Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

GEORGE

Clay barely says a word to me the whole way to his place, during the time it takes for him to grab his swimsuit and a towel—even though I told him we have towels he can use—and put some wrapping paper around the pot one of the magnolia saplings was in, and then the whole way to the beach house. Comfortable silence between us isn’t uncommon, but this isn’t that.

He’s giving me the cold shoulder.

I hate that I’m the one who made him feel bad. He was having such a great time with the guys—his face all lit up and happy. Fuck, he actually talked to them. Seeing him that way was both wonderful and a knife to the heart. It’s so wrong and devastating that he fits so well with the family and yet can never truly be part of it.

Unless… can he? Cody is, after all, and he’s not part of a mated couple. Maybe he’s going to join us in a platonic way. Even if it makes me selfish, I hope that’s not the case. It would be constant agony for me to have him around that much and know there can never be more between us.

Whatever it turns out to be, I can’t stand having him upset with me, so I’m going to have to find some way to explain my behavior. I just have to think of an excuse that isn’t the truth. Perry might have some misguided idea that Clay has feelings for me, but I know better. After all, Perry met him today, and I’ve known him for three years. I’m one of his closest friends, and I’m ass over nose in love with him. It’s safe to say that I understand Clay a lot better than Perry does, and if he had those kinds of feelings for me, I’d definitely know.

“Which way do I turn at the T-intersection?” he asks tersely, and I hold in my sigh.

“Right. We’re nearly there.”

“Good.”

Definitely the cold shoulder.

“I’m sorry for making you feel like I didn’t want you to come tonight,” I begin. “Your friendship means more to me than I can say, and I don’t want you to be mad or feel bad. I…” Okay… now would be a good time for an excuse to occur to me. “I know you don’t like hanging around with new people, and I guess I’ve gotten protective. I didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

I’m mentally patting myself on the back for coming up with something that’s mostly true, when he scoffs.

“Y-You couldn’t tell that I was enjoying myself?”

Oh. That. Damn.

“I could, but I wasn’t sure if you’d had enough and wanted to wind down. I-I thought maybe, even though you were having fun, you might still feel pressured to come along when you were ready for a break.” I turn to look out the window so he doesn’t see me cringe. As far as excuses go, that was terrible. “I might be taking the protectiveness thing too far.”

He’s quiet for a moment. “Maybe.”

Is that progress? This is all Perry’s fault. Before he interfered today, I never had any problem interpreting Clay’s feelings and words. “It’s not this driveway, but the next one,” I say, giving him plenty of warning and myself a brief reprieve.

Clay puts the blinker on and slows the car. “I appreciate that you’re trying to look out for me, but I have a lot of experience with leaving when I feel uncomfortable.” He parks in the driveway, behind Storm’s car. “A-Are you s-sure that’s the only r-reason?”

I frown. “Of course it is.” Kind of. I don’t like that he’s stuttering, though. He normally doesn’t when it’s just me. Have I upset him that much? “Why else could it be?”

He shrugs, hands still on the wheel, staring steadfastly through the windshield. “M-Maybe you’re ashamed of me.” It’s the barest whisper, but I hear, and anger roars through me.

“I am not ashamed of you. I have never been ashamed of you, and I never will be. You’re the best person I know, and I’m proud to be your friend.” Some of the words are a little unclear, since I’m saying them through gritted teeth, but from the way he relaxes, it seems like he believes me.

“Fine.” Finally, he turns to look at me, and like always, my anger dissipates at one glance from those brown eyes. “Please trust me to know what my boundaries are.”

I nod. “I will. I do.”

“I like your friends,” he continues, almost like he didn’t hear me. “I’ve been having a good day, except for you. I never thought you’d be the thing that would make a good day a little less good, George.”

It would hurt less if he just stabbed me.

“I’m sorry. I swear, I never meant to hurt you. The guys like you a lot. I can tell. They wouldn’t have invited you over if they didn’t.”

He huffs a sigh. “Okay. Just so we’re on the same page. I don’t… I’ve been worried about upsetting you all day, and I don’t like that feeling.”

I put a hand on his forearm. “You could never upset me, Clay. Not unless you were hurting yourself. Come inside—I think you’ll like the house.”

He looks around. “I like the front garden,” he confesses. “These beach grasses were a great choice.”

Relieved that the danger seems to have passed—this danger, anyway—I get out of the car and follow him as he wanders around the garden beds. There’s not that many—most of the front is taken up by the driveway—but there’s enough to make all of us happy, since concrete and paving feels icky. Even to me. Stone that’s been chiseled into shape still sings to me, but it loses a lot of its soul.

Eventually, I herd him up onto the deck, where he turns around to take in the view of the beach across the street.

“Wow.”

“Yeah.” I survey the expanse of sand with satisfaction, then reach out to the rocky underwater canyon a few miles away. The echo of timelessness sings back at me. The earth is eternal.

It’s so comforting.

“Look how blue the water is,” Clay marvels, and I shift my gaze.

