Free Love Me ~ Without Regret by Renee Kennedy

head.
    “You can’t what, Clay? Be my friend?” My voice is thick, and I almost choke.
    “Lizzie, I can’t see their hands all over you. It makes me want to kill them, I mean actually kill them, well at least cause them bodily harm. I want to be the only one whose hands roam those curves of yours. My biggest fear is you’ll fall in love with one of them. I couldn’t take that, Lizzie, I really couldn’t.”
    He sounds so serious when up to this point he has only been flirtatious. This jealous side has me wondering if I should be flattered, or scream and run the other way. I don’t even know what to say to him now. No other guy has ever gone to this much trouble to just get in my pants.
    “Why don’t we go out as friends and see how that works out? That would be a step in the right direction, Clay. You’ll be able to see that being friends is a much better option for us. It’s not that you’re not a wonderful guy, it’s me.” I know guys hear shit like that all of the time, but I’m seriously broken. I don’t even think Dr. Phil could fix me. Yes, this could be a good plan. He can see I’m majorly broken before he gets attached and thinks the relationship could actually go somewhere. Then we all can still remain friends.
    “I think I can work with that. What is your schedule like this week?” He loosens his hands around the steering wheel and taps his thumb to the beat of the music.
    “Tomorrow, I’m at the ranch nine ‘til one and I have the rest of the day free. Starting this week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, I’m at the large animal teaching hospital doing my rotations. Hopefully, sooner or later, I’ll have my degree in Veterinary Medicine. Tuesdays and Thursdays, I help with Granny and Papa if there is anything to be done. I use that time to study and normally come to the ranch and check on the horses. I sneak over there almost every day.”
    “With you being so busy, I really appreciate you taking care of my horses. I know the kids love seeing you, too. How about tomorrow, after your shift, we could go mudding?”
    “Too cold for mudding, what else ya got?” I come up with my own idea, “What about a bonfire? We can invite several people and all hang out.”
    “Yeah, I can build us a fire. That would be nice. We can spend time getting to know each other better, just the two of us.”
    He just completely skipped over the fact I said invite other people. “Clay, bonfires include more than two people.” I want more people around to keep me from my temptation.
    “I’ll tell you what, you bring extra clothes, dress warmly, and I’ll come up with something for the two of us.”
    “Okay, I’ll leave it up to you, as long as it is friendly and not intimate.”
    Of course, when we make it to my apartment, he has to get out and walk me to the door.
    “Thanks for the ride. See ya tomorrow.”
    “You’re welcome, Lizzie. You can count on me anytime.” He leans in for a kiss.
    I turn my cheek to him because I feel my resolve falling away layer by layer. “Clay, we can’t be kissing friends.”
    He reaches to brush my hair from my face and ends up placing his hand on my shoulder, “How about a friendly hug then? You gave Levi a friendly hug.” He takes me in his arms and hugs me like he means it. He holds me, gently pressing me against him. He has one hand in my hair and the other rubbing my back.
    This is one of the most intimate hugs I’ve ever received. I love every warm delectable second of it. I just can’t let him know how he makes my toes curl and my body hum.
    Clay
    I have a lot to do to prepare for my date with Lizzie. She is going to fall in love with me one way or another. If I have to woo her, that’s what I’ll do. I don’t care if she thinks she’s not the romantic type. I see her walls falling, and I’ll keep on with my pursuit.
    I don’t make time for work around the ranch much today because I want to make things perfect for our date. On Sundays, we aren’t