Jaided (9 page)

T
he next morning, Jaide awoke alone in her bed without a cuddling stranger. Blaize's bed was empty but she could hear a soft hum coming from the bathroom.

She quickly got out of bed and changed into some workout clothes. The bathroom door opened and Blaize emerged, clean-shaven.

"Good morning." She smiled.

He glanced at her. "Morning."

"Do you shave every day?"

He rubbed his freshly shaven jaw. "Yeah, I have to. It grows super-fast."

"Is it black too, like your hair?"

"Yeah, it sucks. It’s so noticeable. I hate having black hair."

She reached out a hand to touch his hair. "I like it a lot, and it’s amazing with your blue eyes. And I bet you have a sexy 5 o’clock shadow. You should skip a shave one day so I can see a little scruff."

He blushed. "I'll think about it. You’ll have to remind me, though."

"You're so cute, Blaize. You blush all the time."

"I can't help it. You give me compliments all the time."

They headed downstairs together. Chance, Matt, Leith and Bhrade were already sitting at the table.

"Morning, guys!"

"Hey, what's up?"

"Morning to you too, sexy."

"Sleep well?" Chance asked.

"Sure did." She sat beside him and Blaize sat on her other side. It wasn't until then that she noticed the tension. Blaize was glaring up a storm at Leith, who met his eyes levelly but with an unreadable expression.

She touched Blaize's arm to get his attention but Leith beat her to it. "Hey Blaize, can we talk for a minute?" He stood as he spoke and nodded to the hallway.

Blaize looked ready to say something belligerent but Jaide nudged him and nodded toward the hallway, too.

"Yeah, sure." They left the cafeteria to speak out in the hallway but they could still be seen near the doorway.

"You gonna eat, Jaide?"

She shook her head and drank from her water bottle. "Not yet. I'm about to go out and run. Anyone care to join?"

Bhrade looked at her like she was crazy. "Run this early in the morning? Yeah, right."

"It's nine."

"Yeah, but it’s Sunday. No running on God's day," he said, dramatically glancing upward toward the heavens.

Matt rolled his eyes. "Oh, shut up. You’re atheist, you idiot."

Bhrade mumbled, "Doesn't mean I can't have respect for other people's religion."

"I'll go with you," Chance said.

Jaide smiled up at him. "You're awesome."

"No problem. I don't really want you running by yourself anyways."

"Right. Cause I'd get lonely, huh?"

He smiled. "Yeah, that's it."

"What does Leith want to talk to Blaize about exactly?"

"He's gonna apologize, in a manly way of course."

"Oh? And how do you apologize in a manly way?"

Bhrade adopted a guttural caveman voice. "Me sorry look at your woman, you forgive?"

Then Matt added with the same voice, "No, no forgive, must fight for woman!"

The table laughed at the scene. Jaide glanced out to the hallway. She saw they had just done the handshake and pound the chest thing, so it seemed that everything was cool. The two came back to the table. Blaize sat back down with a nod to Jaide, but Leith remained standing.

"Jaide, can we talk for a second?"

Someone at the end of the table grumbled in a high-pitched voice. “This is your Sunday Talk-a-Thon, sponsored by Kellogg’s Corn Flakes.”

Jaide stood. "Of course." She followed Leith to where he and Blaize had just been talking. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to apologize for looking at you the wrong way.”

"It's alright, no big deal,” she said with a wink. “You can't help it, I'm sure."

He smiled back. "Well yeah, that's true but not just for that. I'm sorry for what I may have said and stuff, too. I was just trying to get under Blaize's skin. I'm not sure why."

"It's alright. No harm done, right? You guys are cool now?"

"Yeah, he said as long as you accept my apology."

"Well, I accept. No more talk of fighting, ok?"

"Yes, ma'am," he said.

She smiled and hugged him before they returned to the table. Blaize looked at her expectantly. She smiled and nodded, confirming that everything was ok.

"You ready, Chance?"

"Yep."

