Page 159 of Learning Curve

I laugh. “You know you sound a lot like a jealous boyfriend right now, right? For a girl who won’t give you the time of day.”

Blake smiles, the freak. “We must not allow other people’s limited perceptions to define us, Finnley. There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.”

“The fuck did you just say?” Ace asks, and I laugh.

Blake shakes his head. “Never mind. I’m going in.”

“You’re going in? What does that mean?” Ace tosses back, but it’s too late, Blake is already striding across the room and heading straight for Lexi. “What is he doing?”

“I think he’s asking her out.”

“Oh fuck,” Ace mutters. “Why do I feel like he’s going to crash and burn?”

“Because he is,” I say through a laugh.

We both stand there, watching from a distance as Blake interrupts Lexi and Adam’s conversation. His mouth is moving a mile a minute, like he’s nervous as hell, and his hands are joining the party.

Lexi’s face is neutral, hardly offering anything at all. And we’re too far away to hear what she says, but when Blake turns back around and heads in our direction, he has a big-ass smile on his face.

“Holy shit, did she…?” Ace questions, and I shrug.

“I don’t know, man, but he looks thrilled.”

Once Blake is standing right in front of us, he lets out a big sigh of relief.

“So…?” Ace urges, and Blake just shrugs and slides his hands into his jeans pockets.

“I obviously asked her to share our love with the world, and she very graciously said no.”

“What?” I blurt out on a snort. “Get real. You got rejected.”

Ace is nearly wheezing. “Why do you look so happy about that and please, even more than that, why are you talking like a fucking poet tonight?”

Blake smiles. “Because it’s only a matter of time.”

Ace and I both look at each other in confusion.

“Mark my words,” he says. “That girl will be mine.”

I can’t decide if it’s complete delusion on his part or if he actually is in love with Lexi.

“Finn. Help me out here. Bring this man back down to earth.” Ace looks at me again, hoping that I have something to say in this situation.

“Dude, I can’t judge,” I answer honestly. “I spent four weeks in hospital waiting rooms for Scottie.”

“That’s what I’m saying.” Blake wraps his arm around my shoulder. “When you know, you fucking know. Right, Finn?”

I look across the room to where Scottie is laughing over something Ace’s dad is telling her. And seeing that joy and smile on her face and knowing how fucking much I love her makes it impossible for me to refute Blake’s claims.

“When you know, you know.”

And, oh baby, do I know.

THE END