Find You in the Dark (Find You in the Dark #1)(52)
Author: A. Meredith Walters

I dipped my hands into the soapy water and took his hands in mine. I felt his fingers curl around to hold me. “I don’t understand. I’m not a mind reader, Clay. You have to help me out a little here.” I implored, dropping my forehead to his chest. Clay wrapped his arms around me, his wet hands gripping my back.

“Please, can we just forget about it. It’s nothing.” He sounded tired and I wanted to push him. But I knew instinctively that it would only make things worse. So I went against my better judgment and let the matter drop. I decided moving back into denial land was my best option.

I went up on my tip toes, placing a kiss on Clay’s mouth. “I love you. You know that right?” Clay gave me a weak smile. “Sure.” He said, turning back to the dishes in the sink. He didn’t say anything else to me. I stood beside him another moment, then left the kitchen. His arctic blast following me into the living room.

Ray was yelling at the television as he and Daniel played some sort of shooting game on the X-box. Clare was drinking yet another alcohol laden concoction and Rachel was curled up under a blanket. I plopped down beside Rachel. “So, what do you guys want to do?”

“Strip poker?” Ray asked, his eyes lighting up. Clare threw a pillow at him. “Shut up, perv!” She yelled at him. The rest of us laughed. Clay came in the room and sat down beside Clare. Could he make it any more obvious he was giving me the brush off?

“There are a bunch of board games in the cabinet over there. We could play one of them.” He suggested. “That sounds like fun, come help me find something.” Clare said, jumping off the couch and pulling Clay by the hand.

I tried to subdue the jealousy that ripped through me. This was Clare! My friend! Her boyfriend was only three feet away. There was no reason to feel weird about their interaction. But watching Clay standing so close to another girl made me want to rip the hair out of my “friend’s” head.

But instead of going all territorial, I decided instead to stay where I was, marinating in my ugly emotions. Clay and Clare agreed on Trivial Pursuit. After Ray and Daniel finished with the X-Box, we set up the game on the coffee table. We decided to play boys against girls but with a twist. Ray and Daniel wanted to turn it into a drinking game. So for every wrong answer, that team had to take a drink.

I was nervous about this. I looked at Clay, to make sure he was okay with it. He looked at me defiantly and took a drink of beer. He seemed to be making a point. Whatever, I wasn’t going to nag at him about it. If he wanted to act like an idiot, so be it.

After a few turns, it became obvious that Clay was dominating the game. My worries about him drinking were unfounded because he missed very few questions. “What is the fastest swimming marine mammal?” Rachel asked. “The Killer Whale.” Clay answered without hesitation. Rachel threw the card at him. “Have you memorized these cards or something? There is no way you know that much useless knowledge!” She gripped. Clay laughed. “Let’s just say I used to have a lot of time on my hands and all I did was read.” He admitted, handing the card back to her.

I answered my fair share of questions and Clay’s frostiness had lessened considerably as the game wound down. “How many Rocky movies were made by 1990?” Clay asked when it was our turn. “Oh! I know this one! There were five movies.” I said, grinning because I knew I was right. Clay turned over the card. “Yep, the answer is five. See, I’m not the only one with a head full of useless knowledge. Nicely done, baby.” He smiled at me, handing me the pink wedge for our wheel.

My body buzzed when his fingers brushed mine to hand me the game piece. Our eyes locked and I felt like maybe he was finally over our earlier misunderstanding. I hated to admit that I was getting very, very drunk. Clare and Rachel were giggling beside me and Ray was all but passed out on the couch.

After a few more rounds, the boys declared victory and us girls had to down the rest of our drinks. My head felt fuzzy and Rachel was laughing about nothing in particular. After that, we decided to play Scategories. Daniel and Rachel decided to team up for this one. Ray and Clare were on another team, leaving Clay and I together.

Suddenly, Daniel’s phone began to ring. He looked down at the screen and got up quickly to answer it. “Hello?” He said quietly, leaving the room. “Who was that?” I asked. “I bet it was Kylie. She’s been calling him all day.” Ray said nonchalantly, waking up a bit so he could get his hands up Clare’s shirt.

“Kylie? I thought they were broken up.” Rachel said quietly. “Yeah, they are, but that didn’t stop them from hooking up last week. I think she just wants another go.” Ray could be such a pig. Clare smacked her boyfriend. “Shut up, Ray!” She hissed at him.

Rachel looked at me and I knew she was hurt. “See, Mags. This is why I won’t ever say or do anything. Because she will always be in the picture.” Rachel threw down the cards in her hand and got to her feet a little unsteadily.

Daniel came back into the room just then and looked at Rachel in confusion. “Where are you going? We’ve got a game to win.” He had tucked his phone back into his pocket. Rachel was wobbling on her feet, the alcohol making itself known. “You know what, Daniel. I’m f**king done.” I got to my feet, ready to intervene.

“Come on, Rachel. Maybe it’s just time to go to bed.” I said quietly, moving to stand beside her. I took her arm and tried to lead her away but Daniel stopped us. “No, Maggie. Let her say what she wants to say. Obviously I’ve pissed her off, again.” He spit out nastily. We were all wasted, this was not going to end up well.

Rachel’s face turned red. “Damn straight you pissed me off! I’m so sick of watching you go back and forth with that skank!” She shrieked. Clay had come up on Rachel’s other side and the two of us were trying to lead her down the hallway.

She yanked her arms away from our grasp and turned back to Daniel. Danny looked livid. “What the hell is it to you?” He growled, moving toward Rachel. I put my hand on Daniel’s chest. “Back off, Danny. You know how she gets when she drinks. Just let her sleep it off.” I implored.

I looked over to Ray and Clare, hoping for some more help, but they had passed out.

“No, Maggie! I’m sick of him walking all over me!” Rachel yelled. Daniel frowned, the veins in his neck bulging. “Walk all over you? What are you talking about? We’re friends, Rachel! We’ve been friends for a long time and lately all we do is fight. The f**ked up thing is I can’t think of one damn thing I’ve done to you!” He yelled, his face an inch from Rachel’s.