The Boyfriend Pt. 02

II: Home

Blake

Blake took a deep breath as her ride pulled away, gazing at her grandparents' house. It was a modest, but nice three-bedroom in the suburbs. Single-story, but covering a lot of ground so things didn't feel quite so squished. The lawn and hedges were bare from getting into winter, and there was no snow so far, but the evergreens on the side yard and in the back were as lush and green as ever. On gloomy days like today where she could almost smell the water in the air, Blake thought the colors looked even more saturated than usual. She smiled at that.

As she walked up toward the door, Blake felt a bit of the stress she'd been holding since entering the address into her phone for her mom's house--her old house--slip away. She'd never had anything to worry about with her grandparents. They were the reason she'd never really run away from home. She'd just taken the occasional abrupt and often emotional opportunity to visit and spend the night. Before she could even knock, the handle jiggled, and the door swung inward, revealing her grandparents smiling faces.

Henry, her grandfather, stood a little hunched, one hand gripping the cane she'd bought him last year after he'd complained about his old one a few times. It was dark wood with a silver handle in the shape of a roaring lion. His skin looked a bit worn, but no more than it had last time Blake had seen him. At ninety-three, Blake was just happy her grandpa was still able to walk around without too much trouble. He gave her his usual lopsided grin from under his Air Force hat. He'd chosen his WWII one today instead of the one for Korea, or the one for his service as a whole.

In front of him, holding the door open, Blake's grandmother, Bea, smiled up at her. She was even shorter than Blake, at exactly five feet, and Blake could tell she'd re-colored her red hair recently. Her grandma was only eighty-two compared to Blake's grandpa, but she didn't look it in Blake's opinion.

"Blake," her grandma said, stepping forward and giving her an appraising look as she put her hands on her hips, "You told me you changed it, but I had no idea how good it would look. Oh, come here, dear."

Blake found herself smiling as she dropped her bags and gathered her grandma into a tight hug, eyes a little hot.

I didn't realize how much I missed them.

"Thank you, Grandma, I missed you."

She looked up and smiled, "You, too, Grandpa."

He grinned at her over her grandma's head and reached out to ruffle her hair, which made her giggle.

"You always do such a good job with the colors, kid," he said, "I'm still not convinced it's not a wig."

"Oh, that's just because your eyes are bad, dear," her grandma said, releasing her from the hug and smiling up at her, "She's got just a little black showing at the roots."

Her grandma peered at it a moment longer, "I think that works, though, it makes it look more natural--as natural as blue can look, anyway."

Blake laughed at that and her grandma took a deep breath and gave an exaggerated eye-roll, "I'm still gonna miss the red, since we were almost matching, but the blue looks really good, Dear. It fits your skin tone better."

"Thanks grandma."

Her grandma smiled. Then she blinked and moved back into the house, nudging her husband out of the way.

"Come on in, Blake. Don't let me keep you standing there. We were having baked salmon and asparagus with some barbeque sauce just how your grandpa likes it, but I put a pot on when you called, and the mac and cheese should be done in about ten minutes."

Picking up her bags, Blake shuffled in past her grandparents and set her things down next to the front hall. She smiled, breathing in the warm air of the house and the smell of salted, boiling water.

This is what I needed. A house with people in it.

Blake had roommates for a reason. Sure, she spent a lot of time by herself, but she didn't like being completely alone. Her mom's house had felt too cold and empty, even when her mom had been alive. Not like this.

Blake gave her grandma another hug before letting her hurry back to the kitchen, then wrapped her arms around her grandpa.

"How ya doin', kiddo?" He asked, voice soft as he patted her back.

Blake squeezed him, then pulled back to meet his eyes, "I'm actually doing good, Grandpa. Really good. Being at mom's was a little..."

She made a face and shrugged, "But it's nice being home again. It's nice being here."

He smiled, "You know you're always welcome, kid. Your grandma cooks better when you're here." "I heard that!"

Blake giggled as her Grandpa rolled his eyes and ushered her toward the kitchen, and lowered his voice, "Of course, now, she can hear me."

Once her grandpa was seated at the table, Blake ran to the restroom, then came back and helped her grandma set the table and serve the food.

"Are you planning on visiting your father, dear?"

Blake couldn't help biting her lip as she nodded, "I called and made sure I would be able to visit tomorrow. Would you mind if I borrowed the car?"

"Take it whenever you need, dear," her grandma said, waving her off, "As long as you say 'hi' for us and maybe pick up some groceries if we need, it's yours."

"Your mom's car is in the garage, though, too," her grandpa said, "We figured you'd probably want to use it at least while you're home. Gas is in the tank and keys are on the rack next to ours."

Blake frowned, chest tightening as she set her grandpa's plate before him.

She took a deep, shaky breath, and looked to both her grandparents, "I'm really sorry I didn't come home for the funeral. I know I--"

"Blake."

Blake looked up, eyes hot as her grandma took her hand, meeting her gaze with blue-green eyes.

