No Strings Attached | ✓ 18+

twelve .ೃ࿐

The next few weeks had come and gone. 

Gina and I were back to living together, (thank god, the hotel was making a dent in my bank account), we started couple's therapy. Gina was super enthusiastic about the whole idea, even though the first few sessions were very anxiety filled for me. 

We worked toward being more supportive, talking about our feelings and taking time out of every day to spend time together. It was nice to have her to come home to nearly every day, I felt included in something that I hadn't even realized that I was excluded in the first place. 

We went on more dates, at least once every two weeks. Sometimes we ordered in, other times we went out to the museum or a walk in the park. 

As I stacked books on the shelves in the particular way that only I managed to do, I felt secure and happy for the first time in a little while. I was excited to have someone to come home to, someone who was just excited to see me as I was them. 

As for Clay, he'd been in and out of the shop quite often. We went out for coffee on my lunch break, or sometimes he'd bring in chicken wraps when I was swamped. It was nice to have someone to hang out with that wasn't just your significant other. 

His voice interrupted my thoughts; "Special delivery!"

I turned around and found him leaning against the front counter space, grinning alongside a large box filled with what I'd assume was the usual, books.

"Hey you," I smiled. "Special delivery, huh?"

"I've read they're crystals this time, love." He titled his head, almost like an excited puppy. "Isn't that just a thrill?"

I made my way over to the desk and signed the paper before cutting open the box. He watched me curiously. "It really is a thrill," I agreed. "It's not often we get big crystal shipments like these. Are you sure they're for us?"

"As shocking as it may seem, I do read the label when I deliver, love." His eyes were playful. 

"Isn't that lovely, I'm glad you do your job well." I shot back jokingly. 

"It's not the only job I do well," he winked. 

My cheeks tinted pink, as much as I tried for them not to. Clay had grown more comfortable with me, I suppose the comfort also invited a few under the surface features as well. Those features included dirty jokes, which occurred with nearly every second sentence that came out of his mouth. 

I shook my head. "You know, I could report you for harassment." 

His hand went to his chest in mock pain and I was drawn to his gold rings on nearly every finger of his apparently very veiny hand. He covered up his fake pain with a sly smirk shortly after. "But you wouldn't do that to me, would you love?"

I was suddenly aware of how close we'd gotten, how I could feel the heat from his breath creating goosebumps on my skin. 

Clay was watching me through his lashes, like he was looking for some sort of reaction. I was watching him too, curious as to what was passing through his mind at that moment. 

"Why wouldn't I want to report you?" I just barely made out. 

I felt clammy, nervous and something must not have sat well in my stomach from this morning, because the butterflies I was feeling in that moment were unreal. 

"Because love," he was watching me still, I felt his eyes burning into me. "As much as you feign your disgust at how immature it is, you know how much you love it." 

Just like that, whatever had happened was over and he was at the door of the shop, looking at me expectantly. Maybe it was over for him, but I couldn't seem to shake the feeling that it had given me. 

"Enjoy your crystals, love. I can't wait to see how you set them up." He shot me a wink, then he was gone. 

What the fuck was that?

[ ♡ ]

Gina was holding me tightly. It was tighter than usual, I thought it was because she'd had a stressful day today. 

The guilt of my thoughts was eating me alive, I was trying to push them away as much as I could. This was time for Gina and I, not time for me contemplating what happened with Clay. It was strange and not something I was used to. 

What else could I have wanted? Gina and I were happy, happier than I think we were when we had started dating. Therapy was working wonders and we just had fabulous sex. So what was the deal?

I decided to rule it out as overthinking and that I'd just deal with it tomorrow. I closed my eyes and snuggled closer to Gina, trying to ignore the guilt. 

[ ♡ ]

"Personally, I think that the zoo is an excellent place to go. We can have snow cones, Adalyn!" Gina stood at the door, keys in her hand and her eyes wide and pleading. 

Today was a surprise date. Simply meaning, we knew we were due for a date, but we hadn't planned anything. But personally, I wasn't a fan of zoos. It's too grubby outside, the people are everywhere and there's very sad animals held captive where they shouldn't be. 

Of course, I was going to say yes. But I didn't want to. Only because I loved her. 

And that's how two hours later, I ended up waiting outside the bathrooms with a bag of mini donuts and a half empty, freshly-squeezed lemonade. 

The sun was warm, the air was humid and there were far too many people walking around. I was sweating and absolutely not expecting Clay, of all people, to show up and call my name. 

"Love! What're you doing here?"

My mouth hung open for a second, processing, as Clay waved at me from the path just a few feet away. His hair was shining in the sun, it was messy and soft-looking. His eyes were squinted, looking happy but they also held something else that was unreadable in them. 

I opened and closed my mouth like a fish out of water before I internally kicked myself and answered him. "Gina and I are here together."

As if she was being summoned, Gina appeared beside me after coming out of the washroom. "God, it was unbearably mess-" she caught sight of Clay, then turned to me expectantly. "Who's this?"

"He's just the package delivery guy for the shop. I think his name is Clay." I hesitated, unsure why I felt the need to keep him a secret all of a sudden. 

Clay's eyes were on me, I could feel his confused frown. When I finally looked up at him, he looked as though he was searching my face for answers of a question he wouldn't ask me out loud. 

Gina unknowingly broke the awkward silence. "Oh! Well that's wonderful. Nice to see you, Clay." Her fingers were intertwined with mine, the warmth radiating from her hand to mine.

The warmth brought me back, I could feel her tugging me away to start walking around again. As we walked away, I couldn't help but turn back for another glance at Clay. 

He stood there, still frowning with an unreadable but disappointed expression on his face, still asking me the same question. Why did you lie about knowing me?