by Amy Sparling
“Perfect,” he says. I hand it to him and he loads it into the DVD player. “Does everyone around here talk like you do?”
I fold my arms across my chest. “How do I talk?”
“Like this,” he says, making his voice have an over exaggerated twang to it.
I roll my eyes. “I don’t sound like that.”
“I don’t sound like that,” he says back to me, in that fake southern twang.
“Clay! I do not!”
He grins. “Maybe not that bad, but you do sound like that.”
I frown.
“It’s cute,” he says. “I like it.”
My cheeks warm. “Don’t make fun of me.”
“I’m not,” he says. “I promise.”
We sit on opposite ends of the couch and I try very hard to focus on the movie, but it’s hard when Clay is just a few feet away from me. Every time I glance over at him, he’s watching me too. Halfway through the movie, he gets up and grabs the tray of brownies. When he sits back down, he’s closer to me. He offers me one, but I shake my head. I’m too nervous in his presence to eat anything.
The movie is super long, and since I was awake so early this morning, my eyes start to droop. I try to stay awake, but I’m falling fast. My eyes flutter closed, and I can’t help it.
When they open again, I am staring at the blue cotton of Clay’s shirt. It rises and falls slowly with his breathing. He smells amazing, like laundry detergent mixed with boy. I blink and take in my surroundings without moving.
I’m lying against his chest. My feet stretch out across the rest of the couch. Clay’s arm is around my shoulders. Oh my God, I fell asleep on him.
I swallow and then lift my head.
He looks down at me. “Hello.”
“I’m so sorry,” I say, sitting up. I run my fingers through my hair to fix it. “I can’t believe I did that.”
“It’s fine,” he says. “You smell really good.”
Heat rushes up my cheeks. “Still… I’m sorry. This is awkward.”
“Nah, it’s fine.” He holds out his arm. “You’re welcome to lay back down if you want.”
There’s something in his eye, something teasing me to say no. I bite my lip. And then I cuddle up next to him. He smiles as his arm wraps around me and holds me tightly.
I can’t believe I’m doing this, but it feels amazing. He feels amazing.
I let my head rest on his chest as I gaze up at him. He’s watching the TV, but his eyes flit down to mine. “Yes?”
“This is fun,” I whisper.
He squeezes my shoulder. “Not a bad end to a crazy day.”
“How was it crazy?” I ask.
“We drove all night and all day and picked a random place to stop.” He looks down at me. “I’m glad we did, though.”
“So, you just moved for the fun of it?” I ask.
He hesitates and then nods. “Kind of.”
“Is it just you and your mom?”
“Yeah. She was a teen mom. Had me when she was fifteen. It’s always been just us. My grandparents are kind of assholes.”
“I’m sorry.”
He shrugs. “It’s fine now. We’re fine.”
I sit up a little, even though I don’t want to leave his embrace. But this talk is the kind of thing that feels like it needs to be done face to face. “Is everything okay?”
He nods slowly, then reaches for my hand. “We’re fine.”
I watch my hand in his. He traces his fingers down my palm. We talk some more, about life and Spockle, and high school and graduating. I learn that he’s been homeschooled for three years because he says it’s a lot easier. He taught himself using online courses and then graduated a year earlier than the rest of his class.
He never says where he’s from, but I get the feeling it was a big city. I also get the feeling that I shouldn’t ask.
It’s nearly two in the morning by the time I yawn again.
“Maybe you should get to sleep,” Clay says. He’s still holding my hand. He’s been holding it all night.
“Yeah, but I don’t really want to,” I say, unable to stop from smiling. He’s so freaking cute I can’t help it.
He smiles back. “We can hang out tomorrow. I want to.”
“Sure,” I say. “I have to work at the store, but it’s the evening shift. So we can hang out before then. Or you could come to the store…” I sigh. “I mean, I know that’s lame.”
“No, it’s not lame. I get the feeling there isn’t much to do around here.”
I chuckle. “That’s for sure.”
“So we’ll hang out tomorrow,” he says, his thumb sliding over my palm. “You should get some sleep.”
I yawn again when I stand up. “Okay.”
“I’ll walk you home,” Clay says.
“It’s just next door.”
He shrugs. “I don’t want to say goodbye yet.”
This makes me grin like a loser, but I don’t even care. The last few hours have been amazing. “I had fun tonight.”
“Me too.”
He holds open the door for me and then slowly closes it behind us. We hold hands as we walk the short distance toward my house. He peers at me. “I know this is weird but…I feel like I have a connection with you.”
“I feel the same thing, which his so weird, because we’re strangers.”
“Strangers,” he says, like the word makes him happy.
“Yeah. I didn’t even know you existed twenty-four hours ago.”
Now he really looks happy. “I’m glad we met.”
We reach my back door, and my parents forgot to turn on the porch light, so it’s dark. There’s only the light of the moon above, which casts a faint glow on Clay’s face.
“So…tomorrow,” I say, looking up at him.
“Tomorrow,” he says with a nod.
And then we watch each other, and I’m pretty sure we’re both thinking the same thing.
