- Clay -
Chewing on my lip, I pulled into the gas station down the street from Heron Prep. Emmett sat on the curb outside the store, sipping on a giant Coke slushy. His whole body perked up when he noticed my car. He hopped up, brushing off the seat of his pants. An adorable grin spread across his face.
That's not what today is about, I reminded myself.
I just wanted one last day with Emmett, as I had him now. I had practiced the words to tell him how I felt, but that was for tonight. Today, I wanted time with my friend. In case Emmett rejected me and things got weird between us. Or if he didn't and...
Nope. I stopped myself from going down that road. I didn't want to get my hopes up. It would only hurt that much more when they inevitably got dashed.
One way or another, at the end of this day, everything would change between us. Even if Emmett still wanted to be my friend, things wouldn't be the same once he knew my feelings.
I pulled into the parking spot in front of him. When he opened the car door, I whistled suggestively. "Look at you, Mr. Sexy-GQ-Man."
I had never seen Emmett in his full uniform, except in pictures. He usually changed out of it before I saw him. Or he'd stripped all the components down to the basics, only leaving his khaki pants and white button-down.
Emmett laughed as he got in. He held his cup toward me, already loosening his striped tie. "Want some?"
"Do you even have to ask?"
I took the cup and sipped on it. Emmett shrugged out of his blazer, tossing it into the backseat. He unbuttoned the top three buttons on his shirt, giving a glimpse of the olive skin beneath. It gave me a charge. It seemed weird to feel so excited by the sight of a bit of his chest, given that I had already seen him fully shirtless.
"Woah, greedy," Emmett said, reaching for the cup. "I said some. Not the whole damn thing."
I gave a sheepish grin. "Sorry."
"You're lucky you're cute."
A lump formed in my throat. I fought off a smile, using backing the car out of the space as an excuse to turn my head—even though I had a backup camera.
Emmett really just said that.
I wondered if I could make it to tonight without confessing. The butterflies in my stomach seemed particularly agitated, knowing the clock was ticking down before the big moment.
"You know, I was mostly joking when I asked you to ditch class," I said, pulling onto the road. "I can't believe you said yes."
The joy I felt when Emmett agreed took it from a joke to a necessity. I had to see him. The sooner the better.
"Now you tell me." Emmett nudged my arm and laughed.
There it was. A genuine Emmett laugh. The dazzling smile that accompanied it melted my insides to goo. I just wanted to lunge across the car and smash my lips against Emmett's in a sloppy, ferocious kiss that told him how I felt without needing a single word.
Emmett placed the empty cup in the cup holder. "Was it hard for you to sneak off campus? 'Cause it was a bitch for me."
"Not really." I shook my head. "I just walked out of the building when the bell rang and went straight to my car and left."
"I kinda hate you. Carrie had to fake cramps to get me out the door."
"Ha!" I would have to remember to be extra nice to Carrie next time I saw her. "So I guess that means you guys made up, huh?"
"Yeah. It's hard for us to stay mad at each other too long."
"I'm glad," I said, sincerely meaning those words. I reached over and gave Emmett's leg a squeeze. I let my hand linger a moment longer than necessary. "I know how much she means to you."
"She's my favorite person." Emmett said. A moment later, he snickered to himself, looking out the window. "Although, she's had some competition recently."
I squeezed the steering wheel with a death grip as my chest filled with fire. He had to be talking about Duke. That was a recent development. I couldn't think of another person who'd come into his life since we met.
I pushed thoughts of Emmett and Duke from my mind. I refused to ruin today with jealousy. Especially if it ended up being my last with Emmett.
"Did you actually have any ideas for what we could do? Or is this a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants operation?"
"The latter," I said.
We both laughed as I slowed to a stop at a red light. I looked over and found Emmett looking back. I stared deeply into his green eyes, getting lost in them. The golden ring around his pupils stood out more vividly than usual today.
A horn blared, snapping me out of my daze. I chuckled self consciously and pressed down on the accelerator, fixing my eyes on the road.
No more longing stares, I vowed. Friends don't give friends longing stares.
"Want to just hang out at the park?" Emmett asked.
"Which one?"
