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Looked like Clint and I weren’t the only ones affected by what happened.
I passed off my till and clocked out. Then Michael and I headed to his car. I felt the eyes of my manager on us the entire way. He stood at the windows of the grocery store, watching us until we got to the car and got in. I even saw him watching us in my rearview mirror as we drove off.
Making our way for Clint’s house.
Michael had a smirk on his face for the entire ride. And as we listened to his bullshit classical music, I found my inner peace. I found my inner strength. I rehearsed the things I wanted to say to him as we made our way for his house. I felt myself filling with hope. Excitement. Anxiousness. But not the bad kind. The good kind.
Because I knew this meant taking another step for Clint and me.
A step I felt we’d both been ready for.
“You want to rehearse?”
I peeked over at Michael. “What?”
He snickered. “Rehearse. You know, what you’re going to say to him tonight.”
I shrugged. “Nah. I’m good. I usually wing it with stuff like this.”
“You’re going to wing it when it comes to telling Clint how you feel for the very first time>”
“I mean, I usually wing it with my English speeches and I do just fine with those.”
He paused. “You didn’t plan out that speech you gave las
t year?”
I shook my head. “Nope.”
“That massive speech you gave on 1984 sort of applying today.”
“Are you not hearing me right? Clean out your ears, Michael.”
He chuckled. “Holy shit, you’re amazing. You know that?”
I smiled. “And I hope that’s one of Clint’s many reactions tonight.”
“If it isn’t, I’ll kick his ass for you.”
“Michael!”
“What? Come on, Rae. I see how happy he makes you. I see how much this boy means to you. And if he doesn't love you or if he hurts you or if I even suspect he’s manipulating you or leading you on in any way? He’s got it coming to him. Because you’re my friend, Rae. My best of friends. And we have to stick together.”
I reached over, taking his hand. “I love you so much.”
He smirked. “Love you, too, Rae. Now, you ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Good. Because we’re here.”
I drew in a deep breath as we pulled into Clint’s driveway, stopping just shy of the porch. Michael squeezed my hand for reassurance, and I leaned over to kiss his cheek softly. I wanted him to know how thankful I was for his friendship. How thankful I was for accepting Clint into our fold. And as I hugged him tightly, I pressed my lips against his ear.
“Thank you. For everything.”
He nodded. “I’ll hang around for a bit, just in the slightest case this goes haywire. All right?”
“You won’t have to, but thank you anyway. Give it about ten minutes, then you can drive on off. I’m sure Cecilia will give me a ride home later.”
