Page 40 of Drifting Hearts
“I don’t think he took more than ten breaths the whole night either. Both of you were too occupied with not paying attention to the other guy.”
Clay looked away. I watched him take a bite of his last cookie and after he swallowed, he looked back at me.
“Do I get a ride in your car still?”
“I was counting on it.” I stood and pulled my keys out of my pocket. “Did you have anywhere in particular you wanted to go?”
“Not really. I’m not from here,” Clay reminded me.
“I’ll show you around. Come on.” I urged Clay to his feet. There were a million different places I could take him so it was hard to decide at first. We bid my mom a quick goodbye and she watched us leave without letting on if she was suspicious or not. Not that it mattered anyway. It wasn’t her I was worried about.
I loved Shane. Our relationship over the years was endlessly evolving. Sometimes we were closer than others, but we’d never been enemies and I didn’t want to have to choose between him and Clay. The conflict between them wasn’t something that was easily solved and I understood why. And so did Clay. But Archer was a good person. It spoke volumes about his heart and I got why Shane would fall for someone like that.
But Clay was beginning to feel necessary.
Climbing into the passenger seat, he buckled up and looked at me. The smile on his face was lighter and more free than any of the ones I’d seen him force over the course of the evening.
“Leather seats.”
“They’re heated too.” I started the car and backed out of the driveway. “Are you hungry? I noticed you didn’t eat much dinner.”
“I could eat.” Clay kept himself busy by examining the buttons and knobs in the dash. He fiddled with the satellite radio until he found a station he liked, but he kept the volume low.
I grabbed us milkshakes and fries at a drive-thru. I licked salt off my fingers and drove through town, listening to Clay hum along in between bites.
“Are you going to take me to one of the make-out spots you went to when you were in high school?”
His question took me by surprise and I barked out a laugh.
“Is that where you want to go?”
Clay shrugged.
“If you want to go make out somewhere, I could take you back to my place.”
It felt like the next logical step, and yet something that was also long overdue. Glancing at Clay, I watched him bite his lower lip.
“I’d like to see where you live.”
Clay’s admission felt like a victory and I took the next left, entering my neighborhood. I lived in a quiet suburb on the outskirts of town. It was an older neighborhood with small box-like houses that were built in the 1950s before open concept was a thing.
I pulled into the driveway of my little blue box and turned the engine off.
“I got the house for a steal. I had to paint the outside and hang new shutters. Put in new windows so they’re more energy efficient. I haven’t had time to do much with the landscaping, though.”
A row of sad little half-alive shrubs lined the front of the house. My idea of landscaping was mowing the grass, but I found myself wanting to impress Clay.
“It’s cute.” He looked like he meant it. “It looks cozy.”
We got out of the car and made our way to the side door. Only solicitors used the front door. The side door opened into the utility room off the kitchen. A load of clean laundry sat heaped in the basket on top of the dryer and I cursed myself for being lazy and not putting it away.
Clay didn’t notice, or care, about my laundry. He toed out of his shoes and followed me into the kitchen.
“I’ve never been in a kitchen that had a door before.”
“It’s not the original door. That had been removed, but I liked the idea of a separate kitchen. I’m not the ‘come on over and be entertained’ kind of person, so I don’t really care if I can’t see the living roomfrom the stove.”
“It’s cute, but I bet your bedroom is cuter.” Clay stepped into my space and slid his hands around my waist. Well, one hand, one cast. He looked down and chuckled softly. “It’s going to be so nice to get this thing off of me.”
