Chapter Text
He's in the lounge area scrolling through his twitter timeline when Gwen walks in. Today marks the first day of the knockouts and the first day he sees her after their hug goodbye a month ago. She had taken some time off to go to Montana and Blake had flown over to Oklahoma and pretty much hid away in his ranch. When Blake hears the door open and heel sounding footsteps come closer to him he looks up to see her. She looks happy and relieved. A soft chuckle forms on her face when she spots him, which causes Blake to stand up and walk to her. He had missed her terribly. Ever since he had spoke out the words of him getting a divorce, Gwen had slowly, day by day, told him she was getting one too. She’s a private person and they didn't know each other that well before, so he cannot blame her from sharing little information.
After the tappings they would hang out in each other trailers where one of them, or both, would end up crying on the other's shoulder. They’d told each other that they weren't going to speak about the past again, but each day they would. They needed to share the pain and only they could understand. The heartbreak talk turned to quiet movie nights and long talks in her backyard where they shared more about themselves, their childhood and when the future awaited.. She loved when she could feel his eyes on her when he thought she wasn't looking. She would reach out and squeeze his shoulder from time to time, pat his chest and even playfully steal his snapback. He had finally given in and gifted it to her, earning a very bright smile from his favourite rockstar. The last day of filming the battles, and before they had to part ways, Blake had invited her over to his house for a casual dinner and a drink since the studios were closing down earlier than usual. He had no expectations of her actually accepting the offer, but she had smiled and nodded. That night, they had laughed over dinner and had watched a movie sitting very close to each other, closer than usual. They had stolen glances when the other wasn't looking and he had kissed her cheek goodbye before opening the car door for her to jump in. Gwen had driven home with the silliest smile on her face as the spot where his lips had landed burned. Blake was the only person that understood, the only person that truly cared, and to him, Gwen had been the support he didn't know he needed.
"Hi, Gwen." His dimpled smile makes her grin from ear to ear. God he loves her smile. Today feels like a better day already just because she is happy.
"Blake!" She takes the last two steps towards him and then stands awkwardly, not knowing what to do, in front of him.
Last time they had seen each other he had kissed her cheek goodbye but she figures that was a one time kinda thing because he makes no move to reach for her. "How-uhm, how are you?"
"Good!" He says scratching his stubbly face, "Better. You?" He nods at her.
"Great, actually."
"Good, that's good." He agrees looking at his feet for a couple of seconds. "How was Montana?" They had texted a little bit but he hadn't want to over push things so he had stopped texting her when she was on her second day at the ranch.
"So beautiful! We had a great time."
"I'm glad." There's an almost awkward silence as they stare at each other's eyes trying to find something to say.
"You stopped texting." She sounds almost sad and Blake surely doesn't want to be the reason she is sad. People have let her down enough times.
He fidgets and closes his eyes for a moment, "I figured you needed some space," he says quietly, "I didn't want to bother you."
"You never bother me." She looks up to him shyly, almost as if she were unsure to say the words. "I like knowing about you, even if all you did was lay around all day."
The country singer chuckles and almost reaches down to touch her hand, "I didn't want to be annoying”
"You’re never annoying.”
"Okay, Gwen. I will never not text you again." His dimples charm the way to her heart again as she nods squeezing his plaid covered shoulder. "Hey would you like to-"
"Blake, Blake!"
Dammit .
Adam's voice echoes inside the room as runs towards them. "Oh, hi Gwen!" He says leaning down to peck her cheek. Blake feels a ray of jealousy run through his veins. "I didn't know you were gonna be here as well."
"Got here about five minutes ago." The blonde singer explains looking from Adam to Blake who rapidly smiles at her.
"Good, that's good." Adam bounces on his feet making his friend nervous.
"What's going on?" Adam's eyes shoot right up to meet Blake's blue ones.
"Right, right. Suit up sasquatch we're going out today." Adam smirks looking at Blake who shakes his head.
"Adam, we went for drinks two days ago."
"No, you big idiot, I mean, I got you a date." Blake coughs as Gwen's feels her wall crumbling down. The country superstar turns his head to look at her as she looks down, scared to meet his eyes.
Blake's eyes stay in her as his hands shake on his sides. "You did what now?" He asks Adam.
"I got you a date. Well actually it's one of Bee's friends. She's in town, great girl."
"I don't want a date." Blake stares down at his friend trying to make him see how much he screwed up. Adam doesn't seem to catch it though.
"Well, you're gonna have to go out and mingle soon, so I thought I'd help you or otherwise you will end up alone like Bridget Jones singing alone to All By Myself." The Maroon 5 frontman laughs at his attempt of joke as Gwen takes a few steps back and Blake feels his heartbeat get weaker as she moves away.
