Clark cocked a brow. “You’re comparing a romance movie to a funeral?”
“Not like that. Just…this feeling of foreboding, like I’m never going to see you again, which is ridiculous because you’re stuck with me now. Your bed is more comfortable, and your apartment is more comfortable, and…well, you know, you’re there.”
He gave me my favorite smile. “I like it when you’re there too. And you’re welcome at my place anytime. In fact, I was thinking you don’t have to give me the key back. I’ll let Eddie know you’ll still be around. I mean, if we’re going to keep doing this and all, you should be able to come and go. I know how much you like my bed. Might as well make it easy for you to get to it.”
Well, well, well. I was liking the sound of this. “Really?”
“Yeah.”
“So like, if I missed your bed…” Or, you know, missed Clark… “Then after work sometimes I could just come over and climb into it with you?”
He crossed his arms, his smile growing. “That’s the general idea. I wouldn’t want to deny you my mattress.”
“It’s a really great mattress.” A.k.a., Clark is great.
I was still testing the boundaries here. I knew what we’d said before, but now this wasn’t a roommates-hooking-up thing anymore, so I asked, “What if you bring someone home?”
Please, don’t bring someone home. Ever. Okay?
I frowned inwardly. What in the fuck had that been?
And now, it seemed, it was Clark’s turn to frown. “Sky…I thought we weren’t…with anyone else. I know you’re not into relationships, but like I said, I’m not the kind of guy who can do this if you’re with someone else. Obviously, I won’t be with anyone else either.”
I breathed. Holy fuck, I’d been scared he would say something else, which made no sense. I wasn’t supposed to care if he slept with anyone else, and this was Clark. I knew he wasn’t the type to do that anyway. I said, “I don’t want anyone else but you right now.”
“I don’t want anyone else but you either.”
Then we were kissing, and the moment felt way more like a romance movie than it did a funeral, which I liked much better.
“Knock, knock!” My door pushed open as Mom spoke rather than putting her hand to the wood. “Oh my God! Clark! It’s you, and you’re kissing Sky!” She bounced up and down like a twelve-year-old. Typical mom behavior, right? I sighed.
“Maybe actually knock next time,” I told her, but Clark was blushing.
“Hush, you. I’m excited to see Clark.”
Mom playfully nudged me out of the way, then wrapped her arms around him. He tensed up for a second, as if unsure what to do, then relaxed into it. Sure, Clark and I had been close in gymnastics, but it wasn’t as if Mom knew him that well. You’d think he was her long-lost son.
“It’s good to see you again, Ms. Davison.”
“Oh, stop that. It’s Aura to you!” Clark beamed, and she added, “You know, I knew there was something special about the two of you. Sky was so obsessed with you when you were kids. When you stopped coming, it crushed his heart, and then when you reconnected, it was like no time had passed. It makes my heart happy.”
I groaned. “Gee, thanks, Ma. Way to put me on blast.” Not that it wasn’t true, but it made me sound like I was in love with the guy, and…nope. I so wasn’t going there.
Mom linked an arm through Clark’s. “We really need to get to know each other better. If you’re important to Sky, you’re important to me. Just don’t break my baby’s heart, okay? He’s got a bigger one than he lets on.”
Clark’s gaze found mine, and said heart started doing backflips. “I won’t,” Clark replied just as I said, “It’s not like that, Mom,” immediately regretting my words.
If Mom noticed the tension in the room just doubled, she didn’t remark on it. “Let’s go have a late lunch together.”
“Okay,” Clark said, when it was sort of the last thing I wanted to do. I was hoping to spend some time just the two of us. Plus, who knew what Mom would say?
The look on his face, though… Fuck, it was pure joy. He wanted this, wanted to get to know her and spend time with her. “Sure,” I agreed.
The three of us walked to a diner close by. Mom kept her arm locked with Clark’s the whole time. She also kept calling him my boyfriend. I corrected her the first time, but after that I let it go. When Mom got something into her head, there was no getting around it.
Clark loved her. It didn’t take a genius to see that. They chatted and laughed and he asked her a million questions and answered all of hers. It was…ugh, it was sweet, and by the time our meal ended, I was glad she’d stopped by. That they got to have this moment.
We walked back to my apartment and Mom’s car. “Thank you for indulging me,” she said to both of us.
“It was fun,” Clark said. “We should do it again. You can come to our apartment for dinner sometime.”
Our. He said our apartment. I wasn’t sure he realized it. Mom definitely did.
“I’d like that.” Mom hugged him. “Oh, you are the sweetest. I’m so glad my Sky has you in his life again.”
Clark looked at me over her shoulder, his eyes serious and intense. “I’m glad too.”
Mom kissed his cheek, hugged me, then got into her car and drove away.
“She’s the best,” Clark said. “I forgot how contagious her personality is.”
Yeah, yeah it was. Her reaction today worried me, though. She’d warned me to be careful before, but today it was as if she thought Clark and I had what she was always searching for. I tried to shove that fear aside.
Clark had a late-afternoon meeting, so he left right after that. I went back to my apartment, and felt…out of place. It was too quiet, too…not Clark’s.
I thought about what he’d said to me the other day, about the fun I’d had at lunch, despite being concerned about Mom’s insight. Then I thought about myself, what I wanted. I got on my computer and applied for the job.
32
Clark
“I’m stuck in traffic,” Dad said into the phone. “Can you lead the team meeting for me?”
“Sure thing.” I glanced out my office door to the main floor. “What about Mo—”
“She’s with an important client.”
“Got it. Will do.” I hung up, pulled up the charts he’d emailed me from his phone, read over the main points, then went into the conference room, where ten other agents were seated.
“Um, Dad’s late, so…I’m gonna run the meeting.” Nobody blinked or seemed to give a damn, so why the hell was I so nervous? My parents held these meetings every week to touch base with the staff, and to be honest, they could get old. A meeting was a meeting, and the sooner I got this over with, the sooner they could move on with their day.
I pulled up the PowerPoint presentation and got started, reciting the sales numbers and pointing out the stars of the week, trying to imitate what my parents would usually do.