Sleepwalker

Chapter Nine

"It's Clayton--"

"It's Clayton--"

We both had corrected him, but mine held a lot more snap.

"Right.." Jacob eyed me knowingly. "Sorry, Clayton."

The second Clayton exited through the back door and was out of hear shot I wasted no time in reprimanding Jacob with a hard smack to the chest.

"What?!" he yelled out, still gripping on to his innocence. "Slip of the tongue, that's all."

He was smart in walking out of the room. If I had to stay one more second with him there, he might have actually been on the floor in a matter of milliseconds. I had virtually forgotten how hard it was living with Jacob, but at the same time I enjoyed his presence. It gave me peace of mind knowing he was right there across the hall; either playing his stupid video games, studying, or maybe plotting his next plan to embarrass me in front of Clayton.

I gave myself a split second to recuperate before diving back into the lemonade. I carefully pulled out the sugar container from the cabinet and then went to town. As Aunt May told me growing up, the more sugar you had in your body, the happier you are.

Maybe I could make Clayton so happy with my sugar high lemonade that he would grab me in one of those spontaneous ecstatic kisses.

The thought made me laugh aloud. I could only wish.

I poured in tons of sugar, no measuring cups needed, until I was satisfied with the taste. After a good amount of stirring I added the finishing touch: my dad's precious mint leaves he grew his garden.

He might have been acting like a big, macho man around Mr. Hugh, but I knew the real Andrew Walker. He was the gardener who loved watching romantic comedies over most action movies. He was quirky; which was a reason my mom fell for him. He was clumsy too, but not near as much as my mom.

I filled up three cups and even dolloped an umbrella on the top. After examining them - more like scrutinizing - I placed them on a platter and then headed outside with a start. I could only imagine the beauty before my eyes. I figured Clayton would be glistening under the sun, defining his lean physique, which made my mouth grow dry. Thank goodness I made plenty of lemonade, because I was thirsty.

"Hey, guys. I finished the lemona--" Okay, I took all of that back. I was not thirsty anymore. In fact, my stomach couldn't handle anything.

There, in the blistering sunlight, was my dad and Mr. Hugh, shirtless. They weren't exactly the fittest apples in the tree, and my dad had the most disgusting body hair. It made me cringe back into the door, the drinks buckling to keep balance. Thankfully they stayed up, but my eyes couldn't do the same. The concrete was a lot more appealing.

"Aw, yes," Clayton's voice shook me, but the drinks remained intact. My eyes flew towards the storage unit and did not hesitate to widen.

Nope, I needed a drink. Did it just grow twenty degrees hotter outside?

There Clayton was, shirtless much like his father, but boy was he a feast to look at. The last time I saw him shirtless I was scared out of my mind, but then was different. Oh so different.

A very big difference was him holding a phone in one hand, and supplies in another. He looked over at me to send me a gracious grin before putting his focus back at the screen.

Was he taking one of those shirtless yard selfies I drooled over every time they appeared on J.K.'s Instagram timeline?

After a few snaps he threw his phone down on the grass. "Sorry about that. I'm not as egotistical as I seemed just then. Promise. It is an inside thing I do with an old friend in Norway." I didn't find myself questioning him. If anything I would have gleefully cheered him on.