Page 54 of Fall Apart

“Oh my god,you’re so slow,” Clay says, standing by the door to the garage, visibly irritated, waiting on me to get ready. “We’re going to be late.”

“Calm down, we won’t be late,” I scoff, glaring back at him. I look back into the entryway mirror, humming to myself and fixing my ponytail. I check my lip stain, popping them before turning and walking past Clay in the doorway.

He grabs me, peering down at me. Every second we haven’t been at work the last few days, we’ve been together in bed. And on the counter. And on the couch. And the floor. Everywhere. Still, the way his emerald green eyes make me feel seen stops my heart every time.

“You sure you want to go? Still have time to cancel.” He looks at me, his eyes darting from my eyes to my lips, his hand trailing up my back before tugging lightly on my ponytail. “Could go back to bed.”

A shocked gasp escapes my lips. “You’re bad. You practically invite yourself to Saturday brunch and now you want to cancel?” I give him a light tap on the cheek before turning and walking into the garage. “Nope. Come on, Chapman.”

He rushes ahead, opening the passenger door of my Bronco for me. “Thanks.” I smile back at him. “Besides, we can go back to bed after brunch.” I shimmy in my seat and clap my hands on my thighs.

“Deal.” He smirks, flashing his dimples before closing the door and walking around to the driver side.

I love my Bronco. Is it extra? Yes. But what I love more is watching Clay drive it. Something about the big, tattooed, brawny man driving my white, lifted SUV with pink wheels makes me laugh. And heinsistson driving every time.

I get the sense there’s a reason, but there are still some things I don’t feel like he wants to share. He still wears a scowl most of the time, but some of them are softer and more playful.

Sittingat the window table in the charming little Main Street Cafe with Clay and Grace feels surprisingly natural. I love how her and I have already become friends during my time in Utah, two weeks of which I’ve been living with her brother.

But now, I’m slightly terrified at the way she’s been smirking at us all morning. After Clay finishes telling Grace about how his new stretching routine has helped with the stiffness in his knees, she raises her fork, pointing it between us while chewing a bite.

“So who made the first move?” I look at her, feeling the air rush out of my lungs. She’s looking back down at her breakfast, forking another bite. I look at Clay, who’s looking back at me with raised eyebrows, mouthingwhat the fuck?

“Um, what?” I ask, hoping she doesn’t know anything about us.

She takes another bite and mumbles while chewing. “How long have you two been fucking?”

Ok. Cool. This was not how I thought brunch would go today.

Clay nearly chokes on part of his biscuit sandwich and grabs his glass of water coughing. “Fuck, Grace.” I watch as his cheeks turn a shade that probably matches mine. “Why would you even ask that?” he scoffs.

She laughs before looking back up at us and taking a sip of her mimosa. I sit here, jaw still gaping open, half in horror and half in amusement at what’s unfolding. Clay is blushing and it’s almost adorable seeing him this flustered at the hand of his little sister.

I collect myself and reach over to Clay, who’s now choking on the water he drank too fast, patting him on the back, and coo. “Aw, did it go in the wrong hole?”

Clay coughs again and gives me a one fingered gesture before taking another, more careful sip of water. “Brat.”

I look over at Grace and feel a sense of accomplishment, seeing that now she’s the one with a stunned look on her face. “I can’t believe it. You two are like…” she waggles a finger between us. “Cute.”

Clay puts his elbows up on the table and buries his face in his palms, muttering to himself. “Great. Just great.”

Grace holds a finger to her lips, hiding a grin. “First off, thank you for making Clay like almost moderately not grumpy.” She smirks before looking at Clay. “And second, Clay, seriously? I’ve invited you to brunch like every weekend for the last year. How many times have you showed?”

She puts her fork down, holding up both hands in the shapes of zeroes and even I can’t help but laugh. “Zero, big bro. Zero. But suddenly, I check that Lizzy and I are still on for brunch today, she says yes, and not even ten minutes later you text me saying you’re coming to brunch too.” She rolls her eyes and looks back at her food with a laugh. “This was so predictable. I called it when he brought Kayleigh to dinner that night at your condo.”

“Excuse me?” Clay chimes in, sounding slightly annoyed with his sister.

“Oh, don’t give me that.” She grabs her fork and spears another bite of food. “You call her into social settings when you’re absolutely terrified of having to talk to someone.” She grins back at me and winks. “When I saw Lizzy and how you reacted to her that night in the hot tub, I knew you were into her and needed your Kayleigh buffer to protect you.”

I put one finger up, getting her attention. “I will neither confirm nor deny anything you’re saying.” I wink at her and she chuckles. “Because on the gondola the day I met you, you were pretty adamant about not wanting to know about your brothers’ sex lives.”

“Well that was before I thought it was possible Clay was capable of,” she waggles her finger between us, “whatever it is he’s doing with someone as cool you.” She rolls her eyes and sighs. “But fair enough, I won’t ask for any more details.”

A defeated groan catches my attention and we snap our eyes to Clay. “There aren’t enough mimosas in the world for this,” he mumbles into his palms. We glare back at him.

“Shut up and be a good boy,” I say, sharing a glance with Grace.

“Oh.” She beams at me with that infectious Chapman smile and giggle. “I like this.”

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