65

Blaine
“Look Bly, I won’t stay long, but I’m starving and whatever the hell you are cooking smells delicious.” He smiles at Azira, who looks ready to bolt in the opposite direction. “Surely you can spare a little for your closest friend.”
Oak is my closest friend, but I don’t correct him and glance at Azira, wondering what she thinks.
She shrugs, as if it’s up to me.
“Fine, but you aren’t staying long.”
Arch smirks. “No, I wouldn’t want to get in the way of the sadistic fuck session you have planned.”
Azira turns beat red at that comment, but enters behind Arch and lingers awkwardly in the entrance.
“Both of you take a seat at the table.”
Azira sits in her usual seat and Arch takes the seat next to her, which isn’t set out. After all, I was only expecting her for dinner.
Trust him to show up on a night like this.
“So, how long has this been going on?” Arch asks, glancing between me and Azira.
Azira looks to me to answer.
“I guess you could say it started just after winter break.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” Azira says, glancing warily at Arch.
Arch reaches for the open wine bottle on the table and pours himself a glass.
“Do you really need anymore alcohol?” I ask.
“Effects are wearing off. Be careful of these girls, Bly. They’ll ruin you.”
Azira’s brow furrows. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He chuckles. “Don’t pretend you don’t know about me and Adrianna.”
The confused look on her face says it all. “What about you and Adrianna?”
He takes a long swig of wine before pinning her with a serious glance. “We’ve been fucking for months.”
“No, I don’t believe that. She hates you.”
Arch looks wounded at that word as if Azira just grabbed a steak knife and thrust it right through his gut. “Thanks a lot.”
“Sorry, I just mean she was constantly complaining about your trying to get into her pants. What changed?”
Arch has a guilty look on his face, which suggests he didn’t play fair when coercing her into bed. “I had some information she didn’t want getting out.”
“What kind of information?” I ask.
“If I told you that, I’d be breaking my promise.” He sways on his seat precariously. “And so she agreed to sleep with me for my silence.”
“You really don’t know when to accept rejection, do you?” I grab the lasagna out of the oven and set it down in the center of the table. “No wonder she’s detached. You blackmailed her into having sex with you.”
Azira glares angrily at Arch. “That’s fucking sick.”
Arch glares back. “Yeah, well, once she realized what she’d been missing, she couldn’t keep away. But she acts like it means nothing.”
I set some breadsticks on the table and Arch grabs two, shoving them in his mouth.
“She acts as if she doesn’t give a shit about me.”
“Probably because she doesn’t,” Azira says, clearly still angry about finding out my friend forced her friend into bed with him. “How could she care about a man who blackmailed her the way you did?”
Arch’s head hangs. “I don’t know.”
I pull the garlic bread out of the oven and set it down on the table. “Food is ready. Dig in.”
Arch reaches for some bread and puts it on his plate, and then dishes himself up a large portion of lasagna.
I serve Azira and we all fall into silence, eating together.
Azira and I share glances.
“I’m sorry,” I mouth to her over the table.
She shakes her head, smiling.
Arch has his head practically buried in his plate as he scoffs it down. It’s clear the alcohol is making him ravenous, as I’ve never seen him like this before.
“Where were you even drinking?” I ask.
“Home,” he says, looking up for the first time since the food arrived on the table. “Pathetic isn’t it?” He sighs heavily. “Maybe this is my punishment for blackmailing her.”
“Maybe,” Azira says, nodding. “And rightly so.”
I nod. “Got to agree with Azira on that.”
He narrows his eyes. “You guys are no good at making me feel any better.” He knocks back the rest of his wine and reaches for the bottle.
I snatch it away before he can reach it. “No way. You can have water or nothing. You are way too drunk.”
He groans and continues to eat in silence. Once he’s finished, he slumps back in his chair and shuts his eyes. “If I knew you were such a good cook, I would have made you cook for me many times.”
“As if you can make me do anything,” I reply.
“Touche,” he murmurs.
I give Azira an apologetic look as this asshole is fucking up our time together.
And then he snores!
We both laugh softly as we glance at him, his head back and mouth open.
“I’m sorry about this idiot,” I whisper.
She shakes her head. “It’s not your fault.” Her expression turns furious. “But I can’t believe he blackmailed her to sleep with him. And Adrianna didn’t tell us.”
I arch a brow. “Have you told her about us?”
“No, but-”
“Then you can’t expect her to tell you about Arch, can you?”
“Good point.” Her shoulders dip. “Does he really love her?”
I nod in response. “It would seem that way, as I’ve never seen him like this before.”
She looks contemplative. “I wonder how Adrianna feels.”
An awkward silence falls between us as we stare at each other. Unspoken questions hanging in the air between us.
How do we feel about each other?
I sense that Azira has been more deeply involved in this emotionally than me from the beginning, but I can’t help feel this nagging sensation in my gut that I care about her more than anyone I’ve ever cared for.
Hell, I don’t think I have ever cared for a woman before.
And yet the word feelings puts me on edge.
“I’m going to grab dessert,” I say, breaking the tension and grabbing the dirty dishes from the table.
Azira doesn’t say anything, but I can feel her watching me. The air becomes heavy with a tension that is Archer’s fault.
Coming here sprouting on about love and feelings.
I grab the tiramisu I whipped up out of the fridge and three bowls, and return to the table.
“Do you think he’s going to wake up for dessert?” I ask, unsure what else to say.
She shakes her head. “He looks pretty out of it.”
“Watch this,” I say, spooning a large helping into a bowl and then placing it just under his nose.
His eyes twitch and then he sniffs, and then he sits up bolt upright, eyes wide.
Azira laughs.
“What happened?”
“You fell asleep, I say.” Signaling to the bowl of dessert. “The tiramisu woke you up. Want some?”
He grabs it greedily off of me. “You don’t even need to ask.”
We both laugh together as he devours it like a pig who hasn’t eaten for days. And a comfortable silence falls over the table, making me thankful that the awkward tension has been relived between Azira and I.
There’s no way I’m ready to work out what the fuck is happening between us.
I need to remember to kick Archer’s ass tomorrow morning when he’s sober. The night isn’t going the way I planned at all.