Page 99 of Let It Breathe
She turned and smiled at him. “Not so much?”
“Not at all.” Clay downshifted as they turned onto the gravel driveway, then glanced over to watch her face. “Not since rehab, anyway.”
Reese’s eyes widened. “Really?”
“Really.”
“Huh,” Reese said, grinning up at him with those green eyes flashing. “In that case, I’ve gotta say that while you were pretty terrific in bed when you were drunk, you’re phenomenal now that you’re sober.”
A faint roar began to surge in Clay’s ears, and it wasn’t just the sound of gravel under the tires. He felt himself growing dizzy, regretted the words even before they left his mouth.
“What do you mean?”
He glanced at Reese in time to see her eyebrow quirk. “I mean that night fifteen years ago—” She stopped, her eyes fixed on his face. On what Clay knew was a very blank expression.
She frowned. “Are you kidding?”
Clay brought the truck to a halt in front of the winery barn and turned to face her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t—I don’t understand.”
Reese’s eyes narrowed. “I’m talking about the time we slept together in college.” The words were slow, clipped.
Clay stared at her. He watched her face for a few seconds, trying to buy himself some time to find the right words. Maybe he could pretend he knew what the hell she was talking about?—
“You don’t know what the hell I’m talking about, do you?” Reese demanded.
For a second, Clay considered lying. Of course I remember. It was amazing. You were amazing.
But hell, what if she was teasing him? What if this was all some kind of bizarre joke?
Stick with honesty, his old sponsor used to say. Hurts sometimes, but it’s easier to remember later.
“Um,” said Clay. “No. No, I don’t. There are so many blank spots in those years I was a drunk and?—”
“So what did you mean the other night?” Reese snapped, folding her arms over her chest as the truck engine ticked nervously. “You didn’t drink when we played ‘I Never’—when there was that whole thing about not sleeping with anyone in the room? I guess that makes sense now that I think of it—but the next day when I asked you, you said it seemed like the respectful thing to do. To pretend nothing happened. Isn’t that what you said?”
Clay closed his eyes and nodded, not liking where this was headed. “Yes.”
“So what were you talking about?”
Clay gritted his teeth, knowing there was no possible right answer here. No way this was going to be okay, no matter what he said next.
The truth. Just tell the truth. Own your mistakes.
“Larissa,” he said. “I was talking about Larissa.”
Chapter 14
Reese stared at Clay, his words echoing in her ears.
Larissa. I was talking about Larissa.
She swallowed hard and stared at him. “You fucked my cousin.”
Clay winced like he’d been slapped. “It was eight or nine years ago at a Halloween party. I was stupid and drunk and possibly dressed in a bear costume and a tutu?—”
“You were drunk with me, too. The first time, I mean.”
Clay closed his eyes, looking pained. Reese would have felt sorry for him if she weren’t so damn mad. Mad and confused. She clenched her hands into fists, wishing she had something to grip.
