Chapter 35
Chapter Thirty-Five
Blair
Dancing the night away with Drea at the wedding was an incredible experience. I had never felt more at peace than I was when I was in her arms.
A small part of me felt lighter knowing that people knew about us and seemed to be happy.
It felt freeing, in a way, to be able to spend the night with her, not worrying about what someone would say.
To enjoy being with each other without looking over our shoulders and wondering if Cara was going to see us and start asking questions.
A huge part of me was still weighed down by the thought of my best friend being the only one who didn’t know I was with Drea. Anytime we were together, she kept trying to get information out of me.
Ever since she came over that night Drea was still there, she couldn’t seem to let it go. I kept telling her it was no one, or I would change the subject. I hated lying to her, but I told myself it was only for a little bit longer.
I wanted to share this part of my life with her, and I just hoped she’d be happy for me when the time finally came for me to tell her.
How could she not be? She had been trying to get Drea and me to see eye-to-eye for years, and now we had.
Granted, we had seen a lot more than each other’s eyes, but that didn’t matter.
The whole ride home I couldn’t hide my smile, and I was so at peace I even fell asleep in the car, which I never did, not since after the accident.
I woke up the next morning wrapped in a warm Drea blanket, and we snuggled for at least an hour until snuggling turned into the best morning sex of my life.
She had left for work shortly after, against my protest, and I spent the day missing her and catching up on some writing.
After the wedding, she asked me out on a real date.
I was nervous, of course, not for the date, but for the chance we might be seen by Cara, but she told me she had it all taken care of and all I needed to do was to be ready at 9:15 and to dress comfortably.
I thought it was a little late for a date, but I didn’t question it. I loved surprises.
I went with a plaid mini skirt and black tights, a black cropped sweater, and some red ankle boots with a chunky heel.
I had no idea where we were going or how cold it was going to be.
It was early fall, so I didn’t expect to be that cool, unless we were going to be indoors.
She gave me zero details other than to be comfortable, which was easy enough. With her? It was impossible not to be.
The doorbell rang promptly at 9:15, and I raced to the door. “You’re very punctual,” I said, swinging the door open and wrapping my arms around a very sexy-looking Drea. She was wearing a pair of black skinny jeans and a maroon crop top, matching my outfit and shoe color.
“And you’re very beautiful. Are you ready? Your chariot awaits.” She grinned, gesturing to her car. I couldn't help but laugh and shake my head.
“And what, my dear, is so funny?” As we walked to her car, her scowl made me laugh even more. She was so freaking cute.
“I’ll never get used to seeing you drive a purple Beetle,” I finally said.
If someone would have asked me what kind of car I thought Drea Voss drove, the last answer I would have come up with was a Volkswagen Beetle.
She grabbed my ass and squeezed, causing a small moan out of my throat. “Hey! There is nothing wrong with my car!”
“You’re right, baby, I’m sorry for making fun. I especially like the daisies on the rims.” I grabbed her wrist to stop her from walking away. She turned around and I wrapped my hands around her neck, playing with the back in the way I knew she loved.
“You look so sexy tonight, but where are we going?”
Instead of an answer, I got her lips pressed against mine, and I suddenly didn’t care where we were going. All I cared about was her.
She pressed me against the car, and I deepened the kiss, ready to drag her back inside and forget whatever she had planned for our night together.
I pouted when she pulled away. “Come on, love.” She opened the passenger door for me, and I got in with a small ache between my legs.
As she drove, her hand never left my thigh, and I had to take deep breaths. The smell of her cologne mixed with the feeling of her soft hand rubbing delicate circles on my thigh had me feeling very heady, and I wasn’t sure how long I was going to last.
It still felt crazy to me how much I could crave another person—at least, not until I met Drea.
Even when I hated her, I craved the banter.
It made life not so boring, and I didn’t feel so alone, even if I’d been fuming most of the time.
Now it was all of her I needed. Her smile, her laugh, her body, her touch, her.
The drive to our mystery date was torture. I wasn’t sure if it was the anticipation of what it was or how Drea’s hand would occasionally find its way into my lap. After an eternity, we finally arrived at our destination, and I was left with so many questions.
