He Says He's Just A Friend

Chapter 16 - I Want the One I Can't Have

- Clay -

It was mid-morning on Sunday when my phone dinged with a new message. I picked it up and immediately started smiling.

EMMETT: Hey. Are you busy?

CLAY: Nope.

Normally, at this time on Sundays, me and the guys would go out to the ATV track, or fishing, or even just hang around one of our houses. I couldn't remember why Sunday had become our obligatory "Bro Time" as Brandon dubbed it; it had just been that way for years. But not today. Brandon was usually the main instigator of Bro Time, and he was out shopping with his mom for a brand new school wardrobe, despite having two full walk-in closets of clothes. He rarely wore anything more than a few times, yet he refused to get rid of anything.

Jackson was also busy spending the day with Carrie, since they probably wouldn't get much time together in the next few days, as school started tomorrow for us.

I was secretly glad when I got their messages last night. I wanted to relax today. The first-day-of-school nerves were mixing with my I-definitely-positively-think-I-might-have-gay-feelings-for-my-friend nerves, which was a recipe destined to make my anxiety flare up if I didn't keep calm.

But just the thought of being with Emmett for a little while made all of that disappear.

EMMETT: Do you want to hang out?

And there it was. The opening for Emmett Time. I chewed on my lip, an uncontrollable grin took over my face.

CLAY: Sure.

EMMETT: Should I come to you or...

CLAY: B there n 5.

EMMETT: 🥳🎉

I scurried around my room, grabbing clothes to throw on. I chose my plaid gray shorts and the powder blue Port United shirt Brandon gave me a few months ago when I saw it on his bed and mentioned that I liked it. It still had the tags on it when Brandon tossed it at me and told me to take it. Forty dollars for a plain t-shirt with a tiny lighthouse logo on the chest. I tried to deny the offer, but he said if I didn't take it, he'd throw it away to spite me. As soon as I tried it on, I knew it was a size smaller than anything I'd buy for myself. Brandon was leaner than me. We both worked out a lot, but Brandon did it for appearance's sake, to have a sculpted physique; I did it because it helped to ease my stress—the muscles were a nice bonus.

I tried to use the sizing issue as an excuse to refuse it, but Brandon said, "It's the perfect size. You just don't know how to dress properly. Seriously, you have a killer body, bro. Embrace it. Give the ladies a show."

I chose the shirt today because Brandon was right, as he usually was about such things. I always seemed to get extra attention from girls while wearing it. And I kind of secretly hoped that Emmett would appreciate it, too. Maybe I could make Emmett see me in a desirable way. Emmett fell for Duke. Me and Duke had similar builds. Okay, so maybe Duke had larger muscles, and he was like four inches taller than me, but it was possible.

Right?

That's also why I put on a spritz of the Burberry cologne my parents got me last Christmas. I didn't used to wear cologne much, but being around Emmett, who always smelled of some sweet perfume-y scent, I felt the need to smell nice. I had to stop myself from putting some on yesterday for our hike. That would've been too weird.

I pushed my feet into my favorite Nikes, already tied for the perfect level of comfort and fit. I slipped out through the back door in my room, hoping to avoid my parents, neither of whom worked on Sundays.