I paced the brick path at the entrance to the botanical garden, checking my phone every thirty seconds, as if I wouldn't feel the vibration of a notification alert. My lock screen remains blank.

"You are being way superfluous, Emmie," Carrie said, sounding quite bored. Draped across a bench, wearing a sleeveless army green romper, her bronze legs crossed with one of her sandals dangling from her toes. Her leg idly bounced, making the sole of the shoe flop against her foot as she stared at her phone.

I paused to look at her, confused. "What does that even mean?"

She grinned, not bothering to look up from her screen. "Extra. Over the top. Too much."

I rolled my eyes. I didn't have the brain capacity right now to explain how that was not the proper usage of that term. Just because a word was synonymous with another, didn't mean they meant exactly the same thing and could be used interchangeably. I would be glad when she finally took the damn ACTs again and stopped this inane use of superfluous synonyms.

Resuming my stride, I checked my phone again. Nothing.

The scuffle of footsteps made my ears perk up. I expected to be disappointed again, like the last two times I'd heard someone approaching. Still, I couldn't stop myself from looking up. A smile tugged at the corners of my lips.

Clay returned the gesture. He'd dressed for the heat in a fitted navy and white striped tank, salmon-colored chino shorts that hit just above his knees, and a backwards white baseball cap, with a bit of his silver hair poked out through the gap in the front.

Despite it being October, it was over eighty degrees. The smothering humidity made it feel even hotter. But that was Alabama weather. Tomorrow, we might wake up and need a sweater. We got roughly nine months of summer, one month of fall, and two months of winter—not always in that order. October was kind of a catchall month, each day a different season without warning. Fall didn't fully arrive for real until around Halloween.

Clay jogged the last few feet to close the distance between us. He laid a hand on my waist and kissed me sweetly, right on the lips. Again, surprising me with his willingness to show affection so publicly. "Sorry we're late."

"I hadn't even noticed."

Carrie snorted in amusement.

I ignored her outburst and looked past Clay. Summer gave a small wave. She wore a denim skirt and a baby blue crop top. The color looked great against her dark skin. She was even more beautiful in person than the photos I'd seen of her. Though her hair was different, much shorter and perfectly straight.

She was the reason for my nerves today. When I called Clay, inviting him to join us, he asked to bring Summer along, since they were already hanging out. I didn't really know how to feel about her as my boyfriend's ex-girlfriend, even if Clay never felt the same way about her as he did for me. He spoke so highly of her; he clearly adored her. He'd also spent a lot of time with her in the two weeks between the end of his punishment and the end of mine.

Clay stepped back to stand beside Summer, officially introducing her to me.

"It's so nice to meet you," Summer said, looking me over. This was the first time we'd been face to face. I suspected she was sizing me up every bit as much as I was her. "I feel like I know you with everything Clay's told me."

"Same," I said.

She took hold of Clay's hand, and it kind of annoyed me how they looked like the perfect couple together.

I wondered what she thought about me. Did she hold any resentment for losing her boyfriend to me? Clay said she was very supportive when he came out. I was a little jealous that she was the first person he told. Secretly, I wished it could've been me. But I suppose I understood why it wasn't. Especially since—as Clay often liked to remind me—I kept telling him he wasn't my type, because I stupidly thought that would keep him from feeling uneasy around me. I still cursed myself for ever thinking that was a good idea.

Carrie joined the group, stuffing her phone into the pocket of her camera bag. She lifted the strap over her head so it hung across her body. She looked from me to Clay to Summer. "This must be super awkward for the three of you."

Summer shook her head. "I don't think so."

Carrie scoffed. "Even though you dated him." She pointed to Clay. "Now he's dating him." Her finger jumped to me. "And he told him to break up with you."

I nudged her with my elbow. "That's not exactly how it went down." I said through gritted teeth.

"Since he's gay—" Summer pointed her thumb at Clay "—it's probably best for everyone that he broke up with me for him."

Carrie shrugged. "If you say so."

Clay brought Summer's hand up to hold it between both of his, gazing into her eyes. "I didn't break up with you for him. You know that, right? I didn't even know I liked him yet."

Summer pulled her hand free and slipped her arm around Clay's waist, cozying up to his side. "I know, Button. I was making a point."

I flinched. She had a pet name for my boyfriend. I tried to shake off the weirdness I was feeling about that. Why was their closeness bothering me so much? His bond with Summer was nothing more than what I had with Carrie.

"We should probably get moving." I hooked my arm through Carrie's and spun her around, pulling her through the entrance. We walked down the long path that stretched out beneath a pergola draped in flowering vines.

"You and Summer should totally grab a coffee sometime and compare notes about Clay's skills." She giggled. "I wonder if it was as good for her as you said it was for you."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I threw a glance over my shoulder to make sure Clay and Summer hadn't overheard her. They trailed way behind us, talking. Clay met my eyes and smiled.

"Relax, Emmie. It was a joke."

"Well, stop."

"Hey, baby," Clay called out.

I released my hold on Carrie, giving her a "You're on thin ice" glare as we both paused, turning back, waiting for them to catch up. "Yeah?"

