Clary had been diligently working on her test for a while, which was another reason why I hadn’t started mine. She looked so cute when she was this focused on schoolwork. She gripped her lower lip between her teeth as she concentrated, and she made these adorable little noises whenever she got to a question she wasn’t sure of.
I could watch Clary all day, and today, I just might. Clary was leaving tomorrow, and I wasn’t ready for our time together to be over. Especially since I had no idea when I would be able to be close to her again.
Our parents had discussed it and decided when Clary returned home we needed to follow the lockdown restrictions and keep socially distanced from one another. We’d still be able to see each other, but we couldn’t enter each other’s homes, and our interactions would have to be from six feet apart. Obviously, it wouldn’t be the same.
“You’ve barely said a word since breakfast,” Clary continued.
I smiled at her, trying not to let her see the worry in my eyes. “I just can’t be bothered with this biology quiz.”
A small crease formed between Clary’s eyebrows. “You can never be bothered with homework. But normally, when you get fed up with it, you just try to bug the hell out of me instead.”
“Maybe I’ve changed my ways.”
“Yeah, unlikely.” Clary smiled. “I thought it was your mission in life to get under my skin.”
“I think I’ve well and truly achieved that already.”
“True,” she replied. “But I can tell something’s wrong. What’s up?”
I looked away from her as I tried to find the words. “I guess I was just trying to imprint this moment in my mind,” I said, facing her again. “You’re going to be quarantining in your own home tomorrow, and this is the last time we’ll do homework together.”
“You’re right, it is,” Clary agreed. She looked thoughtful as she considered what I’d said, and her eyes seemed to cloud over as she looked at her laptop screen. She stared at the quiz for several seconds before she closed the lid of her laptop and smiled at me. “And I don’t want our last day together to be spent doing some stupid test.”
She gathered her books, piling them on top of one another, and stood up.
“What are we going to do instead?” I asked. She didn’t have to tell me twice to give up on doing homework. But this was totally unlike Clary, and I was intrigued by what she was thinking.
“Anything but this.”
I laughed. “That’s some plan you’ve got there.”
“Well, I don’t know. Do you want to watch a movie together?”
I shook my head. If I was going to have one last day with Clary, I didn’t want to spend it in front of a screen, and another plan formed in my mind. “No, I have a much better idea.”
“What is it?”
I started to grin. “We’re getting out of here for the day.”
Her curious gaze was immediately overcome by caution. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“We’ll still be following the rules, trust me.”
She looked into my eyes, assessing me before she slowly started to nod. “Okay.”
My heart warmed at how far we’d come in our relationship. She was now quick to believe my words rather than question them.
“So, where are we going?” she asked.
“It’s a surprise. But, grab your swimsuit. The weather is finally starting to turn nice.”
“You want to go swimming?”
“Just get your things and trust me. All will be revealed when we get there.”
“It’s lucky I’m almost ninety percent certain you’re not a murderer,” Clary said. “Because I have no idea where we’re going, and this road you’re taking me down is the kind of route a serial killer takes when they want to dump a body in the woods.”
I scoffed. “You’re only ninety percent certain?”
“Well, for someone who doesn’t play PlayStation, your aim was far too good when you were playing that World War II game with your brother the other day.”
“And that means there’s a ten percent chance I’m a murderer?”
“Yep.” She laughed. “Nobody’s that good at that game.”
“Clearly, I am.”
She rolled her eyes in response.
Admittedly, she had a point—about our route, not about the ten percent chance I was a killer, obviously.
A dense forest bordered our town, and we were currently bumping up and down as we drove along one of the many fire access tracks in the area. Ruts and uneven gravel paved our way, and huge fir trees bordered the tiny path. I had to drive slowly, and it took a good twenty minutes of rough driving before we reached our destination. The place was so remote I could see why Clary thought it would be a good place to dump a body. The hard trek was worth it though.
I slowed the truck when we reached the end of the track. There weren’t a lot of people who knew about this spot, but I was relieved to find there were no other cars in sight. The dirt road meant that not many people bothered to come out here, and I’d only ever seen the odd person when I’d been here before.
Clary was curious as she looked out the window to see where we’d stopped. “What is this place?” she asked, turning back to me. “Aside from a place to dump bodies, that is.”
I grinned in response. “My grandpa used to bring me here to swim in the summer,” I said. “There’s a lake a short walk from here, and people sometimes use the area for hiking.”
“Do you think it’s okay that we’re here?” She sounded nervous, and knowing Clary, it was because we were doing something that didn’t quite fit the lockdown rules.
“We’re allowed to leave the house to exercise,” I replied. “And we’ll be swimming. Besides, the whole idea of locking us down was to prevent people from transmitting the virus. Do you see anyone else around?”
“Well, no,” she replied. “I just feel like we’re doing something wrong being here.”
“I promise we’re not going to be anywhere close to another person. But if we do run into other people, we can just turn around and go home.”
Clary frowned, but the crease in her brow slowly faded and she nodded, a look of resolve entering her eyes. “Okay, let’s do it.”
