Crush

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-One

Cami-

"I have a surprise for you," Clay said with a smile as he pulled me into the hall.

"A surprise? For what?" He was quite handsome in his tuxedo and mask tonight. I'd noticed several of the girls staring at him. It made me hopeful he'd soon have a girlfriend all his own.

"Well, if I told you it wouldn't be a surprise now, would it? Turn around."

"Turn around?"

"Yes. I'm going to blindfold you so you won't see where we're going until we get there."

"I don't know. This seems awfully suspicious," I teased, but I did as he asked.

He fastened a soft, silky cloth over my eyes. "You can trust me, Cami," he whispered in my ear, then took my elbow and guided me along.

"So what brought on this surprise?"

"A couple of things actually. The end of our senior year is coming up, and you'll be turning eighteen soon. We're moving on into different chapters of our life, so I thought we should celebrate all the time we've been friends with something special."

"You're always so sweet and thoughtful. Thank you, Clay. I can't wait to see what you have planned."

I heard a car door open. "Watch your head. I'm going to help you get inside."

I grabbed his arms to steady myself as I sat down. "Make sure you get all of my dress into the car."

"Got it," he answered, closing it.

I touched the cloth over my eyes.

"Hey! No peeking!" he ordered as he slid in beside me. "Keep your hands in your lap or I'll have to tie them too. We can't have you ruining the surprise."

"Yes sir!" I laughed as I dropped them.

The car started and we were moving.

"This is weird. Why don't you tell me where we're going? People are going to think you're kidnapping me or something."

He chuckled. "Nice try. You're going to have to be patient."

I felt my cell start to vibrate in the tiny clutch I had strapped to my wrist. "Oh. My phone is ringing."

"I'll get it for you," Clay said, and the strap slipped off my wrist.

"Hello, Cami's phone." He paused. "No problem. It happens." I heard a beep. "Somebody calling for Julie."

"Ah, wrong number then."

"Yep."

"Are we going far?"

"No. We'll be there in a couple of minutes."

"So it's a close surprise." I tried, but couldn't figure out where he might be taking me. "I had a lot of fun with you at the dance tonight."

"Me too. It was just like old times, wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was. I couldn't help but notice all the girls staring at you. I think your new style has garnered quite the fan club."

"Nah. I don't care about any of those girls anyway. If they didn't like me before, why should I care what they think now?"

"Well, it's their loss then."

He reached over and squeezed my hand. "You're the best, Cami. You know that, right?"

"Just happy to call you my friend."