"Not that this isn't beautiful—" Clay raised a hand, gesturing to our surroundings "—but what exactly are we doing here? You said you had to come here."

"We have to take pictures for a project we're doing together for our history class. It's a presentation about places important to local history. This is what we got assigned." I gestured around us at the garden.

"Couldn't you have just gotten pictures off the internet?" Clay asked.

"I wish." Carrie crossed her arms, jutting her hip out to the side for extra effect. "Our teacher would probably do a reverse image search to make sure we actually took them."

"That's crazy," Summer said.

"The whole point is supposed to be experiencing the historical place firsthand," I said. "It's part of the project."

Clay walked over to hook his arm around my neck. The scent of fresh sweat mixed with his sweet cologne gave me so many ideas. Even more so when he kissed my cheek. "Well, let's get to experiencing then."

As we walked, I stared at Clay until he finally looked over and said, "What?"

"You're not worried about someone seeing you kiss me, or having your arm around me? We are in public."

Without breaking our stride, Clay pulled me closer and placed a peck at the corner of my lips. "No. Not here."

"What's so special about here?"

"For one, I highly doubt anyone I know is gonna waste their Sunday at the botanical gardens."

Now I felt bad about dragging him here. Surely he would have had more fun doing whatever he'd planned with Summer. "You didn't have to come if you didn't want to."

"Hey, no. That's not what I meant. I'm very happy to be here with you. Anywhere you are, is where I want to be."

"Nice save." I peeked over at him, unable to fight off a grin.

"It's the truth."

"What's up with 'Button?'" I asked, without even bothering an attempt at a transitional topic.

Clay narrowed his eyes at me. "You mean Summer calling me that, I assume."

I nodded.

"It's just what she called me when we were together. I called her Sunny, and she called me Button. It's just one of those stupid couple things."

I turned my sight to the ground and mumbled, "You guys aren't a couple anymore."

From the corner of my eye, I saw Clay crack a smile. "Please don't tell me you're jealous of Summer."

"I dunno." I kicked at some loose pebbles on the path, sending them skittering into the flowerbeds.

"Baby, I'm gay." Clay sounded exasperated. Which was justified. "I'm not into her. At all. She's just my friend."

"I know." I cuddled up closer into the crook of his arm. "And I know it's totally like Stage-Five Clinger of me, but I don't like the idea of sharing you."

Clay kissed my temple, wrapping both his arms way around my shoulders. "You're not sharing me with anyone, Em. I'm yours. Completely. Just like you're mine."

"We don't have one of those cute couple-y nickname things, though."

"I'm sure we could come up with something if you really want, but I prefer calling you baby. I never did that with a girl. It always felt super awkward. But it just fits with you."

I tried not to show the glee that answer elicited, but I was unsuccessful. "Good answer."

Clay hugged me tighter. "Thank you, baby."

A moment later, he said, "Although, I gotta say, I did like it that time you called me 'love.' You could do that more. Like, y'know, if you want. But you don't have to or anything."

I stretched over to kiss his cheek. "I'd be happy to, love."

He chewed on his bottom lip, barely concealing his delight.

All this unwarranted jealousy was probably my own insecurity and self-worth issues at play. I mean, my last boyfriend actually left me for a girl. It was possibly a bit of PTSD. But I shouldn't project my Alfie issues onto Clay. He didn't deserve that. He'd never given me reason to doubt him.

We stopped at a fork in the path. I looked over the signs listing the different gardens for each way. "Where to first?" I asked when the girls caught up.

"How about we split up?" Carrie suggested, sharing a quick glance with Summer. "You boys take the international gardens and the lake. Me and Summer can do the historic house tour, the greenhouses, and the local plant gardens. We'll knock this thing out in half the time."

"I'm cool with that," Summer said, eyeing me and Clay with a hint of a smirk.

Clay looked at me with an adorable, lopsided grin. "Baby?"

Now I felt even stupider for being jealous, because I was fairly certain Summer and Carrie had conspired to give me and Clay some alone time.

I nodded. "Sounds good to me."

"Don't forget to take plenty of pictures for the slideshow." Carrie opened her camera bag and removed a small silver digital camera from an inside pocket. She handed it to Clay. "Do not let him touch this. I will not have another camera broken because of butterfingers over there."

As she and Summer set off down the path to the left, I slipped my arm around Clay's waist as we walked down our path.

"What was that about?" Clay asked.

"I may have accidentally dropped her two hundred dollar camera off a balcony onto the pavement below, back in, like, eighth grade. And it may have been irreparably damaged."

"You didn't!"

"I did. She hasn't trusted me with any of her equipment since."

Clay laughed, pulling me closer. "That's hilarious."

"She didn't think so. She barely talked to me for a whole week."

At the Spanish garden, we broke apart to take a few pictures. When I say we, I mean Clay, because there was no way I was taking responsibility for one of Carrie's cameras again. Clay looked over at me and snapped a picture, grinning at me.

"You know, this is kinda like our second date," he said, as he returned to hold me.

"Let's hope it turns out as good as the first one."

Clay nuzzled my neck, chuckling. "Play your cards right and it totally can."