“There we go.” I smiled at her.
Once we were out of the truck, I took Clary’s hand and led her between the trees toward the lake. Her eyes grew wide as the water appeared through the low-hanging branches, and a smile graced her lips as we reached the shore.
“Aiden, this place is beautiful.” Clary didn’t look at me as she spoke. Instead, her eyes remained on the vast lake before us. Huge trees lined the perimeter, and the water was a green-blue color that was incredibly vibrant. There were plenty of other lakes surrounding our town, but most people went to the ones just off the highway. This was harder to get to, but I still preferred it.
“I can’t believe I’ve never been here before,” she said.
“Not many people in town have,” I replied. “It’s kind of Harford’s best kept secret.”
“And you’re sharing it with me?”
“I wouldn’t want to share it with anyone else.”
The smile on Clary’s face brightened at my words. I loved seeing that smile more than anything, and ever since her parents got home, I’d been seeing it more often.
“So, do you want to swim?” I asked.
“Sure.”
We approached the edge of the lake and stripped down to our swimwear. Clary was wearing a black one-piece suit. It seemed sexier than the bikinis most girls in our class loved to wear. It reached up high, showing off her long legs, and the way it clung to her curves made my throat turn dry.
“My eyes are up here, Aiden,” Clary said.
I was totally busted for gawking at her in her swimwear, but could she blame me? She was my girlfriend, and she took my breath away.
I grinned and winked at her before turning to race into the water. As my feet touched the lake, I sucked in a sharp breath. The water was f
reezing, but I kept charging deeper, refusing to let the chill settling into my skin stop me. As soon as the water got deep enough, I dived in. The cold water was a shock to my system, and I came to the surface gasping. As I turned to the shore, I found Clary hesitating at the edge of the water.
“What are you waiting for?” I called.
“It looks cold!”
“It’s a little cold at first, but it’s nice once you get in.”
“Are you sure?”
“Would I lie to you?”
“Yes, you would!”
I just had; it was freezing. I chuckled under my breath. “Just get in already. Don’t make me come get you!”
My threat seemed to propel Clary into action, and she slowly started to make her way into the water. It was still springtime, and the lake had yet to fight off winter’s chill. I couldn’t imagine we’d be spending long in the water. Not if we wanted to keep our fingers and toes.
Clary kept letting out short squeals as she inched farther and farther into the lake.
“You’re making it more painful for yourself. Just get under,” I said.
“You have your way of getting into the water, and I have mine.”
“Fine by me. At least this way I can spend longer checking you out.”
Clary immediately dropped into the water, submerging herself entirely. She gasped as her head popped back up, and she scowled at me. “You’re such a pig, you know that, right?”
“Hey, you chose to date the pig. Also, I got you in the water, didn’t I?”
She poked her tongue out at me before floating on her back to look up at the sky. I swam over so I could be close to her, and she smiled as my head appeared over hers.
“There’s a cloud behind you, and it’s making you look like you’ve got a crown,” she said.
“So, you’re saying I look like a king?”
“More like my wicked prince,” she replied.
“Your wicked prince. I like that.”
“You would,” she replied. She slowly lowered her legs and righted herself so she was facing me as she treaded water. “You lied, you know. The water’s really not nice once you get in.”
I laughed. “Yeah, I know. But if I told you the truth, you never would have come in.”
“True,” she agreed.
I pulled her toward me and wrapped her arms around my neck as I held her close. “I also wouldn’t be able to warm you up.”
Her skin had small goose bumps all over it, but she didn’t seem to be thinking about how cold she was as her face came close to mine. “I’m really going to miss being in lockdown with you,” she said.
I reached up and cupped her face with one hand. She was this perfect, beautiful girl who I’d somehow convinced to care about me. Having her in my life felt like trying to keep hold of sand. The pieces could float away with just one small gust of wind. I was scared she’d realize she was too good for me.
People said that distance made the heart grow fonder, but what if distance had the opposite effect for us? What if Clary woke up one morning and realized I wasn’t the guy for her?
I was with her now though, so I was going to treasure our time together for all it was worth. “I’m going to miss you too.”
I leaned down and captured her lips in mine. Her skin was cold, and she tasted a little like the water we were swimming in. Her kiss couldn’t have been more perfect though. It made me forget I was cold. That today was our last day together. Hell, it even made me forget there was a world beyond this lake. In these moments, Clary was the only thing that existed to me, and I wanted it to last forever. She had been taking pieces of my heart for years, but as she kissed me now, I realized there were no more pieces to give. They were all already hers.
The kiss was over far too soon through. Our kisses always were.
“Okay, it’s absolutely freezing,” Clary said.
“Let’s get you warmed up for real then.” I swept her legs from under her as I pulled her into my arms.
She squealed with surprise. “Aiden, I can walk!” she said as I started toward the shore.
“But that would mean letting you out of my arms.”
“Aiden, come on.”
“Okay, okay.” I put her down.