"You wanna run with us, Blaize?"

"Nah, I got some errands to run. I'm gonna stop by the store, too. I'd like to stock up the fridge that your brother brought if that's alright. Do you want anything specific?"

"Yeah, can you get some of those little baby Gatorades? Those are the shit."

"Sure thing."

Outside, the day was crisp and clear, perfect for running, especially if you were a soccer player who thought you were in good physical shape. But by lap 14, or was it 13, the temperature had risen sharply, a trademark of the Exeter Creek School in Yakima, and she wasn’t sure about the laps. Her lungs burned and her legs were numb. She stole a quick glance to her side and saw that Chance seemed to be in the same condition. She really was out of shape. When she used to run with her brother, they would do four miles easy.

The thought that she was out of shape didn't settle well and she picked up the pace. Only two more laps, maybe three. Chance would tell her when they hit four miles.

Sure enough, two laps later Chance informed her they had hit four and she slowed to a walk with hands on her hips. They kept moving at a slow walk around the track.

"Damn Jaide, do you always run like you're running a race?"

"I'm out of shape. I used to do four miles in no time flat."

"Well, maybe you were going too fast."

"I couldn't find a pace. I'm used to running with Tremaine, and his pace is good for me. You didn't seem to have a problem keeping up anyways."

"Yeah, like I would admit I couldn't keep up with a girl. It doesn't help that it's warming up out here."

"Yeah, no shit. I was about to take off my shirt."

Chance frowned. "I hope you're kidding."

She looked up at him, confused. "Why? Guys take their shirts off all the time during practice and stuff."

"Guys don't have boobs."

"Some do, and I'm wearing a sports bra, Chance. It’s less revealing than a swimsuit."

"So? We aren't swimming."

She rolled her eyes. "Most guys would have encouraged me to take my shirt off."

"Not me."

"Chance, are you gay, too?"

"What? No! I just have respect for women."

"Ohhh, I see. And by respect, you mean discouraging me from doing the same thing a guy would do?"

"Jaide, it's not like that." He sounded earnest.

She smiled and punched his arm. "I know, I'm just giving you a hard time. You just don't want the other guys to see me, right?"

"Exactly. There are some pervs at this school."

"Well, thanks for wanting to look after me."

He beamed at her. "So how's Blaize doing?"

"He seems fine. He went to visit Maddy today during what he calls ‘errands'. I could tell."

"Yeah, but he's been doing pretty well though, don’t you think?"

"Yeah, he's cool. We seem to talk more. He’s opening up a little."

Chance nodded. "I had a feeling you were going to break him," he laughed. "He needs someone to open up to. You guys would make a really great couple."

She gasped and pushed him. "Chance!"

"What? It's so obvious that he likes you. He's just a little shy, that’s all."

She smiled and nodded. "Ok, ok. I got a question though, a little random."

"Shoot."

"What do you all do for prom around here? There are no girls at all."

"We and the all girls school on the other side of Yakima city have a little two-day conglomeration to give us time to get a prom date. It's pretty fun actually, because it's so spontaneous. You just ask a girl that you barely know and hope she says yes. They switch locations every year. This year I think it's here, though."

"Oh, that’s pretty neat."

"Yep."

They were at the dorms now, and split to their own rooms.

Blaize was not back yet, so she hopped in the shower to wash before drawing up a bubble bath. She had just lain back with a deep sigh when she heard the dorm door open and Blaize moving around.

She was a little bit startled when the bathroom door opened and Blaize entered, seemingly oblivious to her presence. He didn't notice her as he stocked the toothpaste and shaving cream in the drawers.

"Uhh ...Blaize?"

He jumped half a foot in the air and then spun around only to cover his eyes. "Ahh! Sorry! I didn't know you were back. Sorry, I'll just ..." He fumbled for the door handle with one hand still over his eyes.

"Blaize, I'm in a bubble bath. You can't see anything."

"Oh ... uhhh, ok." He lowered his hand but remained staring at the ceiling. "Uh ... yeah sorry, I'll leave. My bad." He left the bathroom quickly.

