Page 33 of Lakesides and Longing

The last week had been pure torture for Blake. Ever since their conversation in the kitchen where he nearly kissed her, he’d successfully avoided her. They still slept in the same bed, but he waited until she fell asleep and slipped away before she woke, going on long drives and walks.

He’d found her entangled with him a few times, but she always slept through the unentangling.

And now they were heading to Mackinac, and he could face Lukas with a clean conscience.

The drive felt longer than it should’ve. Blake kept the music up loud so he didn’t have to talk to her. Part of him felt guilty for keeping her at arm’s length, but his friendship with Lukas wasn’t worth this. Though he had missed her. She’d become a good friend.

About a half-hour before they arrived, Paige turned down the music. “Can we go back to the way things were before I came on to you?” she asked.

He swallowed. Paige was nothing if not blunt, which was one of the things he loved about her. “I guess. Why?”

She threw up her hands. “Why? Because I liked being your friend. I was enjoying the summer, and then I had to go and make it all awkward. I’m sorry. I just want things to be easy between us again. She dropped her hands into her lap and stared at them. Blake reached over and grabbed one, giving it a squeeze.

“Sure. I missed hanging out with you too.”

The touch was too much though, and so he let go. She visibly relaxed and started to chatter. This was what he’d missed.

* * *

“The apartmentI was going to put you in had plumbing issues yesterday, and my plumber has the flu. I’ve checked around, and every single room on the island is booked.” Lukas ground his teeth, frustration marring his features.

Blake clapped him on the shoulder. There were worse problems they could have. “Dude, don’t worry about it. I’ll just crash on your couch.”

Paige stood between them. “Don’t be stupid, Lukas. Mom and Dad have an extra guest room. Blake can sleep there.”

“You know Mom’s not been feeling well. I don’t want to put this on her.” He chewed on his lip as if he were contemplating the solution.

“And you know she loves company. I’ll make sure Blake behaves.”

She nudged Blake and winked at him. Lukas gave him a questioning look, but didn’t say anything. “If you’re sure. I’m still not certain mom needs the company.”

“Of course I’m sure. Call us a buggy, and we’ll drop our bags and come back to your place for the party.”

Blake absolutely did not want Lukas thinking there was anything going on.

“Maybe I should just crash on your couch.” Blake rubbed at his eyes. This was exhausting.

Paige shook her head. “No way. If Mom finds out that she had a perfectly good bed and we made you sleep on the couch, both Lukas and I will be in the doghouse.”

Paige pulled out a cell phone and stepped away.

“How are things going?” Lukas asked, eyes trained on Paige.

Blake shrugged. “It’s a little boring out there, but that’s just what I needed this summer.” He didn’t want Lukas to think he’d been enjoying his time with Paige.

“And Paige?”

“What about her?” He averted his eyes and landed right on Paige’s backside and he flicked his eyes up and met Tess’s cheeky grin. Lukas would see right through him.

“She’s not driving you nuts?” Lukas asked with a chuckle.

“No, she’s great actually.” He tried to hide his grin, but he couldn’t.

Lukas crossed his arms and glared at him. “Just how great exactly?”

“Relax. I’m just saying she’s easy to live with. She does her thing, and I do mine. I make sure the house is locked up at night, and we go into town a few times a week.”

Lukas relaxed. “Okay. I really do appreciate you doing this.”

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