Chapter Fifteen: Claire
Claire would be lying if she said she wasn’t disappointed Desmond wasn’t waiting on her when she got home. She wanted him to be, which was a shocker. She normally liked to come home to silence and be alone. Something was changing inside of her, and she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. She dialed his number and ignored the fact that his number popped up automatically, a sign that she dialed it too much.
“Hello?” Desmond slurred.
“Um. Hello. Desmond?”
“Claire, could you not yell?” he whispered.
“I’m not yelling,” she said without lowering her voice.
“Ugh. Claire, please. Too loud,” he moaned, and she felt bad.
“Are you hungover?” she said much lower.
“Will you be mad if I say yes?” he asked, and she covered her mouth so he wouldn’t hear her laugh. He sounded pitiful.
“No,” she said, softening her voice even more. “Not if you tell me why you got drunk.”
A beat of silence passed before he groaned. “Come on, Claire. I’m not feeling my best. Can you just come over?”
She sighed. “All right. I’ll be there soon. Text me the address.”
Claire drove and wondered what could have driven Desmond to drink. He was fine when she left him. Her stomach growled, and she decided to bring him some food. It was only right since he always brought her food when he came by her shop. With soup and homemade bread in tow, she pulled up to the apartment building. It appeared each floor was two apartments, which meant the inside was as spacious as his home. It figured. Desmond was no stranger to spending money or getting the kind of luxuries he wanted.
She knocked softly, thinking if he couldn’t tolerate her speaking normally into the phone he definitely wouldn’t enjoy the doorbell.
“Hey,” he said, opening the door and stepping back. “Come on in.”
He looked just like a child in his pajama pants with a blanket trailing behind him.
“I heard someone wasn’t feeling so good,” she said, holding up the plastic bag. “So, I brought soup.”
“Thanks,” he said, walking toward the kitchen and sitting down on one of the stools. “I could use it. I was just starting to feel hungry.”
“Perfect timing then,” she said, opening cabinets and helping herself until she found the bowls, spoons, and cups for the ginger ale she bought.
“Mm,” Desmond said, sniffing the container. “Tomato. My favorite.”
“Mine too,” Claire said, spooning out their portions.
They ate in silence, each lost in their thoughts for a moment. Claire thought of so many things to say. She wanted to tell him she missed him and wished he had stayed at her house. She wanted to ask why he was drinking and wondered if she was to blame. She hoped not, and the fact that she even cared was worrisome.
“Do you like the soup?” she said just to break the silence.
“Yeah,” he said, taking a bite of the bread. “It’s really good. Where’d you get it?”
“Um. Whole Foods, right down the street.”
“I have never tried one of their daily soups. I’ll have to try it next time I’m there,” he said before taking another bite of his bread.
“Yeah,” she said, nodding along.
More silence, and Claire felt her thoughts were entirely too loud.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Desmond asked just as she blurted out, “I’m falling in love with you.”
Her heart clenched, and she stared at him, hoping, praying he wouldn’t reject her. Was it too much to hope her feelings weren’t hers alone?
Desmond didn’t say anything, and Claire blushed with embarrassment. “Oh, god. I shouldn’t have said anything.” She stood, ready to bolt, and he caught her hand.
“No. Don’t go.”
“Desmond, please let me go. Just forget I said anything,” she said, pulling against his iron grip.
“I won’t,” he said, pulling her until she was standing in front of him. Sitting on the stool put him at her height. “I can’t,” he said, shaking his head.
“Why?” she moaned, and looked up at the ceiling, trying to hide her horror that tears were starting to form.
“Because I’m falling in love with you, too.”
“What?” she said, looking down too fast, causing a tear to escape down her cheek.
“Yeah,” he said and wiped it. “That’s why I’m hungover,” he admitted sheepishly. “I may or may not have handled it the wrong way.”
She choked out a laugh and, at first shocked, he laughed along with her.
She caught her breath and sighed. “We are a real pair, aren’t we?”
“Yeah,” Desmond said, pushing her arms from his chest to his shoulders “We’re something.”
“I don’t really care what we are as long as I’m with you,” she said, and then looked away with red tinted cheeks. She hadn’t meant that to sound as intimate as it did.
He pulled her face back to him so he could look her in the eyes and smiled. “Good,” he said before taking her lips.
There wasn’t much to be said after that. Claire wasn’t sure what exactly was happening between them, but she liked it. Desmond didn’t seem to know what to say either, but when the sun went down, he asked her to spend the night. They weren’t talking about forever, but it was something, and she was glad it was with him.
***
Claire felt the bed shift, and she opened her eyes.
“Did I wake you?” Desmond said, peering back over his shoulder.
“Maybe,” she said, and sat up. “Where are you going?”
“I have to go out to the country. Spread my wings. Check on my house. The usual bit,” he said, shuffling to the bathroom. He prepped his toothbrush as he spoke. “Want to come with me?”
She did want to come. If not to be with Desmond than to see his dragon. She hadn’t seen a dragon in its true form since she saw her great-grandfather as a kid, and that was years ago.
“I can’t,” she sighed, and flopped back into bed.
“Why?” he asked with a mouth full of toothpaste.
“I have to deal with the shop.”
“You don’t have to do anything. You should take off. Just come with me. Relax for once.”
She huffed. “Says the gazillionaire.”
He chuckled and spit into the sink. “Claire, come with me.”
“No,” she said resolutely. Not wanting to end on bad terms, she softened her voice. “I can’t, but you can, so go and have some fun for me.”
He wiped his mouth on the towel and walked back toward the bed. “I always have fun,” he said, leaning over her to plant a soft kiss on her lips.
“Then be careful.”
“Now that, I’m not always so sure,” he admitted. “But for you, I’ll try.”