Page 26 of Stuck with You

A tight knot formed in my throat, and I tried to swallow it down. “Um, yeah, I think so.”

“What’s she doing on your front lawn?”

I shrugged. I was as confused as Clary, but the fact Shelly had my jacket on made me feel distinctively uncomfortable. She hadn’t noticed us approaching, but the moment I pulled my truck to a stop, she turned and her face lit up.

I hesitantly opened the door and left the safety of my truck, not sure I was ready for what was about to come.

“Hi, baby!” Shelly squealed as she ran toward me.

I jumped back and lifted my hands up in front of her. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Shelly, what are you doing?”

She was a few feet from launching herself into my arms, but she came to an abrupt halt. Confusion flickered across her eyes.

“Sorry, we should be social distancing, right?” I added, lowering my hands, which were still raised in defense.

“Oh, I really don’t…” Her voice trailed off as she noticed Clary climbing out of the truck, and her eyes flashed with betrayal. “What are you doing with her?”

I wasn’t sure why she sounded so upset. “Clary and I were just running some errands,” I explained.

“So, what, are you two dating now?”

A snort escaped Clary’s lips as she came to stand near us. “Um, no. I’m just staying with Aiden’s family because my parents are stuck overseas.”

Shelly’s gaze softened slightly at this. “Oh, that sucks.”

“Tell me about it,” Clary muttered. From the way she glanced in my direction, I got the feeling I was a big part of the reason why.

“What are you doing here, Shelly?” I asked, focusing on her again. “You know we’re all supposed to be staying at home and keeping away from each other.”

Shelly was breaking lockdown rules to be here, but even if it weren’t for the restrictions, I still wouldn’t have been thrilled to see her.

She turned and started smiling as she curled a stray piece of hair around her finger. “Well, those rules don’t apply tous.I’m here to see my boyfriend.”

Her gaze was slowly tracing over my clothes like she was undressing me, and I could feel my cheeks warming despite the fact the blood was rushing from my skin.

“Uh, Shelly, we’re not dating.” God, I sounded like such a dick, but it was the truth. We’d kissed at a party last weekend, but that was it. The way she was looking at me though, I began to wish that social distancing restrictions had started a week sooner. Then I wouldn’t be in this mess.

“What do you mean,we’re not dating? You gave me your letterman jacket at Jamie’s party last weekend.”

“Because you were cold…” I rubbed a hand down the side of my face. I had no idea how I’d gotten myself into this situation. I mean, I was well aware that I was a flirt, and I made out with my fair share of girls, but I never led them on. They all knew I didn’t do relationships. There was only one girl at school I’d consider changing my ways for, and she was standing next to me, scowling in my direction.

Shelly shook her head. “No. You gave it to me because you want me to be your girlfriend.”

I felt my jaw slacken and my eyes bulge. “Girlfriend?” I hadn’t even hinted at the word last weekend. And we couldn’t have kissed for more than a couple of minutes. I felt like I was getting pranked, but from the way Shelly was looking at me, she was completely serious.

Clary made a small coughing sound next to me, and my eyes whipped to her. She was focused on Shelly, and there was a sense of understanding in her eyes. I got the distinct impression she wasn’t on Team Aiden right now—not that she’d ever been a fan of me anyway.

She caught me looking at her and patted me on the arm. “Why don’t you give me and Shelly a minute to talk?”

Clary didn’t wait for my response as she gestured for Shelly to go with her. She led her toward the street where Shelly’s car was parked. The two girls started talking, but they were out of earshot, and I had no idea what Clary was saying. The hopeful expression on Shelly’s face was changing as Clary spoke, and she started to look more and more irritated.

I got the feeling Shelly’s frustration wasn’t aimed at Clary though when she directed a disgusted look in my direction. She then launched herself forward and into Clary’s arms, grabbing her up in a hug—so much for social distancing.

Clary rubbed Shelly on the back and glared at me over her shoulder. Yep, she definitely wasn’t on Team Aiden right now. I appeared to have thoroughly pissed off two girls in a matter of minutes. That had to be a record, even for me.

I pushed a hand roughly through my hair and swore under my breath. My chances of winning Clary over were small to begin with, but it felt like they’d just diminished to the point where I’d be lucky if she ever spoke to me again. She must have thought I was the worst guy on the planet—if she didn’t think that already.

After several long and painful seconds, Shelly released Clary from her grasp and slowly started to peel my jacket from her shoulders. She sent me one last scathing look before she passed it to Clary and stormed off to her car. As soon as she was inside, she threw the car into gear and screeched off down the street.

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