All at once he steps a little closer. He lets go of my hand and then grabs my waist. My heart is pounding, but I slide my hands around his neck and I tip my head back and close my eyes. Something tells me this is about to be one of those moments I’ll remember forever.
His lips find mine, and our kiss is not soft and sweet. It’s urgent, awakening everything inside of me. His mouth presses to mine, his tongue moving across my lips in quick movements that have me begging for more.
My hands get tangled up in his hair and his warm hands slide up my back and down my sides, leaving trails of fire and goosebumps in their wake.
I press up against him, feeling his rigid body against my soft curves. I tug him closer, pull his face down to mine.
He exhales sharply and then kisses me while grinning. “You are special,” he whispers against my lips.
My breath catches as he holds me tightly to him and kisses my neck. I gasp as heat radiates down my body. I want to beg him to come inside. To sneak to my room. To never leave.
But then he pulls away slowly and gives me a look so smoldering it makes me bite my lip.
“I’m really glad I moved here,” he whispers.
“Me too,” I whisper back.
“Get some sleep,” he says, leaning forward and kissing my forehead. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Chapter 4
I am floating. I am no longer a person, but a squishy blob of happiness. I don’t even mind waitressing today because all I can think about is Clay. How he kisses like I’d always imagined kissing could be. How his voice gets raspy late at night, and how he smiles when he looks at me. These thoughts consume me as I do my job the next day.
It doesn’t take long before Clay shows up, just like he’d promised. He grins as he makes his way to an empty table. There’s a car key in his hand.
“Good afternoon,” I say. “What can I get you to drink?”
“You look beautiful.”
I blush despite myself. “That’s not a drink order.”
“Coke,” he says. Then he holds
up the car key. “I got a new car this morning. You want to go for a ride later? You can show me around the town?”
“There’s not much to show,” I say. “But yeah.”
“Cool.” He glances toward the door. “My mom should be here any second. She got a car, too. And we returned the moving truck. It takes forever to get to the nearest town from here.”
“Welcome to the country,” I say sarcastically. “One Coke coming up.”
Mary arrives a few minutes later and orders another BLT. I bring their food and she explains that she’s going back to town to go shopping today for things they need at their house. If she notices that something has changed between her son and me, she doesn’t say anything.
When she leaves, Clay moves to the bar so he’s not taking up a table. He gets a car magazine from the gas station part of the store and reads it while I work.
Once the dinner rush is over, I step behind the bar and bring him a milkshake.
“I didn’t order this,” he says with a playful smile. “You’re a terrible waitress.”
I roll my eyes. “It’s on the house.”
He takes a sip and grins at me. “In that case, you’re an awesome waitress. Pretty hot, too.”
“No need to lie,” I say sarcastically.
“I never lie.”
“I’m okay looking,” I say. “I wouldn’t say hot.”
“Well you’re clearly a bad judge of hotness because you are super hot.”
“You’re super hot, too,” I say. My parents are currently working in other parts of the store, so I lean on my elbows, and hope that Clay picks up on what I’m hinting.
He does, and he leans forward and I lift up on my toes so I can stretch across and kiss him.
It’s just a quick peck, but it’s enough to fill my chest with excitement. It’s a reminder that last night’s amazing make out session wasn’t just a dream. Clay is really here, and he likes me.
“Ahem.”
I startle, then put on a quick smile as I see the woman approaching the bar. “Hi, Mrs. Bani!”
I swallow and hope I don’t look as nervous as I feel. Did she see the kiss? She had to have seen the kiss. “What can I get you today?”
“Just two coffee milkshakes to go, please.” She takes out some cash and hands it to me. “How are you enjoying your summer so far?”
“Oh, it’s fine,” I say as I turn around to make the milkshakes.
Mrs. Bani is Risha’s mom, and she used to be like a second mom to me, too. But now that Risha hates me, I never get to see her mom or her family anymore. It’s super awkward.
When her shakes are made, I slide them over to her and keep up the charade that I’m fine and that this isn’t weird.
“Have a great day,” I tell her.
“Same to you,” she says, turning to smile at Clay before she leaves.
“Is it just me, or was that weird?” Clay asks as he watches her walk out to her car.
I groan. “That was the worst. She’s my best friend’s mom. Well, my old best friend.”
“Oh yeah?” he says curiously. “What happened?”
I tell him about how her sort-of boyfriend kissed me and then proceeded to follow me everywhere, trying to get me to date him. “I swear I didn’t want anything to do with him, but she hates me anyhow. She acts like I stole him from her.”
“That’s crap. Best friends shouldn’t treat you like that.”
“Yeah, well she did. Now I have zero friends because hardly anyone lives in this town and the people who do don’t want to get involved in our drama.” I heave a sigh. “I just wish she would get over it already. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Well now you have me,” Clay says. “You clearly don’t want her boyfriend if you’re with me.”
“Am I with you?” I ask playfully.
He shrugs. “If you want to be.”
I want to say yes, yes, a thousand times yes. But I also want to make him squirm. I shrug. “Maybe,” I say.
He gives me one of those coy smirks of his and I nearly melt right here behind the counter. Instead, I stand up straight. “Just because you’re the hottest guy in town doesn’t mean I’m going to throw myself at you.”
