This was not the feeling of a monster. It was more like being pounced on by a kitten.
Clay’s arm nudged me again, and I noticed he’d moved a little closer on the sun chair.
“So, if this attraction is something new, then it must be someone here, right?” A devilish smirk twisted one side of his mouth. “Can I ask who it is?”
“I... um...”
Should I tell him?
Surely it wouldn’t matter, right?
I didn’t plan to do anything about it, and like he said, there was nothing wrong with feeling attracted to someone.
Yet, no matter how much I stuttered, the name wouldn’t leave my lips.
Clay hummed to himself, tapping thoughtfully on his chin as he looked around the safe house and the various people in view. “Let me see. It’s not one of the other witnesses, is it?” He glanced at my face for a reaction. “No. Not one of the other witnesses. So that means it must be one of the people working on our case. That just leaves two options. Either it’s one of the investigators that dropped us off and then left, or its one of the people staying with us.”
He looked toward me again. I tried to keep my expression neutral but something in my expression must have given me away, because Clay’s smile grew even wider.
“So, you’re getting all hot bothered over one of the people staying with us right now. Come one, tell me, which one is it?”
“I’m not—” I started to argue, but I never got to finish. We were suddenly interrupted by one of the investigators, Sebastian Roth, stepping into view.
“Hey, sorry to interrupt, but we need everyone to meet up in the main room. We’ve got news to share regarding the case.”
I immediately clammed up, and it felt like all the blood in my body rushed to pool in my face.
Oh God.
How much of our conversation had Sebastian heard?
I was barely ready to admit my feelings to Clay. There was no way I could handle other people knowing about them.
Noticing my sudden mutism, Clay took pity on me and answered for the both of us.
“All right. We’ll be right there. Just give us a minute.”
With a nod, Sebastian walked off, his cane tapping against the paving stones around the pool with every step. Even with such an obvious handicap, the man still managed to carry himself with dignity. It was impressive, especially compared to the way I wilted at the slightest embarrassment.
As soon as Sebastian was out of earshot, I collapsed back on the sun chair and threw one arm over my face to hide my shame.
“Ugh. Remind me not to have personal conversations in public again. My heart can’t take the embarrassment.”
I expected Clay to make fun of me, it would have been well earned, so I was surprised to hear nothing but silence. Removing my arm from my face and opening my eyes, I found Clay staring after Sebastian with a serious expression.
“Clay? Something wrong?”
“Huh?” He suddenly turned to me as if just remembering I was there. “Oh, no. Nothing’s wrong. I just...” He paused, then sighed and squeezed my shoulder again. “Look. I know we were joking around, but I’m pretty sure I know who you’re interested in.”
I sat up slowly, looking everywhere except directly into Clay’s eyes. “Y-you do?”
“Yeah, I mean, we’re kinda isolated here.” He waved his hands around to indicate the entirety of the safe house. “There’s not a lot of options.”
Right. I shouldn’t have been surprised that Clay so quickly figured out that I liked Kitt. I’d buried my face right into the man’s chest the moment I stepped off the van. My feelings couldn’t have been more obvious if I’d written them on my forehead.
“But it’s okay, right? You said my feelings don’t make me a monster.”
“Yeah,” Clay quickly agreed. “But I also don’t want you to get your hopes up. I’m pretty sure he already has a partner.”
