The sun is already starting to set, but we walk out toward the water anyway. We both carry our shoes in hand and we trudge through the sand. Finally, we sit down to enjoy the ice cream that is melting like crazy. It may be December, but ice cream still melts at 65°. For a while, we're just silent, watching the water turn into a golden haze.
"Thank you," I say, smiling at the water. "This is amazing. I haven't come here in years."
"I love it here. Plus the ice cream is always phenomenal," he says as he buries his feet in the sand.
"So you're admitting that the vanilla is delicious?" He shakes his head and looks up at the dimming sky.
"I hate myself for it, but I might have to start getting this every time." We settle into another comfortable silence. Just as the sun reaches the horizon, I take a picture of it on my phone.
"Oh wow. That somehow looks beautiful even on my phone," I say. Clay looks over my shoulder, nodding in approval. "I might be a basic bitch and post it on my story."
"You should. It's a beautiful sunset. Deserves some recognition." I make a story on my instagram with pictures of the sunset, our ice cream, and one that Clay took of me while we were walking toward the beach. Right as I'm about to post it, he stops me and takes my phone from my hand.
"What are you doing?" I ask, but he just types a little note on the screen. "Clay?"
"You have to tag me, duh." I roll my eyes and take my phone back. I almost click the post button before I notice the username he tagged.
@dreamwastaken
"You-" I have no clue what to say.
"As you may already know," he starts, "my dear mother has a hard time keeping secrets from people she likes. She's an awful liar." I stay silent, so he continues. "So, in case you haven't already figured it out... that's who I am. A green block man who plays Minecraft and makes inappropriate jokes with his friends."
"I- That's awesome, Clay." Words leave my mouth, but my mind is still empty.
"That would also be why I'm not big into crowded public areas. I'm not recognized very often, but I prefer to keep it that way." He searches my face for a reaction, but I refuse to put one forth. "So... that's all. Thoughts?"
"My thoughts have already happened... all through last night, actually."
"Ah, you got dragged into the wiki pages, didn't you?"
"Maybe. I feel like I know too much about you know but from a really different perspective." He laughs and leans back on his elbows. "I'm sorry I looked it up," I say, laying back on the warm sand beside him.
"Nothing changed between us and that's all I care about. Sometimes people get really weird. One guy that I was friends with immediately threatened to leak it to the entire internet if I didn't pay him off."
"So you paid him off?"
"No, I just told his mom. He was 19 but he still lived with his parents. So he got in trouble. We're not really friends anymore."
"I would hope not," I agree. A moment later, the sun is just barely holding itself above the horizon and the last rays of gold are struggling to hold onto the water's surface any longer. I turn to look at Clay and I find his eyes already on me. For a second, he doesn't look away, but a baby crying a little ways down the beach catches his attention enough to make him turn.
"Hey, don't forget to post your story," he reminds me. After all that, I had almost forgotten completely. A moment later, the pictures are posted with his instagram tagged.
After a while of sitting in silence, I start to grow chilly from a lack of sun. "I have a sweatshirt in the car you can take," Clay says, standing up and offering me his hand. I take it and follow him back to the car.
By the time we get there, my skin is covered with goosebumps and I can barely keep my teeth from chattering. Somehow the temperature seems to have dropped 20° in the last fifteen minutes. Clay quickly unlocks his car and reaches into the backseat, pulling out a plain black sweatshirt. It's not until I put it on that I see the smiley face-- his logo.
"Thank you," I say through clenched teeth as he starts the car. I immediately feel warm air blow on my face and sigh with relief. "I'm glad we had ice cream while the sun was still up."
"Yeah. I always forget how cold it gets in the dark. Are you warming up?" I nod in response and he grins.
"What?"
"Nothing!"
"Clay!"
"I just really like that sweatshirt, that's all."
"I think I have one of my own on its way," I say, remembering my 4 a.m. purchase that consisted of about one of everything in his online shop.
"Oh, really? Guess you won't have to keep that one then."
"We'll see about that." He tries to hide it, but I see his smile in the dark.
"You should go back to sleep. I'm okay to drive." I think about refusing, but my exhaustion is too strong. I whisper a 'thank you' and lean against the window once again. As I drift off, I hear gentle music start to play in the background over the hum of the expressway around us. This alone is enough to knock me out for the rest of the ride, so I let it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Still partially asleep, I let Clay half lead, half carry me into my house. Once the light is on, I start to wake up more, but I'm still too groggy to speak. "Y/n? Do you have to work tomorrow?" I hear him ask in a gentle whisper. I nod-- or at least try to. "Is your alarm set?" Another messy nod. "Do you need me to take you to your bed so that you don't end up sleeping on the kitchen floor?" I think for a minute, but the fact that I have to think about it at all gives me an answer.
"Maybe," I croak, testing out my voice which seems to be stubbornly refusing my efforts to use it. Clay laughs a little and helps me up from the kitchen floor where I'm leaned against a cupboard.
"Come on. You'll have to lead the way." Yeah right. Thankfully it's a straight hallway to my bedroom because I'm no help to him at all. I silently thank the stars that my room isn't a mess as he guides me to the edge of the bed. "There you go. Maybe never pull an all-nighter ever again. It doesn't seem like your body can handle it."
"Be nice," I whisper, finally finding my voice again. I lay back against my pillow and let him cover me with a blanket. "I'm sorry. No goodbye kiss." Cleary my state of sleepiness has made me delirious. He suppresses a smile and turns off the lamp beside me.
