Um, well, he’s nice to me.” I ticked off each attribute with my finger. “He’s a senior. He’s good at math. He’s funny. He—”

  “Okay, fine. I get it. If he’s who I think he is, just don’t go anywhere with him afterward, okay?”

  “What do you mean? Like an after party?”

  “Yeah, especially if there’s going to be drinking. Also, don’t go anywhere alone with him like a hotel room or someplace like that.” I giggled a little at the nonsense he was suggesting. I would never go to a hotel room with Hunter Knight, but I wanted to give Blake a hard time.

  “I don’t know, what if I’m really impressed with his dance moves and he—”

  “Promise me, Tay,” Blake cut me off, his expression so intensely serious it scared me a little.

  “Okay, I promise.” I swallowed hard and resumed styling my hair.

  Blake stood from the bed and walked toward me. When he reached up and smoothed one of my curls between his fingers, my traitorous pulse quickened as his deep blue eyes ran over my face and down the length of my body. “You look pretty.” He shifted his gaze away bashfully then left my room.

  As I watched him leave, I allowed myself a moment to feel things I had been trying to suppress since the day our parents were married. I wished he were my date for the dance. I knew it was wrong to feel that way, but my heart didn’t seem to care. I loved him, and not like a brother. I’d always rejected the title. Blake wasn’t my brother; he was my soul mate. I just had to accept that my soul was destined to go through life without its match.

  Chapter Three

  I quickly found out my homecoming date wasn’t such a good guy after all. Hunter picked me up for the dance, and everything seemed to be going fine. I met up with Jonna and her puppy dog boyfriend, Dylan. We danced for a while together while our dates stood on the edge of the dance floor. However, Hunter kept disappearing, and when he returned, he was acting strange. What happened to the nice guy from school and where did the obnoxious idiot in the Hunter costume come from?

  I grimaced when he pushed through the crowd I’d tried to lose him in, joining Jonna and me on the dance floor. With his tongue sticking out, he started grinding his front into my back in a way that was hard to believe, but he was dead serious. I almost screamed when he tried to smack my behind. Jonna thought it was hysterical, but to me it was so embarrassing. Thankfully, a teacher made her way over and put an end to it. Hunter, who didn’t seem fazed at all by the scolding he received, grabbed a hold of my hand and pulled me from the dance floor.

  “Where are we going?” I demanded while firmly planting my feet in resistance.

  “It’s hot in here. I need some air.”

  When I looked up at him, his eyes were glassy and sweat was beading around his hairline. “Okay, go outside and I’ll wait for you here.”

  “No. I need you to come with me. I have to tell you something important, and I don’t want to say it in here,” he said, tugging my hand even harder as he pulled me along with him. I glanced around in search of Jonna, but I couldn’t find her in the sea of faces filling the gymnasium.

  When we reached the cool air outside, I expected him to release my hand, but he kept dragging me further along the side of the building and away from the lights.

  “Hunter,” I said, feeling very wary of his intentions.

  “Just over here.”

  “But, Hunter—”

  “A little bit farther, Tayia.” Reluctantly, I kept moving because I was curious about what he would need to say that was so important.

  “Okay, here is fine. Now, what do you need to tell me?” I jerked my arm away and watched him stumble a little before he corrected himself. “What’s wrong with you, Hunter?”

  “Relax. I wanted to tell you that I want to kiss you,” he said quickly before he grabbed both sides of my face and smashed his lips to mine. I stood there frozen for a second, his actions taking me completely by surprise. There was a strong taste of liquor on his tongue as he tried to shove it in my mouth.

  “Ew, Hunter. Stop!” I yelled as I tried to pry myself out of his grip.

  “Come on, Tayia,” he slurred as he clumsily struggled to keep me close to him.

  “No. Get off me!” I yelled and then smacked his face. His head jerked to the side before he touched the red print that was quickly forming.

  “Ow!” he howled dramatically and shoved me backward. “I guess everyone was right.”

  “Right about what?”

  Hunter sneered at me for a few seconds, his once adorable face transforming into someone unrecognizable. He glared at me with cold, dark eyes as he adjusted his rumpled shirt.

  “That guys aren’t your thing.”

  “What?” I gasped.

  “Hey, it’s cool. Cammie Bennett is into chicks, too. She’s not a bad lay. Maybe the three of us could . . .”

  Blood was whooshing around in my head, and I was no longer able to hear what he was saying or comprehend why he would even suggest such a thing. While I was zoning out, I had no idea Blake was stalking up to Hunter before shoving him to the ground.

  “Blake?” I screamed as I ran forward. Hunter was scrambling to his feet and darting looks over his shoulder, contemplating his chances of running away.

  “Shit. What’s your problem, man?” Hunter’s voice came out shaky.

  “You. Do you want to repeat what the fuck you were saying to her?” Blake jerked a nod at me.

  “Nothing, Blake. It was nothing.” I grabbed his arm to turn him away. Blake was almost nineteen and I knew he would get in trouble if he got into a fight with Hunter, who was only seventeen.

