I choked on my juice.

“That’s great,” I managed to gasp out as I glanced at Clay.

A small smug smile curled his lips. I needed to find a nice way to tell him his wolfie smile looked creepy.

“Hey, while I was waiting for him, Peter called. He said he had a good time last night and hoped Scott hadn’t ruined his chance by coming on too strong. He’s never seen Scott act in any way but smooth. He naturally thinks Scott’s falling hard for you.”

Both Clay and I gawked at her. I know my jaw had dropped a little and wondered if Clay’s had done the same.

“I’m just repeating.” She held up her hands with a laugh at my expression. “Anyway, Peter said Scott’s already been bugging him about getting your number to set up another date. Given what you told me, I said no, that last night was just a friendly get together and that you were seeing someone else.”

Clay’s gusty sigh of relief competed with mine. We’d been through enough today. Okay, fine, he’d had to go through all of it while I just stood by. But still...the stress of it, along with the overuse of my sight, wore me out.

Looking down at him, I realized how much I didn’t mind having him there. We’d at least become friends of sorts. But I worried I treated him unfairly by allowing him to hang around. Would that mislead him to think our relationship might grow to more than friendship? I hoped not. If he ever thought I asked too much, he could always walk away.

“You know, sometimes that dog creeps me out with how human he acts,” Rachel said, shaking her head. “Anyway, I’m going to meet up with Peter for another try at a date. We’re going to see a movie, and this time, I’m not asking you to come with.” She had a huge smile on her face as she walked past us toward her room.

“Thank you!” I called to her retreating form.

Chapter 10

The rest of the weekend passed in a blur of studying. Whenever Rachel left to meet Peter, Clay and I would sprawl on the living room floor. I would read my books while he read his, and I turned his pages. We didn’t talk much. He seemed content just to lie by me.

Because of Clay’s sensitive hearing, we always moved back into my room before Rachel could get from the car to the door.

“I bet I’m looking for a new roommate before the next semester starts,” I said to Clay when I heard Rachel come through the door late Sunday night. He didn’t have much to say one way or the other.

On Wednesday, I realized I hadn’t done my laundry in days. My meager wardrobe lay in a mashed pile in the corner of my closet. With a sigh, I plucked out a semi-clean shirt and the jeans from the day before. After I dressed, I grabbed what I could from the remaining heap and ran downstairs to cram it into the washer. Clay watched me from the top of the stairs. If I didn’t leave now, I’d arrive late for class. I threw in the detergent, ran up the stairs, and nearly plowed Clay over on my way out the door.

When I pulled into the driveway that evening, there was a service truck parked in front of the house, and Rachel’s car already sat in the garage. Baffled, I watched her hurry out the back door. She wore a wide grin.

“You are brilliant!” she said as soon as I opened my car door.

“What’d I do?” I took my bag loaded with library books out of the front seat and closed the door.

“There’s a hot repairman working on the washer in the basement. Thank you for breaking it.” She linked her arm through mine and walked me to the house.

“I didn’t do anything but throw in a load of laundry before I left,” I said quietly as I glanced at the open basement door.

Clay sat in the hallway, staring down the stairs. When he heard me, he turned his head to watch us.

“Hey,” Rachel said. “I’m not blaming...I’m just thanking.” She continued to grin.

“I thought you were into Peter,” I whispered.

“I am. It doesn’t mean I don’t window-shop. Go down there and flirt with him and see if we can get twenty percent off our bill.”

“I will not,” I huffed with a laugh. I moved away from her and got myself a drink of water. “It’d be safer to send Clay down there to learn how to fix it than me trying to get us a price break.”

“If our dog starts fixing things, we’re hitting the road and making some money,” said Rachel.

We both heard the heavy tread on the basement stairs at the same time. Rachel’s face lit with anticipation while I eyed the door with dread. Was it too late to run past and hide in my room? With Clay so close to the door, I’d probably trip on him, and the repairman would find me lying at his feet.

Then, I saw the guy. Denim hugged his long, lean legs, and a snug shirt displayed his biceps and abs to perfection. I knew better than to stare; he would take my attention as a come-get-me signal for sure. But with a body like that, a girl had to look her fill. When my eyes finally met his, he smiled broadly and flexed.

Well, that just ruined the whole window-shopping experience. A conceited hottie. Their vocabularies didn’t include the word no, which made it difficult to fight them off. The situation called for a retreat. I turned to Rachel.

“I have to go pick up my ring before Clay gets here. He’d be heartbroken if he found out I bent a prong on the setting already. Plus, my hand feels naked without it.” While I spoke, I held out my left hand dramatically and gave it a wistful look. Maybe it was over doing it, but I wasn’t sure he’d get the point otherwise.

“The dog?” the man asked with a puzzled look at Rachel.

A nervous laugh escaped before I could stop it. “We named the dog after my fiancé. He has a good sense of humor and likes the dog, too.”

I bolted out the door and got back into my car. Clay hadn’t been fast enough for a change, and I had to leave him behind.

Not knowing what else to do, I went grocery shopping and took my time to read the labels of the different orange juices the store offered. Even after the drawn-out shopping trip, I had to drive past the house three times before the truck finally disappeared.

When I staggered in through the back door laden with groceries, Clay sat waiting for me in the kitchen. I set down the bags and peeked around the corner to look for Rachel. When I didn’t see or hear her, I spoke to Clay in a whisper.

“You better keep reading the books I bring home. You can be our repair guy. It gives me the willies that he knows where I live.”

Clay nodded his head in agreement...which Rachel saw as she walked into the kitchen. She paused mid-stride, her eyes wide.

“Did he just nod?” she demanded.

I acted natural. “Yep. I’ve been working on it with him. He caught on really fast. The nodding isn’t bad, but his smile can be a little scary.”

Rachel stared at us for a moment then shook her head.

“You’re weird, Gabby, but in a good way. Anyway, it was one hundred and twenty-five dollars to fix the washer. I covered your half. With the vet bill, you’re up to one hundred, minus the burger and drink from disaster night.”

Ouch. “Okay. I’ll run to the bank after class tomorrow.” I chewed my lip for a moment. My pathetic savings couldn’t take these kinds of unexpected hits. Life was more expensive than I’d anticipated.

I turned to unpack the rest of my groceries and noticed Clay watching me closely. Not wanting to draw Rachel’s attention to him again, I ignored his look and finished up so I could go study.

On Friday afternoon, Rachel rushed in through the back door while calling my name in a panicked tone.

“In here!” I said as I jumped up from the bed.

We nearly collided as she flew through my bedroom door at the same time I tried to leave it. I caught her by the arms.

“What’s going on?”

“Peter broke and told Scott he had plans to go to dinner with me tonight,” she panted.

I stared at her. She ran through the house to tell me she had a date? I really didn’t see how I qualified as the weird one sometimes.