“I took care of it,” Clay said. “You ladies ready?”
I nodded. “Thank you for the date, Noble. Nice to meet you.” I took the arm Clay offered and walked off, not caring what Noble’s reaction was. Denise, on Clay’s other arm, shivered like an excited puppy. She leaned toward me. “Oh, you poor thing, Lauren. I wish there were two Clays. He’s just the perfect date.”
I could feel Clay’s tension through his shirt. How was he supposed to shut down such sweetness, however misguided?
“You two have a good night,” I said, once outside. I let go of Clay’s arm and walked towards my truck. He could wriggle out of her goodnight kiss on his own.
“Lauren Harwood, you come back here right now.”
I stopped and looked back at him. His face held enough shock that I was pretty sure he didn’t know where he was going with his outburst yet. Panic. He was running on pure panic. This ought to be good.
“You don’t have to hide your disappointment in your date tonight. I saw the tears you were holding in. Let it out, girl.”
He held out his free arm.
Denise, on his other side, looked concerned. “I think she’s okay.”
“Nope. I know Lauren. She holds these things in until they give her cramps. Debilitating cramps. I should drive her truck home just to make sure. She eats artichoke dip when she gets sad, and then turns into a bad friend who doesn’t keep her promises.”
“Um, okay.” Denise pulled her keys out of her purse. “I’m sorry about the cramps, Lauren. Call me later, Clay.”
He nodded. “I will.”
After Denise got in her car and drove off, I came back over and socked him lightly in the stomach. “Why’d you tell her you’d call her? That’s mean.”
“I will call. And I’ll tell her I’m in a relationship with someone else.”
“No, you’re not.”
“I’m in a friendship relationship with you. It’s an exclusive friendship relationship.”
“Whatever. Cramps?”
“You gave me no choice.” He glanced behind us and motioned for me to follow him. “Noble’s coming out,” he mouthed.
Yeah, I did not want to have a second farewell with that guy, so I ducked behind the Suburban next to us with Clay until Noble got into his car and drove off.
21
___________
Clay
That had been a lot of work for one of the worst dates of my life. Part of me wanted to go home, take two aspirin, and throw myself into bed. But the other part wanted redemption. I wanted the night I was supposed to have.
I walked Lauren to her truck. “I’ll follow you home.”
“Why?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. So I can walk you to your door. Make sure you get in okay.”
“Invite yourself in,” she added.
I clutched my chest. “Lauren, I would never. What kind of guy do you think I am? Besides, your roommate will be there, right?”
Lauren rolled her eyes. “I didn’t mean, invite yourself in like that. You wish. I just meant, you’d invite yourself inside to hang out and talk me into staying up late to watch a movie.”
“I accept.”
