I hadn't seen him since high school.
His hair was a little shorter than I remembered, but still fell over his shoulders in light brown waves. A mutual friend had invited us for the weekend to help her move. I didn't really consider the fact that other people may be there, especially someone that I once knew. Luckily, my personality had become much more social since my teenage years.
"Hey, Blake, long time no see." I tapped him on the shoulder as he stood with his back to me in the back bedroom, surveying the amount of boxes left to be carried out. He turned & faced me, his look of confusion quickly turning to an excited smile.
"Scarlette! Wow!" He looked me up and down before leaning in for a hug. "I haven't seen you in years, you're right! How did you know it was me? You look great, by the way."
I looked down at my feet as he released me from our hug, attempting to hide my blushing cheeks.
"You're looking good yourself! Sara told me you were coming. I know you guys have been close for years, but her and I didn't really start hanging out until after high school." He piled a box on top of another one and bent down to pick them both up.
"Makes sense. Want to help me carry these to the car?" I nodded and reached for the top box as he turned away from me.
"Oh no, I've got these. Just grab any of the ones on the floor." He walked out of the room, and I was left visibly impressed by his strength. Not that he was a weak looking guy, but he was tall and slender. I didn't expect him to be able to lift such heavy looking boxes with such ease. I grabbed a box and followed him down the hall.
Sara was at the car, organizing the boxes in such a way that she'd kick anyone's ass if it was a Tetris game.
"You're not even gonna need a second trip." I laughed as I set the box into her station wagon's trunk.
"That's the goal! I see you guys have reaquainted?" She slapped her hands together to brush off the dust and looked at us.
"Yeah! It's nice to see each other again." I said, smiling at Blake. He smiled back.
"Good. Now, there's not going to be enough room in the car for anyone but me, & when I get to the house, I have to get dinner with Austin's parents. Would you guys be cool just hanging out here until I get back?" I looked over at Blake, who shrugged his shoulders.
"I'm fine with that. I'm sure we can find stuff to do." His voice hadn't changed from a normal conversational tone when he said it, but I felt there was bad intent in his words. I glanced over at him and he smirked. Definitely bad intent.
Sara grabbed her purse and handed me thirty dollars.
"Thanks for coming for the weekend. Go order pizza or something. There's some beer left in the fridge, but only a couple, might need to get more. There's a liquor store on the corner about two blocks down. You saw that coming here, right Scar?"
I took the money and nodded.
"Cool. I'm gonna head out. I have to get to the in-laws before six and it's almost five now. Are you guys sure it's not awkward to leave you alone?" She looked nervously at both of us. I laughed.
"I know him enough. Besides, we both have our cars. If we really didn't want to hang out, one of us could just leave." She leaned in to hug me.
"True. Okay. Text me if you need anything, okay? The couch is still in the living room & my futon is still in my bedroom. We'll get some of that big stuff tomorrow. I'll be back later." We waved goodbye as she drove away.
"Well. Dinner?" I held up the money and smiled like a kid who's parents had just left her alone for the weekend.
"I'll drive." I giggled & followed him to the back of the house, where a beautiful motorcycle was sitting.
"Is...is that yours?" He grabbed a helmet off the seat and handed it to me, laughing with pride.
"Yes she is! Like it?" He mounted the bike and revved it up. "Get on." He put his helmet on. He didn't have to ask me twice. I quickly straddled the seat behind him, thankful for this chance to get close. I put my arms around him and he kicked the stand up.One foot still on the ground, he grabbed my hands and pulled them forward, tightening my grasp and pressing my chest against his back. The sun was still out and the seat was hot, as was I. I could tell the ride would be sweaty.
As we started driving, the breeze from the movement felt amazing. I leaned my head gently against his back and closed my eyes, relaxing into him. I could feel his arms flexing ashe moved them during turns. He was probably pretty muscular under his clothes, I could feel it.
We stopped at a local burger joint to get some cheap dinner & catch up from the last few years. To my surprise, he owned his own bar.
"How did you manage that at 25?!" I asked.
"Hah, I started working there right out of high school. The owner always thought of me like the son he never had. His health problems were getting worse and he wanted to retire. The bar was too much stress for him, and he left it to me." I nodded, proud of his luck.
"That's awesome. I just do boring receptionist work..." He laughed.
"Well, I guess you just need to have some fun this weekend, then."
"Guess so." I did my best to give him bedroom eyes. I'd never been great at that, but hopefully he'd see my meaning.
"Shall we get more to drink & head back? It'll be dark soon." I looked at the horizon to see the sun beginning to set. We got back on the bike & stopped at the corner liquor store Sara had mentioned.
"What do you like?" Blake asked as we perused the shelves of liquor.
"I'll drink really anything. How about you?" He stopped in front of the section of rum.
"I'm a big Captain fan. I guess I've just been drinking it for so long. But Sara has some Coke in her fridge, so we can use that as a mixer." I stared at the bottles for a moment. Every kind of liquor has it's effect on me. Rum was the one that typical made me...handsy. No matter the mood I'm in before drinking rum, you can bet I'll be flirty & happy as hell afterwards.
"Is that okay with you? Or we can get something else?" He started to put the bottle back.