Cloud Walking

the please don't look she was shooting my way. But sweet, demure, never speaks up for herself, Rachel was doing some talking.

    I tried to ignore the hurt that flashed across Daniel's face. There was that annoying momentary weakness and I wanted to take back my hatefulness and smooth things over. Because that's what I always did. But then I just had to look at who he was with and the fact that that's who he was always with and I got over it.

    “What the hell is your problem, Rachel? If I've done something to offend you, just tell me already.” Daniel's voice was hard but I knew him well enough to know that his pissiness hid how much it bothered him that I was mad. I should have been thrilled by that, but those three stupid beers did nothing but ignite my anger even brighter.

    Maggie tried to make excuses; she tried to move me away from the scene that was brewing. I noticed Clay inch toward me as if to block me from Daniel, but I shoved forward and found myself right up in Danny's grill.

    I wanted to grab a hold of his shirt and pull him toward me. I couldn't stop myself from staring at his mouth and I wanted to kiss it so badly I could taste it. But I wasn't allowed to do what I wanted. Because we weren't like that .

    And then Clay was moving me away and my blurry mind went with it without too much thought. “Help me find the keg,” he said as he took me by the elbow and steered me through the crowd. I looked up at Clay, who glanced down at me with an amused smile on his lips.

    “What?” I asked a little defensively. Clay shrugged.

    “I'm sensing some baggage back there,” he said walking beside me with his hands shoved in his pockets. Looking at Clayton Reed without his normal icy stoicism, I could almost see what Maggie saw in him. He was definitely cute and what girl wouldn't want to put her fingers through that thick, dark hair of his? I swore to myself that I'd try to be less judgmental where he was concerned. Heck, maybe we could even be friends.

    “Nah...just Daniel stuff. He gets on my nerves sometimes,” I answered lightly. Clay lifted an eyebrow in disbelief but didn't say anything else about it. He didn't push for answers I didn't want to give. Yeah, maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

    Now that I had the guy alone and he actually seemed open to talking, I thought I'd do some best friend recon and try to dig for Maggie related info.

    “So, Clay...” I began, slowing down our pace a bit.

    Clay sighed. “So, Rachel...” he said back. I snickered. He really wasn't into small talk.

    “Our girl Maggie is pretty great, isn't she?” I said innocently. Clay looked at me from the corner of his eye and I saw his jaw tense a bit. Hmm, I think trying to get anything out of him was going to be like trying to break into Fort Knox.

    “Yeah, she's cool,” he answered, not giving anything away. I felt a little light-headed from the booze and stopped walking all together. I put my hands on my hips and frowned at him.

    “She's cool? Really? That's all you can say? You stare at her like a starving man looking at his next meal. So cut the crap and give it to me straight. Do you like her or not? Because she's pretty freaking special and I would hate to go all bruiser on you if you hurt her,” I warned. Being threatening was not my forte. But I wanted this guy to know that if he hurt Maggie, he'd have to deal with me. For whatever that was worth.

    I half expected Clay to laugh at me. I mean, who would really take my I'm a hard ass act seriously? But he didn't. He stopped and turned to face me. His hands never left his jeans pockets but he was giving me his undivided attention. He seemed to be taking my warning very seriously.

    “I don't want to hurt her, Rachel. Ever. And she is special. The most special person I've ever met. I want to promise you that her heart is safe with me. But...” He seemed to choke up as his words trailed off.

    Wow, he was really intense. It was sort of all consuming. I knew he cared about Maggie. More than I had originally thought. But that didn't change the fact that there was something sad and tortured about Clayton Reed. He seemed to be saying as much with his cryptic half thought.

    It worried me.

    A lot.

    Clay cleared his throat and looked me straight in the eye. “But just know that she's really important to me. The most important thing in my life.” He clenched his fist over his heart. And for a second, I forgot to breathe. How easy it was to forget