"We would have liked you here with us, but your grandpa and I know it was better for you to stay at school, and not just because of your finals."

Blake sniffed, squeezing her grandma's hand, "You're too nice, Grandma. I--"

"Did well on your finals, I hope?"

Blake hesitated, then smiled, "Yeah, I did."

Her grandma smiled, letting go of Blake's hand, then passing her a plate of salmon, asparagus, and a heap of gooey mac and cheese.

"Good. Tonight, we just want to talk about you."

"Yes," her grandpa said as Blake sat down at the table with them, "Last I heard, there was some boy you liked, right?"

Blake smiled, cheeks hot. She'd known this was coming, but instead of being embarrassed, she found herself excited.

"His name is Liam, and he's amazing."

Blake's phone buzzed as she was loading the dishwasher, and she felt a stupid grin split her face as Liam's face popped up on her phone.

She looked between her grandparents and bit her lip, "Do you mind if I take this? It's--"

"Go talk to your boyfriend, dear," her grandma said, "I've got everything from here. Don't forget to come back and get some cookies, though."

"And tell him we say 'hi'," her grandpa added.

Smiling, Blake hurried over to her grandpa--who had already pulled out a Danielle Steel book to read--and gave him a kiss on the cheek before hurrying out to the back porch.

She answered the phone as she closed the door behind her.

"Hey."

"Hey, I was worried you weren't going to pick up."

Blake smiled, wiggling her hips. Just hearing his voice...

"I miss you."

She could hear his smile when he spoke, "I miss you, too, Blake."

"How was the flight? You sound tired."

Blake laughed as he yawned in response.

"Sorry. It was long, as always. I tried to sleep through most of it, so my sleep schedule is going to be a bit more screwed up than usual for the next week, but that's not the worst thing."

Blake bit her lip, "Are you with anyone right now?"

"Not at the moment. Kekoa picked me up, and we just got home a little while ago. Everyone's making dinner and they said I wasn't allowed to help, so I thought I'd call you before it's too late."

Blake frowned, wondering for a moment why his friend would have picked him up instead of his parents. She let it go.

"Since when are you not allowed to be in a kitchen? What are they making?"

He laughed, "I'm allowed to cook occasionally--I definitely will before Christmas--but I'd need to go shower off first apparently, and there's no time for that. And they're making pulled pork with a mango-pineapple chutney, and some rainbow cauliflower and mashed potatoes to go with it."

Blake blinked, "Wow, that sounds a lot more exotic than my salmon and asparagus and mac and cheese. How come you haven't cooked that for me?"

"Because I don't have a kitchen and you don't have a slow-cooker. And, apparently, I don't make the chutney the exact right way. I'm a good cook, but I haven't surpassed my teacher yet."

Blake snorted, "Well, you have a month to get better. Now that I know you're not just a good cook, but an exotic one, I'm going to make use of that."

Liam laughed, and a silence fell between them for a moment.

"I miss you."

Blake smiled, a wonderful warmth spreading through her.

"I miss you, too."

"How have things gone with you so far?" He asked, "Are you staying at your moms?"

"No. I tried, but...too empty. Too much..."

"I get it," Liam said when she trailed off.

Blake frowned, not knowing how he could get that, but didn't press it.

Liam doesn't usually say things he doesn't mean. Maybe he does get it. Somehow.

"I'm staying with my grandparents. It's better here. They say 'hi', by the way."

There was a pause, then, "What are they like? I don't think you've really talked about them before."

Blake smiled, "My grandma is probably going to outlive both of us. She loves feeding me and baking me cookies and eating super healthy while making all the bad foods I shouldn't eat, and she walks for a few hours every day to make sure she gets her ten-thousand steps in, and she loves my hair and already promised to help me dye it before I go back to school so I don't have to pay a few-hundred dollars to get it done. My grandpa is a Korea and WWII vet, and is currently reading one of his many Danielle Steel novels, and when I told them I was bi, he literally laughed and said, 'I bet you get all the bitches.' And then my grandma smacked him with his hat for saying 'bitches.'"

Liam barked a laugh, making Blake smile even wider.

"They sound awesome."

"They are. I really love them. And they like you, so far."

"Really? What do they know?"

"All the important stuff," Blake said, smirking, "Had the whole interrogation thing happen over dinner."

Before Liam could answer, Blake heard something so garbled that it almost sounded like words in another language.

"Shoot, I've got to go to dinner. I'm probably about to get interrogated myself. Tell your grandparents I said 'hi' back, Blake."

"I will."

She almost said "I love you". She wanted to so bad.

"I miss you. Tell your family I say 'hi'. Talk to you tomorrow?"

"I miss you, too, Blake. And yes. Of course. I miss you way too much for anything else."

Blake smiled and hugged her phone to her chest once Liam hung up. She took a deep breath, then turned around and headed back inside for some cookies.

A/N: If you're reading this, you're fucking awesome! Are you excited to learn more about Blake and Liam? I've kept details light on their home lives for a reason till now. I hope you enjoy it!!!