Clay’s gusty sigh of relief competed with mine. We’d been through enough today. Okay, fine, he’d had to go through all of it while I just stood by. But still, the stress of it, along with overuse of my sight, wore me out.
Looking down at him, I realized I didn’t mind having him around. We’d at least become friends of sorts. I worried I treated him unfairly allowing him to hang around. Did that mislead him into thinking our relationship might grow to more than friendship? I hoped not. If he ever thought I asked too much, he could always walk away.
“You know,” Rachel said shaking her head, “sometimes that dog creeps me out with how human he acts. Anyway, I’m going to meet up with Peter for another try at a date. We’re going to see a movie and this time I’m not asking you to come with,” she said with a huge smile as she walked past us heading to her room.
“Thank you!” I called to her retreating form.
Chapter 9
The rest of the weekend passed in a blur of studying. When Rachel left to meet Peter, which she did both Saturday and Sunday, Clay and I sprawled on the living room floor. I read my books while he read his with me turning the pages. We didn’t talk much. He seemed content just to lay by me.
We moved back into my room before Rachel came home Sunday night. When I heard the door, I commented to Clay, “I bet I’m looking for a new roommate before the next semester starts.” He didn’t have much to say one way or the other.
The weekdays flew with classes and studying once again claiming all my attention.
On Wednesday, I realized I hadn’t done my laundry in days. My small wardrobe lay in a mashed pile in the corner of my closet. With a sigh, I plucked out a semi-clean shirt and the jeans from the day before. After tugging on the clothes, I grabbed what I could from the remaining pile and ran downstairs, cramming the washer full. Clay watched me from the top of the stairs. If I didn’t leave now, I’d arrive late for class. I threw in the detergent and ran up the stairs nearly plowing over Clay on my way out the door.
I pulled into the driveway near dinner glancing at the service truck parked in front of the house. Rachel’s car already sat in the garage. Baffled, I watched her glide out the back door, hurrying to stand next to the car. She wore a wide grin.
“You are brilliant!” she said as soon as I opened my car door.
“What’d I do?” I took my bag loaded with library books out of the front seat and closed the door.
“There’s a hot repair man working on the washer in the basement. Thank you for breaking it.” She linked her arm through mine and walked me to the house.
“I didn’t do anything but throw in a load of laundry before I left,” I said it quietly glancing at the open basement door.
Clay sat in the hallway next to the open basement door staring down the stairs. When he heard me, he looked over his shoulder watching us.
“Hey,” Rachel said, “I’m not blaming… I’m just thanking.” She continued to grin.
“I thought you were into Peter,” I whispered.
“I am. It doesn’t mean I don’t window-shop. Go down there and flirt with him and see if we can get twenty percent off our bill.”
“I will not,” I huffed with a laugh, getting myself a drink of water. We still spoke quietly, both of us casting glances at the open door. “It’d be safer to send Clay down there to learn how to fix it than me trying to get us a price break.”
“If our dog starts fixing things,” Rachel said leaning against the counter, “we’re hitting the road and making some money.”
We both heard the heavy tread on the basement stairs at the same time. Rachel’s face lit with anticipation while I eyed the door with dread. Was it too late to run past and hide in my room? With Clay so close to the door, I’d probably trip on him and the repairman would find me lying at his feet.
Then, I saw him. With a body like that, a girl had to look her fill. Denim hugged his long lean legs, and a snug shirt displayed his biceps and abs to perfection. I made an effort to blink to break my stare. I knew better. He’d take my attention as a come-get-me signal for sure. Lifting my eyes to meet his, he smiled broadly and flexed. Well, that just ruined the whole window-shopping experience. A conceded hottie. Their vocabularies didn’t include the word ‘no’ making them difficult to fight off.
The situation called for a retreat. I turned to Rachel and in a single breath said, “I have to go pick up my ring before Clay gets here. He’d be heartbroken if he found out I bent a prong on the setting already. Plus my hand feels naked without it.” While I spoke, I held out my left hand dramatically while looking at it wistfully. Maybe it was over doing it, but I wasn’t sure he’d get the point.
Puzzled, the man looked at Rachel, “The dog?”
A nervous laugh escaped before I could stop it. “We named the dog after my fiancé. He’s got a good sense of humor and likes the dog too.”