He laughs and then takes another sip of his milkshake. “Seems like you already did.”
I throw a packet of sugar at him. “Shut up.”
Clay stays with me at work for the next few hours. When my dad comes out and meets him, he says Clay can have a job here if he wants, which blows me away. Usually my dad gets all annoyed when I have a crush on a guy. But I’m not complaining.
When my shift is almost over, and the diner is pretty empty, I join Clay on the other side of the counter, sitting on the barstool next to him. Talking with him is so easy; it’s like we’ve been friends for months, not just hours.
Flirting with him is pretty easy, too. Staring into his eyes while we flirt is probably why I don’t see my old best friend walk into the diner. I don’t know how long she’s standing there when I finally see her, jaw rigid, eyes piercing into mine.
“What?” I say, looking at her.
She scowls and then turns on her heel and walks right out of the diner.
“Is that...?” Clay says.
I nod. “My old best friend.”
But she can’t do that. She can’t glare at me like I’m some slut and then leave without saying anything. I pull off my apron and toss it on the counter and then I storm outside after her.
“Risha!” I call out just before she gets to her mom’s car. No one else is inside of it, so she must have made the trip here just to see me. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing,” she says. “Just thought I’d see whose boyfriend you stole this time.”
I grit my teeth. “Clay is new here. He wasn’t anyone’s boyfriend so you can just get off your high horse, okay? I didn’t do anything wrong.”
She rolls her eyes. “Did you at least break up with Jake before hooking up with this new guy?”
I throw my hands in the air. “I am not dating Jake! I’ve told you this! I don’t like him at all!”
“Whatever,” she says, throwing open the car door. “You found yourself a Jonny C look alike. Good for you.”
“What?” I say. But she slams the car door closed and then she drives away. “What is going on?” I mutter under my breath.
Back inside, Clay looks concerned as I grab my purse and keys from under the counter. “Let’s go.”
“You okay?” he asks as he follows me outside.
“No,” I say. There’s a brand new black sports car parked next to my old Jeep. It looks out of place; a shiny new car in a town filled with clunkers. If I wasn’t so upset about seeing Risha just now, I’d probably wonder how a teenager with no job can afford such a nice car.
“She’s mad when her boyfriend kisses me and then she’s mad when I date a total stranger,” I say, gesturing toward him. “She’s so pathetic. I can date whoever I want.”
“I’m sorry,” he says.
I shrug. “Hey, do you know who Jonny C is?”
Clay freezes. “Why?”
“She said you’re a Jonny C lookalike.” I shrug. “Like some kind of actor or something? I mean, you are really hot, so I’m glad she’s jealous.”
Clay doesn’t smile back at me. His expression is tense, his jaw set.
“What exactly did she say?”
I think back to the conversation and relay it as accurately as I can.
“Crap,” he mutters. He stares at the ground. “I told my mom this wouldn’t work.”
“What wouldn’t work?” I ask.
He looks around, as if he’s afraid someone’s going to overhear us. Then he opens the passenger door of his new car. “Get in,” he says. “I’ll explain.”
And he does.
And it’s crazy.
And it barely makes sense.
I sit in the brand new car, the scent of leather filling the air as I watch Clay tell me the truth of why he and
his mom came to this town. He says his real name is Jonathan. Jonathan Clay, but his four million YouTube followers know him as Jonny C. I’m not entirely sure what the word YouTuber means, but he says he got famous making videos for the internet a few years ago. He says he earned money from it too, and he was able to let his mom quit her crappy job and go back to college. He got them out of the ghetto and into a nice home in Miami, Florida where they used to live.
My eyes and mouth are open wide. After a while, I hold out my hand and grab his.
“But I don’t understand. If you’re famous, why are you here?”
He swallows. “The fame…it…it sucked. I mean, at first it was fun. The money was nice. We went from food stamps to steak dinners at five-star restaurants. And yeah, having tons of fans online makes you feel awesome, but then it got too much. A few weeks ago, I was hacked.” He takes a deep breath and looks out toward the setting sun.
“They hacked my mom, too. She—well, she had photos on her phone.” He makes this disgusted face and then shakes his head. “She was dating this guy and she sent him…photos…” He meets my eye and I know exactly what type of photos he means. “And some prick hacked her phone too and showed the photos to the entire internet. My stuff was put on blast too, but I didn’t have anything embarrassing on my phone. I was pretty open with my life online and everyone already knew me. They also knew my mom and she had a lot of fans because she’s young and pretty for a mom, and it was fine until it wasn’t fine anymore. She started getting harassed, and stalked, and it was all my fault.”
“Wow, Clay.” I squeeze his hand. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s my fault. This internet fame isn’t worth it. It ruins your life. It makes it impossible to live a normal life. Mom thought we could just pack up and go somewhere in the middle of nowhere and start over and—” He sighs and then looks at me, his eyes painfully sad.
“When you didn’t recognize me yesterday, I thought she was right. I thought maybe there is a place that’s so remote no one would know who I am. But your friend did recognize me, so I was wrong.”
“She said you look like him…That’s all.”