Cloud Walking

his face, holding out a white and green paper bag. “Hey Kaity! How's my favorite girl?” he asked as my sister hugged him tightly around the middle. She was positively beaming.

    Daniel maneuvered himself inside, as Kaitlyn continued to hug him. I thought I'd need a crow bar to pry her off. He handed me the bag of donuts after finally getting Kaitlyn to relinquish her grip. “For you, my lady,” he said and I couldn't help but smile. He was so darn charming.

    “Why thank you, kind sir. I have pizza if you're hungry,” I said, tugging on Kaitlyn's arm so she would follow me and stop trying to hang off my friend.

    “Hell yeah!” Daniel whooped, rushing past me into the kitchen. I laughed. By the time I caught up with him, he already had his face stuffed with pizza. Kaitlyn giggled and took a piece for herself.

    “Does your mom not feed you?” I joked, scooping up a pile of goopy cheese and dough. The sauce had run over the side and it dripped on the counter as I angled it toward my mouth. Daniel made a noise as he chewed. He went to the cabinet and pulled out a glass, filling it with water. He was as comfortable here as in his own house. More so probably. He didn't like being at home, as was confirmed by his next statement.

    “Mom and Stephen are at some charity event. I doubt I was even on her radar,” he said with a forced lightness. I gave him a sympathetic smile. Daniel had not taken his parents' divorce very well. I'm sure the fact that his mother had been caught in the act of screwing her boss by his dad, had something to do with it.

    Now Daniel and his mother were living with the boss, or Stephen, in his big house on the other side of town. Daniel hated Stephen. And I thought he had come to sort of hate his mother as well. Not that I blamed him. Sure, my mom was negligent, but it was because she was trying to provide us with a life. Daniel's mom was negligent because she just didn't give a crap. She was entirely wrapped up in her life with her sugar daddy. And poor Danny was pushed out into the proverbial cold.

    His dad had moved out of state, but Daniel still went to see him in the summer. Thinking about my mom and Daniel's mom, it was crazy to think how close they had been at one time with Maggie's mother. Maggie's mom was the most amazing parent I knew. She was warm, supportive and loving. Everything that Daniel and I lacked in our own maternal relationships.

    Our three mothers were best friends in high school. They had been in each other's weddings and planned one another's baby showers. That's how the three of us became so close. We were thrown into this life all together. Having been born within four months of each other.

    But as with a lot of things, over time, their friendship slipped into their past. My mom rarely spoke to Mrs. Young anymore and I knew she could no longer stand Ms. Lowe. But here we were, seventeen years later. Their friendship had fizzled out but ours was still going strong. For the most part.

    We finished our pizza and herded Kaitlyn into her room to change into her pajamas and to start on her homework. She grumped the whole time. But Daniel was magic with her. And she finally did what she was supposed to do.

    “I think I need to have you over here every night. She's never that agreeable,” I commented after we had settled onto the couch. Daniel grabbed my Chemistry notes and slid closer to me, so we could look at them together.

    Daniel quirked a smile. “Anytime, Rach. I can be your manny whenever you want,” he said, his eyes sparkling at me.

    Our knees brushed one another and I could smell his aftershave and a scent that was one hundred percent Danny. I had known that smell my entire life. I often wished I could bottle it up so I could smell it whenever I wanted to. Did that make me a crazy stalker? God, I hoped not.

    I flipped through sheets of paper in my binder. “Just read over those and then we can quiz each other,” I suggested, feeling a little breathless at how close he was. My heart had kicked into overdrive and I my hands were clammy.

    I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I needed to compose myself. I was afraid my feelings for Daniel were written all over my too expressive face. I couldn't hide anything from him. Never had been able to. He had just been too oblivious to see what was right in front of his face. Or maybe he hadn't wanted to see the depth of my feelings for him. So I tried to blank my face. Tried to quell my nerves that