"Who says that?" he asks, leaning down and placing a soft kiss on my forehead. If I wasn't already half asleep again I might have giggled, but thankfully I'm saved from that embarrassment. "Goodnight, y/n." I try to respond, but all that comes out is a quiet hum. He must understand anyway, though, because he steps out into the hallway, closing my door behind him. I don't even hear him leave my house before completely passing out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hatred. That is what I feel when my alarm goes off the next morning. I almost roll my eyes as I turn it off. But it's my job to open the bakery today, so I have no choice but to get up and prepare myself for the day. I shower and get ready so slowly that all I have time to eat for breakfast is a poptart on the way.
The day feels painfully long, but every time I remember yesterday I can't help but smile. The ice cream, the sunset, the goodnight—it all plays like a movie in the back of my mind as I prepare orders and eventually while I sit at my desk sorting through endless paperwork. Samantha is on a huge order of cakes almost all day, so we barely have time to talk. I'm sure I'll tell her all about my trip with Clay sometime soon, but for now I don't mind keeping it to myself.
We end up closing a half hour later than usual because we get a random rush of people coming in at the very end of the day, so I'm super relieved to finally leave. As soon as I'm home, I collapse on the couch and pull out my phone. I haven't checked it since this morning and I need to catch up on responding to quite a few people. Of course, I immediately know whose to open first.
clay
how was work?
it was... tiring.
geez, did you just get home?
yeah. huge rush at the end
sorry :(
you didn't happen to check your front
porch yet, did you?
???
go look
With a sudden burst of excitement, I stand up and rush to my front door, immediately unlocking the bolt and pulling it open. On my porch, a fresh bouquet of vibrant flowers rests in a colorful vase. The smell is so pleasant that I almost sigh when I breathe it in. I gingerly pick up the vase and carry it inside, being cautious to avoid hitting any walls or doorways. When I set it on my kitchen counter, I notice a little note attached to the stem of one of the flowers.
totally would've brought this when you were already home, but I'm so behind on my stuff rn it's not even funny. i hope your day was spectacular. can't wait to take you on another adventure
~clay
There is absolutely no point trying to subdue my smile as it has taken permanent residence on my face. i pull out my phone and text Clay back.
okay i feel better now
good :)
do you like them?
they're beautiful
thank you clay
how's all that 'stuff' you're behind on?
still behind...
anything i can help with?
not remotely unfortunately
anything i can help with...not remotely?
don't worry about it
i'll catch up by tomorrow
how late are you gonna have to stay up though?
idk i'll survive
let me help you
please
ugh
don't be stubborn
i'm leaving right now
no, y/n
i'll be okay
sorry, driving, can't text..
y/n!
As quickly as possible, I change my clothes and throw a load of laundry in the washer. Within a few minutes, I'm actually on my way to Clay's house. Thankfully, the directions are still in my google maps from when I took Maisie, so I don't have to try to remember the way. The drive still takes almost a half hour with traffic, but I don't mind much.
When I finally arrive, I see a face peeking through the front window, but it quickly disappears when I look at it. I smile to myself before heading to the front door. As a approach, contemplating how to most appropriately knock on the door, Nick bursts through it, grinning.
"Y/n! What a surprise to see you here!" he cries, ushering me inside dramatically. The air smells of burning candles and Lysol wipes.
"Nick! It doesn't seem like you're all that surprised," I respond, following him through the hallway I haven't travelled yet.
"I can't imagine what gave you that impression. I certainly didn't just clean the entire house in twenty minutes or anything. And we always have this many candles lit."
"Oh I'm sure you do. Sounds legit." He grins and knocks rapidly on a door.
"Claaaaaaaayyyyyy, your guest has arrived," Nick calls, waiting patiently beside me. There's a slight shuffle behind the door then it swings open. Clay nods at Nick then motions for me to follow him in. "Keep the door cracked a little," Nick says with a wink, earning a glare from Clay as he closes the door behind me completely.
"Okay... ignoring him. Hi. Thank you for coming. You really didn't have to," Clay says, collapsing into a spinning chair in front of multiple computer monitors.
"Just getting my charity work in for the month. Besides, I had nothing better to do." He raises an eyebrow at me but I play oblivious.
"Just charity work, huh?" I nod. "Nothing else?"
"I mean, I'm glad I got to meet Nick again. That's pretty cool."
"You're insufferable," he groans as I sit in a chair on the other side of the room.
"Aww, such a charmer," I respond. "I guess you're cool too."
"Fine, fine. I guess I'll just have to never buy flowers again. Since I'm just...cool."
"Oh? Did I say cool? I meant you're so absolutely thoughtful and amazing and I'm so happy to come help JUST to spend a few hours with you."
"Much better."
"So what do you need me to do?"
"How do you feel about opening boxes?"
"Okay...I guess? I'll do whatever you need."
"I'm just super behind on opening fan mail and I really wanna add some of it to my shelves. I'll do the letters by myself, but you could open the boxes up and get all the stuff out."
"Okay, sure." He leaves and returns a minute later pulling a huge bin of boxes. "Oh my god that's so many," I say, watching him unpack the boxes onto the floor.
"This is just the first load." He brings in two more bins full of boxes then gives me a pair of scissors and a pocket knife. "Have fun. Show me anything cool."
And with that, I settle on a beanbag chair he dragged into the room for me and start unboxing hundreds of little figurines, drawings, canvases, and other trinkets.
To be continued...
word count: 2296