He Says He's Just A Friend

Chapter 35 - You're All I Need to Get By

- Clay -

Chewing on my lip, I pulled into the gas station down the street from Heron Prep. Emmett sat on the curb outside the store, sipping on a giant Coke slushy. His whole body perked up when he noticed my car. He hopped up, brushing off the seat of his pants. An adorable grin spread across his face.

That's not what today is about, I reminded myself.

I just wanted one last day with Emmett, as I had him now. I had practiced the words to tell him how I felt, but that was for tonight. Today, I wanted time with my friend. In case Emmett rejected me and things got weird between us. Or if he didn't and...

Nope. I stopped myself from going down that road. I didn't want to get my hopes up. It would only hurt that much more when they inevitably got dashed.

One way or another, at the end of this day, everything would change between us. Even if Emmett still wanted to be my friend, things wouldn't be the same once he knew my feelings.

I pulled into the parking spot in front of him. When he opened the car door, I whistled suggestively. "Look at you, Mr. Sexy-GQ-Man."

I had never seen Emmett in his full uniform, except in pictures. He usually changed out of it before I saw him. Or he'd stripped all the components down to the basics, only leaving his khaki pants and white button-down.

Emmett laughed as he got in. He held his cup toward me, already loosening his striped tie. "Want some?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

I took the cup and sipped on it. Emmett shrugged out of his blazer, tossing it into the backseat. He unbuttoned the top three buttons on his shirt, giving a glimpse of the olive skin beneath. It gave me a charge. It seemed weird to feel so excited by the sight of a bit of his chest, given that I had already seen him fully shirtless.

"Woah, greedy," Emmett said, reaching for the cup. "I said some. Not the whole damn thing."

I gave a sheepish grin. "Sorry."

"You're lucky you're cute."

A lump formed in my throat. I fought off a smile, using backing the car out of the space as an excuse to turn my head—even though I had a backup camera.

Emmett really just said that.

I wondered if I could make it to tonight without confessing. The butterflies in my stomach seemed particularly agitated, knowing the clock was ticking down before the big moment.

"You know, I was mostly joking when I asked you to ditch class," I said, pulling onto the road. "I can't believe you said yes."

The joy I felt when Emmett agreed took it from a joke to a necessity. I had to see him. The sooner the better.

"Now you tell me." Emmett nudged my arm and laughed.

There it was. A genuine Emmett laugh. The dazzling smile that accompanied it melted my insides to goo. I just wanted to lunge across the car and smash my lips against Emmett's in a sloppy, ferocious kiss that told him how I felt without needing a single word.

Emmett placed the empty cup in the cup holder. "Was it hard for you to sneak off campus? 'Cause it was a bitch for me."

"Not really." I shook my head. "I just walked out of the building when the bell rang and went straight to my car and left."

"I kinda hate you. Carrie had to fake cramps to get me out the door."

"Ha!" I would have to remember to be extra nice to Carrie next time I saw her. "So I guess that means you guys made up, huh?"