“Yeah. Water. Blue.” I grimace. It’s not that I’ve got anything against water—I’m not Flame—but it really doesn’t compare to the majesty of the sand and rock it’s covering. “Come on.”

I lead him inside, and his eyes go wide as we traverse the hallway toward the kitchen, his head swiveling to allow him glimpses into the downstairs rooms. “Wow,” he repeats, this time a little shakily. “I didn’t think conservation paid much.”

A snort escapes me, and his face goes crimson.

“Oh my god, George, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean?—”

“It’s fine. Conservation doesn’t pay much, and it pays us zero, since we’re a nonprofit and don’t take donations. We fund ourselves and the Kings with a trust we inherited.” From our past-life selves. It used to be that I’d just find some gold or silver or gems or whatever would work for currency, and we’d live off that, but with the introduction of banks a few lifetimes ago, we decided to set up something more formal. Interest accumulates a lot when it has centuries to work, and there’s a very good investment firm looking after our trust. It makes things a lot easier.

“Oh,” Clay says. “That makes sense.” He’s giving himself whiplash looking around the kitchen, so I give him a few minutes there before ushering him out to the backyard.

The others are mostly sprawled out in chairs near the firepit, with the exception of Flame, who’s hovering over it like the obsessive bastard he is. He can control the height and intensity of the fire, so it’s not like he needed to light it this soon to let it burn down before we can cook on it. But he does anyway, just so he can croon over it like it’s his child.

Like always, I think about how satisfying it would be to dump a huge pile of dirt on the flames. I don’t, though. I’m not that big of an asshole.

Most of the time.

“There you are!” Storm calls. “I was starting to think you’d gotten lost.”

“Clay wanted to look around the plants out front,” I explain.

“They’re great, aren’t they?” Aether beams. “I haven’t even had to change much since I got here. What’s that?”

Clay extends his arms with the sapling in them. “It’s for you—a magnolia.”

“He grew it from a seed,” I add. I don’t mention that I beefed up the nutrient content of the potting mix Clay used. That only made a minor difference—I just like doing things for Clay.

“Little Gem,” Aether says in delight. “That will be perfect over there—it will grow big enough for some shade, but not so big it’ll be obnoxious in the yard.” He takes the pot with a beaming smile.

“Thank you,” Perry adds. “You didn’t need to bring anything, but this is basically perfect. Especially since you grew it yourself.”

Clay’s cheeks go pink with pleasure. “I’m glad you like it.”

“Have a seat,” River invites. “Aqua will drag us all up to go swimming in a minute, but we can take some time to be lazy first. Did George show you the house?”

Perching on one of the chairs, Clay says, “I saw some of the downstairs,” and I leave him with River and Storm—who I’m confident will say only nice things—and follow Aether and Perry.

I need a word with them.

Aether is cradling the magnolia like a baby and pacing between two potential spots for it while Perry listens patiently to his one-sided debate over the pros and cons of each location. Considering they’re less than ten feet apart, I really don’t see what the difference is. Soil, light, water—all the same.

“Plant it there,” I order, arbitrarily picking one of the spots and pointing. Perry rolls his eyes, and Aether gives me a level look.

“Your ‘I know the best place to plant things’ attitude might work on the others, but I know more than you about this,” he informs me. “So don’t bullshit me.”

I blink, and even Perry seems surprised. Aether’s attitude is usually less… attitude-y. Normally he would just have laughed at me. This… this is new.

“Sorry? Are you okay?” I venture. If he’s planning to take over my role as the group grump, I’m going to have to challenge him for it.

“I’m fine. It’s you who has problems. Perry told me what you said about Clay.”

I glance at Perry. He shrugs. “All I said was that you’re in love with him, think he doesn’t love you, and have this cockamamie idea that your mate will show up and you’ll never be able to love them. Oh, and that you’re hell-bent on torturing yourself with your pining because you’re an idiot.”

I grit my teeth. “It’s not exactly like that.”

“How is it then?” Aether challenges. I should have seen that coming.

“I’m doing the right thing ,” I argue. “Clay sees me as a friend and just a friend. My feelings aren’t his responsibility.”

Nodding, Aether says, “I agree with the sentiment, but you’re wrong.”

“Which part?” It’s best to be clear on these things before framing an argument.

“The first part. Clay loves you.”

“As a friend.” I fold my arms for emphasis.

Aether shakes his head. “Perry’s right; you are an idiot.”

Why? Why is this happening to me? I’m trying to be noble , for fuck’s sake. Can’t I just wallow in my unrequited love in peace?

“You need to talk to Clay about this,” Perry says seriously, his tone lacking the mockery that’s been there all day. “I know you’re afraid to, but you have to.”

“I really don’t.”

“You do,” Aether insists.

I narrow my eyes at him. “Why? Give me one good reason.”

“Because he’s your mate and he’s supposed to join us.”

Mentally reeling, I stare at him, struggling to find words. Finally, I shake my head. “No. You’re wrong. If he was my mate, he’d have shown it before now.”

Aether smiles. “Let’s find out.”