Cloud Walking (A Find You in the Dark novella) (4 page)

     But Mom hadn't taken it well.  Because then she was stuck with all the responsibility of being both parents.  And unfortunately, Kaitlyn got the shaft.  I tried to do as much as I could, but it could never replace what she was missing.  And Kaitlyn never wasted an opportunity to remind me that I had no real authority over her, especially when I was trying to enforce some sort of rule. 

     Kaitlyn was eight going on eighteen.  She wore clothing way too old for her and fought with Mom about letting her wear make-up.  I didn't relate to her on any level.  She and I were so completely different; it was amazing that we shared a gene pool. 

     I couldn't remember being so obsessed with clothes and boys when I was eight flipping years old.  I was pretty girlie now, I could admit that.  I liked being cute and pretty and I loved to shop.  But that hadn't kicked in until I was at least twelve.  I felt like Kaitlyn had been that way since the womb.  She came into the world demanding skinny jeans and tight shirts.  It was just weird. 

     I went into the kitchen and threw two pizzas into the oven.  If Daniel was coming over, I definitely had to be prepared.  That boy could eat me out of house and home.  I straightened up the living room while I waited for the pizzas to cook. 

     “Daniel's on his way over to study.  After dinner, you need to get ready for bed and do your homework,” I told my sister.  She perked up at the mention of Daniel.  She had had a crush on him for years now.  Okay, so maybe I could see that we were related.  Our mutual love and awe of Daniel Lowe clearly showed a propensity for heartbreak and ill-placed devotion in our blood.

     “Okay.  Can I help you get dinner together?” Kaitlyn offered, to my surprise.  But I realized it was due to her excitement over our impending company.  Well, whatever the reason, I wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.

     “Sure, go get the plates and napkins together.  We'll just eat at the coffee table,” I told her, stacking up magazines and putting them on the bookshelf.  Our house was old, built in the late 1800s and it felt it.  There was a constant draft and no matter how much you cleaned it, it always felt dusty.  The one bathroom we had, smelled of must and mildew.  I wished we could move, but the rent was cheap.

     There was a knock at the door a short while later and Kaitlyn bounded over to answer it.  Daniel stood there, a huge grin on his face, holding out a white and green paper bag.  “Hey Kaity!  How's my favorite girl?” he asked as my sister hugged him tightly around the middle.  She was positively beaming.

     Daniel maneuvered himself inside, as Kaitlyn continued to hug him.  I thought I'd need a crow bar to pry her off.  He handed me the bag of donuts after finally getting Kaitlyn to relinquish her grip.  “For you, my lady,” he said and I couldn't help but smile.  He was so darn charming. 

    “Why thank you, kind sir.  I have pizza if you're hungry,” I said, tugging on Kaitlyn's arm so she would follow me and stop trying to hang off my friend. 

     “Hell yeah!” Daniel whooped, rushing past me into the kitchen.  I laughed.  By the time I caught up with him, he already had his face stuffed with pizza.   Kaitlyn giggled and took a piece for herself. 

     “Does your mom not feed you?” I joked, scooping up a pile of goopy cheese and dough.  The sauce had run over the side and it dripped on the counter as I angled it toward my mouth.  Daniel made a noise as he chewed.  He went to the cabinet and pulled out a glass, filling it with water.  He was as comfortable here as in his own house.  More so probably.  He didn't like being at home, as was confirmed by his next statement.

     “Mom and
Stephen
are at some charity event.  I doubt I was even on her radar,” he said with a forced lightness.  I gave him a sympathetic smile.  Daniel had not taken his parents' divorce very well.  I'm sure the fact that his mother had been caught in the act of screwing her boss by his dad, had something to do with it.

     Now Daniel and his mother were living with the boss, or
Stephen,
in his big house on the other side of town.  Daniel hated Stephen.  And I thought he had come to sort of hate his mother as well.  Not that I blamed him.  Sure, my mom was negligent, but it was because she was trying to provide us with a life.  Daniel's mom was negligent because she just didn't give a crap.  She was entirely wrapped up in her life with her sugar daddy.  And poor Danny was pushed out into the proverbial cold.

     His dad had moved out of state, but Daniel still went to see him in the summer.  Thinking about my mom and Daniel's mom, it was crazy to think how close they had been at one time with Maggie's mother.  Maggie's mom was the most amazing parent I knew.  She was warm, supportive and loving. Everything that Daniel and I lacked in our own maternal relationships. 

     Our three mothers were best friends in high school.  They had been in each other's weddings and planned one another's baby showers.  That's how the three of us became so close.  We were thrown into this life all together.  Having been born within four months of each other. 

     But as with a lot of things, over time, their friendship slipped into their past.  My mom rarely spoke to Mrs. Young anymore and I knew she could no longer stand Ms. Lowe.  But here we were, seventeen years later.  Their friendship had fizzled out but ours was still going strong.  For the most part.

     We finished our pizza and herded Kaitlyn into her room to change into her pajamas and to start on her homework.  She grumped the whole time.  But Daniel was magic with her.  And she finally did what she was supposed to do.

     “I think I need to have you over here every night.  She's never that agreeable,” I commented after we had settled onto the couch.  Daniel grabbed my Chemistry notes and slid closer to me, so we could look at them together.

