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-Ophelia-
Five bolts of ugly maroon fabric were shoved into Clay’s Tesla. The dark red stood out against the white interior of his car, and my small bag of supplies grew more once we raced into the Gresham store. We made it with thirty minutes to spare, and yet again, Clay followed me around the aisles. This time, he was pushing the cart of fabric. The cart was so small he had to hunch over to push it, and I had to stop myself from watching for fear that I would giggle.
I never giggled.
Except when it came to Clay.
The moment I was up in his arms earlier, something clicked, and for some reason, I didn’t want to hold those pesky giggles in anymore. I still had feelings for him. Sure, Madeline had told me this, and Jamie had told me he still loved me, but after years of heartbreak and moving on, I never wanted to admit it. Now here I was, with him following me around like a puppy in a fabric store, enjoying every second of his company.
I didn’t want to be without him.
On our way out of Gresham, he was silent. He watched the road and made sure his speed was constant. I could tell this was his first time driving at night with expired plates, but he was trying. He avoided passing people and even put it in cruise control if he could, but then he started to slow down more, even flicking his hazards on. Was he that nervous to drive with expired plates?
“Well,” he groaned as he pulled off to the side of the road, bringing the Tesla to a complete stop. “We are, uh. . . out of charge.”
I widened my eyes and looked at the screen in front of us. I didn't notice the red blinking light before. “What?” I asked, with a shock in my voice.
Clay swallowed. “We’re out of charge.” He leaned back into his seat and grabbed his phone in the middle of the console. “And the nearest charging station is. . .” He pulled up Google, and I waited. “In Portland, twenty minutes away.”
“Don’t Teslas have a backup charger or something?”
“Some do. I don’t.”
“And we didn't charge it before we left. . . why?” I asked.
“I knew you needed to get to that store, and I was worried if we charged it, they would close.”
I bit my bottom lip. I inhaled sharply. I blinked, ignoring how adorable that was. “Okay, this is not a problem. We will just call a tow truck and get towed to the nearest charging station.”
“Um. . .” he muttered, hesitation in his voice. “No, we don't need a tow truck. I’ll just call Milo. His truck can tow it.” Clay thumbed through his phone again and landed on Milo’s name, hitting the call icon before lifting his phone to his ear.
He was scared. I guarantee he was nervous that if we called a tow truck, they would impound his car. No insurance, expired tags. . . Lord knew how much he owed on it. I sat, my hands on my lap while he talked to Milo.
“Okay, yeah, no. . . we can wait. Thanks, man. . . see you soon.” He heaved a sigh as he ended the call. “Well, I have good news and bad news.”
“Bad news first.”
“He’s in a movie with Mads, but they will be done in about an hour and half, but good news is, they’re coming.” Clay looked over at me and smiled.
I forced a chuckle. “That’s great. Mads can approve the color then.” I exhaled and looked from Clay to outside. “So, what do we do for ninety minutes?”
“Are you hungry? I’m sure there’s places to eat. I may have enough juice to get us to a diner.”
“You’re willing to try?”
“She’s got about five miles left in her. Let's find a diner.”
I laughed, a real one this time. “Yeah, okay. At least let’s getheroff the freeway.” I side eyed him as he slowly got back on the freeway, his hazards blinking the entire time. “Doesshehave a name?” I asked sarcastically.
“Yes, it's Tessa, so you need to be nice to her.”
“Tessa!?” I threw my head back and laughed.
“Don’t listen to her, Tessa. . .” Clay hummed as he patted the dashboard in front of him.
“Oh, please. . .” I grumbled.
Clay chuckled under his breath, a smile on his face that made my stomach turn.
