Burnout - Coralee June Page 0,82

she protested while swatting his arm.

Once her feet were firmly on the ground, she turned her attention to me and grinned. “Hey, Mrs. Trask,” I greeted with a shy wave. Blakely turned to look at me with a teasing smile at my awkwardness. Fuck. I wanted to kiss that smile off her face.

“Mrs. Trask, huh? No more Aunt Katy? We’re too cool for that now?” she teased, drawing my attention back to her. Mrs. Trask then stalked over to me for a hug. I gently patted her back, and she pulled away to finally get a look at Blakely. Her eyes softened with barely-masked pity, making me cringe. I knew Blakely was repulsed by sympathy from strangers. She didn’t like people knowing her story without being the person to reveal it. We had to be honest with the Trasks about why we were here, and I knew it was bugging Blakely to see the sympathy pouring out of Mrs. Trask. “Blakely, it’s so nice to meet you,” she said, warmth dripping from every syllable.

Mrs. Trask was adept enough at reading body language not to offer Blakely a hug. She simply stretched out her hand for a handshake, Blakely readily accepted it, and Mrs. Trask maintained eye contact in those reassuring ways most doctors had mastered. Mrs. Trask was used to instilling confidence into her patients and made sure to do that with Blakely, too.

“It’s really nice to meet you,” Blakely replied before snapping her hand back and wrapping it around herself. I didn’t even think she realized how scared she looked.

We stood awkwardly on the front lawn for a moment before Lance finally broke the tension. “Okay, well, let’s go inside,” he offered while picking up Blakely’s suitcase. Lance and Mrs. Trask walked inside, and Blakely and I followed after.

“They’re going to love you,” I promised in a whisper.

“She looks at me the same way you did when I first showed up on Lance’s doorstep,” she gritted. I felt disbelief and chagrin. Mrs. Trask didn’t have a mean bone in her body. It just wasn’t in her nature. I wished I could go back in time and change how I approached our first meeting. Maybe if we started off on the right foot, this forbiddenness wouldn’t be so daunting. I pulled on her wrist, stopping her in the hallway as Lance and Mrs. Trask put away our stuff.

“When I first saw you, you know what I thought?” I whispered.

“No.” Her eyes were still somber, so I bent lower to stare at her straight on.

“I thought, damn, she looks like the perfect storm.” Her face wrinkled up in confusion, and I realized that I was royally fucking this up. “Shit, that’s not what I meant. I think storms are beautiful. Chaotic. They’re filled to the brim with power and electricity. They spark change. They inspire new growth. Storms can be scary, but I love them,” I whispered.

And I think I’m starting to love you, I wanted to say, but for now, this metaphor would have to do.

She looked around for a moment before leaning up to slowly kiss me on the cheek. I closed my eyes like the simple peck was a blowjob. I was thoroughly fucked, and I didn’t even care. “I just thought you looked like a creeper,” she finally whispered while pulling away. I stared at her face as she started laughing in amusement.

“Punk,” I chided.

“Decker?” a familiar man’s voice said, making my stomach drop. I spun around, praying he didn’t see everything that had just transpired.

“Mr. Trask! So good to see you!” I said while stretching out my hand in greeting. Lance and Mrs. Trask started to descend the stairs at that moment.

“Good to see you too, son,” Mr. Trask said with a grin. He looked like he had gained some weight since the last time I’d seen him. He’d always had a ridiculous metabolism and looked skeletal. He had tan skin and brown eyes with balding gray hair on top of his head. “This must be Blakely, I presume?” he then asked while giving me a curious glance.

“It’s nice to meet you, sir,” Blakely replied on cue. I was starting to sweat from the nerves. It was hard keeping such a huge secret when all you wanted to do was scream it at the world. We all stood in the entryway for a moment, talking about our flight and the weather. I knew I should have gone next door to see my parents, but I didn’t