“That’s one way to put it,” he says dryly. He turns back to me. “You want to dance more?”
I’ve been dancing for over an hour and, honestly, I’m all danced out. It’s been fun, but my feet are killing me in these ridiculous shoes that I let Stella dress me in.
I shrug. “I think I’m going to sit a few out. My feet hurt.”
I don’t wait for Clark as I walk over toward the bar and find an empty high-top table. I push the drinks left by its previous occupants to the side and sit with a sigh as I flex my feet.
“Why do girls even wear shoes like that?” Clark asks. I realize he’s followed me over here and is taking the seat next to me.
“Beats the fuck out of me. I mean seriously, Stella always wears heels, and I don’t get how her feet are not malformed or seriously injured.”
Clark laughs. He motions to a waitress and orders us a round of drinks.
I lean back and roll my head from side to side. Partying is hard work. Between the dancing and heels, I feel like I’ve run a marathon.
“What’s with all the partying as of late?” he asks as though he can read my mind.
“I…just don’t want to miss that part of college, I guess. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I think you’re on the opposite end of the spectrum. When do you even study? Do you sleep? Have you become some sort of vampire?” I ask with a raised eyebrow as the waitress sets our drinks down. I take a long sip of mine as I wait for Clark to answer.
“I study. Mostly on weeknights. And yes, since I’ve decided not to become a vampire, I do require sleep.” He grins at me and I roll my eyes. “I don’t know. I guess I read fast. And most concepts aren’t too hard to figure out for me, so it doesn’t take me long to do homework.”
“Lucky,” I mutter.
He elbows me. “You are literally in the running for valedictorian again. You are clearly smart.”
“But I have to work at it. I can’t just learn by osmosis,” I pout.
“You should try it,” he adds with a wink.
I laugh. “Sure, I’ll place some books under my pillow tonight.”
“Don’t knock it till you try it. I have Mom to thank for that. She once said the best time to review things is right before bed because you’ll remember it better and shit if that doesn’t work for me,” he explains.
His phone buzzes on the table and he picks it up to read it. He laughs.
“What?”
He turns the phone around.
Kent: So, I have an idea for Mom and Dad’s anniversary.
Lanie: Uh, Kent, that was like three weeks ago.
Kent: I know, but we didn’t do anything for it.
Di: We gave them a gift card to that restaurant they like.
Lanie: You gave them the gift card. We all just gave you money and signed a card.
Di: (shrugging emoji) Same difference.
Kylie: What’s going on?
Tabby: Kent has an insane idea.
Kent: It’s not insane. It’s brilliant.
Lanie: And the idea is…?
Kent: Let’s give Mom and Dad’s house a makeover!
Lanie: Yep, that’s insane.
Tabby: I told you.
Garrett: Do you have any idea how annoying it is to live in a construction zone?
Di: I second Garrett.
Levi: We could send them to my island.
Kylie: Yeah, we could.
Lanie: Welcome to the sibling chat, Levi. And I still think this is crazy. We need to talk in person.
Brixton: Can they take Ash with them? He’s getting on my last nerve today.
Lanie: Even better. Pool. Kent’s. This week?
Kent: Why do we always have to meet at my pool?
Garrett: Fine. Drinks at Margaret.
Kent: Done! But only if we get to roast marshmallows at the fire pit. And while we are there, let’s come up with a name for my house. How is it you figured out how to name your house Margaret right away and mine is still just some nameless beast?
Garrett: I suppose I can arrange that…in exchange for baseball tickets.
I giggle at the exchange. “Who are all the other people?” I ask. I know some of Clark’s siblings are married, but I haven’t ever officially met all their significant others.
“Tabby is Kent’s wife. They have a daughter named Vera.”
“Oh, the baby that was at your parents’ house?” I ask.
He nods. “Tabby’s brother, Brixton, married Lanie and they adopted Ashton a few years ago. Di’s getting married to Garrett this winter. And Kylie is dating Levi.”
“Wow, it must be serious if Levi is in the sibling chat. And why does he have an island?” I ask.
“I hope so. I mean, Levi Sanderson is the coolest,” he says.
My eyebrows lift. “Wait, Kylie is dating Levi Sanderson, like the tech billionaire?”
He nods. “Cool, right?”
“Yeah, that’s pretty cool. I don’t know much about him except he runs that social media app everyone uses.”
“He used to design video games too,” Clark points out before launching into a tutorial on all the games he’s invented.
I nod and try to pay attention while still watching Grif who hasn’t stopped dancing in the hour that Clark and I have been sitting here.
I squirm as the booze and the dancing starts to set in, making me ready to curl into bed.
“Am I boring you?” Clark asks after I yawn.
I give him a sheepish look. “No. I’m sorry. I’m just really tired. I think I’m going to call it a night.”
“I’m sort of over the club scene for the night. I’ll walk you home,” he says, looking at my shoes. “Or we can call a car.”
I laugh as I get down. Clark motions to the bartender for our check. He settles our tab, insisting he pays for my drink. I give in, mostly because I’m too tired.
I text Stella that I’m heading home as we walk out into the crisp fall air. I wrap my arms around myself.
“Cold?” Clark asks as we stand outside.
“A little. We can walk though, it’s not far,” I state.
“You sure?”
I nod and start toward the sorority house which is only about five blocks away. We cross the main street at a crosswalk and then meander the smaller side roads toward my house.
“Where do you live?” I ask, realizing that I have no idea if he’s going out of his way.
He points ahead of us. “Just past the Brentwood Apartments. Those garden-style ones between there and campus.”
“Oh,” I say. He lives close to Greek Row. “Did you choose that apartment to be close to the frat house?”
Shaking his head, he steps around a bottle on the sidewalk and brushes against me. His muscled arm feels warm on my cool skin. “Not really. Some older brothers were graduating and we got the ins on the place early. It’s nice being near the house though, makes walking home from parties easier.” He pauses as though reading my thoughts, which are completely centered around his constant state of needing to have fun. “It’s also only two blocks from campus.”
“Wouldn’t want to be late for those afternoon classes,” I tease and then bite my lip because I just admitted that I know his schedule. Shit. I probably look like a total stalker now.
He grins. “You’ve noticed that, have you?”