by Amy Sparling
“I’m eighteen,” he says after a moment. “Graduated.”
“Cool.” I nod. “I’ll be a senior next year. You’re lucky you don’t have to go to Spockle High. It’s so lame.”
“Is it just a one room building like from the old days?”
I roll my eyes. “It’s not that bad… but it’s pretty small.”
He steps backward, his lips twisting into something that could be called a smile. “Do you want to come inside? My mom’s in the shower but I’m sure she’ll want to thank you for the brownies.”
“Sure.”
I’m in.
I’m starting to win him over. Now maybe he won’t look at me like I’ve grown an extra head.
“So, I heard your mom say the internet is included in the rent, but I can’t find any Wi-Fi connections,” he says, leading me into the living room. “Do you know how to fix that?”
I laugh. “Oh man… oh… wow…”
“What?” he says, his eyebrows pulling together.
I shake my head, unable to stop laughing. “That’s…hilarious. We don’t have Wi-Fi.”
Now he really stares at me like I’m crazy. I explain, “There’s no high speed connections out here. We just have dial-up internet. You know…super slow.”
His eyes widen. “You’re kidding.”
I shake my head. He runs a hand down his face, and then studies me like he’s seeing me in a new light. “Do you use your cell phone as a hotspot or something?”
I snort. “Some people do, yeah. But I don’t have a phone.”
He stares at me for a very long time. “That’s a joke?” he says finally.
I shake my head. “No joke. We have a landline in the house, so I use that.”
“You’re a senior in high school and you don’t have a phone.”
I shrug. “Don’t really need one.”
Something weird happens. He smiles.
Like a real smile. His shoulders seem to loosen and all of a sudden, it’s like he’s this different person. “That’s actually pretty cool,” he says, moving to sit on the couch. “I think I will do the same thing and just stay off the internet while I’m here.”
“It’s really only good for shopping,” I say, sitting next to him. “I use Amazon for like, everything, since the mall is so far away. That’s pretty much all we use it for.”
He grins at me. “That’s awesome.”
I don’t know what I did, what kind of test I passed in his mind, but whatever it is, he’s now opening up to me. He’s no longer staring at me like he wishes I’d leave. He’s being… cool.
“So,” he says, inhaling. “Want to watch a movie?” He nods toward the television which is sitting on the floor next to a small TV stand and a box with wires and a DVD player in it. “You know, after I get this stuff hooked up?”
The way he’s looking at me sends a nervous shiver down my spine. He is so gorgeous. Like, too gorgeous to be living here.
“That would be fun,” I say, sliding off the couch. “Let me help you set up the TV.”
Chapter 3
Clay has a ton of DVDs of movies I haven’t seen. Pretty much every film that’s been released in the last few years. It’s like a movie paradise. He watches me with a cute smile on his face as I go through the boxes in his living room, trying to pick a movie to watch.
“I didn’t even know they remade this one,” I say, holding up a Blu-ray copy of Beauty and the Beast. “Is that Hermione?”
“Yeah,” Clay says with a snort. “That’s my mom’s movie. I am not a fan of girly stuff like that.”
I roll my eyes and put it back. When Mary gets out of the shower, she seems surprised but in a good way when she sees me.
“Hi, Shelby,” she says as she twists the towel over her wet hair. She’s wearing Hello Kitty pajamas that make her look younger. Actually, she seems really young in comparison to my parents.
“What are you two doing?”
“Trying to find a movie to watch,” Clay says. “Shelby hasn’t seen anything that’s been released in the last decade.”
“Not true,” I say, giving him a playful glare. “I just don’t see many movies at all. I actually have a life.”
He laughs and throws a couch pillow at me before turning back to his mom. “Shelby brought us brownies.”
“Ooh!” she says, eyeing the plate of them on the counter. “They look amazing. I’ll have one for breakfast tomorrow. Right now, I just want to go to sleep.”
“It’s only eight,” Clay says, checking the time on his phone, which he slides back into his pocket. The thing is big and thin and sleek. Only a few people in my school have phones like that.
“I know, honey, but I’m exhausted,” Mary says. “It wears you out driving that big truck all day.”
“Well, goodnight,” he says to her.
She kisses the top of his head and then gives me a warm smile. “Have fun! Goodnight, Shelby.”
“Goodnight,” I say. Once she’s gone, I turn to Clay. “How long did ya’ll have to drive?”
“All night and all day,” he says, sinking back into the couch. “I tried to drive but she wouldn’t let me because of the insurance. You have to be twenty five to rent one of those moving trucks.”
I want to ask where he came from, but I’m pretty sure he won’t tell me the answer, and things are going well between us right now so I don’t want to ruin it. I hold up the Avengers DVD. “What about this one?”
“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 w
hisper.
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 h
er 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.