Chapter 17: Chapter 17

Rylie's POV

"Gee Rylie, you don't look so good. Are you sure you're not hot as well?" Blake asked smugly.

I fought to tear my eyes away from his perfectly toned abs and asked drily, "What makes you think I'm hot?"

"Well, for one, you looked incredibly flustered and you're also sweating. A lot, if I might add," he pointed out.

I was sweating? I touched my forehead and saw that he was right. I was sweating.

"Maybe I am a little hot. Could you perhaps get me something cold?" I choked out.

"Sure. Anything for you, girlfriend," he winked before walking out of the room, his shirt in hand.

"Wouldn't want them getting the wrong idea now, would we?"

"Sure."

As soon as he stepped out of the room, I rushed to the window and opened it to let fresh air in. As the warm breeze fanned my face, I let go of the breath I didn't know I'd been holding.

It was only a matter of time before Blake returned from the kitchen and I had only that much time to get a hold of myself before he did and I was forced to stare at the epitome of toned muscular perfection.

I seriously don't get what's wrong with me. It's not like it's the first time I'm seeing a shirtless guy.

Before meeting Asher, I was obsessed with Chris Hemsworth from Thor and most of the pictures I had of him were pictures of him shirtless. When I started dating Asher, I saw him shirtless a couple of times and we even went exploring sometimes. Of course, we didn't go all the way which I'm thankful for now but the essence of what I'm saying is I'm no stranger to shirtless dudes.

I even walked into the boys locker room by mistake one time after football practice. It was not a pretty sight.

I thought I'd seen it all after that horrendous incident until Blake took his shirt off and turned me into a horny mess.

I'm not even supposed to be horny for anyone much less Blake.

Ugh! What is going on with me?

Just then, as if on cue, the man of the hour returned.

"Hey," he voiced as he entered the room.

Gulping shakily, I turned to find him once again shirtless.

I uttered a silent prayer to God for help and strength to resist the temptation in front of me.

"Here you go. A chocolate banana milkshake, extra frosty. It should be enough to cool you down," he added with a smirk.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes and accepted the drink with a fake smile. I sat on a beanbag while sipping my milkshake, looking at everything but him. I felt him pull up a beanbag opposite me but chose to pretend as though I didn't see him.

The milkshake was refreshing but did little to help me as the mere thought of a shirtless Blake opposite me was enough to make me hot all over again.

I sucked even harder on my milkshake.

"Geez Rylie, slow down. The milkshake's not going anywhere," Blake joked.

I paused. When did Blake's voice start to sound so sexy?

Oh geez! I've finally gone crazy.

Struggling to find my voice, I mumbled, "I know," before returning back to my drink.

I could hear Blake chuckle, obviously enjoying making me squirm but I chose to ignore it.

Once my milkshake was gone, I dropped the cup on the floor by the beanbag and took a deep breath.

Come on, Rylie, you can do this. He's just one boy. You can do this.

I slowly raised my head up to look at Blake but found myself unable to go further than his chest region.

"Rylie!" Blake called.

"Huh?" I answered at a loss for words.

"You're drooling," he snickered.

Snapping back to my senses, I realised that my mouth was hanging open and true to his words, I was drooling.

With the last ounce of dignity I still possessed, I snapped my mouth shut and wiped it clean while Blake laughed at me.

"Admit it Rylie, you're attracted to me. That much is clear."

"Why should I admit something that's not true?" I shot back.

"It's true and you know it, Missy."

"Keep dreaming, asshat!" I scoffed with a roll of my eyes.

"Okay. How about this? If you admit to being attracted to me, I'll put my shirt back on."

"You will?" I asked tentatively.

"Sure. Why not?"

I leaned back into the beanbag and thought about it. If I admitted to being attracted to him, he would finally put on his shirt and I would be able to breathe again.

Then again, that would mean admitting that I was attracted to him which I wasn't… Okay, maybe I was. Just a little bit though.

But if Blake got to know, he would never let me live it down and I'm not sure I can handle that.

"So… what's it gonna be?" Blake asked, his voice piercing through my thoughts.

Taking a deep breath, I brought my gaze to meet his and reiterated "Like I said Blake, I won't admit something that's not true. This is your room and you're free to take your shirt off if you please."

"Wow! I've gotta give you credit. I really thought you'd give in."

"Well you thought wrong."

"Okay then. Suit yourself."

"Good. Now that that's out of the way, it's time we got down to business."

"Right! The talent show."

"Yes. So what's the first order of business?"

"Well first things first, you have to show me what you've got."

"And that means?"

