Chapter 33 - Stay with me

Clay loosened his hold on me and let me lead the way while he kept a hand on the small of my back. Whenever someone moved in my way, an arm snaked out from behind me and jostled them aside. There would be a few hung-over people tomorrow, wondering how they bruised their shoulders. But I wasn't going to complain. It felt like a plague had struck me, and I really wanted to get to Nicole so we could leave.

The men in the group saw our approach and bristled. I tried on a rare smile but knew it lacked wattage because I felt like crap.

"Hi, guys. Sorry to interrupt, but we need to pull Nicole away for just a minute."

"I'll be back in just a bit," Nicole said to them. "Can someone get me a soda?"

She took me by the arm and turned me around so fast that Clay had to step aside for us. We didn't look back but walked right off the porch and cut across the yard in the general direction of my car. Her arm linked through mine propelled me along more than she realized.

"Thank you for that. It was really weird the way they were acting tonight. I guess mermaid sends off the wrong vibes. I hope he remembers talking to me, though. I liked it until his friends showed up."

Her astute observations brought a trembling smile to my lips.

"Yeah," I agreed, "He s-seemed okay. D-don't trust his friends."

"Are you okay?" Concern laced her voice.

Behind us, I could hear Clay's soft footfalls.

"I think I'm getting sick or s-s-something." I felt colder without Clay's borrowed warmth. "Clay felt my head, but s-said I didn't feel warm."

"Is Rachel going to be home tonight? You said she's going to school for nursing, right? She'll probably know if there's something going around on campus. The nursing students doing clinicals always seem to know." Nicole switched position so her arm wrapped around me, chafing me in an attempt to warm me. I thought it funny since I wore flannel and she had a strapless dress on.

"Good idea." The sounds of the party slowly faded to a normal decibel. I tried using my sight to make sure none of the men followed us and felt a sharp pain in my head, instead. I flinched and immediately stopped. Nothing had appeared in my brief peek. No lights at all. That had never happened before.

When I spotted the car down the block, I sighed in relief. All I could think about was getting home, taking a hot shower, and going to bed. Clay surprised me by jogging ahead to the car. I heard the engine start a moment before he was back on the sidewalk, opening the door for me. He looked worried as Nicole helped me into the front.

"Do I look as b-bad as I f-feel?" I tried to joke.

Nicole looked at Clay, but he kept his eyes on me, so she answered.

"Well, you do look like you're coming down with something. I'm so sorry I begged you to come out tonight."

"Don't w-worry about it. It w-was r-really interesting," I said, forcing the words through my tensed jaw.

Very interesting. The sudden interest of the men... the animosity of the woman... I was certain I'd somehow passed my pull onto Nicole. And broke my mental fish finder in the process, too.

Clay drove fast, dividing his attention between the road and me. I continued to shiver despite the heat pouring from the vents. Minutes later, Clay smoothly pulled into the driveway. The house was dark.

"I hope you feel better," Nicole said. "I'll see you on Tuesday."

I nodded, unable to speak. My clenched jaw ached from shivering so much.

Clay was out as soon as he parked by the porch. He stalked around the hood. His eyes never wavered from me as Nicole slid from the back seat and left. I blinked tiredly and wondered how I'd get into the house.

He opened the door, and his eyes traced my face a moment before he wrapped an arm around my shoulders to help me out. Between the shaking, the headache, and the stiffness I felt from shaking, I had all of the symptoms of the common flu. And I wanted it to go away.

With his arm supporting me, we made it around the car and to the porch. My shivers increased to spasmodic, and he still easily managed to unlock the door without dropping me. I figured unlocking the door as a dog made this kind of move child's play.

The quiet house told me Peter and Rachel must have gone out after all, and I was glad. I would rather not have an audience to whatever had decided to plague me. I slipped from Clay's helpful embrace and started to tug off the flannel on my way to the shower.

"Clay c-can you get my towel?" I asked, dropping the shirt on the carpet outside the bathroom.

Had I felt better, I might have worried about how that sounded. But, really, I just wanted to stop shivering.

He moved past me and strode to the bedroom. His coveralls caught my eye again. I had to remember to ask him about those later.

I closed the door, struggled out of my t-shirt, and lost my balance as it cleared my head. I bumped into the sink. The chilly porcelain along with the cool air prickled over my skin and caused more gooseflesh. Curling the fingers of one hand on the sink for support, I lowered myself to sit on the toilet seat.

Tired and cold, I weakly kicked off my shoes then began to remove my socks. Without meaning to, I started whimpering like a little kid. I needed to warm up. Shivering sucked. The more clothes I took off, the worse it grew. It messed with my finger coordination.

