Counselor: Blake Gray

Page 14

"Same," Blake said.

"I guess?" Noah asked.

"Fine, I'll pay," I shrugged and we went in. We threw snacks into the cart and it was mainly junk food. The boys obviously wanted either White Claws or Red Bull so we got those too. I paid and we waited at the cars for everyone else. Bryce was making a TikTok at the back of the car and Blake and I were seen in the background. I looked up from my phone and saw, giving a peace sign while Blake gave Bryce the middle finger. I laughed and he put his arm around my shoulders. "Where are they? It's taking so long!" I whined.

"I know. Maybe they don't have money," Bryce laughed.

"It's literally just getting snacks," Blake added.

"We still have to get snow stuff," Noah said.

"Sorry! We're here!" Everyone ran out with carts.

"Finally. It shouldn't have taken an hour," I said.

"Sorry!" Cece said as they shoved stuff into the trunk of the cars. We drove to Dick's Sporting Goods to get the snow gear and that took even longer than the snacks since the store was crowded with people who wanted to travel to different states for a while.

"Is it break for people or something?" Caden asked.

"No idea. Not like we go to school, Caden," Hugh said and I laughed.

"Why are you laughing? You're not going to college either," Caden told me.

"Yeah, but at least I'm making my own money," I smiled and we walked around. I was at an aisle, looking at stuff and Blake wrapped his arms around my waist. "Blake, we're in public."

"Then let's go to the bathroom," he said and pulled me to the bathroom. It was for both men and women. He locked the door and held me, giving me a long kiss. He smiled, pulling away slowly.

"Why so affectionate?" I asked with a smile.

"Because I'm excited!" He said. "And now I want a hug," he demanded. I gave him one and he held on tightly. "Thanks," he said.

"For?" I asked.

"Everything really. I never really took the time to say that though. So I thought I'd say it now. Even when we weren't dating, you let me stay with you when I needed a place to live. Then you let me move into your mansion even after I was rude to you. You've helped me a lot and taken care of me, Sky."

"Oh, God! You're getting sentimental again, Blake. But... I would do it all over again if I had to." Blake gave me another kiss and we walked out of the bathroom to face Bryce.

"Woah!" He said. "What the fuck were you two doing in there?" I broke out laughing and calmed down.

"Blake was getting sentimental and wanted to talk to me in there," I said.

"Oh, so if we need to get sentimental, we go in there?" Bryce asked. "Great. Come on." He pulled me in and locked the door.

"If you kiss her, I swear, I'll beat your ass, Bryce," Blake said.

"Um... I feel like I have to say this while hugging you," he said and hugged me. "Thanks for letting me stay at you place. Multiple times. The first time we met, you didn't even know me and you let me stay at you place. I was the stupid idiot that got the lights turned off at Sway and instead of telling me to find somewhere else because it was my fault, you still took me in. And even after I was rude and ignored you when you were moving, you still let me move into the new house. That means a lot to me, so thanks," Bryce said and let go. "That was awkward, wasn't it?"

"A little," I said and we walked out.

"My turn," Noah pulled me in and I sighed. "Hi."

"Hi," I smiled and he locked the door.

"Okay. Thanks for letting me stay at your place. Twice. Like Bryce probably said, you had no idea who I was, even though you probably saw me on TikTok a long time ago, and still let me stay at your place. You trusted us not to break anything, steal anything, or get you in trouble. That trust thing is a big deal to me, so thanks. I trust you, too, and I'm sorry I didn't say thanks any earlier. I should have because you've done a lot for Blake, Bryce, and I which means a lot," Noah said. He gave me a hug and we walked out. Thank God there was no one else. I walked around and got everything I needed. We all stood in line, waiting, and it was about 2 hours of shopping already done. We finally got our stuff and left. We filled up the trunks again and headed to the house to sort everything out. I had my mini backpack that I was gonna take with me. I called Noah, Bryce, and Blake to sit in a circle with me on the floor and dumped the bags of snacks in the middle of us.

"Chose which snacks are yours," I said and we all finished the pile. My bag was completely full and I knew that the boys would probably ask for my snacks too. We decided we'd leave early in the morning the next day and told everyone to be up early and to have eaten breakfast before we left. We all went to sleep and I laid down, waiting for Blake to join me. He finally did and saw I was waiting.

"Sorry, babe! I was talking to Bryce," he said and slid into bed next to me. I rested my head on his chest and threw my arm over his torso as he put his arm around me, holding me close. "Night, babe."

"Night, baby," I hummed and closed my eyes, listening to his heart beat.

"I love you," he added.

"I love you, too," I said and slept.