"I mean, sing. I need to know the extent of your ability before I help you conquer your stage fright. So show me what you got."

"Oh okay."

I rose from the beanbag and made my way to his front.

"Uh could you turn around please?" I croaked.

"Why? Too distracted by my pecs?"

"No, not that," I scoffed. "It's just… I haven't sang to anyone in years and I'm kinda nervous."

"Look Rylie, the whole point of this exercise is to help you learn to sing for people again. If you can't sing in front of me, how will you sing in front of the crowd in school?"

"I dunno. Maybe I should drop out," I sighed.

"No, you can't drop out. Listen, if you let fear control you, you won't achieve anything in life."

"But…" I tried objecting.

"No buts. Just sing."

I sighed and closed my eyes as I tried to think of which song to sing.

"Or maybe you can't sing?" Blake's voice penetrated through my thoughts forcing me to open my eyes.

"I can sing, Blake," I muttered.

"Then do it already."

I rolled my eyes at him and closed my eyes just as the perfect song came to mind.

I took a deep breath and started singing.

*Like a small boat, on the ocean

Sending big waves, into motion

Like how a single word can make a heart open

I might only have one match but I can make an explosion

And all those things I didn't say

Wrecking balls inside my brain

I will scream them loud tonight

Can you hear my voice this time?*

*Chorus: This is my fight song

Take back my life song

Prove-I'm-alright song

My power's turned on

Starting right now, I'll be strong

I'll play my fight song

And I don't really care if nobody else believes

Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me!*

Slowly, I opened my eyes which I'd kept close while singing.

"So, how was that?"

He didn't answer. He just kept staring at me like he was lost in thoughts.

"Blake, tell me already. Earth to Blake!" I snapped.

He jerked back to reality at that.

"Oh right. Sorry I just… Whoa! That was good."

"You mean it?" I timidly inquired.

"I mean it. No jokes this time. The only thing is you kept your eyes closed the entire time. That's not gonna work. Your audience has to be able to look into your eyes if you want them to really feel the story. The eyes are like the door to your soul and that's what your audience really wants to see. But aside that, bravo! That was good," he applauded.

I grinned. "Thanks! So how now that you know I'm capable, how do we go about helping me get over my stage fright?"

"Well first things first, you can start by practicing in front of the mirror. Models do this all the time to build confidence, grace, poise and elegance."

"Okay?"

"Let's get you in front of the mirror then."

Once I was in front of the mirror, he directed me to sing.

*Like a small boat, on the ocean

Sending big wa…*

"Stop, stop, stop!" he cut in all of a sudden. "Your posture is atrocious. It's like you're trying to hide from even yourself. Start again."

"Like a small boat on…"

As I sang, he tipped my chin up, straightened my back, pulled my shoulders back.

As he did all this, I couldn't help but feel a bit aroused. I knew he was serious now and he wasn't exactly touching me in sensitive places but I still found it hard to concentrate. Then I felt his hands on my shoulders. I froze at once.

"You're so tense here. Luckily for you, I have a few tricks up my sleeves."

This, he said as he begun to massage my shoulders. I tried to keep on a bold face but it was to when his hands were doing wonders to my shoulders. My legs felt like jelly and it was a wonder that I didn't collapse.

"Feels good, right?" he whispered into my ear, his hot breath fanning my neck as a shiver worked its way down my spine.

Was it just me or did his voice sound husky? Hard to tell with my brain all mushy.

Then just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, I felt Blake's hand work its way down my back to my waist. I didn't know what was going on and for the life of me, I couldn't seem to tell him to stop.

As I felt his hand span my waist, I did the unthinkable and released a moan.

Yup! That's right. You heard me. I moaned.

As soon as the soft sound came out of my mouth, I tried to stop it but it was too late. He already heard it.

Too embarrassed to look back at him, I forced myself to look into the mirror instead where I saw a devilish smirk playing on his lips.

"Was that a moan I just heard?" he inquired as though he didn't know.

I couldn't even bring myself to answer him so I looked to the ground instead.

"No need to be ashamed, Rylie. Girls crush on me all time. All you have to do is say the word and I can make your fantasies come true," he whispered huskily into my ears, his hot breath fanning my cheeks even as his lips brushed my neck.

I shivered noticeably.

"So what's it gonna be?"

I opened my mouth to talk but snapped it shut almost immediately.

What the heck was I thinking? I can't do this… right?

"Clock's ticking, Rylie," Blake's voice jolted me back to reality.

Why did his voice have to sound so good?

"I-I…" I stuttered, struggling to find my voice.