Chapter 2: The Morning After

I woke up to a slight tapping of a hand on my face.

"Maddy? Maddy?"Blake whispered.

"What?" I groggily answered.

"I have to go," guilt is written all over his face. I slightly opened my eyes a little more and my brows furrowed Why does he always act this way every time he has to leave me in the morning? This guy can be so sweet sometimes.

"You always do that," I act as if I'm mad, just to mess with him, pouting my lips. "Come on, don't be like that," he touches the curve of my waist above the cover. I giggled, "I'm kidding. You're so gullible sometimes, you know?"

"Because you're always mean to me!" He laughed, showing his full white set of teeth. Opening my eyes further, I assessed his current appearance, secretly basking on his good looks. I admit Blake Garette is one of the finest men I've ever seen. I mean, he's way hotter than any guys I've dated. I wonder what his ex-girlfriend was thinking when she cheated on him.

I stretched my arm, reaching for his nose and I pinched it. He giggled at my childishness, and grabbed my hand, "What are you doing, Maddy?" He said with a muffled voice.

I took my hand off and tried to sit up, wrapping the bed cover around my body. I finger-combed my long brown hair out of my face with one hand, while the other is securely holding on to the cloth covering me.

"Stop being so cute, Blake. Now, hand me one of your shirts by the drawer near you," I softly laughed. For a second there, I thought I saw him get affected by my comment. He grabbed a shirt and handed it to me.

Automatically, he stood up from the bed and turned his back on me. He rubbed the back of his neck, acting so awkward, and said, "Uhm, so do you want me to stay for breakfast? Or coffee? 'cause I can."

What's up with him? It's not like this is the first time he had to leave me the morning after. Maybe he still thinks I'm mad at him for leaving. I softly giggled at his awkwardness as I put on his shirt. "No, it's fine, idiot. You can go." I stood up, finger-combed my hair once more, now moving it to one side. I walk towards my bathroom and washed my face.

Like a puppy, Blake followed me there. His eyes, watching my every mood. After I wiped the water off my face with a towel, I looked at him weirdly, "What? Is there something wrong?"

Probably realizing how weird he's acting right now, he shakes his head and said, "No, nothing at all. I, uh, will go now. See me out?"

"Okay, hold on," I opened a drawer and grabbed underwear to wear. He instantly realized what I was doing and so, he turned his back on me again, but this time, he was walking out of the bedroom.

"I'm starting coffee!" he shouted as he made his way to the kitchen.

I laughed at how weird he was acting. What is up with this guy? I joined him not long after and asked, "I thought you needed to go, idiot?"

His back was facing me as he maneuvered around my kitchen like he owns the place. Take note, he was still shirtless. "I have time for coffee, you know. I need coffee like a car needs gas," he explained.

"Okay, but don't forget to wear a shirt before you leave. I mean you look good like that," bit my lip and smiled, trying to make fun of him. He faces me with two cups of coffee in hand, he's smiling like an idiot that he is, trying to stop himself from laughing.

"You and that head of yours, Madison, tsk tsk" he giggled in fake disappointment. He hands me my cup of coffee as he sips on his.

"What are you doing today?" he asked, trying to make a normal conversation. I thought about it for a few seconds and answered, "I'll probably hang out with Chelsea later today. But I do have to check out this commercial space one last time before I finally decide on buying it."

I was finally going to build my own coffee shop. It was a dream of mine that was put on hold after my ex-boyfriend squeezed out all of my savings last year. After my estranged father died a few months ago, I inherited all of his money and company. I hired a CEO to handle the company while I build my own empire.

"You've been looking at that place for quite some time now. What's stopping you?" He asked. Of course, Blake knows everything. I tell him everything. He is like my walking and talking diary. He's a very good listener and he's quite smart as well. I wanted him to run my dad's company but he doesn't like the idea of it. It felt like he was being paid for our unusual setup. He's such an idiot sometimes.

"I want it to live above the place, so I'll probably end up buying the whole building," I reasoned out. "It's a three-story lot with a good parking area. Just buy the whole thing. It's a good investment," he replied.

"That's what I'm thinking. That's why I want to be 100% sure that it's what I want," I excitedly agreed. This building is more than just acquiring good real estate. For me, renovating it and making something great out of it is my own therapy, to finally rebuild myself as a person. I caught myself drowning in my own thoughts yet again, and so I changed the subject.

Anyways, enough about me, Mr. Blake Garette. Where are you so eager to go to this morning?" I looked at him, mocking a suspicious look.

He smiled, and said, "You really have such a mischievous mind, Waters. Don't be so jealous. You know I don't play the field anymore. I'm off to my mom's house, she called asking me to drive her around this morning. She's planning to have a barbeque party later. You wanna go?"

"I'm not jealous!" I defended.

"Really? That's all you got from what I said?" he shook his head, and slowly walked towards me.

Our faces are inches away and I caught myself not breathing, startled by his sudden aggression. He makes eye contact with me for a few seconds. He breaks the contact, looked at my lips, and kissed it.

Everything happened so fast that I wasn't able to react immediately. He took a step back, grabbed his shirt by the counter, and walked towards the door in less than a minute.

Meanwhile, I was still frozen from where I was standing, still trying to figure out what just happened.

He shouts from the door, "Call me if you decide to come! Bring Chelsea if you want. Bye!" I snapped out of the daze that I was in and shouted back, "Bye!"

Holy crap! What just happened?