Light in the Shadows (Find You in the Dark #2)(44)
Author: A. Meredith Walters

“Well, cool. I’ll leave you to it. Nice seeing you again.” Rachel’s head bobbed a few times and I watched her with amusement. I was definitely making her uncomfortable. Which I found inappropriately funny. See, messed up sense of humor over here!

Before she got too far away, she turned back around and cocked her head sideways. “You know, I’m glad to see you’re doing okay. You had a lot of people worried about you. Maybe we could all get together sometime, you, Maggie, Daniel and me.” Okay, that was not what I was expecting her to say. Well crap, I had nothing sarcastic or droll to say to that.

“Uh, yeah, that sounds g..good,” I stumbled pathetically over my words. Yep, I had been reduced to stuttering simpleton. I had never exactly been welcomed into the fold before. If you’re looking for the black sheep of Jackson High School, then search no further. Rachel had been nicer than most but it was a barely tolerant politeness. This offer not only surprised the shit out of me but left me feeling almost…included.

“Fabulous. I’ll see you at school.” Rachel went back to her tables and I went back to filling out my application, actually looking forward to having the job.

The manager offered to give me a few shifts to start, just to see how things went. I had been surprised that he gave me the job so quickly, but I didn’t ask him what the hell he ws thinking. My first one would be next week. Now that I had accomplished what I had set out to do, I was left with an entire weekend full of nothingness. And having nothing to do was a big no-no.

I jingled my keys in my hand, debating whether I should head over to Ruby’s shop to check in with Tilly when the sound of an engine keeling over caught my attention.

I couldn’t help but laugh as I watched Maggie pull into the parking lot, smoke billowing out of her tailpipe. Then her car stuttered to a stop, the air ringing with its death knell. Luckily she was able to coast into an empty parking spot. I could hear her cursing from twenty feet away and I couldn’t get rid of the goofy smile on my face as I watched her smack the steering wheel over and over again. An angry Maggie was a tiny bit scary but I was a masochist by nature.

I walked over and tapped on her window. She looked up in surprise that turned into embarrassment once she recognized me. Her face was flushed and her neck was splotchy. She got out of the car and slammed the door shut.

“What was I just saying about your car taking my car in a cage fight?” I leaned back to examine it. “I take it back.” Maggie groaned and rolled her eyes.

“She put up a good fight but you’re right, it’s time to put her to pasture.” Maggie patted the hood. She reached into the back seat and grabbed her purse and a plastic grocery bag, then turned around to look at me.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, looking over my shoulder towards Bubbles.

“Putting in an application. You are now looking at the newest addition of the Bubbles wait staff. Don’t get too hot and bothered by the purple apron.” I held my hands out to keep her back and she reluctantly laughed.

“I’ll work on keeping my hands to myself.” Her smile fell and she scuffed her shoe into the asphalt, looking away from me. “Well, I’d better get inside and see if Rachel can give me a ride home. And she’d better considering I was only driving around in my death trap because she needed these shoes she left at my house. You know because the other forty pairs she owns just wouldn’t do for her date with Daniel later.” She held up a bag in way of explanation. “So, I’d better get in there. See ya around.”

She started to walk around me when I reached out to grab her arm. Come on Clay, seize the moment, I yelled at myself. My life had become all about second chances. So why not jump at this one?

“What do you say, you come with me to Ruby’s shop and then I can give you a ride home? I could use some help with the inventory. Ruby hasn’t been in for a while and the place is a mess.” I didn’t drop her arm; instead I slid my hand down her skin until I had ahold of her hand. I felt like a bit of a manipulator. I was using her need to help to get her to spend time with me. Well, whatever worked, right?

Maggie looked at my hand holding hers and I realized I was seriously overstepping here. I moved my fingers from her skin and curled them into a fist before jamming them into my pocket. I instantly understood her anger during our last conversation. I was sending some seriously messed up mixed messages.

But it’s like I couldn’t help myself. Being around her was more intoxicating than any drug. My body seemed to move of its own volition, seeking out any means to touch her. She was and always will be my weakness.

My heart and mind were in a constant battle where Maggie was concerned. The near panic I felt when I was around her, made it difficult to see anything else. But my heart needed her. And that’s where we always had our problems. Because I couldn’t need her, not anymore. I could want her, long for her, but never need. Because that spelled disaster for both of us. And I had had more than enough disaster in my life.

I was determined to do right by her and I had sworn that meant staying the f**k away from her. But being near her again made doing the right thing nearly impossible. In fact, I was thinking the right thing needed to take a hike. I was ready to do the what felt good thing for a couple of hours.

For a guy who struggled with finding his place in the world, standing next to Maggie, I understood one thing on a very fundamental level. Wherever she went, whatever she did, that is where I belonged.

Maggie chewed on her bottom lip for a minute and then gave me a small smile. “Just give me a minute. Let me take Rachel her hooker shoes.” She glanced over her shoulder as she made her way into the restaurant, as though to make sure I was still waiting for her.

You crazy girl, don’t you know I’d wait for you forever?

Maggie came back a few minutes later, this time wearing a large smile. Could that be for me? I sure freaking hoped so.

“Let’s go.” She went around to the passenger side of my car and I followed her to unlock the door, just as I had a thousand times before. Holding the door for her, she climbed in with a soft “Thanks.”

I couldn’t control the huge grin that spread across my face. My heart beat wildly in my chest, a reminder that this could still end very badly. That my screwed up head was still capable of f**king it all up. But for right now, I was letting my heart do the leading.

Maggie reached down into the pocket of the door and pulled out my CDs. They were the same ones that I had always had. Thumbing through them, she chose one and put it in the player. The familiar strains of Placebo came out of the speakers and I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel. “Nice choice,” I said, shooting her a sideways smile. We always had shared a common love of alternative glam rock. Okay, so I’m a closet Davie Bowie fan, what of it?