Chapter 66

Two weeks later

He totally saw that one coming.

Before Jovan’s foot connected with his chest, Blake spun around and caught it, placing his Nike in Jovan’s gut. Jovan doubled over and Blake let go of his foot. Jovan stared up at him from the mats, and Blake couldn’t help but smile.

“Nice one, man,” Jovan said, breathing hard. “You’re almost back at one hundred percent.”

Blake fell on the mat next to him. “I don’t know about that, but I feel better than I have in months.”

He’d been meeting with Cohen on a daily basis for a healing. Cohen worked within him to not only mend the damage on his internal organs he’d injured with the drugs, but also tinkered on his brain to lessen the cravings. Blake could actually now go hours without thinking about drugs. He still had his moments, but they were becoming fewer and farther between.

He’d kept his appointments with Beverly where they shared their stories of addiction, their feelings about it, and she gave him different ways of coping. “Exercise, healthy eating, and getting plenty of sleep are mandatory, Blake. You need to keep the body on the right track.”

Jovan volunteered to be his workout partner, and in just two weeks, he’d put on ten pounds thanks to healthy eating and Jovan constantly pushing him in the gym on a daily basis.

Noah had put him back on computer detail, and he’d been surprised when Sophia mentioned she wanted to learn how they worked. With Noah’s blessing, Blake taught her some basic programs, like how to look up lineage of criminals for Colonist ancestry, and he also showed her how the security system worked. She learned quickly, and was now mastering code to build her own computer programs. She said when her skills were proficient, she would start teaching Megan the basics as well. For now, Blake and Sophia worked side-by-side for many hours a day, looking for any possible Colonist activity.

The more time he spent with Sophia, the more he liked her. She had found her groove working on the computers, and to her, every day was exciting as she ran the programs they needed to do their jobs. She was in her element, her dark eyes sparkling with life and enthusiasm.

“So what’s the deal with you and Sophia?” Jovan asked.

Blake shrugged. “There really isn’t one. We work together.”

“But you like her,” Jovan commented.

“What does that mean?” Blake asked, looking over at his friend.

“You like her, as in really like her, man. I can see it in the way you look at her. You’ve got that puppy-dog look combined with the desire to rip her clothes off all in one.”

Blake rolled his eyes. “I do not.”

“Yeah, you do, man,” Jovan laughed, getting to his feet. “And I think she’s got it for you as well.”

Blake remained on the mats, considering Jovan’s words. Yes, he liked Sophia. He wouldn’t deny that. However, she’d been through some pretty wicked shit, and he bet the last thing on her mind was getting into a relationship. He recalled the way she’d grabbed his arm one day when they were working. “Blake, this is so exciting! I could sit her all day and mess around with this program! Thank you for showing it to me!” Then, she had given him a quick kiss on the cheek.

And don’t even get her started on the Xbox. She loved the virtual world, and yelled and screamed louder than Rayner when she played. Honestly, Sophia seemed to be turning into a geek girl, and he really found it quite cute as he remembered her when he first met her. She’d been so serious, her only outlets being her garden and Megan. She was in her element in the technological world.

Sophia had been his rock. Yes, everyone in the house was helping him, but Sophia had become his cheerleader, always upbeat, willing to share a laugh or a hug. So, yeah, she seemed to like him, enjoyed being with him, but he didn’t think she liked him that way.

“What makes you think that?” Blake called, heaving himself off the mats and heading toward Jovan who was picking out some hand weights.

He shrugged. “She kind of looks at you that same way. How about one-fifties today? Think you can manage that?”

Blake stood next to Jovan and looked at their reflections in the mirror. Standing at right around six feet, Blake was a few inches shorter than Jovan. The guy also had about fifty pounds on Blake. As he studied himself, he saw the old Blake emerging again. His biceps were defined, his chest filling out again. He rubbed his hands over his washboard abs. Yeah, he was almost back to the old Blake.

Scratch that, he didn’t want to be back to the old Blake. The urge to better himself and move beyond the old Blake was strong. He wanted a life, not just move day to day with no future plans, goals, or dreams, and in his talks with Beverly, he realized that was one of the catalysts leading to his downfall. Yes, Annis was part of it, but Beverly had helped him realize it was all about him and what was lacking in his life. He needed to get a clear plan for his future, and he needed to allow room for it to change.

“Let’s give the one-fifties a try,” Blake said. “If I can’t manage it, then we’ll try a lower weight.”

As he lay on the bench, Jovan put one weight in his right hand, and Blake felt confident he could manage both. “Give me the other one,” he said.

Jovan handed it to him and Blake pressed up, the muscles in his chest and arms screaming. “I’ve only known her a couple of weeks,” Blake muttered. “You SR44ians fall in love hard and fast. For us mere mortals, it takes a bit longer.”

Jovan shook his head and smirked.

“What?” Blake asked, bringing the weights to his chest.

“You are part SR44ian, you dumbass. You may be part Colonist, but a Colonist is still SR44ian. I think you’ve got it bad for Sophia, and I think she feels the same way.”

Blake pushed the weights up again, straining. “I don’t know about that, Jovan.”

“Trust me, I do.”