Close to Heaven

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter 15

 

‘You look so cute when you laugh.’ Clay says, smiling and looking across to me, just after he made a joke, causing me to laugh hysterically.

‘Aww, thanks.’ I say, nudging him on the shoulder, ‘well, isn’t it good you can make me laugh.’

He shakes his head, smiling, not taking the compliment like he should. As it’s true, he really can make me laugh. We sit in his car in the lot outside school. There’s hundreds of kid’s streaming past us heading for class, but I don’t want to join them. I just want to stay here with Clay. He makes me so happy, it’s impossible. I smile back at him and lean across to kiss his cheek quickly.

It could have been an incredibly usual Monday morning, except that I woke up today with his arms around me, in his bed, in his house. And then he drove me to school. So, today is the opposite of a usual day. I love that he is here with me, and that he still is – that it wasn’t just a weekend thing.

‘We better get to class.’ He says with a groan, sitting back and frowning a little.

‘Why don’t we just cut?’ I ask, grinning.

He grins wickedly back at me, his eyes glinting in that way that they do. ‘Ada, as much as I’d love to, I need to actually graduate high school, and I’m afraid that if I cut class today to be with you, then there will not be any other day this year when I will not want to do the same.’

I laugh, placing my hand on his knee. ‘What’s one day?’ I say. ‘I’ll make sure we’re back in tomorrow.’ I’ve never actually cut a class before, but it sounds exciting if I could do it with him.

He smiles, his face trying to suppress it, and then shakes his head slowly. ‘No, no, we can’t.’

‘You’re too good.’ I say, sitting back and pouting a little.

‘Oh, really?’ He asks, leaning across again. ‘Well then, you’re not so good.’

‘Am I not?’ I ask, looking up at him.

‘No, because you know how I feel about you when you start to pout.’ He kisses me quickly. ‘And you are certainly doing it now.’

I smile. ‘Okay. So, if we’re not going to cut class, we better get going, otherwise the next time we meet will be in the principal’s office . . . again.’ He laughs and watches me as I get out the car. I close the door behind me and watch him as he reaches into the back seat for his rucksack.

The minute he’s out the car he walks straight over to me and puts his arm across my shoulders. ‘The next time we meet will be in the cafeteria at lunch, where I can show off what a beautiful girl I have on my arm.’ He laughs at my reaction of lightly hitting him on the arm.

‘I’m afraid I may get quite a few dirty looks today.’

‘Why’s that?’ He asks, pushing open the door in front of us and letting me walk through ahead of him into the building.

‘Because, when you weren’t here for most of the week last week, all I was hearing were girls talking about the new guy. And oh, isn’t he gorgeous.’ I laugh. ‘I mean, I had no idea what they were talking about.’ I say grinning.

‘Your words pain me.’ He says, feigning sadness and putting his hand to his chest. Then he smiles and kisses my forehead. ‘I’m in here, unfortunately.’ He gestures to a history room and frowns.

I nod. ‘Okay, yeah, unfortunate, but I'm only down the hall . . . So I guess I’ll see you after class.’

‘Well, I’ll kiss you after class.’ He says, grinning, replacing the word. ‘But, yes, see you in the short space of time between first and second period.’ With that he takes his arm from around me and enters his class, and I hear the teacher call late the instant the door is opened.