I stood and tried to manipulate the button on my jeans but couldn't get it. I'd just begun to debate whether a hot shower was worth the effort when Clay tapped on the door.

"J-just a s-sec," I said in a panic. "I'm not ready, y-yet." I desperately yanked at the button, and it sprang free a moment before Clay opened the door.

"Hey!" I crossed my arms over my chest even though I still wore my bra. Sick and outraged, I glared at him for a moment. It cost too much energy to maintain.

He tossed the towel on the toilet lid and moved past me without a glance. Nudging the shower curtain back slightly, he turned on the water. I wanted to groan and smack my forehead. I hadn't thought to turn it on so it would warm up.

He turned from the shower, bent, and had my pants unzipped and around my feet before I could move. I stared down at him in complete shock.

"Clay, g-get out!" Had I not stuttered, it would have been an impressive shriek. Instead, it came across weak, and he ignored it. Embarrassment flooded me. "Really, I c-can do the rest."

He stayed crouched, kept his eyes averted, and indicated I should step out of the pants. Of course, he wouldn't listen to me when I sounded ready to have a seizure. I looked down at his turned head so close to my belly, and wanted to push him over. But my legs quivered, and I knew I'd just end up falling over, too. Obstinate man.

Sacrificing my pride and my coverage, I placed a hand on his shoulder to steady myself and stepped out of the pants.

"N-now out, Clay," I said, crossing my arms again.

He picked up my pants and stood. Then, still turned away, he shook his head.

"The h-hell you s-say!" Oh, if my grandma had heard that, I would have gotten an earful; and then she would have laughed because I'd learned it from her at a tender age.

Clay reached around me and set the pants on the towel. His sleeve brushed my waist, and his hair tickled my arm. When he straightened, he pulled back the curtain and held out a hand for me. Steam started to fill the air as I stared at him belligerently. Did he really think I'd undress all the way in front of him?

He continued to look at the wall, patiently waiting for me. The shivers grew worse, and I debated my stubbornness. With his hair pulled back, I could clearly see his eyes and knew he wasn't peeking. Yet, I didn't understand why he continued with his own pigheadedness and wouldn't just leave to let me do the rest.

As if he'd read my mind, he nodded his head toward the shower and tapped the tub with his booted foot.

I looked down at the high ledge. The shivers prevented any coordinated movement. If not for Clay's support, I would have fallen when stepping out of my pants. Suddenly, he made sense.

"You're s-staying until I'm in? So I don't fall?" I guessed.

He shrugged, and I knew I'd guessed right.

With a defeated sigh, I uncrossed my arms and clasped his hand. The showerhead angled toward the front of the tub so I could step in without getting my remaining clothes wet. He closed the curtain behind me, and I waited to hear the click of the door.

Once I knew he had left, I finished undressing. I tossed my things on the bathroom floor and stepped into the hot spray.

It felt so good that I stayed there, just standing under the spray for several long minutes. My only movement was a slight side-to-side rocking motion to keep all of me as warm as possible. The shivers lessened but didn't disappear. I began to worry they weren't really due to the cold. My energy continued to drain, and my headache progressed to a steady thump. When I heard the click of the door again, I knew I'd pushed it.

"Clay?"

I heard a grunt but peeked around the curtain to be sure. He held out a towel with his eyes closed. I turned off the water and grabbed the towel.

It took a moment to wrap the towel securely around me. Covered, I peeked out again. Clay faced the door but had a hand extended to help me. Clasping it again, I stepped from the shower. I was warmer but more exhausted than when I'd gotten in.

I hustled as best I could to my room. Clay remained outside the door as I threw on the warmest pajamas I owned and did my best to blot the water that dripped from my hair. My arms quickly grew too tired, and all the heat I'd gained from the shower left me. Giving up, I tossed the towel to the floor, crawled between the covers, and curled into a ball. I couldn't even rub my feet together to try to generate more heat.

Clay walked in and turned off the lights. I listened to the familiar rustle of clothes. Instead of the usual bounce of him jumping up on the end of the bed, he peeled back the covers, and the bed dipped as he slid in next to me.

I didn't bother to pretend I wasn't interested in what he offered. Heat radiated from him, chasing the chill from the sheets.

"I really hope you're wearing shorts or something," I said with a slight slur. I stuck my cold feet right on his legs and shimmied over to his side to huddle against his warmth. Boy, was he warm. It didn't matter, though. The shaking didn't stop, but I was too exhausted to worry about it.

Sighing, I immediately fell asleep.