She laughed and placed a kiss on my cheek before racing to the edge of the water. I watched her, trying to capture the moment in my mind like I had when we were studying. I was going to miss Clary a lot in the days ahead, but every time I did, I would remember this moment. The moment she truly stole my heart.
25
Clary
I lay in bed trying but failing to fall asleep. Tonight was my last night at the Moore house, but I wasn’t ready to leave.
Today at the lake had been amazing. The water might have been freezing, and I’m pretty sure half the bugs in the forest had decided to take a bite out of me, but it was the perfect afternoon. When I thought back over the last couple of weeks of dating Aiden, I realized I could say the same about most of the time I spent with him.
The things about him that had once irritated me were the things I’d come to love the most. I rarely knew what to expect from him, which made every day a little more exciting. And he always knew how to make me smile. It sometimes felt like he’d made it his mission in life to make me laugh. He had made this whole pandemic more bearable, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to get through each day without him.
A light knock sounded at my door, and I sat up in bed as Aiden crept into my room. He had his laptop under his arm, and he was wearing a pair of low-slung pajama pants. My chest tightened at the sight of him, and I couldn’t understand how I’d ever believed this boy was anything less than perfect.
“Hey,” he whispered.
“Hey yourself.”
He came and sat on the edge of my bed. “I couldn’t sleep.”
“Me neither.”
He nodded. “I went to get a drink of water and saw the light under your doorway. I figured you might be struggling to sleep too. I thought we could watch a movie together?”
“Yeah, I’d like that.”
His face lit up in an easy smile, and he made himself comfortable on the bed beside me as he opened his laptop. Netflix was already displayed on the screen, and it appeared Aiden had already picked the movie too.
“You want to watch Back to the Future?”
“It’s a classic,” he replied with a smile. “I know you’d probably prefer to watch a horror flick, but some of us actually want to sleep tonight.”
I shook my head at him. “You’re such a baby, but it’s okay, we can watch your movie.”
“Perfect.” He started the movie and draped his arm around me, cuddling me close. His grasp was gentle, and his breaths came in and out in a slow and regular pattern. He appeared to be completely relaxed in this moment, but my whole body was coiled tight.
Aiden and I had watched a lot of movies together since we started dating. It was always on the couch downstairs though, never in my bed and certainly not in the middle of the night. He had kept me company in here during our Tiger King binge, but we hadn’t started dating at that point, and it wasn’t nearly as intimate. Having him close to me in this way was terrifying because I liked it far too much, and I never wanted it to end.
I was too exhausted to stay tense, and eventually, I settled against Aiden, curling up as I lay my head on his chest. I loved the subtle scent of his shower gel, and I loved how warm he was as I snuggled against him. Everything about him drew me in and brought me closer.
I wasn’t sure what happened in the movie because exhaustion quickly overcame me. I fell asleep with one thought. I felt safe and secure in Aiden’s arms, and I wished we could just stay this way forever.
When I woke in the morning, I found Aiden’s arm resting over my waist, and I could feel the radiating heat of his body curled up behind me. My eyes flew open, and all remnants of sleep immediately disappeared. I’d slept in the same bed with Aiden last night.
I slowly rolled o
ver to look at him. His eyes were open, and a sleepy smile was on his lips.
“Hi,” he whispered.
“Hi.” I cuddled into my pillow as I smiled back at him. His hair was disheveled, and there was a slight line across his cheek from where he’d slept on it. Aiden was just as gorgeous in the mornings as he was during the rest of the day. It was unfair.
“You slept in my bed,” I murmured.
“I did,” he replied. “Holding you in my arms as you slept last night was one of the best things to ever happen to me.”
“Me too.” I’d never felt so loved and so secure as I fell asleep. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be happening again any time soon. The thought made my heart clench in pain. “Today’s the day.”
“It is,” he agreed. “Are you ready to head home?”
“I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready to leave you.” It felt weird to admit that to Aiden, but it was the truth. Something about being stuck in this house with him had connected us in a way I never imagined possible. It almost felt like he was a piece of me, and I wasn’t ready to be parted with it.
“I don’t want to get out of this bed.”
“Me neither,” he said. “But I think your parents might come looking for you if I don’t get you back there today.”
I let out a sigh. “Probably.” I was supposed to be happy about returning to my parents, but now I knew they were safe, I only felt sad to be leaving Aiden.
I moved slowly as I started getting ready for the day. Everything felt hard, and I was seriously dragging my feet as I showered and put on some fresh clothes. I’d packed my bags the night before, and I tried to avoid looking at them. They were stacked neatly in the corner of the room, and every time my gaze landed on them, my throat seemed to tighten. I had wanted to go home as soon as I got here, but now it felt so wrong.
Aiden helped me carry my bags down the stairs, and as he packed them in the back of his truck, Elliot and Jade came to the front door. They were both trying to look happy, but their smiles didn’t light their eyes. It felt like their positivity was just for show. They had come to feel like family to me, and it was going to be hard saying goodbye. As Jade gave me a tight hug, I knew she felt the same way too.
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