Chapter Thirty-Two

I smooth my hands over my hips, tugging the dress in the process. I turn from side to side, gathering a full view of my body in the large mirror. I'm worried about what Blake's going to say. I know it'll be something sweet and sexy that'll send tingles running through my system, but until I hear those words, I fear I've left my confidence at home under a discarded dress. A knock at the door catches me off guard. A new round of nerves starts pounding through my system again. My arms start to shake, but I suck in a deep breath and yank the door open like a band aid. "Kyle?" "Are you ready to go?" he lazily asks. "What are you doing here?" Kyle takes a step back, which puts a crinkle in his dark blue blouse. His head cocks to the side, sending his hair shuffling to the side. As Kyle places his hands against his hips, he moves his black jacket so that it pokes out behind him. "What are you wearing?" His tone sounds deadly, yet protective within the same time. "Clothes?" I knock my hair over my shoulder to cover my exposed cleavage. "Are you sure? Looks like you missed putting on your pants," he shoots another snarky reply. "Hey, my dress isn't that short," I defend. "And I can't see your butt cheeks." He crosses his arms over his chest, "we should both stop lying to each other." Ouch, the claw are out. "What are you doing here?" I huff. "Blake said I would find you here," he explains. "Okay." "Here, wear my jacket." I shake my head before he can remove the jacket from his shoulders. "You need it, I'll wear one of Blake's, I'm sure he won't mind." I step past Kyle and walk towards his wardrobe. I rummage through the collection on jackets before settling on a black leather one that suits the dress perfectly. "Better?" I ask as I pull my hair over my shoulders. "Hm." Kyle moves in front of me and zips the jacket up, "much." He then nods his head happily. "You, I don't know what I'd do without you." I heave with annoyance. "Let's both pray you'll never have to find out," he says as a large smirk filters across his lips. I backtrack to the bathroom and slip into my shoes before returning to the room. I find Kyle running his fingers through his brown hair while adjusting his dark black jeans. "Are you ready to go?" I giggle. "I need a drank," he teases. "No, I need a drink." I push Kyle backwards and run off down the stairs. I hear Kyle yelling profanities as I make my escape, but all I do is giggle and enjoy my head start to the drink table. Kyle and I come flying out of Blake's house and nobody seems to notice us. As I run past the pathway, Kyle catches up to me and lifts me off the ground and swings me around in a circle. "I caught you." "You're so speedy." I giggle. "Now put me down." "Like a turbo charged swafty," he shouts. "How would t-swafty feel about that?" "How do you feel about not owning a Suzuki Swift?" "Heart broken, in fact." "Good, now let's drink." Kyle hooks his arm through mine and starts dragging me along with him. "What about Blakie?" I pout. "He's over there, do you want to say hi?" He's surrounded by a large group of people he appears to be animatedly chatting to. I don't want to disturb him, so I shake my head and decide to get drinks first. I promised I'd spend some time with Kyle and I've seen Blake all day while setting up for the event. "We can get drinks first," I say. "Where are those situated at?" "I'll show you." I lead Kyle along the pathway towards the undercover area. We'd set up a couple of esky with ice and soft drink and the hard liquor and cups on the table. For Blake's eighteenth, they'd decided to splurge and buy him some alcohol. Most people are at that age or are already drinking behind their parents back. "What would you like, Vodka?" "Nope, Jacks?" I untangle my body from Kyle and search for the bottle. I pick it up and hand it over to him. Kyle undoes the lid and takes a sniff. "Shot?" he offers. "That's disgusting, no, it has the worst aftertaste in the world." I shake my head and poke my tongue out. "Chicken." "Shenanigans, start drinking," I yell out. "I hate you." Kyle takes a sip from the bottle and places it on the table. He coughs and shakes his head as the liquor slides down. He bends down and reaches for a can of coke which he skulls pretty quickly. "Taste nice?" I tease. "Shut up and pour yourself a drink." I grab a can of coke and place it under my arm before picking up the Jack Daniels and pouring it onto my cup. I crack open the can and pour the content inside. The thing is with Shenanigans, Kyle now holds it and if I get caught holding a bottle of alcohol, and I'll have to take a shot from it. "When you're least expecting it Ava, I'll be there calling you out," he threatens. "I'm exciting." I waggle my eyebrows and smile. "Let's go find your boyfriend before I push you in the pool." I roll my eyes and shake my head, seriously? Before leaving the table, I collect my drink and walk back down the path to the previous spot I'd last seen Blake. As I arrive, I notice that they all seem scattered and there's no Blake. "Where's Blake?" I ask Kyle. "Inside," someone close by calls out. "Well, thanks." I smile. I turn around and head towards the house with Kyle following me. I slip in through the side door and walk through the spacy lounge room and to the sound of voices. I walk down a short passage and find my mother and Angela standing in the kitchen with London. "Do you know where Blake is?" I ask. "Is that London?" Kyle walks around to my mother and starts talking in a baby voice to London. "He went looking for you, try his house?" offers Angela. "Sure, thanks." I see Kyle engrossed talking to London, so I leave him with my mother and head back outside the house. Without meaning too, I sprint across the grass and through the front door. I walk down the hallway and find Blake walking upstairs. I chase after him and calls his name out. "Ava?" he responds. "I'm coming." I kick off my shoes and run up the stairs. As I step through the door, I leap forwards and wrap my arms around his neck and give him a kiss. "Found you," he says in-between kisses. "No, I found you," I correct. Blake picks me up and chucks me on the bed. "You look amazing, is that my jacket?" He frowns. "Uh, yes." I nod my head, "Kyle thought I needed to wear more clothing." I lightly laugh. "I think you look way better in the jacket than I ever did." Blake moves to hover above me, which begins to send tingling floating through my system. He presses a soft kiss against my nose, my cheek and then my neck. "So you like the dress?" I bite my lip and wait for him to reply. "Love the dress," he replies in a husky tone. Blake runs his hand up the side of my thigh, grabbing and squeezing at the exposed skin, "I think the dress does your legs justice, nothing like your jeans do," he says. "So I should always wear dresses or skirts?" "Or nothing." He winks. "You're certainly in a cheeky mood." I tap his shoulder and push his body away from mine. "But we should head back to the party before someone suspects we're missing," I say. Blake huffs disappointedly, "If that's what you want to do." He pushes himself off the bed and straightens out his crumbled clothing. "Yeah." I nod my head. As I walk down the stairs, I see a shadowy figure stumble through the hallway passage. "Blake," I scream out, "someone's here." Blake comes flying down the stairs and charging towards the intruder. The shadowy figure drops to the ground, spilling their drink on the floor. "I can't do it," he mutters, shaking his head back and forth. "Do what Jude, drink?" asks Blake. "Keep secrets, it's eating me alive." Blake hooks his arm under Jude's armpit and pulls him to his feet. I go to the other side and try to haul his body up. Somehow, we manage to help Jude stagger towards the couch. We push him in that direction, but he hits the side of the couch and crumbles to the floor. I take a step back and let Blake handle his intoxicated brother. "Tell me what's wrong, maybe I can help you?" Blake pats Jude's shoulder reassuringly. "I love Tori, but she doesn't want me." Blake hisses with surprise. "Why doesn't she want you?" "Because..." Jude shakes his head and looks away from Blake's direction. "Maybe I should leave you alone?" I ask. "Stay," snaps Blake. I stay stuck to the floor as I watch the two brothers engaging in their exchange. A whole range of emotions swirl around my gut, fear being the potent one. "What doesn't Tori want you?" "Because I'm not the father of the baby."