The Boyfriend Part LXVI: And We're Back!
Blake
Two years ago, if someone had told Blake that she would be this excited to be getting back to school, she would have called them insane. Now, as she flitted around the apartment, tidying up, barely even unpacked yet, she buzzed with excitement, unable to keep the smile from her face.
Liam is coming over. I get to see Liam. I fucking finally get to see Liam.
In anticipation of seeing him again, Blake had made a relatively poor financial decision, and decided not to do any shows for the last three days. She'd also decided not to touch herself during those days. That part hadn't been too hard with all the work she'd been doing. Working with contractors—which, thankfully, her grandparents had been all too happy to take over for her, since they had a bit more experience than she did—and going back and forth with the lawyer on exactly how to set everything up to make sure that things were exactly as she wanted,
and
that she was taking different tax laws into account, was exhausting as fuck. It had left her feeling decidedly unsexy, and too tired to even think about getting herself off. Even though she knew she probably would have found that a welcome relief.
She had barely found anytime to spend with her grandparents, her dad, or on the phone with Liam as it was, though. So, canceling her shows had probably been a good move on her part.
And it's not like I need the money anymore. Not as much, at least.
That part still weirded her out. It didn't seem real, and she still found herself wanting to back out of what she'd decided on a few times.
Dad made me promise, though. And he and Grandma and Grandpa all seemed really happy when I told them that's what I was doing.
Taking a deep breath, Blake closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing for a few moments before letting out a long exhale and returning to her tidying.
She knew Liam didn't care about the state of her apartment, but she did. She wanted it to be perfect for their first time seeing one another in weeks.
Fuck. My room.
Blake had been so excited to be back in the apartment, that she'd forgotten that the main place Liam would be saying was her room.
Which has clothes thrown all over my floor and my bed.
She needed to use her bed. And hopefully, she and Liam would get it at least a little messy.
With a grown, Blake rushed back to her room and started putting her things away. Anything that was still in her suitcase, she just packed in and pushed up against the wall, instead, focusing on everything she's already thrown around her room.
Blake was almost finished when she heard a knock at the door through the thankfully open doorway of her room.
Good thing I wasn't blasting any music. He did say he would text first, though.
"Just a second!" Blake called, practically singing the words as she skipped over to the door.
She'd considered answering it naked, or almost naked, but when she looked through the peephole, Blake found herself glad she decided to stay in the oversized shirt that she'd thrown on after showering.
Swallowing hard, Blake did her best to put on a smile and erase any trace of disappointment or frustration from her voice.
"Marie! Hey! Wait—what are you doing here? I thought you weren't coming back for two more days."
Marie smiled as she slipped into the room, dragging her luggage behind her, then surprised Blake with a tight hug once she closed the door behind her.
"Hey, Blake! I know. I'm not entirely back just yet. It's really good to see you, though."
As Blake returned the hug, she found she'd missed this. It wasn't a romantic, sexually charged hug like with Liam, but just an embrace between two people you had missed each other and we're happy to see one another. And it felt...really good.
Fuck, I really do need more friends.
Dr. Cardaso hadn't been wrong about anything so far, so Blake guess she shouldn't be surprised about this.
"What do you mean you're not back just yet?"
Blake asked, letting go of Marie and trying to covertly slip her hand into her pocket before remembering that she didn't have any.
Fuck. I need to make sure Liam isn't on his way over.
Blake glanced back at Marie and realized that her roommate was blushing. It was much more evident, as her skin had paled a little bit from presumably not getting as much sun over break.
"I'm just here dropping off most of my stuff," Marie explained, "I'm staying over at Lexi's for the next two days. Didn't want to show up and seem like I was moving in with her."
The grin that spread over Blake's face was genuine this time. And so wide and immediate That it almost hurt her face.
"Ah! That's so awesome!" Blake's half shrieked, then found herself blushing at Marie's wide-eyed gaze.
"Sorry. I'm just so happy for you. Things are going really well, then, I take it?"
Marie nodded, a dopey smile curling her lips.
Fuck, that's not how I look when I think about Liam, is it?
If it was, she would definitely be in danger of giving herself away to Marie.
"Really well. Though being away from her for almost a month was..."
Blake smirked, arching an eyebrow, "Rough?"
Marie nodded again, blush deepening, "Understatement of the year."
Blake caught herself before she let "Oh, trust me—I know" slipped from her lips, and instead hugged her roommate again, "That's awesome, dude."
She pulled back then, and looked between Marie and her luggage, "Do you need anything else while you're here? If you're just here to drop shit off, get going. I can move all your shit over to your room."