(a month and a half later)

Blake and I were planning on going to the beach tonight and I was super excited. For the past month and a half, Blake and I became very close friends and any time we were both free, we would hang out. I realized I missed him and his hilarious personality for the past thirteen years and I'm glad that part of him never changed.

Blake was coming to pick me up in thirty minutes so I slipped on a navy floral button-up dress and quickly did my hair in a cute french braid. It was a perfect look for the beach. By the time I was finished, Blake was knocking on the door. I ran downstairs to join him.

"Hey! You ready?" He smiles.

"Of course! I love the beach so much it's like my second home." He laughs at my enthusiasm.

We're walking along the shore, our shoes in hand as we feel the soft sand beneath our feet. out of the corner of my eye, I see blake stand in the shallow water, getting ready to splash. 

"I swear if you get me wet, I will murder you." I laugh as I slowly back away but it was too late. Blake pushed water onto me and my jaw drops. "Blake Richardson you are so dead." it took me a little while but I finally got him back. So now we're both soaked and laughing. We're standing closer than we realized, so when we calmed down, we were inches away from each other. we made eye contact and as he stepped closer, my heart started beating so fast I'm surprised he didn't hear it. He was leaning in when...

"Blake is that you?" We break eye contact and step away from each other as two fans approached us and I feel disappointed for some reason. 

"Sure is!" He smiles. I take their picture before handing her phone back.

"Are you Blake's girlfriend?" One of them asks.

"No, no we're just friends." Both Blake and I say a little too quickly. Once the fans walked away, Blake and I looked at each other and I could cut the tension with a knife.

"Anyways," Blake clears his throat. "Shall we go walk the boardwalk now?"

"We shall."

We laughed, ate ice cream, and checked out the different types of shops all along the boardwalk. I have to say, it was a struggle acting had happened. I wanted to talk about where it came from but I knew I couldn't. I decided to brush it off and enjoy my time with him.

A week later I get a call from Blake as I'm searching for a show on Netflix. "Hey what's up?"

"Y'know we haven't played that match yet and me and the boys were just about to play one. Care to join us?" He offers. 

"Yes! I'll be over in a second." I hang up and get on my favourite team's jersey with some black exercise shorts and head over.

"Hey, guys!" I say once I get there.

"Hey!" Blake smiles.

"Okay, so I've barely met anyone in the band so...what's your names?"

"I'm Reece." I had met Reece before at the concert but it was very brief.

"I'm George. You must be the girl Blake can't shut up about. it's Leilani, right?"

"Uh yeah..." I laugh as I see Blake's face turn red.

"Nice to meet you!" I finish.

"And I'm Blake." I roll my eyes at his response.

"You're annoying," I tell him and the other two boys laugh. "So, what teams?"

"Blake and I can be on a team while you and George are on the other?" Reece suggests.

"Sounds good to me."

George and I end up winning, which results in a grumpy Blake and Reece and it's hilarious to watch, but they quickly get over it.

"So how do you and Blake know each other?" George asks when we sat down for lunch.

"We dated in year two," I say simply.

"Wasn't expecting that answer but okay cool." He laughs.

"Yeah, but we're just best friends now." I smile. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Reece glance over at Blake, who's shaking his head. Must mean something in bro code.

A couple of weeks went by and Blake was over at my house while the girls were out. We were sitting on the couch watching Friends when I stand up and pause the TV. 

"We should go to the store to get ingredients for cookies cause that sounds good right now."

"I agree but can't we just buy them?" He asks as he stands up as well.

"That's not as fun." I grab my keys and hop into the drivers seat of my car. "Get in loser we're going shopping." I try to say seriously as I put my sunglasses on but he just laughs at me which makes me break. Right when I park, I hop out of the car and walk excitedly into the store with Blake following close behind me. I have a smile plastered onto my face the whole time until I turn into the chocolate chip aisle. He's there. I try to turn around before he can spot me but I run into Blake and it's too late.

"Oh hey look the slutty whore already moved on. Wow, I guess you get around." Evan, my ex, says, stepping closer to me. Luckily no one else was in that aisle because Blake immediately grabbed his shirt and pushed him up against a shelf. 

"Don't ever talk about her like that." Blake is pissed.

"Or else?"

"I'll break you," Blake says in a low tone.

"Are you threatening me?" Evan laughs.

"I don't make threats, just promises." Blake lets go of him before walking over to me and grabbing my hand.

"Who even was that?" Blake asks as we walk away. I'm still in awe that he stood up for me like that but I hide it as not to let Blake see.

"I'll tell you when we're home." We grab what we need and head out after paying. The whole way home I'm quiet and I can tell Blake's worried. Once we've got everything set up in the kitchen, I finally speak up.