Adam doesn't even realize Gwen has left as he punches Blake lightly on the chest. The cowboy's eyes had been on Gwen the whole time so he hadn't seen the punch coming. "What the fuck, Adam?"
"I thought you'd be excited." Blake looks down at his boots when he hears the door of Gwen's trailer close. "I can't stand you moping around anymore dude. You're coming tonight. 8 o'clock at that restaurant I like by the sea."
"I am not." Blake marks every word and even raises his voice praying that Gwen hears him. "I have plans tonight."
"No you don't. You told me the other day." He could really put a fist through the wall right this moment. "Listen, Ellie is a nice girl. She's single and knows your music. She watches the show and always talks to Behati about how she'd like to meet you." Blake huffs running a hand through his curls. "Don't be late." Adam walks away after that leaving a very confused Blake in the middle of the lounge area.
"Is she a model?" Blake shouts at his friend. Adam keeps on walking away as Blake tries again, "Adam?" The sound of door of his trailer closing fills the silence again as Blake lets his body fall on the chesterfield.
He's about to leave the studios when he hears a knock on his trailer's door. "Come on in." The last person he expected to be ends up being who walks through the door. In a black jeans and a white v-neck, Gwen stands by the door looking at Blake as he flashes a smile her way. "Oh, hi!"
"Good day, huh?"
"Indeed."
"I hate to see people go." Blake nods, "I hate to choose, they all have something special." Her sweet voice is like music to his ears.
"Yeah me too. You would think after all these years it would get easier but it only gets harder." He plays with his car keys as he looks straight at her. She still has the same hairstyle as before but she has taken off most of the make up, leaving the red lipstick, of course. "I can't wait for tomorrow's tap-"
"I think you should go to the date." She lets the words roll off her tongue as he looks at her in surprise. He blinks a few times and raises his eyebrows at her.
"Wh- what?"
"Adam," she runs a hand through her hair and then takes a breath. "He said he had planned for you to meet someone."
"He did."
"I think you should go. You deserve a night out. You deserve to be able to move on." She's trying really hard to not have her voice crack and give it all away. Of course she doesn't want the only person that has truly felt like a friend the last few months, to spend a few hours with somebody else. Even less if that somebody else is a woman, probably in her late 20 early 30 and probably has the greatest body. She hasn't thought about Blake in a romantic way. She can agree he's a handsome guy, charming and fun. He can be the most gentle and caring too, but for now that's all she needs. Someone to count on, someone who would not let her down. Someone who would hold her hand from time to time and let her pour her heart out. Someone to wipe out her tears and be the reason of her laughs.
"I don't know, Gwen."
"Why not?"
"I just..." he runs a hand through his curls and huffs sitting on the sofa as Gwen leans against the wooden wall. "I don't think I'm there, you know. I don't need a date. Dating is not something I need right now. I'm still grieving, my heart is building up again and I sure as hell don't want to be set up. I can ask someone out myself." His eyes never leave hers as he speaks. He doesn't sound angry per se, maybe a little annoyed and sad, but not angry. Gwen doesn't know how to react to his words, so she stays quiet for a moment as she watches him bury his face behind his hands.
"You know..." she tries, "I get it. It fucking hurts. But Blake, don't you want to keep your head outside of all the mess for a few hours and spend some quality time with your friend and someone that as Adam said is a fan of yours? Maybe she won't be that bad."
"I don't need a date to have fun."
"Sure, cos drinking and having me cry on your shoulder is so much fun." Blake draws the softest smile on his face as he recalls the last night spent at his place.
I would prefer that. He actually doesn't say the words out loud but he wants to. All he has liked to do lately, everything that has felt right has been her.
"You really wan- you think I should go?"
No. "Yeah. It's just a date. See how it goes, you don't have to see her again if you don't want to." Gwen speaks slowly and lower than usual, something that Blake frowns at. He would have never thought he would have Gwen encouraging him to go on a date. And with someone else.
He scratches his scalp and leans back in the couch, "It feels weird."
"What does?" She takes one step closer to him that had Blake moving aside, leaving a vacant space on the couch for her to take.
"Being single. I haven't been single in 15 years."
"I beat you." His head turns to face her as a soft chuckle forms in his lips. She looks so effortlessly beautiful.
"How... Nah." He runs his hands up and down his thighs nervously but stops when Gwen's shoulder touches his.
"What?" Her eyes search for his eyes and when they finally land on hers she throws him a soft grin. "Tell me."
He nods, if there's someone who would listen to him, even underwater that's who. "What do I wear?"
Gwen chuckles and softly hits his arm, something she likes to do every now and then.