We arrived at the Coral Cove Aquarium, which seemed to be closed. Drea must have sensed my confusion as she grinned and made her way to open my door.
“Drea, I’m so confused… I thought we were going on a date, not breaking and entering into the aquarium.”
“Blair, honey, have some faith in me,” she said as she walked us to the employee entrance of the building. She then knocked three times, and a familiar face smiled at me as the door opened.
“Well, hello there love birds. Here are the keys. Please make sure to clean up after yourself. I don’t want to burn any furniture,” Mackenzie said with a wink toward Drea.
“Thanks, Kenzie, I’ll be sure to tell your future children about the time you and Fallon—”
“No need! Have fun and watch out for Houdini the penguin. He’s a bit of an escape artist,” Mackenzie said, as her cheeks turned beet red and she rushed off.
“What was that about? I would love to hear that story!” I said as soon as Mackenzie was out of earshot.
“Trust me, you don’t want to know. Fallon and Kenzie can’t seem to keep their pants on these days, even at Mackenzie’s place of business, apparently." Drea chuckled.
“Well, you can’t seem to keep your pants on these days, either,” I joked.
“Says the one who is always wearing a dress.”
I scoffed. “You’ve never had any issues with them before.”
She took a step closer, and my pulse quickened when she brushed my bottom lip with the pad of her thumb. “I definitely don’t have any issues with your dresses, darling,” she said in a low voice as she started to play with the hem of my skirt. “Especially when they’re on the floor.”
“We… better go.” It took everything I had in me to force us apart.
As we made our way in, Drea delicately grabbed my hand and led me through the dimmed hallways. Part of me wanted to stop and look at every display. There was something different about visiting at night, but my curiosity wanted to know what Drea had planned for us.
We arrived at a room that had one of the largest fish tanks I had ever seen, with fish of all colors. In the dark, it felt like we were actually underwater.
In the center of the room, Drea had placed a small picnic area down on the floor with candles and a few pillows. As we got closer, I noticed she also decorated a small table with violet peonies. Next to that was a box of pastries from my favorite bakery, Sweets.
“Drea, this is gorgeous…” I said, as I forced the tears back into my eyes. “How did you….? When did you…?” I was speechless. No one had ever done something like that for me.
Drea placed a soft kiss onto my lips as she led me to the pillows. “Kenzie helped me set this up tonight. I wanted our first real date to be special,” she said, as she kissed a trail down my neck.
We sat, talked, and laughed for what felt like hours. Part of me regretted not getting to know her sooner. It had been a while since someone had made me feel loved.
Maybe it was the way her eyes glittered in the light or the way her lips curved into a smile, but I couldn’t stop the words that came out of my mouth.
“Thank you for tonight… for everything, really. I… care about you, and I hope we can continue what we’ve been doing. I haven’t been this happy in a long time.”
A few moments of silence passed. And for a second I wished that I hadn’t said anything. What if it was just a fling for her?
“Drea, you don’t have to say—” My words were interrupted as her lips came crashing into mine.
She wrapped her arms around my body and started to push me toward the pillows. A second later, I threw my cropped sweater across the room and Drea continued to move her lips lower and lower down my chest.
She teased and pulled on the lacy material of my bra. The things she could do with her mouth were unimaginable.
Then, from the corner of my eye, I saw a shadow in the hallway. I shot up, holding my chest, and screamed.
The color drained from Drea’s face. “Blair, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“No! There is someone over there watching us!”
Drea turned around and ran toward the direction of the shadow. I quickly pulled on my sweater and ran after her. When I got to her, I couldn’t stop laughing.
“Houdini! Go home, you little peeping Tom,” Drea said as she ushered the terrified bird back into his exhibit.
We made our way back to our ruined picnic. “Well, that was a bit of a buzzkill.” I giggled as I tried to pick up the flowers and ruined pastries.
“Sorry, love. Kenzie did mention that Houdini could be a bit of a cockblock. Want to head out and go back to your place?”
I couldn’t stifle a laugh. “Sure.”
The drive back home was quiet, and the silence made me uneasy. “Can I ask you something?” I finally said, unable to handle the silence any longer, curiosity getting the better of me.
She smiled, caressing my fingers with hers. “Of course, darling. You know you can ask me anything.”