I was saved from saying something ridiculous by the arrival of our sundaes. “Jesus. I can’t eat all of this. Are you trying to kill me, woman?” Clay gaped at the huge pile of ice cream, whipped cream, and bananas in front of him. I handed him a spoon.
“Dig in,” I prompted, taking a mouthful myself. The next ten minutes were silent, punctuated by the clink of spoons as we ate our weight in ice cream.
Finally, Clay pushed the bowl away from him. “If I eat any more, you’ll have to roll me out of here,” he groaned, but I was happy to see him smile. His entire face transformed when he smiled like that. He was normally so moody that he looked much younger when he was happy.
“Wow, no wonder. I wasn’t expecting you to eat all of that. I’m impressed.” I indicated his nearly empty bowl. I had only gotten through a third of mine and I was full. “So, what’s the consensus?” I asked, pointing to his decimated sundae.
“Well, I think I can definitely die a happy man,” he conceded, looking at me.
There went those stupid butterflies in my stomach again. I wished I could squash them.
I coughed pointedly and moved to get out of the booth. Clay held out his hand. “I think you might have to help me,” he joked. I laughed and pulled him to his feet. He wrapped his arm around my waist and hugged me to his side. “Thanks, Mags,” he said softly into my ear, and dropped his arm.
I stumbled a bit after he let me go. I felt completely flustered. Clay insisted on paying again and I argued. “No way. You paid last time!” I tried pushing cash into his hand. Clay took the bills and tucked them into my front pocket. It felt like such an intimate thing to do. I tried not to focus too much on the feel of his fingers so close to such sensitive parts of my body.
“You pay next time,” he said, looking down at me. Next time? There would be a next time? I couldn’t stop the happy little dance that was unleashed in my stomach.
“Hi, Maggie,” a voice said from behind me as Clay paid at the cash register. I turned around to see Daniel’s on-again girlfriend, Kylie. She was with her friends Dana Welsh and McKenna Riley.
“Hey, Kylie. Dana, McKenna,” I acknowledged the other girls grudgingly. I really disliked Kylie’s friends. They were snotty and obnoxious. I had always hated it when we were forced into the same social circles. They just weren’t my type of people.
McKenna gave me a fake smile but Dana didn’t bother to look at me. She was too busy checking out Clay’s backside. I felt myself bristle. Dana was beautiful in that typical blond-bombshell sort of way. And, trust me, she knew it.
Clay turned around and blinked in surprise at our sudden company. “Hello?” he said questioningly to Kylie and her friends.
I watched the Clayton Reed effect in full force. Kylie’s smile widened and I swear she licked her lips, seeming to forget the fact that she was currently involved with Danny. Great girlfriend, there. Dana stuck her chest out and McKenna flipped her hair.
Oh, God. It was like watching a mating ritual on the Discovery Channel. The pheromones these girls were throwing off could choke a donkey. I realized I was being rude but I really didn’t want to introduce them.
Clay looked down at me quizzically and finally stuck out his hand. “Hi, I’m Clay,” he said tightly. I could tell he was uncomfortable and I felt like an ass for not stepping in to make it easier for him. But I was trying to suppress the urge to inflict bodily harm on the dumb bimbos standing in front of us.
Dana jumped in first and wrapped her hand around his, pressing closer to him than was socially acceptable. “I’m Dana. You’re the new guy, aren’t you?” Her voice had dropped a few octaves and I knew she was trying really hard to be seductive.
I watched Clay’s mouth fall open as she held on to his hand. He seemed a little at a loss. If he fell for this bitch’s bullshit, I vowed to make him take me home.
Finally he extracted his hand from her ironclad grip. “Uh, yeah. That’s me.” He put his hand through his hair.
“I’m Kylie and this is McKenna. We’re just so excited to meet you.” Kylie elbowed her way in front of Dana so that she was now standing absurdly close to Clay.
I didn’t even try to hide the fact that I was rolling my eyes. Were these girls for real? Clay seemed a little weirded out. “Excited to meet me? Why?” His eyes darted to me and I only shrugged. Kylie put her hand on his arm. Did this girl have no shame? She was currently dating my best friend, and here she was hanging all over someone else. Right in front of me!
“You’re all anyone is talking about. You’re very mysterious,” she purred. Oh, gag. Enough was enough!
I positioned myself between Clay and Kylie and gently pushed Clay toward the door. “Well, it was fantastic seeing you gals, but we have to run. Later!” I called over my shoulder as I herded Clay out of the ice-cream parlor.
“Those girls were... um...” Clay started.
“Overbearing? Trashy? Walking STDs?” I finished, getting into his car. Clay shot me a look. Okay, I had to get my raging jealousy in check.
“I was going to say they seemed nice.”
I rolled my eyes again. “I guess it depends on your definition of ‘nice,’ ” I muttered, fastening my seat belt.
Clay turned in his seat and looked at me. I stared straight ahead. I was being really juvenile and I was probably ruining any chance I had with this amazing guy who sat beside me. But Clay made me feel sort of out of control and it was more than a little disconcerting.
“Well, I think you’re nicer” was all Clay said, and he turned the key in the ignition. I couldn’t stop the smile that spread over my face. “Where to next on our grand tour of Davidson?” he asked, before leaving the parking lot.
It was really warm in the car. The day was hotter than average for September. I grinned over at him. “Wanna go swimming?” I don’t know what came over me. I was feeling spontaneous, which was so unlike me.
