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Chapter Thirty-Five
-Milo-
Isat hunched over my bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats when Clay’s bedroom door finally opened. A tall brunette sauntered out, carrying her red heels in her fingers, Clay close behind her, wearing nothing but his boxers.
I held my spoon close to my mouth as the brunette walked past, whispering something to Clay behind her, and then her eyes widened when she saw me.
“Oh,” she gasped, “You must be Milo, Clay's new roommate.” She circled her shoulder, fixing her dress strap that was slowly falling off her shoulder. “I’m Rebecca.” She held out a hand for me to shake.
I looked at her hand and took a bite of my cereal, giving Clay a glance. “Nice to meet you,” I said after I swallowed, not returning her handshake.
Clay narrowed his eyes at me and then placed his hand on the small of Rebecca’s back. “He’s always a grump in the morning,” he grumbled, pushing her toward the door.
“Oh, I, uh…” She pointed toward the kitchen, but Clay kept pushing her out.
“I’ll call you, okay?” He gave her a quick kiss. Rebecca gave him a smile as a reward, waved her fingers at him and then left the apartment. Clay rubbed the back of his neck, gave out a long breath of air and then turned back toward the kitchen.
“Rebecca, huh?” I asked, taking another bite of my cereal.
“You had to be sitting right there?” Clay opened the refrigerator and pulled out a carton of orange juice. Not even bothering with a cup, he opened the lip and took a long drink. I made a mental note to not drink from that carton.
“Where else am I supposed to eat breakfast?”
He shrugged. “I guess I could have asked her to leave sooner…”
“If I move in, what are your girlfriends going to do?”
“I don’t have girlfriends.I have Rebecca.” Clay put the orange juice back in the refrigerator and leaned up against the counter.
I tilted my head. “Okay, what will Rebecca do? Especially, on weeks I have Holly. And what if Madeline moves in?”
“Yeah, let's talk about Madeline. You’ve been awfully quiet on that topic.”
“Nothing to tell. We haven't talked since I’ve been here. I’m going to call her when I get home tonight. End of story.”
He nodded, pursing his lip and pinching his brow. He pushed himself off the counter. “Well, if Madeline does move in with you, I’ll just have to go see Rebecca at her place.”
“Who is Rebecca anyway if she's not your girlfriend?”
“She's just…” Clay grumbled. “She’s just Rebecca.”
I took another bite of my cereal and hummed.
“So,” he continued, grabbing a mug and pouring himself a cup of coffee from the machine. “You got a job offer and put an application in for an apartment. Looks like Seattle is in your future.”
“A job offer and an application that hasn’t been accepted yet doesn't mean I’m moving.”
“Well, no, but it's a step in the right direction.”
“Is it?” I asked, poking at the cereal in the bowl. “I don’t want to move, but if I have to, I will.”
“This custody thing isn’t looking too good, is it?” he asked softly.
I shrugged, standing up and taking my bowl to the sink. I rinsed it, watching the remaining milk go down the drain. Reaching for my own mug, I sighed. “I’m just trying to prepare myself.”
“Well, I for one, would be happy to have you back.”
I looked at my friend, his brown hair tight behind his ears, freshly cut and short. He had more muscle than he did in college, and he seemed taller—if that was even possible. He was already way past six feet. Even though on the outside he looked good, I could tell he wasn’t the same Clay I knew in college. His eyes were sunk in his face, and he constantly looked tired.