  “No, Tayia. I want this piece of shit to tell me to my face what he was asking you to do.” He stalked forward and chest bumped Hunter.

  “Blake! Enough!” I cried while pulling on the sleeve of his T-shirt with all my might, but my fingers slipped, and suddenly, I was smashed between Blake and Hunter as they glared at each other. “It’s okay. Nothing happened.”

  “What’s going on out here?” a male voice boomed and I looked up to see it was the gym teacher, Coach Daley. “Jones? Is that you?” Coach said as he recognized Blake. “What are you doing out here?”

  Blake didn’t answer and took a step back as Hunter also distanced himself. Coach Daley gave a confused look between both boys and then his gaze rested on me.

  “Tayia? What’s going on? Are you okay?”

  “Yes.” It was the only answer I could manage.

  “Hmph.” Coach Daley frowned. “Well, get back inside or go home. Jones, you graduated last year, so you need p
ermission to be on school grounds.”

  “It’s all right, Coach. I’m leaving,” Blake muttered as he grabbed my hand, throwing Hunter a hard glare as he pulled me along with him to the parking lot.

  “Tayia?” Jonna shouted from somewhere behind me.

  “I’m okay,” I yelled over my shoulder as I let Blake lead me away.

  As soon as we were in the car, Blake mashed on the accelerator and we sped off in a screech of tires. When the school was no longer in sight, I turned to him.

  “Blake?” I spoke his name in the calmest voice I could manage. I knew him well enough to know it was best to not agitate him more when he was angry. He didn’t get mad very often, but he was hell on wheels when he did.

  “Blake?” I tried again.

  “Just give me a minute, okay?” He took in several deep breaths as the car started to slow to a more moderate speed. “I can’t believe that fuckin’ guy.” He pounded a fist against the steering wheel. “I knew you were too good for him.”

  “Is it true?” I asked quietly.

  “Is what true?”

  “What Hunter said. Do people think I’m a lesb—”

  “What? No! Hell no! Don’t let him feed you that bullshit. You did the right thing.” I nodded although my stomach felt queasy. We rode in silence as I contemplated what Hunter had suggested. I was going to be seventeen in a few weeks and I’d never had a boyfriend. Boys used to ask me out but, I never said yes. I just never wanted to. Eventually, boys stopped talking to me. Hunter was the first guy in over a year to even show interest.

  Blake had come to a stop at the streetlight when a car pulled up next to us. I turned my head and instantly recognize Hunter’s black Corvette. When he revved the engine, I knew he was trying to bait Blake into racing.

  “Look at this dumb fuck,” Blake grumbled with irritation and shot a quick glance to his right. Hunter sneered back as he stuck up his middle finger. Under the glow of the street lamp I could see that his cheek was still bright red from where I slapped him. When the light turned green, Hunter floored the gas and Blake let him pass by. When we got to the second light, Hunter was waiting for us. Again, he revved the engine, not giving up.

  “How long is he going to keep doing that?” I asked while glaring at the Corvette.

  “Until I race him. He’s got more horsepower than me and he knows it.”

  “Too bad for him this town only has two stoplights.” When the light changed to green, Hunter took off at a more conservative speed, but still made sure to pull ahead of us. When we reached a winding two-lane road, Hunter slowed down forcing Blake to slam hard on the breaks to avoid colliding into the Corvette’s bumper.

  “Fuck!” Blake shouted as I screamed and gripped the seat cushion. “Put your seat belt on.”

  “What?” I looked down and realized my seat belt wasn’t fastened. “Uh, okay. What are you going to do?” I asked as I secured myself with a click.

  “Drive around his ass.”

  I gulped and tightened my fingers around the belt. It felt like we were slowing down though I had no idea why. When Hunter realized we were no longer on his tail, his brake lights lit up. The next thing I knew, Blake whipped the steering wheel to the left and shifted gears. Fast as lightning, we were coming up beside the Corvette. Hunter mashed the gas as we approached. Blake shifted again as we sped up until we were about a half a car length behind. Both cars flew through the night on either side of the double yellow line.

  “Oh, he’s scared now. Look at him. Yeah, motherfucker!” Blake howled, anger and adrenaline taking over. By the look of things, Hunter was giving it everything he had, as was Blake. However, the Corvette was much more powerful than the Nova. We were coming up on our turn and Blake began to let up off the gas.

  “I think I made my point,” he said, chest heaving as we turned the corner that led to our street. My heart sank a little for Blake. His car was entirely rebuilt over the years from scraps. Unlike my date from hell, we didn’t come from the type of family who could afford flashy and freakishly fast cars. I spent the rest of the ride filled with regret. I had no idea what I had ever seen in Hunter Knight.