"Crestview. They always have food vendors and I'm starving. I was at lunch when I got your text."
"Sounds like a plan," I said, taking the turn to head that way.
It surprised me to find so many people in the park at twelve-thirty. They had the same idea as Emmett, all here for their lunch breaks. The vendors congregated in one section of the park near the parking lot. A few brave souls chose hotdogs that were fished from a vat of grayish water in a wheeled cart. Everyone else lined up at the three food trucks selling tacos, sushi, or burgers.
Emmett scanned each of the chalkboard menus, declaring the specials of the day. He'd deconstructed his uniform even further by untucking his shirt and rolling his sleeves up past his elbows. "I kinda want sushi."
"I don't really like fish," I said, "but you go ahead. I'll grab a taco."
"Okay." Emmett nodded. "We'll meet over at the picnic tables."
Ten minutes later, we sat on opposite sides of a table. Emmett with his spicy tuna rolls; me with chicken tacos.
"I think you'd like it if you tried it." Emmett held up a piece of sushi, waving it around to tantalize me.
"I'm sure I wouldn't. I was downplaying it before. I can't stand fish or any fishy-type food."
"You don't know what you're missing." Emmett stuffed the whole bite into his mouth, making his cheeks puff out as he chewed.
I smiled, resting my head in my hand. "I think you're just trying to get me to try your sushi, so I'll let you taste my tacos."
"I resent the implication that I'm that manipulative."
"Okay then." I shrugged, reaching for the remaining half of my taco. "I guess I'll just have to finish it."
Emmett's arm shot out. He grabbed the edge of the box. "Well, hold on there. I'm not not interested in trying it."
"I knew it!" I pushed the box toward Emmett. "You can have the rest."
Emmett grinned wide and picked up my half eaten taco. He chomped down on it without hesitation. The sharing thing wasn't as satisfying as I hoped it would be, but once I started it seemed harder to stop and have to come up with a reason why, than to just keep doing it.
After eating, we walked over to the large three-tiered fountain that was at least twenty feet wide. Emmett hopped on the wall and did a balancing act along the narrow ledge. When he wobbled a bit, and it seemed like he was about to lose his balance, I jumped into action and grabbed his hand to steady him.
Emmett smiled down at me. "You're always there when I need you."
I kept a hold on Emmett's hand, walking beside him as he continued his tightrope act. He made three rounds before finally jumping down.
Unable to justify holding his hand any longer, I reluctantly released it and stuffed my hand in my pocket.
This wasn't a park with a playground or much of anything beyond scenery. People mostly used it for walks, bike rides, and the occasional picnic in the grass.
With nothing else to do, Emmett took off his shoes and socks to do cartwheels and flips in the grass. I sat to the side, watching him work up a sweat. I couldn't stop smiling at this beautiful boy who'd captured my heart, acting like a carefree little kid.
Finally, Emmett came over and crashed beside me. He stretched out to the side and laid his head on my lap, staring up into my eyes. "This was a fantastic idea."
"It was." I nodded, brushing my fingers through his silky black hair.
Emmett closed his eyes, a faint smile on his lips. I imagined what might happen if I leaned down right now and pressed my lips to his. Would he reel away or would he grab my face and kiss me back?
With Emmett's eyes safely closed, I soundlessly mouthed, I love you to him. Testing the feel of the words. It made my chest throb with excitement. It even brought a tear to my eye, which I quickly swiped away with the hand that wasn't in Emmett's hair.
I blinked and stared up at the sky, doing that nose breathing trick, still unsure if it even worked. But no more tears sprang up, so maybe it did.
"Clay?"
"Huh?" I looked down at Emmett; his eyes remained shut tight.
"I'm glad I met you." He reached up to take my hand from his hair, lacing his fingers with mine. That was the one thing we'd never really done. We might grab each other's hand to pull each other around, but we never just held hands to hold hands. It felt so intimate.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. "I'm glad I met you, too."
"Don't tell Carrie, but I think you're pulling ahead in the race to be my favorite person."
A shocked laugh bubbled out of me. I smiled so wide it almost hurt. So, I was the recent addition who was rivaling Carrie. Not Duke. Me.
"You're definitely my favorite person." I had no doubts about that.