"That, um, boy at the store...his name is Evan Michaels. He's my ex. I broke up with him the morning of running into you. He cheated on me many times and he would hit me whenever I got mad at him. So breaking up with him was pretty hard." I say quietly, not looking Blake in the eyes. Next thing I know, Blake wraps his arms around me in a big hug and I hug him back.

"Well, I'm glad I did what I did. You're too good for him, Leilei."

"Thank you for doing that. It means a lot."

"Anytime. Now," he pulls away with a smile on his face. "how bout we lighten the mood with cookie making!"

When I laugh at his jazz hands, his smile grows as he says, "There's that beautiful smile I was hoping to see!" And I roll my eyes as I laugh at him once again. I turn on New Hope Club and use my spatula as my microphone.

"Of course." he laughs as it's his turn to roll his eyes.

"Well, obviously. I'm their number one fan. Do you like New Hope Club?" I tease.

"No, I hate them. They're rubbish." Blake says sarcastically.

"That Blake guy kinda gives me bad vibes though. He's not my favourite member if I'm being honest." I say and Blake's jaw drops in mock offence.

"Are you kidding? I think he's the good looking one." Blake replies.

"Nah, I think that's Reece."

"I would have to disagree." Blake joins me in singing his songs as we put the ingredients in. When he was mixing flour, I was trying to get the leftover chocolate chips I realized I had since we never ended up getting some at the store. Because I'm so short and the chocolate chips were so high, I was struggling to get them down. The last thing I was going to do was ask Blake because that'd be embarrassing. Before I knew it, I felt someone's chest against my back as he reached up and grabbed the chocolate chips. I turn around and realize that doing so was a mistake. He's inches away from my face, closer than we've ever been before. I glance at his lips then quickly move my gaze to his eyes only to see him repeating my same actions. I reach up and scratch my forehead. 

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom, I'll be right back." He steps away from me and I run upstairs to my bathroom to splash water on my face to calm my burning cheeks. What just happened? Why do we keep having moments like these? Does he want to kiss me? A billion questions were running through my brain at lightning speed and I had no idea how to make sense of it all. it took about two minutes to calm my blushing cheeks before I could face Blake. Once again, we have to act like nothing happened but luckily the girls come home five minutes later and go up to their rooms.

"Sorry one second Blake, I'll be right back!"

"You're fine!" He smiles. I run up to indie's room where her and Delilah are talking.

"Ooo Lani, how's it going?" Indie smirks.

"I need help!" I whisper and tell them to as well so Blake won't hear.

"Why, what happened?" Delilah asks. 

"Around ten minutes ago I was trying to grab the chocolate chips from the high shelf in the pantry and Blake came up behind me and grabbed them. so I turned around and we were inches away from each other's lips and ever since I've been screaming internally and I don't know what to do!! it's so uncomfortable to act like nothing happened."

"Honey, I know it's uncomfortable but you have to act. It's gonna make it even more awkward if you talk about it." Indie advises and Delilah nods in agreement.

"ugh fine." I sigh and walk back downstairs with a smile on my face. "so, are these cookies almost done yet?" 

"they've got ten more minutes and then we can finally eat our delicious masterpieces." He joins in on my excitement. "Shall we finish Friends?"

"Yes, we shall." The episode we were watching a particularly hilarious one. it got to the point where I started crying because I was laughing so hard.

"Leilei!" Blake is now laughing at me.

"I can't stop it!" I say as I cry some more. The cookie timer goes off and Blake starts to stand up but I push him back down.

"I got it. I need a break from laughing, you stay here." I smile. I take the cookies out and let them cool down for a minute or two before telling everyone. Indie and Delilah sprint down the stairs, grab two cookies, and run back up.

"You're welcome!" Blake laughs as he calls out to them.

"Thank you!" Delilah calls from upstairs.

(later that night- Blake's POV)

"I am so stupid. I've had two chances now and I never kissed her. What is wrong with me? Why am I such a wimp? She's amazing and the most beautiful girl I've ever seen so I don't know why I haven't done anything yet." I pace back and forth across the living room.

"Mate, you can't be hard on yourself. You only saw each other two months ago." Reece says.

"Right when I saw her I knew I liked her still and I haven't acted upon it. Maybe a part of me is scared that she'll reject me?"

"I get where you're coming from but if you don't make a move soon then she'll find someone else." George chimes in. I sigh and walk up to my room hoping that I can figure this all out tomorrow.

congratulations, you just read 2,011 words! I found out I fractured my radius so it's painful to type but I'll try to update as much as I can. hope you like this really long chapter haha!

-madi<3