     Daniel quirked a smile.  “Anytime, Rach.  I can be your manny whenever you want,” he said, his eyes sparkling at me. 

     Our knees brushed one another and I could smell his aftershave and a scent that was one hundred percent Danny.  I had known that smell my entire life.  I often wished I could bottle it up so I could smell it whenever I wanted to.  Did that make me a crazy stalker?  God, I hoped not.

     I flipped through sheets of paper in my binder.  “Just read over those and then we can quiz each other,” I suggested, feeling a little breathless at how close he was.  My heart had kicked into overdrive and I my hands were clammy.

     I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.  I needed to compose myself.  I was afraid my feelings for Daniel were written all over my too expressive face.  I couldn't hide anything from him.  Never had been able to.  He had just been too oblivious to see what was right in front of his face.  Or maybe he hadn't wanted to see the depth of my feelings for him.   So I tried to blank my face.  Tried to quell my nerves that had suddenly gone crazy in my stomach. 

     When I opened my eyes, Daniel was looking at me strangely.  As though he were seeing something he had never noticed before.  It was the kind of look that made me question a lot of things.  I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and dropped my head bashfully.  “What?” I asked, feeling a sudden change in the air between us.  A crackling sort of charge that hadn't been there before.

     “You look really pretty tonight, Rach,” Daniel said softly.  I blinked in surprise and glanced up at him.  His deep blue eyes were blazing at me and I watched in fascinated disbelief as he inched toward me. 

     “Uh, thanks,” I gulped as his leg pressed along the length of mine.  The whole time, his eyes never left my face.  My heart was beating so fast I thought I'd pass out. 

     Daniel slowly reached up and ran his fingers through the messy waves at the side of my face.  Crap.  Was this really happening?  My tongue darted out and wet my bottom lip.  Danny's eyes dropped to my mouth to follow the motion of my tongue.  His eyes seemed to smolder a bit and I had the crazy thought that he was about to kiss me.

     That was seriously nuts.  Why would he kiss
me?
  He was with Kylie Good.  Miss Perfect Blow Job herself. 

     But here we were, sitting so close together, we could be breathing each other's air and we were just staring at each other.    I could see that Daniel's breathing had gone a little shallow and his hand still moved through my hair in a lazy fashion, as though he did it all the time.

     The moment went on forever and I thought I would lose it if something didn't happen soon.

     “RACHEL!” Kaitlyn yelled from her bedroom.  Well something happened all right.  Kaitlyn's bellow snapped both of us out of whatever was going on between us.  Daniel jumped back as though he was on fire and I hopped to my feet. 
     “I guess I should see what she needs,” I said lamely, hurrying down the hallway.  Away from the thing that almost was.

Chapter Five    

~Daniel~

    
Idiot! 

     What the hell had just happened?  I watched Rachel as she scurried down the hall to her sister's room.  My hand lay in my lap.  The same hand I had just run through Rachel's hair.  It was like a compulsion, I hadn't been able to stop.   I sat there and glared at it for the treasonous thing that it was.   My fingers clenched and I took a deep breath.

     Something had just gone down between Rachel and me and I wasn't sure I wanted to think too long about it.  Because she hadn't been Rachel-my-best-friend-since-birth-Bradfield.  No.  She had been someone else entirely.

     I had wanted to kiss her. 

     Hell, I had wanted to do more than kiss her if I was being truthful with myself. 

     What was that about?

     My mind was whirling a thousand miles a minute and I was having a difficult time settling down other parts of my body.  Certain areas below my belt had been called into action just by looking at my best friend.  When the fuck had that started happening? 

     I needed to get out of here.  I needed to breathe and I needed to think.  My nose was full of the smell of Rachel's shampoo and it was
not
helping with getting my raging hormones under control. 

     What was wrong with me?

     I barely noticed Rachel come back into the room; I was so knee deep in my thoughts.  She snapped her fingers in front of my face, causing me to blink.  “You awake over there?” she asked me lightly.  But I could hear the forced casualness in her tone. 

     I was almost scared to look at her.  But I couldn't help myself.  I
had
to look at her.  Maybe the whole wanting to get her naked thing was a fluke. 

     Yeah.  It was a fluke. 

     I had myself pretty well convinced by the time I lifted my eyes to her face. 

     Her beautiful, perfect face.

     And her amazing body that I knew was just as amazing without clothing.

     Shit!  Not a fluke!  SO, NOT A FLUKE!

     I dropped my eyes back to my lap.  This was going to be a serious problem.  I leaned over and started shoving my stuff back into my bag.  “What are you doing?” Rachel asked in confusion.  And I hated the sound of the hurt in her voice.

     Just great.  I was hurting her.  Again.  Why couldn't I stop being an asshole for two seconds?  Oh that's right, because my insides were currently a flipping mess because of a sudden realization that my best friend was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. 

     “Uh, I just remembered that I was supposed to get together with Jake in a little bit.  I'll study later.”  I said lamely.  That excuse was weak at best.  I still couldn't look at her.  Scared that if I did, I would attack her.  And by attack, I mean maul her face with my lips.

     I started thinking about pressing her tiny, pert little body against mine.  Running my hands along her sexy curves.  Tasting her tongue as I...

     I squeezed my eyes shut.

     Think about Granny Lowe naked.  Ugh.  Okay, now think about Granny Lowe and Stephen naked.  Together.