He Says He's Just A Friend

Chapter 54 - King of My Heart

- Emmett -

I gasped when I opened my front door. Clay stood there in an amazing suit with ashy silver hair. "Holy shit!" My mouth fell open. I raised a hand to cover it.

Clay reached up to touch his hair, combed back from his face. "Is it awful? Do you hate it?" He scrunched his face in distress. "I knew I shouldn't have gone with such a drastic change. I was just gonna get a few highlights, but between Rachel and the stylist egging me on, I was all hyped up and I just went with it."

I shook my head, mystified and awed. I didn't think it possible to become any more attracted to him. But, somehow, he'd done it. "It looks awesome."

"Really?" The compliment immediately shifted Clay's demeanor from embarrassed to confident. He straightened his posture. His lips twisted into a sultry smirk. He stepped forward, across the threshold, nudging the door shut. His hand cupped my cheek while he leaned in for a kiss, sucking on my bottom lip.

I broke the kiss before it got too heated, pressing my forehead to his. "I love the suit, too. Very hot." I brushed my fingers over his lapel.

"Back at ya." Clay slipped his arms around my waist.

Mom rounded the corner from the kitchen. Her eyes bugged out at seeing Clay, but she quickly regained her composure. "Don't you both look handsome?" She pulled out her phone and gestures for us to get closer. "Let me get a picture."

Clay and I leaned our heads together, holding each other close. She snapped a few shots, demanding different poses for each angle. I smiled, because I knew Clay would. Also, because for the first time in a long time, I had a reason to smile. I had a gorgeous boyfriend who loved me and treated me like I was the most important person in the world.

It seemed so strange that Clay and Alfie were such good friends—or had been, once upon a time. They couldn't be more opposite. Especially in their treatment of me. Alfie used me for his own needs, disregarding me whenever he had no use for me. Though, I had to be at his beck and call 24/7, or else he'd freak out on me, acting like I didn't care about him.

Clay, on the other hand, spent weeks pining for me in misery because he thought being my friend was what would make me happiest. We'd since talked about that, both promising we would never bottle up our feelings for the other's sake. It wasn't healthy for us or our relationship for either of us to be miserable. After all, if one of us had confided our feelings sooner, we could have been together ages ago.

"You aren't going to post those pictures anywhere, are you?" Clay asked. Worry lines creased his forehead.

Mom shook her head. "I just thought you boys would like a memento of the evening."

I stroked Clay's face to calm his nerves. He must have shaved right before coming over; his skin was smooth as silk.

"Are you ready?" Clay asked.

"Definitely." I waved goodbye to my mother as Clay opened the front door, allowing me to exit first.

I gasped, my eyes going wide at the sight of the little white Honda sitting at the curb. "You got your car back! How?"

"I had to promise to find a volunteer job to prove that I'm responsible enough to have it." Clay stuffed his hands in his pockets and chuckled. "Honestly, I think they finally just got tired of me begging. And not just me, Rachel has been on them about it, too. She hates having them drive her to school."

"Where are you volunteering? Maybe I can pick up some shifts, too, so we can spend more time together."

Clay shrugged and opened the passenger side door for me. "I'll let you know when I figure it out."