Jumping Puddles (19 page)

THE WEEKEND GOES
by in the blink of an eye. Before I know it, I’m saying goodbye to the boys and Alice so Scott can drop me off at the rental car place.

“Take care of yourself, Charlotte. Alice and I worry about you, ya know?”

“I know. I’ll come back and visit as soon as I have another chance. Christmas, for sure, this year.”

“That would be nice. We missed you last year.”

“I missed you guys, too.” I pull Scott in for a hug, wishing I never had to let go.

MY APARTMENT LOOKS
just as I left it, only with a layer of dust covering everything. After I get settled, I start cleaning, mentally noting I need to hire a maid to come in while I’m gone. Alice came down a few months ago and cleaned for me since I hadn’t been here in a while. I felt bad about it, but I knew it needed to be done. Judging by the amount of dust covering everything, someone needs to come in every few weeks.

I barely hear my phone ring over the music playing in the living room. Rushing to answer it before it sends the caller to voicemail, I trip over my own two feet and fall flat on my face, twisting my ankle in the process. Great! Not what I needed right now.

Hobbling over to the table where my phone is sitting, I dial in and listen to my voice mails. I delete the first three, all old messages from Zach. When I hear the sounds of Blake’s voice, I stand up straight, forgetting about my ankle, and scream out a string of curse words.

“Hey,” he answers.

“Sorry I missed your call.”

“No biggie. I heard you’re in town already. I was thinking you might want to get dinner tonight.”

Looking down at my ankle that’s already starting to swell, I know I’m going to have to tell him why I can’t meet up with him. “I’d love to but I’m not really mobile right now. I tripped running for the phone and twisted my ankle. I need to ice it for a while.”

Blake starts laughing uncontrollably. I beg him to stop, but he can’t even form words. When he’s finally through, he apologizes, but there’s not an ounce of sincerity in his voice.

“How about I bring dinner over and take a look at it for you?”

“That would be nice, actually. Plus, I owe you a good Charlie Horse for laughing at me. Be prepared.”

“As long as I’m not within arm’s reach, I think I’ll be okay. Plus, you’ve always punched like a little girl. I’m not scared.”

While I wait for Blake to arrive with dinner, I unlock the door and get a bag of frozen peas from the freezer to put on my ankle. My foot is almost completely numb by the time he arrives with the food.

“You twisted it good, Charlie,” he notes, removing the bag of peas to reveal some discoloration on my ankle and foot.

“It still hurts like hell.”

“Keep it elevated and you’ll be okay in a few days. I was going to see if you wanted to go to the beach tomorrow night, but I don’t think you’ll be going anywhere.”

“Great, just flippin’ great. What about the shoot?”

“It’ll be fine by then. Plus, we can always do some shots of you lying or sitting down. We’ll make it work.”

“I have another shoot on Thursday; hopefully, they’ll be as understanding as you are. Then, I’m supposed to walk for this new designer in Chicago on Friday. What are the chances of that happening?”

“If you take it easy between now and then, it should be okay. If it doesn’t feel any better by tomorrow, I’ll take you to see someone.”

“Zach is going to kill me if I miss anything.”

“I thought you were on vacation?”

“Me, too.”

Catching on to my irritation, Blake drops the subject and we eat in silence. After all the food is gone, he picks out a movie, and we settle in to watch. I don’t remember much past the opening scene as my exhaustion from traveling and cleaning took over.

I’m warm. My entire body is warm, and I’m comfortable. Half awake, I snuggle back into the pillow, reaching under to pull it closer to my face. My hand is met with a firm yet soft object. An arm. I think back to yesterday, tripping over my own two feet, Blake… shit! He’s still here. He’s cuddling with me. No wonder I’m so damn comfortable right now.

Slowly cracking one eye open, I see I’m still on the couch. The TV is off, and dawn is breaking through the open blinds of the patio door. The clock on the cable box tells me it’s almost six o’clock. That means it’s after nine in New York. Zach will probably be calling soon to check on me. Blake can’t be here for that. I suck at lying, and I hate doing it.

“How long have you been awake?” he mumbles, causing me to jump a little.

“Damn it, Blake. You scared me.” I suck in a deep breath and let it out. “I just woke up.”

“You missed the sunrise. I’m glad I didn’t close the blinds last night. It was beautiful.”

Knowing Blake can find the beauty in almost anything, a smile forms on my face. “You should have grabbed your camera.”

“I didn’t bring it with me.”

Turning to face him, I give him an inquisitive look. “Really? I thought it was attached at all times.”

“It normally is. I didn’t think I would need it.”

I’ve always competed with Blake’s camera. Knowing, for once, he left it at home makes me wonder. “Oh.”

“I hope you don’t mind I crashed here.”

“No. Why would I?”

“Because I know you’re engaged, and yet, I still slept beside you.”

“That probably wasn’t a good idea but, well, no harm, no foul.”

“I couldn’t resist.”

