“I would give anything to have what you have. Parents and friends who love you. Knowing you have that kind of unconditional love is unbelievable. You don't understand how lucky you are.” He sounded sad and I leaned into his shoulder. “And you don't have that, Clay?” I asked him softly.

Clay looked down at me with his deep, dark eyes and all I saw was this aching loneliness that tore at my heart. I knew without him having to answer me that his life had been a hard one. And that whatever was going on with him had forced him to create this giant wall that effectively kept everyone at a distance. As though he couldn't handle any more personal admissions, Clay suddenly dove back into the water, shutting the door on our confidences.

I was more than a little disappointed. I felt like I was just starting to understand him a little bit and then he had to go and throw the wall back up. But before I could pout or get in a huff, Clay pulled me by my ankle back into the water, starting our water fight all over again. And after a few moments of his playfulness, I had forgotten why I was irritated.

We must have been there for awhile, because I suddenly realized it was getting dark and the air had started to cool. Without thinking about the fact that I was only in my bra and underwear, I got out of the water and went to my cell phone, where I had left it on a tree stump. “Crap, it's 6:30. I've got to get home.”

Now that I was out of the water, I was freezing. And like idiots, we didn't have towels. I heard Clay get out of the water. I didn't want to look at him, feeling suddenly embarrassed by the fact that I was practically naked in front of him. I gathered my clothes and held them to my chest.

Suddenly, I felt Clay's hands on my arms, as he rubbed them up and down to try and generate some warmth. I turned around and looked up at him. Something flashed in his eyes and I felt like there was a definite moment going on. We had been slowly building toward this all day and I knew that something was about to happen.

He moved toward me and his hands stopped, but stayed on my bare skin. Slowly, he pushed my wet bangs out of my face and looked at me with the most intense expression I had ever seen. I felt rooted to the spot, thinking only of how close our bodies were. He wanted to kiss me. I could tell. His eyes fell to my mouth as I nervously licked my lips.

His expression seemed to heat up and he ran the ball of his thumb along the curve of my bottom lip. The pull between us was tightening and I felt sucked into his orbit.

Then my phone rang.

Talk about a mood kill.

“Sorry.” I murmured, looking down at the display and seeing my mom's number. I hurriedly answered it. “Hey, Mom.” I looked at Clay, but he had moved away and was putting on his jeans. “Where are you, Maggie? We've had dinner waiting for almost forty-five minutes.”

I couldn't help but stare as Clay pulled his shirt over his head, his stomach muscles taut. My mouth went dry and i had a hard time swallowing. “Maggie!” My mom said tersely on the other end and I realized I hadn't answered her. “Sorry, Mom. I met up with a friend. I have to get my car from the school and then I'll be home.” I told her. I prayed my mom would be cool and save the thousand questions for when I got home.

No such luck. “Friend? What friend?” She asked. I walked a bit away and dropped my voice. “Clay Reed. I was just showing him around town.” I said quietly into the phone. I heard my mom tapping her fingers on something on the other end. Great, she was pissed. “I don't like the idea of you out with some boy we don't know. I'd like to meet him. Particularly if you're going to be going out with him.”

I tried to not groan into the phone. “We're just friends, Mom. Not a big deal.” I tried placating. Well, my mom wasn't having it. “Well, regardless. You know how we feel about you getting into cars with boys we don't know. I want to meet him.” She was going to be unyielding about this. Just fan-fucking-tastic.

“Fine.” I said curtly. I heard my mom sigh. She knew she had made me mad. “We just worry. It's a scary, scary world out there for a girl.” I didn't say anything. “Just get home. But be safe. We'll talk when you get here.” My mom said and then hung up.

I turned around and saw Clay standing there, looking at me. “Your mom?” He asked. I nodded and realized I was still in my bra and panties. If my mom could see me now, she'd have a heart attack. I tried to discreetly slide into my skirt and I noticed Clay respectfully look away.

After I was dressed he and I walked back to his car. I rang my hair out but shivered as water made it's way down my back. Clay reached over and pulled my heavy, wet hair over my shoulder, his fingers skimming the back of my neck.

“Was she mad you weren't home yet?” He asked after we had gotten in and were backing out of the field. “She's just majorly over protective.” I said, watching him change the gears on the gear shift. There was something seriously sexy about his hands.

“Understandable. I'd be over protective too if you were my daughter.” He smirked at me and I smirked back. Okay, how to broach the subject that they wanted to meet him, without sounding incredibly lame?

“Well, um, Clay. They sort of want to meet you.” Clay cocked his eyebrow and gave me a quick look. “Okay.” He said slowly. I hurried on. “It's just they're weird about me being in cars with guys. And I told her we're just friends, but she still wants to meet you and I promise you it'll be cool. It's just that they want to make sure you're not a serial killer or anything.” I was rambling to try and cover my complete mortification.