Take Me Higher

Chapter Twenty-Three Olivia

Sorry for any errors!

For some reason, addressing the awkward tension between Reggie and I makes me feel a million times better. As frustrated as I am with these weird feeling I'm having, and wishing I could just hate him or something, I know it's getting harder to ignore. Even if I were capable of hating him, I'd spend so much energy trying to do so.

"I didn't know Reggie was going to be here," Blake says to me like I'm the one who invited him.

I shrug. "Me either, Penny must've invited him," I explain. He nods along, looking a little annoyed about something. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing, he's always around. It's like wherever you are, there he is," Blake points out.

Okay, now I'm the one who's annoyed. What am I supposed to do? Tell Reggie to stay away from me? From Penny? Not only is he my friend and roommate, but he and Penny are still fooling around so, yes, of course, he's around.

I feel an arm drape around my shoulders before I'm able to respond.

"Well if it isn't my little brownie buddy," a chilling voice speaks close to my ear.

I gulp, realizing it's the same sketchy guy who warned me about the pot brownies after he watched me devour enough to get me high out of my mind.

"Dalton, right?" I check, smoothly slipping out from under his arm to look at him.

"My friends call me Dalt."

I cringe, not liking the idea of being his friend one bit. It's frustrating being a girl because I have no clue what some guys are capable of if I try to put a halt to unwanted touchy-feely behavior. Something tells me Dalton doesn't handle rejection well.

"Dalt, we're kind of in the middle of something," Blake remarks.

He smirks. "Keep an eye on this one," he gestures toward me before walking away.

Blake looks back at me, confusion all over his face. "Brownie buddy?" he questions.

"Obviously we were in girl scouts together," I joke, successfully lightening the mood. "At that party a few nights ago, nobody told me that the snacks had party favors in them," I crack a smile.

Blake chuckles, leaning close. "Sorry I missed it."

"Oh don't be," I state. "I ate half my weight in tacos, believe me, it was not a sight you'd want to see," I laugh.

He lets out a laugh. "Speaking of food, I've been meaning to ask you," he pauses. "Do you have plans for Thanksgiving?"

"I think I'm going to have my own Thanksgiving this year, I'm not ready to face my parents and whatever the hell they have planned."

Blake pulls back. "You can cook a turkey?" He asks like it's rocket science.

I laugh at his reaction. "I'm kind of a closet-cook, actually."

He chuckles. "Well, I figured with what's going on with your parents that you might not be going home for the break and was hoping you could spare an hour or so and come with me to my parents?"

"Oh," I clear my throat. Isn't this a little soon? It's been a month since this started. Even though we've spent so much time together, I didn't think that would come for a while, if ever.

"It's not like a big thing, they usually do a late lunch, early dinner kind of thing," he assures me as if he read the hesitation on my mind. "They live about an hour away, but we could leave early, get breakfast and be there in afternoon..." He trails on. "I'll have you back by four-ish and we can do whatever else you had in mind."