"Actually," I said, laying a hand on his chest, "it's my mom's turn to work the graveyard shift at the animal clinic. She's leaving at eight and won't be back until six. You could come over. We could do things."

"I have an eight o'clock curfew on school nights. Remember? My parents would kill me and take away my car again."

"I could come to you. Say, maybe, around eleven-ish. Sneak in and just slip right back out when we're done. No one will ever know."

"Could you—could we—I don't know... like, do what we did the first time again?"

"You want to do it again?"

Clay shrugged his shoulders. "Practice makes perfect."

"True."

"And, I don't know, I kinda like the thought of you..." Clay paused as his whole face turned red. "Thinking about having you... doing that. It really turns me on."

"Then, of course, we can." I kissed his cheek. "Honestly, it really turns me on, too."

__________

____

I collapsed onto a bench somewhere in the Japanese garden, drenched in sweat. We'd been walking almost nonstop, only pausing to take pictures. I groaned loud enough to startle a bird perched on a signpost nearby. It flew away with a squawk. "Why does it have to be so fucking hot?"

Clay sat beside me, laying a hand on my thigh. He somehow managed a smile. He had a light sheen of sweat across his skin that gave him a glowing, fresh, dewy look.

How the hell did he look that good in this heat? I loved him dearly, but I also kind of hated him right now for looking so damn good.

I was sure I looked a mess right now. My hair gel had melted a good twenty minutes ago, seeping down my forehead. Even though I washed my face in the bathroom, I could still feel the slimy residue, like it seeped into my pores. My hair was now plastered to my scalp with sweat. I didn't know how Clay could stand to even be near me, let alone touch me.

"Hey, love. If I faint from a heatstroke, will you carry me around for the rest of the day?" I asked, whimpering.

Clay found this hilarious. He removed his hand from my leg to put his arm around me, pulling me closer, undeterred by the excessive perspiration. He leaned in and gave me a peck on the lips. "Of course I would, baby."

A woman pushing a stroller picked up her pace as she passed by, her lips twisting into a frown when Clay kissed my temple and said, "I'd do anything for you."

For Clay's sake, I let the woman's disdain slide. There would always be people who would treat us like that, looking down on us, like what we were doing was immoral or dirty. I also knew that woman wouldn't have looked twice if that same interaction happened if it were Carrie and Jackson, or Makenzie and Dan doing it. She might even smile and think it was sweet.

I turned to look into Clay's innocent, big brown eyes. "I love you."

"I love you too," Clay said, punctuating the declaration with a gentle kiss.

Clay's body shook as he chuckled silently.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"I was just thinking. This kinda reminds me of our hike. You begged me to give you a piggyback ride back down the trail."

I laid my head on Clay's shoulder. "But you didn't. Which was so mean."

"I wanted to. I really did, but I was afraid that if I did, with my hands on your thighs to keep you up and your body rubbing against mine, we'd have a repeat of the ATV situation."

"I get it. And I was only half kidding. But that was a good day." I said.

"I was so nervous. I wanted to kiss you so many times."

"You should have."

"Yeah. I should have." Clay slowly bobbed his head up and down. "With the view and the picnic, it would've been a great first kiss story."

I lifted my head to look at him. "I think our real first kiss story is still pretty great."

Clay grinned at me, nodding. "Definitely."

"That picnic is one of the sweetest things anyone ever did for me. And somehow you keep topping it."

"I try."

"You've really spoiled me for other men. Next to you, no one will ever compare."

Clay gave a sultry, devilish look, leaning in close until his nose brushed against mine. "Then I guess my devious master plan is working."

"If you mean the one where you make me fall deeply, insanely in love with you, and never, ever want to let you go, then yeah, I'd say it's a rousing success."

"Good." Clay pressed his forehead against mine. "Because I never want to let you go either."

"I'm not going anywhere." I twisted my head to kiss Clay. "Not without you."

"I have a secret," Clay whispered.

I pulled back to examine his cheery face. "What is it?"

"I applied to nine schools in New York."

I sat up stick straight—it was the straightest I'd ever been at anything in my entire—and stared at him in shock. "When?"

"That day when you got out of the hospital. As soon as I got home from breakfast, I downloaded all the applications and filled them out. I couldn't stand the thought of not being with you. Having that be a possibility for only three weeks nearly sent me into a panic attack, but the thought of you going to New York without me, I couldn't even think about it."

"Where did you apply?"

"Well, I know it's a long shot, but I did NYU, because I know that's like your dream school. I didn't even bother with Columbia because even though I have pretty decent grades, I know I don't stand a chance there. But most of the others are like the New York college system. I forget what it's called. It's like the UCs but New York's version."

I nodded. I knew what he meant. I had a couple of those as safety schools in case NYU didn't pan out.

Too elated to care about anyone seeing us, I jumped into his lap and threw my arms around his neck. "I can't believe you did that for me."

Clay started laughing and smiling. "I did it for us."

I backed away to grip his gorgeous face between my hands. That deserved a proper kiss, which was probably a bit too intense for this place, but I didn't give a fuck. Let all the bigots glare at us. I had the sweetest man alive, and I was going to show my appreciation.