Find You in the Dark

thankful she let me come stay with her and Lisa. It was a life saver really.” The way he spoke about his aunt made it clear how much he loved her. My heart clenched at the raw vulnerability I heard.
    “She sounds like an amazing person.” I told him quietly, not wanting to mess with the mood of intimacy that had wound around us. Clay shook himself slightly, as if realizing how much he was actually revealing. “Yeah, she's pretty fantastic.” He said wistfully. “And Lisa is a hoot. She's this hardcore biker chick and she could definitely kick my ass if I got out of line.” He laughed. I laughed with him, picturing his aunt's girlfriend, the biker lady.
    We finished our coffees and took the empty mugs up to the counter. We left the shop and stood on the sidewalk, neither wanting to go our separate ways. “So.” I remarked at the same moment that he said, “Well.” We laughed awkwardly. “Thanks for the coffee.” I said, putting my hands in my jeans pockets. “Sure, anytime. I enjoyed myself. I'd like to do this again sometime.” He admitted, looking at me through his thick lashes.
    I relished his words, feeling happy that he liked spending time with me. “Yeah, me too.” I told him. We walked back to Ruby's Bookshelf and I noticed his car was parked next to mine. How did I not notice it there when I pulled in? “So, I'll see you on Monday?” His words came out as a question. “Definitely.” I answered as I got in my car. He rested his hands on the door and leaned into my open window and for a moment I imagined his beautiful lips on mine. “Bye, Maggie.” He said softly before backing away. I put my car in reverse and backed out of the parking lot.
    This time it was me looking in my rear view mirror. And I delighted in seeing him standing there watching me leave.

Chapter Four

    “Damn it!” I grumbled as I realized I had left my gym bag in my locker. It was after school and I was on my way to cross country practice. This was my third year on the team and I was proud of the fact that I was in a prime position to lead us to state this year. Coach Kline was convinced that I would break some records during the season.
    Yeah, I was pretty good. And modest too.
    And running really, really late. Coach Kline would make me run extra time if I didn't pull my finger out. I jogged back down the hallway toward my locker and collided with someone coming in the opposite direction.
    I reached out to grab a hold of the other person's arms to steady myself.
    “I'm so sorry.” I breathed out, feeling embarrassed.
    My head shot up at the throaty laugh. Clay's eyes twinkled at me as he held onto my wrist. “We've got to stop meeting like this.” He said with amusement. I swallowed hard and felt my heart thud against my chest.
    I had looked for him at school today. It had only been two days since our impromptu coffee date on Saturday but I strangely missed him. I mean, I didn't even know the guy, but I wanted to be around him way more than was normal.
    But he had been elusive. He didn't come into the cafeteria and I never saw him in the hallway. I even made a point to wait outside of the creative writing class I knew he had with Rachel, but he somehow snuck out without me seeing him. Okay, I admit, I was becoming a bit obsessed.
    So seeing him here after searching for him for the last eight hours was a bit of a shock.
    “I think we need to start wearing neon safety vests or something.” I joked, righting myself on my feet. I realized we still held each others' arms. I felt all tingly when I realized how close we were. I unceremoniously dropped my hands to my sides, feeling awkward.
    Clay released me from his hold and hefted his book bag up on his shoulder. “Probably not a bad idea, you're kind of lethal. It would give me a bit of warning the next time you come careening at me.” His smile made me tremble. It was crazy, this effect he had on me.
    We stood in silence for a moment. I was suddenly tongue tied, which was definitely not my norm. “You heading home?” I asked him lamely. It was 3:30, of course he was leaving. What a dumb question. If I could have smacked my forehead, I would have.
    “Uh, well, I was thinking of taking a drive, do a bit of exploring. I still don't know my way around very well.” He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. “Wanna come with me? I could use a local's expertise.”
    Oh shit. Clay and me in a car together. Alone. That sounded like heaven. Or the source of some very