At Gwen's suggestion he ends up butting up a white shirt and a black vest. She also mentions wearing a tie, but at the end assures him it would look too formal. He still has mixed feelings about Gwen helping him accept the date. He has spent countless afternoons and after dinners with her, and even though he had been completely honest about not being there yet when it came to dating, there was something about being with Gwen, being able to be in her presence, that he just loved . He did, he loved spending time with her. He just only thought she was in a similar page when it came to him.
"I guess she's not." He whispers as closes the door of the uber. The fancy restaurant stands before him. He checks the time and seeing that it’s exactly 8 o’clock, Blake walks inside the restaurant. Adam is not here yet so he sits down and orders himself a mixed drink and takes his time to look around.
About fifteen minutes later his rockstar friend appears on through the door, followed by Behati and a blonde woman, who he imagines is Ellie. Blake takes a deep breath and take one last sip of his drink. "Here we go."
He offers his hand for her to shake and even though the woman frowns at him, she takes it. Adam rolls his eyes at him as Behati chuckles. Dinner starts and the conversation is fluid between the three friends as Ellie mostly listens. Blake observes the woman sitting next to him from the corner of his eye. He's very uncomfortable. Ellie cannot be older than 27 and even though there was a time where Blake would have jumped at the opportunity to date someone so young, he has changed. He doesn't look for fun and uncomplicated anymore.
"So uhm..." Blake turns his head to the woman sitting next to him, "what do you do, Ellie?"
The woman flashes him a forced smile his way that has Blake reaching out for his glass of wine to hide away his uncomfortableness.
"I'm a model." Just what he thought.
Just what he thought. "Good, that’s great."
"What do you do?" Blake chokes on his own drink as his eyes find Adam's, who's sitting in front of him. The Maroon 5 front man doesn't dare look up at him and that makes Blake even more mad. Mad might not be the exact word, but disappointed is. Behati is obviously not aware of anything as she watches the scene roll right in front of her eyes.
"Oh nothing, I'm just one of country's best selling artists." Blake duhs making Adam kick him under the table, "What the hell, man?" Adam's kick didn't go unnoticed to the ladies, while Ellie stays quiet Behati asks Adam what is wrong with him.
"There's no need for that tone, dude." Blake can't take this anymore.
"Don't talk to me about tone, Adam. I thought I could trust you, you know. I dress up, I come here on time," he remarks the last words because Adam knows how he hates to wait. "I told you I didn't want to go out but Gwen said I had to at least try and feel like a human again."
"Blake..." Behati jumps in. The country singer's eyes leave Adam's for a second to land on his wife's, "What's going on?" That's the last straw. Blake looks at Adam one last time.
"This was all you?" The rocker presses his lips together and closes his eyes in defeat, "what's going on here is, that your husband comes in today running inside, interrupts Gwen and I, because he thinks he can just do that, and tells me that he's got me a date." He turns his head to Ellie, who looks at him questionly, "you're lovely and all but I am not... I just don't want to date right now." The model shakes her head.
"When Adam said he was bringing one of his buddies, I expected something different." Blake let's out a laugh and leans back on his chair.
"Right, I'm no rocker material." He's using his sarcasm to stay calm and not shout at his best friend, who's quietly sitting in front of him.
"I'm so sorry, Blake." Behati's sweet voice makes him look up again, "And you," she says at Adam, "we'll talk later."
"I gotta go." Blake grabs his napkin and places it on the table, "Dinner's on me, don't worry about it." With that he stands up, "Nice to meet you, Ellie." The woman doesn't even smile at him as she lowers her head and plays with her hands. "Bee, always nice to see you." He places the chair back to its place and starts walking away. He pays for what they had ordered and when he's about to step outside Behati's voice stops him. The hold on the door handle tightens as Blake sighs.
"I'm sorry."
"You have nothing to apologize for." He replies still facing the glass door.
"He meant well, but screwed up. I don't want to justify his actions but we both know he wouldn't do anything to make you feel uncomfortable." She takes a steps closer to him as Blake turns around to face her.
"I know." Behati makes no comment on it but she can see a tear on his right eye, threatening to be set free and make its way down his cheek. "I'm just..." He sniffs and takes a deep breath making Bee take one last step and put her hand on his shoulder.
"Take your time, Blake. You're not ready and that's okay."
"Is everyone in this town interested in rocker material? Cos I'm screwed." Adam's wife throws her head back laughing as Blake's dimpled smile makes an appearance again. "Cool LA girls will never look at me."
When Bee looks up at him again as her laugh dies but a big smile appears on her face. "I know one that does." With that she goes back to the table leaving a very confused Blake standing at the entrance of the restaurant.