Clay shook his head. “You have nothing to be sorry for. It’s not like I haven’t been thinking about what I’m going to do…after. That’s part of the reason I meet with the stupid guidance counselor so damn much. Mr. Hunt is trying to personally shape my life,” he smirked, finally meeting my eyes and I knew we were over that frightening hump.

“Oh yeah? How’s that going?” I asked, my fingers still combing through his hair. I knew he loved it when I did that and I was rewarded with the softness that started to overtake his face.

“Well, if you couldn’t tell by my shitty attitude a few minutes ago, the whole thing is pretty crappy. I have no idea what I want to do after I graduate. I wish I had some sort of plan. But I just don’t,” he said tiredly. I grasped the back of his neck and pulled him to my lips, kissing him soundly.

“Well, I’ll help you figure it out. And we can make sure that whatever you do, will involve the both of us,” I promised and Clay’s small smile made our earlier argument fade into the background.

The sound of Clay’s phone ringing broke the mood and he grabbed it and answered without looking at the screen to see who it was.

“Hello?” he said, still smiling at me. I cocked my head to the side when I saw the way his face blanked. “Hey, no that’s cool. I didn’t forget.” Clay darted a look my way, which made me feel kind of weird. Who was he talking to?

“This weekend? Sure. No, honestly, Ruby won’t care. I’ll text you directions on Friday,” Clay looked at me again and I couldn’t read his expression. Okay, so it sounded like someone was coming for a visit. Why did that make his entire demeanor change?

“Okay. I’ll talk to you then, Maria.” Maria? Who the f**k was Maria?

Clay hung up a few seconds later and dropped the phone back to his desk. Okay, Maggie, don’t pounce. Wait for him to explain about Maria and why she was coming for a visit. Don’t play the part of the jealous shrew. Easier said than done.

Clay jammed his hands in his pockets. Dead giveaway there buddy, I thought nastily.

“Maria?” I said impatiently, tired of waiting for him to grow some balls and give me an explanation.

Clay grimaced, never a good sight. “Uh, yeah. Maria is a friend of mine from Grayson’s. She’s visiting her brother in Alexandria and wants to come down for the night,” he said. A friend from treatment. Okay, that didn’t sound so bad. Then why was Clay acting so strangely?

“I’ve never heard you mention Maria. Were you close?” I asked, watching him carefully. One point for Clay, he not once looked away guiltily. He met my eyes steadily and I knew that this girl, whoever she was, wasn’t some girlfriend he acquired in the short time we were apart. Because for all of Clay’s faults, he wasn’t a cheater. Even though we hadn’t technically been together while he was in Florida. But I knew him well enough to know that he would never have shacked up with someone that soon after ending things with me. He just wasn’t wired that way.

“Yeah, we got pretty tight. She and Tyler were my closest friends there. I was surprised when she called me a few weeks ago and told me she had been discharged. But I guess she was ready. Anyway, she’ll only be here for the day. She asked to stay over and I hope that’s cool with you,” Clay said and I knew that if I had told him it wasn’t he would have called his friend, Maria and told her she would have to make other arrangements.

And that reassurance went a long way in squelching the beginning smolders of jealousy in my gut. “Yeah, that’s fine. I look forward to meeting her.” Okay, so I was lying my ass off. But I didn’t want to admit that this faceless Maria freaked me out a bit. Mostly because she was close to my boyfriend during a time I had been completely shut out and I wasn’t sure how to process that. If it had been a guy I wouldn’t have batted an eyelash. But a girl…well let’s just say I knew how potent the Clay Reed effect was, having been a victim myself on a regular basis.

Clay’s eyebrows rose and it was obvious he saw straight through my fakeness. “Sure you are,” he deadpanned and I smirked.

“In the spirit of total honesty, I should probably tell you that Maria had a bit of…crush on me while we were in treatment.” Of course she did. She had been in treatment, not a coma.

“But she never acted on it and I made it very clear that I loved you and wasn’t interested. So there has never been anything but friendship between us,” he went on in a rush. I reached out and pulled his hand from his jeans pocket, lacing our fingers together.

“Chill out, Clay. I believe you. And while I had a momentary brush with the green eyed monster, I assure you I’m over it. Don’t stress yourself about it,” I assured him. Clay’s lopsided grin was breathtaking.

“Have I told you recently how much I love you?” he asked, pulling our joined hands to his lips and kissing the back of my hand.

“Not in at least five minutes. You’re slacking, Mr. Reed,” I joked. He kissed my hand again.

“I. Love. You,” he said, punctuating each word with a sloppy kiss to my skin. I giggled like a school girl and blushed. Yep, I was a pink, sparkly girl, alright. I just hoped I didn’t have to morph into a fist throwing, claw your eyes out girl around this Maria. Because I wouldn’t think twice about unleashing my inner She-Ra if she pissed me off.

Chapter Twenty-one

-Clay-

Maria had been here for all of ten minutes and I was already regretting my decision to let her stay at Ruby’s for the night. I sensed the change in her the moment she showed up at my house Friday evening. It could have been the inch thick layer of make up on her face or the fact that her skirt barely covered her ass. I felt like I was staring at a stranger. This was not the Maria Cruz from Grayson’s.