The serious look on his face, the way he’s staring deep into my eyes—into my soul—to make sure I understand what he’s trying to tell me, scares the crap out of me and excites me at the same time. Three little words just rocked my world. He could have told me he still loved me, and my heart would be reacting the same.

“Well,” he begins, sliding out from behind me and sitting at the end of the couch. “I should get going. I have a full day of work ahead of me.”

“Okay. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”

“Or I could come back over tonight and we could try and go out for dinner again,” Blake suggests. “How’s the ankle?”

Moving it in circles, I attempt not to cringe. It still hurts but not nearly as badly as last night. “It’s better.”

“I’ll be over about six, then. Sound good?”

“Sure.”

After letting Blake out, I lean against the door and practice my deep breathing. As awkward as it was to hug him goodbye, it was even more awkward when we both went to lean in for a kiss, stopping ourselves and stepping back quickly. I need to call Aubrey and get her opinion on this. Better yet, I’ll call Alice. She’ll help me make sense of it.

She laughed and laughed about me tripping and then was all bubbly when I told her about the “almost kiss” with Blake. They love Blake; they always have. Alice was devastated when I told her we broke up. This, us together again, even if it’s just as friends, makes her happy. It makes
me
happy. I missed him… more than I realized.

Zach’s call comes just as I hang up with Alice.

“What do you have going on today?” He’s hinting at something, but I’m not sure what. It’s the tone, the condescending tone I hate.

“Nothing. I’m going to finish cleaning the apartment, and then I think I’m going to head to the salon. Maybe hit up the spa.”

“You need to hit the gym. Get in a few miles on the treadmill.” That’s going to be a problem. “After that, you can go do whatever you like. The shoot tomorrow is at two o’clock. You should probably hit the gym tomorrow morning, too.”

I have to tell him. He’s going to be pissed. Or I could just skip the gym and keep my mouth shut. He’s not going to be able to tell if I went or not. “Sounds like a plan.”

“I need to get going. I have a few meetings this afternoon, and then Aubrey and I are going shopping for the two of you for Chicago.”

“Okay. Send her my love.”

“I will.”

Ignoring Zach, I spend the afternoon at the salon, treating myself to a mud bath and massage. I’m pulling in the driveway when Blake calls to let me know he’s running late, but he’s on his way. I still need to shower, so I tell him to let himself in when he gets here.

We spend the evening walking the beach, catching up on the past few years and getting to know each other again. I tell him all about modeling, the things I’ve experienced and the places I’ve been. After a few moments of silence, I tell him about Zach, how we started dating and our life together. It pains me to tell him about my life with another man, and judging by the fact he’s staring out at the vast ocean, avoiding eye contact, it’s hard for him to hear.

When he asks about the wedding, I freeze up. I explain I haven’t set a date, and the inquisition ensues. No date. No plans. We’ve only been engaged for a little over a year. My schedule it too hectic.

Blake calls my bluff like I knew he would. I can’t argue my way out of it, so I let the conversation fade away.

After a nice dinner, Blake drops me off back at my apartment, excitement in his eyes for our photo shoot tomorrow. Watching him drive away, a feeling washes over me I’ve never felt before. It’s as if our day is incomplete, our conversations unfinished.

WAITING ON BLAKE TO
arrive at the set, the makeup artist puts fresh powder on my face. Another layer that will melt off under the heat of the lights if he doesn’t show up soon.

A door slams in the distance and Blake jogs toward me. He apologizes for being late, and we get started right away. All business, Blake directs me through the shoot, positioning my body the way he wants. Letting the lights and sounds fade away, I focus on Blake. Thinking back to when we were much younger, I remember the summer we spent together. The trip he took me on to the amusement park. I think back on the spring break I spent with him when we hiked the trails to the hot spring so he could take some shots. Our first kiss… and our last.

Depending on what emotion Blake was trying to get from me, I focused on that aspect of our relationship. We’ve had our highs, our lows and everything in between. We started as friends—best friends—spent a few years in a relationship neither of us understood, something maybe we weren’t ready for, and fell flat on our face. Now, we’re back to where we started, friends. Right? Is that all we are?

My heart flutters inside my chest and then suddenly stops when the realization hits.

That has to be all we are. I’m engaged to someone else.

LONDON FASHION WEEK
was amazing. It still amazes me I’ve never been a fan of shopping because I fell in love with every outfit I was put in. The designer, Anthony, is incredibly talented. Our meeting in Chicago was a huge success. He’s asked both myself and Aubrey to walk for him in Paris and again in New York next season. Of course, we agreed. We’d be stupid not to. He’s up-and-coming in the fashion world, and he wants us along for the ride.

That’s been the highlight of my year, getting to know Anthony and working with him. But the lows have been just as significant.

When I picked Aubrey up at LAX, she knew something was off. She peppered me with questions until I finally caved and talked to her about Blake. What a mistake that turned out to be. I never imagined she’d tell Zach anything, but she claimed she felt she “owed it to him” to let him know what was going on.