Running on Empty (19 page)

We’re right in the middle of the scene where Jon Bender is re-enacting the life at ‘Big Bri’s’ house. As soon as
fishing
and
doing homework on the boat
are mentioned, I turn to Blake, excitement flooding my features.

“Oh my god! Blake! That totally reminds me! I was going through some things the other day and I found something very interesting!” I bolt up excitedly to fetch my recently found treasure. Unfortunately, as soon as my feet hit the ground, the room starts spinning around a full 360° and I fall back to the couch. Okay, the pain pills are definitely working, which makes sense seeing as though I just jumped up without feeling
any
pain in my hand at all.

Blake is immediately in front of me. “Alex, we can just do it later. Seriously, you can’t even stand up right now,” he says with concern in his eyes.

Annoyed, I start to push myself off the couch but I’m unable to find my balance. I fall back onto the couch. Blake lets out a laugh.

“Why don’t you just
tell
me what it is and you can
show
me tomorrow, when you’re not under narcotic influence.”

“Ha-ha, Blake,” I say sarcastically. “You’re the one who made me take the damn things, so you lose all right to make fun of me.” I think I’m starting to feel a little drunk. I sigh loudly and notice my face feels numb. I rub it with my hand and pull my lip out. I’m not surprised when I don’t feel a thing.

With a chuckle, Blake grabs me under my knees and arms and whips me against his chest. I’m completely off the ground. I look down and start giggling.

“So thisiswhatitfeelslike,” I start to slur.

Still chuckling, Blake asks, “What
what
feels like?”

I roll my eyes because all of a sudden, I’m super annoyed he doesn’t understand what I’m saying. “Hello! To be this tall…you’re a freakin’ giant!” I laugh to myself because I have just become the most hilarious person in the world.

Blake looks at me, his eyes full of amusement. While he’s staring, I allow myself to gaze into them. My face is dangerously close to his, so close I can feel the heat from his skin. I peer into his beautiful green eyes, feeling strangely sober all of a sudden. I inhale a quick breath. “Yeah, things definitely look a lot different from up here.”

I begin to feel the room starting to spin again so I stick my head into his neck and breathe in his scent. Leather and soap. “Mmm,” I let out as I smile to myself. I feel so peaceful.

It’s so nice, that I almost protest when he lets go of my body to lay me down on my bed. Sadly, I’m too tired to put up the necessary fight. So I lay there as he fluffs the pillow behind my head and pulls the covers up to my neck. I put my arms over the covers and smile a drunken smile.

“Blake, I’m so glad you’re here. You make my life…happy…” I say as I begin to feel the heaviness of my lids.
Jeez
– when did my eyelids become one hundred pound dumbbells?

“Thank…you…” is all I can manage to get out before sleep finds me. And for the first time in years, I don’t dream about Derek’s death or sadness or darkness. I dream about lakes and fishing and warmth from the sun with a beautiful boy in front of me. I can’t see his face. All my eyes can gather is how the sun just barely peeks though the strands of his light brown hair. The vision soothes my soul. And as I continue to sleep, I find my heart completely enveloped by a warm ray of peace and tranquility… providing a brief solace from the pain and emptiness I’m so used to greeting me every night.

Waking the next morning, I extend my arms above my head and stretch the entire length of my body, all the way to my toes. The warmth of the sun hitting my face reminds me of my peaceful slumber. My heart feels full of joy. So much so, that I’m pretty sure this goofy grin is stuck on my face for a while. Well, I hope it is anyway.

I let out a content sigh and smile as I bring my arms back over my head. I catch sight of my hand as it passes in front of my face. I'm pretty sure these throbbing fingers were
not
part of my peaceful slumber, but I continue smiling because it seems that not even that can bring me down right now. I sniff the air and my stomach rumbles as I notice the distinct smell of bacon in my house.

What are they up to?

I swing my legs over the edge of my bed and give myself one last stretch before I stand. I reach over to grab my pink fluffy robe and throw it on over my P.J.’s. Making a quick stop by the bathroom, I wash my face (again, one handed), brush my teeth, and attempt to tame my hair. I’m really missing my pony tail look right now, because this look is not at all flattering.

Once I’m done, I walk through the living room and as I approach the kitchen, I begin to notice murmuring. I hear the rumble of Blake’s low voice and the unmistakable giggles of my girls.

Coming up on the kitchen, I tiptoe as to not disturb whatever they’re doing. I’m barely able to poke my head through the doorway when my breath catches in my throat at the sight before me. Riley’s sitting on the counter in her red and white polka dotted Minnie Mouse night gown, grinning up at Blake as he stands next to her. He’s holding a spatula and watching whatever is sizzling in the skillet. If I wasn’t completely speechless right now, I probably would be making a big deal about how close my baby is to that skillet.

My eyes graze over to where I see Nycole and Kyndall, still in their matching Super Mario Bros nightgowns, munching on some chocolate chips while adding the rest to a bowl of batter. Lucky for them I’m still rendered speechless…

I watch Nycole grab the wooden spoon from the counter and stir while Kyndall continues to pour more chocolate chips into the bowl. They mischievously look at each other and grin, and I find myself wondering how many chocolate chips they’ve actually got in there. My eyes move back over to Blake, still in Derek’s pajama pants and shirt. Bare feet on my floor in front of the stove. His hair is in its usual sexy morning routine as it flips out everywhere on his head and neck.

Jeez, this guy seriously makes me ill. He looks completely sexy. I reach my hand up to once again try to smooth out my hair.
Jerk
.

