Read Online Jumping Puddles by Rachael Brownell - Free Book Online Page B

can’t say I do. That is unless you want me to start listing all your nervous ticks?”
    “Go for it. Let’s see how many you can name,” Blake challenges me.
    “Blake.” Our banter is interrupted at the perfect moment. I almost forgot Emily was here.
    “Sorry,” he replies, turning to Emily and stretching out his hand. When she places her palm in his, he pulls her to his side and continues. “Emily, this is Charlotte.”
    It’s been years since he’s used my full name. In fact, I can’t remember the last time. My curiosity is piqued. I wonder exactly what he’s told her about me.
    “It’s nice to finally meet you, Charlotte. Blake has told me a lot of wonderful things about you.”
    “Likewise,” I say, extending my hand toward her but not taking my eyes off of Blake’s. I want to make sure he can see I’m going to play along as nicely as possible.
    “You look different than I imagined. Your dress is pretty rad.”
    “Thanks,” I reply, directing my attention to her and away from Blake. The dress was for him to notice, not her. “Yours is pretty rad, too.”
    It’s almost the same exact style as mine, only it’s gold and much shorter. I hope she doesn’t drop anything on the floor tonight, or she may give Blake’s family a free show when she bends over. I knew they made dresses that short, but I never thought I would actually see someone wear one. At least not at this party.
    We make our way downstairs to join the rest of the family. Blake abandons me, leaving me alone with Emily to get better acquainted, while he gets us drinks. I don’t want to like her, but the more I talk to her, the more I do. She’s relatively level headed. You’d never know by the way she’s dressed she’s a pre-med major. These are things I wish Blake had told me in advance. I can see now why he didn’t.
    When Emily excuses herself to the bathroom, I take the opportunity to pull Blake away from his parents, and we head upstairs.
    “I like her. She’s nice.” Coming to stop outside Blake’s bedroom, I lean against the wall and cross my arms over my chest. Blake mimics my actions, resting against the wall across from me.
    “I knew you would.” There’s a smug grin on his face, an “I told you so” kind of look.
    “So why didn’t you tell me about her then?”
    “We were fighting, Charlie. I didn’t want you to hate her because you were mad at me.”
    Fair enough, but not a good enough answer.
    “I get that, but you didn’t even bother to call. Not once, Blake. In fact, I’m still a little bit pissed at you for the way we left things.”
    Pushing off the wall, Blake steps toward me, stopping mere inches away from my trembling body. “I picked up the phone at least a hundred times, but I didn’t know what to say. I’m sorry. I really am.”
    There’s a pleading sound in his voice as if he needs me to forgive him. I will, but he needs to hear me out first. He needs to understand exactly why I’m still angry and how much he hurt my feelings. If he doesn’t get it, I’m not sure things can ever go back to the way they were.
    “It’s not even about that. You let me down. You were the one person who had always been honest with me—the one person I could count on. Aside from Alice and Scott, you’re all I have. Then, it turned out I didn’t actually have you after all. You left me for almost the entire summer, and when you came back you were a different person. Then, you fell off the face of the earth for four months, and now, here you are, acting as if nothing ever happened. I don’t know who you are anymore, Blake. You’re definitely not the person I fell in love with.”
    I snap my mouth shut as realization sets in. I just shouted at Blake that I love him. I don’t know who may have heard. I’m not sure where Emily is right now. This isn’t the conversation I brought him up here to have. I didn’t want to fight with him. More than anything, I didn’t want to profess my love for him right