Page 23 of Fast Currents
But some nights, I wondered how long I could hold out hope without knowing if she’d ever meet me halfway.
When I finally made it home, I stripped and stepped into the shower. The hot spray stung, awakening each nerve as it sluiced down my back. The heat felt good after hours setting up andbreaking down our operations center. Between the wind and temperature drop after sunset, I was stiff with cold.
Lucy disappeared after dinner without saying goodbye, making me wonder if I’d scared her away with my latest proposal. She usually brushed them off with a snarky comment, which I appreciated. Teasing her was safe when I knew she’d turn me down. Now that we were moving toward something more than the occasional few minutes of mockery, I had to wonder why I kept asking.
It meant something that she cared enough to drive all the way to the park after her long day. For a prickly woman who presented a hard heart to the world, it was a marshmallow move.
Exhausted but still too keyed up to sleep, I grabbed my phone.
Clay: Thanks again for tonight.
Propped against my headboard, I turned on my TV, losing myself in late-night television to avoid watching for the reply bubbles like a sad sack. My phone dinged. I couldn’t stop the smile that spread across my face, making it feel like it would crack.
Lucy: It was fun to see you in action.
Clay: You haven’t seen anything yet, Lucifer.
Lucy: I enjoy romantic walks to the taco truck.
I blinked, sure I’d read that wrong.
Clay: Pick you up at six tomorrow?
Lucy: You bring the tequila, I’ll bring the bad decisions?
Her asking me to dinner was definitely worth celebrating, even if tequila and I weren’t friends.
Clay: Pretty sure I’m gonna like whatever you have in mind.
Lucy: You say that now…
Clay: I say that always.
Lucy: Sap.
I could imagine her, cuddled up on her couch, frowning down at her phone. Teasing her in person was more fun, but at least I knew she was thinking about me.
Clay: You like it.
My phone lay silent. It wasn’t like Lucy to let me have the last word. I wasn’t naïve enough to believe I’d won our non-argument. I’d probably wake up tomorrow and find a cutting late-night text. But for now? I’d cherish the win.
The corners of my lips curled on instinct.
She was warming to me. My prickly Lucifer wasn’t used to affection from me yet. But we’d get there.
*** Lucy ***
Clay’s text taunted me. I did like it. I likedhim. There was no denying that. Not if I was honest with myself.
How I’d gone from mild irritation to dating him was a mystery. Oh, wait. He was hot. And sweet. And a competent, adult male. Rare as hell in the dating world. Of course I was attracted to him. But it was more than that. He knew just how to get to me. I didn’t even need tequila to make bad decisions around him.
And he wasn’t Christopher.
By the time dinner rolled around the next day, I’d finished the chandelier and started a new project, a mermaid commissioned for the city manager’s anniversary. I rushed through my shower after work, taking extra time with my makeup.
Clay arrived exactly at six. He stood on my porch, damp hair curling beneath his ballcap, dressed in fresh jeans and a dark green hoodie. “Lucifer, you look stunning.”
“Sure, Robertson.” I gestured down to my black jeans and sweatshirt. “It’s island chic all the way.”
