Cloud Walking (A Find You in the Dark novella)

by A. Meredith Walters

  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.

  Yep, that did it. My burgeoning erection was now limp in my pants. Thank god. Last thing I needed was for Rachel to see me at half-mast as I ran from her house.

  I got to my feet, confident I wouldn't reveal a tent under my zipper and headed for her front door. I just had to leave. I had to put some distance between me and the girl who had somehow morphed into a sex siren in the span of forty-five minutes.

  “Daniel. Are you okay? I mean...you're being stranger than usual.” Rachel sounded worried. Upset even. I knew that in her mind this was just me blowing her off again. But I knew, without a doubt, that if I sat in her living room, just the two of us, for a moment longer, I would make a complete and total fool of myself. I would touch her and kiss her and hold her in a way that would ruin everything we were.

  Because Rachel Bradfield was my best friend. And she deserved a hell of a lot more than an asshole like me. She deserved a guy who could be her prince charming. Not a douchebag who didn't know his ass from his elbow. A guy who had spent his entire life screwing up everything he touched.

  Rachel was better than me. She could do better than me. And damned if I didn't want more for her than my sorry ass.

  I stopped at her front door and hefted my book bag up on my shoulder, steeling myself to turn around and face her. I swiveled on my heel, a smile firmly in place. Rachel would never know the out of control thoughts running through my brain.

  I would take it to the grave.

  I would not ruin the best relationship in my life over crazy hormonally driven lust. But even I could recognize that what I felt for the girl in front of me went way beyond lust.

  But I couldn't go there. Not now. Not ever.

  So I ignored the way her mouth turned down in that cute way of hers. The way her eyes crinkled up at the corners when she was irritated. The hot flush on her chest that spread up the sides of her neck, a sure giveaway that she was not happy. Okay, now my eyes were focusing a little too long on her chest.

  Get it together, man!

  “I'm fine. I just really have to go. Thanks for offering to help. Sorry if I screwed up your evening,” I told her sincerely. Because I really did hate the fact that she more than likely put aside her own stuff to help me. Maybe I really did take her for granted. Because Rachel never thought twice about helping me.

  See, that was why she deserved better.

  Rachel's brown eyes softened a fraction, though her pretty mouth was still set in a firm line. “Yeah. Well, maybe you need to start keeping a schedule. You know, since you're so busy,” she bit out and I blinked at her in surprise.

  Wow. I was not used to the biting responses from her. This new no-nonsense side of Rachel was a surprise.

  And freaking hot.

  I had to leave! Now!

  “Yeah. Good idea. Later, Rach,” I said quickly, pulling open the front door and dashing outside. Yep, I ran away. Like a little bitch.

  Things were not going well. Ever since our almost kiss three days ago, Rachel and I have been at each other's throats. Her patience for all things Daniel Lowe seemed to be at an end. I could practically taste her annoyance as we sat together during lunch.

  Maggie hadn't shown up yet, so it was just Rachel and me. Together. Being agonizingly silent as we ate our lunch and tried not to choke on the tension that seemed to have blossomed between us.

  It seriously sucked.

  “Rach...” I started to say. I wasn't exactly sure what was about to come out of my mouth. It could have been a plea for her forgiveness. An apology for all of my assy behavior over the years.

  It could have been a verbal attack toward her icy chill.

  Or it could have been a confession. One that seemed harder to keep from bursting out. The truth of why I ran out on her three days ago. The reason I was finding it hard to sit so close to her and not touch her. And the fact that I could barely look at Kylie without imaging my best friend instead. How the only lips I wanted to taste and touch were Rachel Marie Bradfield's.

  I had it bad.

  Rachel looked up at me as I said her name. Her brown eyes cool in a way that I hated. I needed to put an end to this rift between us. I needed to man up and share how screwed up I was over her.

  Or I could suck it all back down into the dark pit inside of me and pretend it didn't exist.

  Obviously, the latter was the most appropriate form of action.

  “Can I have the rest of your fries?” I asked her, inching my fingers toward her lunch tray. Rachel rolled her eyes but pushed her food toward me. I plucked a few of the fried pieces of my denial off her plate and stuffed them into my mouth.

  “What the heck is up with our girl?” Rachel asked in amusement, looking up from her phone and over my shoulder. I turned around and started laughing as Maggie limped her way across the cafeteria. She held her legs rigid, her face in a grimace as she finally reached our table.

  “What?” Maggie asked, her tone making it very clear she didn't want to hear whatever we had to say. She was not a happy camper.

  “Nothing.” Rachel said diplomatically as she shoved her hamburger into her mouth. Rachel didn't deal well with confrontation of any sort. Well, unfortunately for Maggie May, I had no such qualms.

  “Why are you moving like an old lady, Mags? You look ridiculous.” I chuckled, watching my other best friend shoot daggers at me with her eyes. Oh if looks could kills. She pulled a chip from her bag and chucked it at me. I dodged it easily and laughed. She really did look pathetic.

  Maggie proceeded to tell us that she had cut cross-country practice. Not once, not twice, but three times. I tried not to gape at her in surprise. If there was one thing abo
ut Mags, it was that she was unwaveringly consistent. She had her routine, her schedule. She understood that responsibility was not to be taken lightly. She was a rock of predictability.

  But now, I looked at the brown-haired girl sitting across from me as though I didn't even know her. And then I realized why she was skipping practice. Or more specifically for who.

  And the who showed up right then, looking like a James Dean reject. Clayton Reed stood at Maggie's elbow and I watched her instant transformation.

  I shot Rachel a look and noticed she had seen it as well. Her eyes found mine and for a moment, our bullshit was forgotten as we focused on our friend and the guy who seemed to have taken her over.