"Blaize?" she called.

"Yeah?"

"I left my towel on my bed. Could you bring it in here?"

A second later, the door opened and his hand quickly placed the towel on the counter before the door snapped shut again.

"Thanks!" she called.

"No problem."

When she finished soaking, she rinsed off and drained the tub. She felt very relaxed, but tired. She left the bathroom wrapped in the towel. Blaize was sitting on his bed with books, papers and notebooks scattered all over. "Hey."

"Uh, hi," he said without looking up.

"Blaize, Sundays are my recharge days."

"Uh ... ok."

"Well I just wanted you to know that I'm gonna take a nap and if you could refrain from having a bunch of guys over, that that would be nice."

"Yeah, no problem. I got a bunch of homework anyways."

"Because I'm going to sleep naked."

He jumped and looked up at her, then back down when he saw that she was in just a towel. "What? Why?"

"Blaiiiize, please. I just need to. Haven’t you just needed a day to just pass out and recharge?"

"Well yeah, but I don't do it naked!"

"Well, I do. Don’t worry, though. I'll be a good little girl and stay on my side of the room.”

He began to gather his stuff up. "I'll just do my homework downstairs."

"No, Blaize, you don't have to leave, really. I'll just be sleeping. I'll be out like a rock."

He didn't answer.

"But I guess I can always go ask Matt or Chance if I can go borrow one of their beds," she added, faking disappointment in her voice.

"No!" He straightened abruptly and she raised an eyebrow. "I mean, no, it’s fine. You go ahead and take your nap. I'll stay here to make sure no one bothers you."

She smiled. "Thanks, Blaize. You’re the best."

He nodded and continued his homework. She crawled under her covers and then let the towel drop to the floor. He watched as she turned away from him, flashing a bare shoulder before she quickly fell asleep, and once again did so without her old apprehension. She sought pleasantries in her dream world and snuggled against them.

J
aide woke up but didn't open her eyes. She didn't want to end her sleep. She felt so refreshed, as though she had slept for days, but she didn't want to leave the soft, warm cocoon of her blankets.

Without moving her body, she opened her eyes just a little to see her alarm clock. She had slept for almost four hours. She looked at Blaize. He was still sitting on his bed, working diligently on homework.

He didn't notice that she was awake and she took the opportunity to study him. He was muscular but wasn't so buff that he looked like a giant steak. His body was the kind that would make most girls kill to have him as a boyfriend but he didn't flaunt it. She knew he wouldn’t take his shirt off during practice just to show his muscles the way so many other boys did.

He was hunched over his textbook so his hair hung in his face a little, but his bright eyes were clearly visible. The blue of his eyes was such a pure blue she had not seen anything like it, especially not in someone who was not of light complexion. He had a little bit of a bronze skin tone. His jet-black hair grew so thick and amazing, she just wanted to run her hands through it. It looked so soft. She thought,
he could definitely be a hair model. Hell, he could be any kind of model.

Then he glanced over at her and her thoughts were cut short. He smiled when he saw that she was awake. "Sleep well?"

"Oh yes." As she stretched, her bare arms and shoulders emerged from the blanket.

"I'm assuming you didn't have any nightmares, just pleasant dreams?"

"Yeah, I dreamed you'd come over here and hop in bed with me," she taunted, laughing, and adding a wink and a grin.

He ducked his head back to his homework and blushed. "Uh, sorry, got homework."

"Dang." She wrapped herself in her sheet and stood.

There was a knock on the door and she automatically went to answer, but Blaize jumped off the bed and cut her off with his body. "Uhh ...” He stepped back when he realized how close he was. "Maybe you should get dressed."

She looked down at herself. "Oh yeah, heh." She went to her dresser and opened it. She glanced over her shoulder at him and gave him a pointedly teasing look. He turned to face the wall and heard the sound of the sheet hit the floor.
It was such a soft sound
, he noted.