Mid eye roll I hear, “Mommy! You ruined the surprise! You’re fired! I’m gonna put you in time out!” Rylie yells to me from across the room while shaking her finger at me. She looks at me over Blake’s shoulder. Blake turns to see me standing in the doorway. He gives me a wide sexy smile as he shrugs his shoulders. “Did we wake you? Sorry – the girls wanted to make you breakfast. Something super-chocolaty they said,” he says as he looks at Nycole and Kyndall and winks. They both give him a sweet innocent smile and then turn to me. All I get is the evil eye. I widen my eyes at them and hold my hands up in surrender.

“What? Don’t be mad at me. Bacon always wakes me up, you know that! How can anyone sleep through bacon?” I attempt to look at Blake innocently. I even throw in the eyelash bat. “Can you sleep through bacon?”

He gives me a beautiful wide toothy grin in response. “I can sleep through just about anything. Well, almost anything. I definitely
could not
sleep though three little girls tackling me this morning while I slept peacefully on the couch. They’re ruthless. Really, Alex. You should be proud. No bad dreams last night though, just in case you were wondering.”

I look at each of my girls proudly smiling back at me and I can’t help but belt out a laugh. “Good girls. I
am
proud actually. And Kyndall, I’m glad you had a good night’s sleep too, just like me. I guess we all had some good sleep, huh?”

“Yeah!” they all exclaim in unison.

“Yeah!” I say back while pumping my fist into the air and walking into the kitchen. Blake turns around to flip what I can now see is bacon in the skillet. My stomach growls when I walk past him to get a coffee mug and the ibuprofen out of the cabinet.

“Hungry?” He stays focused on the bacon, but I know he’s laughing at my expense.

“Um, yeah,” I say, grabbing my stomach as it continues to grumble. “I can’t help it, Blake. It’s the bacon. I’m telling you!”

“Well, let’s get some food in her tummy, huh girls? I think she woke up the neighbors with that growl!” He looks at me out of the corner of his eye and winks.

What? Do I look like a naïve little girl? Winks don’t work on me. I walk by and punch him,
with my good hand obviously
, as hard as I can in the arm. “Shut it, Blake.”

“Alex, be careful,” he says, feigning concern while flexing his bicep. “That right there is pure steel. We can’t have you breaking your other hand now can we?”

I roll my eyes at him and immediately hear the girls’ laughter. Kyndall takes the bowl over to Blake and gives him a curtsey after he takes it from her.

“Please girls. Don’t encourage him. It only makes it worse. Trust me.” I set my coffee on the kitchen table as I take a seat. I hear the sizzle of the pancake batter as it hits the skillet and smell the sweet aroma as it cooks. Blake turns from the skillet for a brief second and gives me a mischievous grin.

“How’d you sleep last night? You sure were tired. And quite hilarious I might add,” he says turning back to face the skillet. I’m pretty sure he’s trying to hide any evidence of laughter.

“Don’t get me started, Blake. I couldn’t help it.”

He turns back around to me and continues his mockery. “I know. Doesn’t mean it wasn’t hilarious, and kinda cute.”

Out of frustration, I put my head down in my hands and rub the heels of my hands into my eyeballs. “Blake, seriously, I’m about to not be cute at all. Trust me, I’m warning you because you are my dear friend and I care about you. Knock it off!”

Blake once again turns back to the stove and I can see his shoulders convulsing. I’m really contemplating murdering this man. But when I look at my girls as they watch our exchange, all with huge grins on their faces, all the frustration leaves my body. I roll my eyes at them and jerk my head in Blake’s direction. Once they’ve figured out Blake is in no real danger, they all happily go back to their breakfast duties.

After a few minutes, the girls put their finishing touches on the plate of warm pancakes and bacon they prepared for me and start to carry it to the table. A couple of times, in the only ten feet of distance, they almost drop it since they all had to be touching the plate.

Rylie would get mad if they held it too high and she couldn’t reach it, which would lead to her bouncing up and down in a mini-tantrum and hitting her head on the plate. Nycole would then have to bend over so Rylie could reach it which would lead to her complaining that her back was hurting.
Yes, just ten feet
. Eventually Blake steps in and holds the plate to ensure everyone can touch it and to make sure it successfully crosses the kitchen without being splattered all over the floor.

I watch Blake, his tall body hunched over gently carrying the plate. I can’t help but smile at him – while he isn’t looking of course – because he really is sweet with the girls.

Obviously I’m going to have an in-depth discussion with them about my relationship with Blake. He’s the first man in this house, literally, since Derek. I don’t want the girls to jump to conclusions. The situation is a delicate one, but one that I definitely need to get a hold of before any misconceptions occur.

Blake looks up from the plate to meet my eyes and I immediately remove any evidence of smiling and replace it with an annoyed glare. I watch as corners of his mouth just barely tip up and he clears his throat in an effort not to laugh. Honestly, I can’t even remember why I’m mad at him. But I’m sure whatever it is, it’s a good reason. I think I’m too distracted by the food to remember, or care.

I turn my attention to the yumminess in front of me and struggle to not immediately start shoveling the food in my mouth. I wait patiently while Blake helps Kyndall and Rylie get their plates ready, which goes surprisingly well, brings them to the table and goes back to get his own plate with Nycole. While they head to the table, I look down at the pancakes.

“Um, guys. Why are these pancakes brown? Are they burnt?” I say picking up the top one and turning it over for examination. I lift it to my nose and sniff. Chocolate.