  When we got home, all the lights were off, which meant my dad and Maggie were already in bed. Blake unlocked the door and we quietly walked inside and up the stairs to our rooms. I took a shower to scrub the makeup off my face and wash away the enormous amount of hairspray I’d used to hold all those curls. Once I was dress in my pajamas, I padded down the hall to Blake’s room. When I saw his light was still on, I knocked lightly.

  “Yeah,” he called and I turned the knob. Blake was lying on his bed wearing only a pair of basketball shorts with his hands folded behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. It was hard to take my eyes off his bare chest or the tattoo written in script across his ribcage he had gotten just after graduation. He told me it was words from a story he read as a kid. I didn’t know exactly what it said because I was never brave enough to get up close to read it.

  “Why were you at the dance tonight?” I asked as I walked to stand beside his bed. He only responded with a shrug. “Blake?” I tried to prod him a little further for an answer. His first reply to everything was usually a shrug.

  “I was headed to The Spot with Neil when he got a call that his sister was wasted, so I followed him there to check on her.”

  “Oh.” I thought about how Hunter had been drinking, which meant there must have been a place where everyone was disappearing to get alcohol.

  “Were you drinking?” He turned a hard glare to me as he sat up.

  “No,” I fired back instantly, feeling a little insulted he would even ask me such a question.

  “Because Cammie was sloppy drunk when we found her, which made me look for you to make sure you weren’t doing the same thing. You’re better than that. Then when I saw you with that guy and heard what he was saying . . .” His voice trailed off and he closed his eyes tight. “Nobody will ever disrespect you in that way again, Tayia. I promise.”

  “But how can you promise that, Blake? You’re driving back to school tomorrow. You can’t always be here to protect me.”

  “I want to. It’s my job.” Blake reached up to wind his finger into a loose, damp lock of hair that had fallen from my messy bun. “Besides, I’ll be back for Thanksgiving, which is almost a month away.” He gave me a small smile. “Do you think you can manage to stay away from guys like that until then at least?”

  I nodded but didn’t speak. I was too busy trying to pull air into my lungs. Being this close to him was torture enough. Even though his movements were completely innocent, my heart still sped up. Instead of getting up and leaving, I asked him if I could stay with him for a while. When Blake nodded, I got under the covers and he lifted his arm so I could lay my head on his chest while he switched on the television.

  We were halfway through a movie we’d seen a million times before my eyes began to drift closed. I twisted in Blake’s arms, and in a sleepy haze, I lifted one leg to rest over his thigh, the movement purely instinctual. He turned then reached down to pull my leg up and over his hip. The hard bulge in the front of his pants was unmistakable, and I couldn’t stop myself from rubbing against it. The sensation felt so good that I rocked a second time and moaned while he hissed, thrusting back.

  “Tay,” he murmured sleepily as his lips brushed lightly along the side of my neck. My eyes shot open wide. I immediately jerked my leg away and sat up. Blake must have realized what was happening because he sat up quickly, too.

  “Shit,” he said and rubbed a hand over his face. “Shit.”

  “Shit. Shit,” I echoed.

  “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Blake apologized. “What the fuck is wrong with me?” he growled and got off the bed.

  “No, it’s me. I’m sorry, Blake.”

  “Tayia, my head is all messed up right now. I haven’t been sleeping that well lately. Maybe you should go back to your room.”

  “Blake, I—”

  “Please,�
� he pleaded with closed eyes.

  “Okay.” I threw off the covers and slowly walked to the door. I looked behind me to see Blake had his back to me as he stared out of the window. My heart begged him to turn around and tell me he’d changed his mind, but I already knew our hearts were not synced. It was a constant struggle to accept that these emotions were one-sided. I knew I had it bad, and I was also coming to realize I would be willing to endure the torture if it meant having him hold me like that again.

  Chapter Four

  A little over a year after the homecoming dance, and the awkward moment in Blake’s room, I was standing on the dock in Key City waiting for him. Our family was spending Christmas in Pennsylvania. My dad and Maggie left the day before so they could pick up our grandparents and meet us at the cabin near the Blue Ridge Mountains. I chose to stay behind and ride with Blake. I looked forward to spending twelve hours in the car with him. He hadn’t been able to make it home for Thanksgiving. It had been months since I’d last seen him, so I was anxious to catch up. That was until I found out his new girlfriend, Lucy, would be joining us.

  He told me a while ago over the phone that he’d started dating a girl he met in Charleston. She didn’t go to his school but she was a friend of a friend. There were no words to express my heartbreak, although I did my best to sound upbeat and happy for him. He’d had girlfriends in high school but none whom lasted more than two or three months. So, I remained optimistic that the same would happen with Lucy. Except my devastation was multiplied when I realized their relationship had lasted five whole months and Blake was tagged in a status update she posted.

  Lucy Zendecki is in a relationship with Blake Jones.

  Along with the post was a picture of the two of them smiling with the sides of their faces touching. It was like taking a cold knife to the gut. The rational part of my mind knew I should want him to be happy and hope Lucy was good for him, but the emotionally greedy part of me wanted his relationship with her to fail miserably . . . and fast.