Finally, Clay looked out the window and pointed to a turn off just ahead of us. “You want to pull down this road.” Clay told Rachel, pointing to the narrow dirt path to the right. “Are you sure my car will make it?” Rachel asked hesitantly. Clay chuckled. “Your car will be fine. It's a little rough the first fifty yards but the rest is packed dirt, you'll be golden.”
Rachel made the turn. “Alright, but if I eat it, you're paying for the repairs.” She grumbled. “Stop worrying.” I said, leaning forward and squeezing her shoulder. Of course, the first thing she did was hit a giant, crater sized pot hole, tipping the car precariously.
“Fuck!” She screeched after getting back on the hard road. Daniel was laughing in the front seat. “You should have seen your face, Rach! That was priceless.” Rachel smacked his arm. “Shut up, Daniel, or you're hoofing it to the cabin.”
Daniel snorted. “Whatever.” He muttered, but didn't make another comment. We drove for another two miles before the forest ended and we drove into a clearing. Sitting up on a hill was the most fantastic house I'd ever seen.
“Shit man, this wasn't at all what I was expecting when you said we'd be staying in a cabin.” Daniel said, whistling. The wooden structure was built to resemble a swiss chalet. The entire front was nothing but windows and there wasn't one but two large stone chimneys jutting from the roof.
“Wait until you get inside. It's incredible.” Clay promised as Rachel pulled into the two car garage off the side of the cabin. “I had no idea Lisa had the money for something like this.” I told Clay, a little awestruck. Clay reached into the trunk and pulled our duffel bags out. “It's actually Lisa's parents' place. Her family has the money but no one uses the cabin but Lisa. Most of her family has moved away, so she makes sure the property is maintained.”
Ray and Clare had just gotten out of their car. “Damn...this is awesome!” Raymond remarked. Clare seemed as amazed as the rest of us. I still couldn't believe that this is where we'd be spending the night.
Clay pulled out the keys and unlocked the door leading into the house from the garage. He quickly punched a code into an alarm panel on the wall, making it chirp. “Be careful, it's dark through here, so let's just get into the living room.” Clay grabbed my hand as I trailed behind him through the dark hallway.
He pushed through a swinging door and flicked on some lights and I was totally dazzled. The living room, kitchen, and dining area were an open floor plan. A large sectional sofa sat in front of the huge windows overlooking the forest, a beautiful stone fireplace sat to the right. Just off to the left of the living area was an enormous kitchen with stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, and a magnificent island with gas range stove top.
The dining room was truly spectacular. A magnificent cherry wood dining table sat in an alcove off of the kitchen, again the wall was one large window over looking the lake. A glass chandelier hung above the table. Wood floors, interspersed with area rugs ran throughout the downstairs.
I walked to the window in the dining area and looked out. It was a sunny day and the lake glistened. I could see a gazebo down below with screens enclosing it. Clay came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, resting his chin on my shoulder. He pointed to the gazebo. “That's where the jacuzzi is. We will be enjoying that later.” He nibbled my ear lobe, making me giggle.
“So who gets what rooms, dude?” Ray asked. Clay let me go and turned around. He pointed down a hallway leading off from the kitchen. “There are two bedrooms down there. Each has its own bathroom. You guys can decide who gets what.” He tugged on my hand and I followed him to a spiral staircase hidden to the right of the dining nook.
He looked at me mischievously. “You and I get the room up here.” I followed him up the stairs that led to a loft area. The room was the entire size of the downstairs. “Oh my god, Clay!” I said breathlessly. Again, it was the windows. There was only one wall made of wood, the other three were nothing but glass. It was like being outside. An enormous California king- sized bed sat in the middle of the room. There were stairs off to the side that went down into a sunken area with a whirlpool bathtub and two pedestal sinks.
“We get to sleep in here? Are you kidding me?'” I asked incredulously. I ran and jumped on the bed, laughing as I bounced. Clay stalked toward me and made a show of crawling on the bed until he was over top of me. I looked up into his face and smiled. I was so happy.
He pressed his mouth to mine, his tongue invading and conquering. I groaned as he licked my bottom lip, teasing it with his teeth. “Nothing but the best for you, Maggie.” He said softly into the skin of my neck as he nuzzled me. I rain my fingers through his hair and molded my body against his. Clay left light kisses along the side of my face as he interlaced his fingers with mine.
“This place is seriously unbelievable. Thank you so much for inviting us.” I told him as he pulled me tighter against him. Running his fingertips down my face, Clay smiled. “I know things have been tense lately. I haven't given you many reasons to smile.” I started to protest, but he covered my mouth with his finger.
“I'm not blind. I know what being with me has done to your life. I see how your friends, your parents, hell, everybody, looks at you because you're with me. I haven't done much to give them a positive impression of me. I just wanted a chance to prove that I'm not such a bad guy. For your friends to see how much you mean to me and that I would literally do anything in the world for you. Then maybe, they wouldn't look at us like we shouldn't be together.”
I hated that this is where we found ourselves. That he was so aware of the fact that no one understood our relationship and what we meant to each other. I wasn't sure one night with my friends would erase the months of damage. But I wanted to be as positive about it as he was.
“I love you.” I whispered before kissing him again, wanting to take away the sadness and pain that never seemed to leave Clay's face.
“Uh guys, we have a problem here.” I heard Rachel call from downstairs. Clay sighed and rested his forehead on my chest. “That doesn't sound good.” Clay commented. I chuckled and got up. “Come on. Let's go see what monumental crisis we have to avert.” I straightened my rumpled shirt and smoothed my hair before following Clay downstairs.
Ray and Clare were gone when we entered the kitchen. Daniel was sitting on one of the stools at the island, his head propped on his hand, looking annoyed. “What's up?” I asked, looking at Daniel, who I knew from experience was usually the source of Rachel's problem.