Page 46 of All I Need (Hearts of the South)
“You’re an idiot.” Shaking his head, Clark scrubbed under the toilet rim again.
“I know.” Emmett pulled the squeegee down the already spotless shower wall. “Except I’m not. Anything we did was only going to make things messier than they already are.”
“But you’ve been fooling around with her for days.”
“That was before.” He really needed some time with the punching bag, but he needed to unload his confused feelings too. Clark normally had no problem kicking back with a beer while Emmett worked over the bag and talked, but the patio was too close to Savannah’s and he desperately needed the privacy. His mama had headed out to Perry for real and Landra dozed on the couch, but this way he felt like he could talk without fear of being overheard.
Besides, it wasn’t like he and Clark hadn’t cleaned bathrooms together before. Half their punishments for church-related transgressions had involved scrubbing bathrooms. The men’s room had sparkled during their entire term in youth group.
“Before what?” Swapping the sponge for a brush, Clark worked on the grout surrounding the toilet.
Emmett sat on the edge of the tub. “I think I love her.”
“Shit.” Clark dropped the brush and sat against the opposite wall. “For real?”
“Yeah.”
“People use that word too soon and too often.” Clark rested his wrists atop his knees. “You’ve known her like a month. What do you think you love?”
“She’s smart and independent. Family’s important to her, she’s loyal, and she works hard, helping people.” Frowning, he ticked the points off on his fingers. “She’s sarcastic and funny, and when she’s not running me in emotional circles, she’s a hell of a lot of fun to be with.”
“Oh, fuck, you’re a goner.”
“Yeah, I know.” Emmett’s shoulders slumped under the weight. “And she does not feel the same way about me.”
“Sucks to be you.” Clark pointed at him. “You know, your life would be a lot easier if you’d just decide to be gay for me. We’d make a great couple and your ass is cute as hell.”
Emmett snorted on an unwilling laugh at the old joke. They’d been having this talk since youth group too. “I’m not going gay for you.”
“Damn it.” Clark winked, then sobered. “This is so not like you.”
“Tell me about it.”
“I’m serious. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you use the L-word about a woman before. No, I’mcertainI’ve never heard you use it before.” Clark scratched his eyebrow. “What are you going to do?”
“Hell if I know.” He gestured toward the door. “Take care of Landra. Try to convince Mama not to take my dad back when he comes crawling home to her because you know he’ll do it again.”
“Where are you in that equation?”
“God, you sound like Troy Lee, asking that.” He rubbed a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. It’s not a math problem I can just solve fory. She doesn’t love me. She doesn’t want to love me. Hell, she doesn’t even want to want me. There’s this huge wall, and I don’t know what it is or how to get around it. You should have seen her face when she realized I was in her apartment tonight. I thought she was going to pass out.”
“I don’t get why she doesn’t love you.” Clark shrugged. “You’re fucking awesome.”
Emmett laughed in spite of himself. “I told you, I’m not going gay for you. Quit trying so hard.”
“I’m halfway serious. Everything you listed about her, I could say about you, except for the emotional circles part. That’s not your style, and I don’t get why you let her do that.”
“I don’t know.” He scrubbed both hands down his face. “I need her and I want her, so when I get around her, it makes me stupid.”
“Makes perfect sense.” Humor hitched Clark’s mouth into a wry smile. “I’ve never seen you this stupid over any woman.”
“She’s the first one that mattered.”
“Explains why you’re not moving on, which was going to be my next suggestion.” Swinging his hands in a slow pivot, Clark frowned. “I wonder what the deal is.”
“I don’t know. Something happened. She said she wasn’t ready to talk about it with me yet.” A horrible possibility bloomed in his mind. “Maybe someone hurt her.”
“So you asked her, and she said she wasn’t ready to talk about it.” Clark shook his head. “Hell, boy, you have a long row to hoe.”
