Page 46 of Clouded by Envy

Wes stared at her hand, looking unimpressed. “Are you trying to do the pledge of allegiance? Besides, you told me that yesterday.” Indeed, she had said that when she sprung out at him in the hallway the night before.

“I am serious this time.” She meant it at that moment, but her mind could change.

“Uh huh. I’ll believe it when I see it.” He smiled and strode for the front door.

Closing the gate, Bray followed behind him. “Luca already went over to Kyle’s house. He had already finished all his homework at school.”

“Good. Thanks for checking with him on that. Hopefully, they actually go to bed when Kyle’s mom tells them to. But I have a feeling they’ll try to stay up late. It’s something I would do.”

She was pretty sure Luca and Kyle would probably try to play video games with the sound of the TV on mute.

“I don’t mind at all. It’s the least I could do for you after allowing me to stay in the house,” Bray said.

He paused to look at her after opening the door, appearing almost grateful. “You’ve really helped me out. You keep the house clean, even though I don’t ask you to. So, now I don’t have to hire a maid. Really, it’s like I’m saving money.” He crinkled his nose and looked a little scared for a moment. “You know you don’t have to do that stuff, right?”

Bray liked doing it, though. Especially when she could blast the music from Wes’s stereo. “I know, but I want to.” She smiled.

“Let me hurry and take a shower before I contaminate any of your freshly cleaned floors.” He grinned.

Bray reached for her notebook and plotted some more ideas out. She was in the middle of making a list of character names, when she heard the shower turn on and the clank of feet entering the ceramic tub.

Something about being in the house while Wes was showering felt different than usual. He didn’t have any clothes on.Of course he doesn’t have clothes on,she thought.He’s in the shower!

Usually when Wes got home and bathed, Luca was already there, or she was outside and not focused on what he was doing. This was Wes she was thinking about. Yes, he was beautiful. She had been aware of his good looks since the first time she spotted him from the tree.I have to stop, she thought.

Going outside to get some fresh air helped clear her head. There was a splash that swished in the direction of the birdbath. A blackbird was happily flapping its feathered wings in the clear water—she had changed it out earlier.

After trying to distract herself for what had to have been enough time, Bray went back inside, finding Wes in the kitchen preparing a frozen pizza.

He wore his usual fitted black t-shirt and a pair of cargo shorts, his wet hair curling on the ends.

Wes glanced at her as he placed the pepperoni pizza on a pan. “Hungry?”

She stared at the pizza with longing. “I’m famished.”

“Can you survive twenty-five minutes?” he asked.

“Maybe? How will you keep me entertained?”

“Possibly music or a movie,” Wes answered, placing the pizza in the oven and setting the timer.

Bray went into the living room and pulled out Wes’s huge CD case from the shelf beside the TV. She had listened to a lot of the albums while he was gone, but she hadn’t made it through everything.

So far, the Cure and the Smashing Pumpkins were her two favorites. Ruth had mostly listened to the oldies, so Bray had to catch up on music from the past couple of decades.

Wes perched down beside her on the floor and watched her flip through the plastic pages. He shot a hand forward and plucked out a disc from the sleeve.

“Have you listened to this one yet?” he asked, balancing the perfectly round disc with his index finger through the hole in the middle.

Peering down at the CD, Bray read the words:The Cranberries.“No, but it sounds delicious.”

“Oh, it is.” He grinned and popped the CD into the big stereo beside the TV, pressing play.

Bray lay back on the carpeted floor as the first song began to play—a slow yet powerful melody that pulled at each and every one of her nerve fibers. Wes lay down beside her, his arm brushing hers.

Her eyes were closed, and she didn’t look at him as she absorbed each beat, each note, each breath from the female voice—it wasbreathtaking.

She almost forgot where she was for a moment. The only thing that kept her grounded was Wes’s arm still firmly pressed against hers. Opening her eyes, she turned her head to look at him. He was watching her with something new burning in his eyes: part intense, part sweet.

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