All's Fair in Love and Las Vegas

Chapter Seventeen

        Grayson and I, while normally stiff and awkward in our sleeping arrangements, were even more stiff and awkward than usual the next morning. I think we were fighting. I wasn't exactly sure. I decided we were officially fighting when I discovered that he had left the bath mat wadded up in the corner.

        That was unacceptable.

        Clay, unfortunately, nominated himself to be the peacemaker. He was the only one at breakfast, and he sat at the head of the table with his hands neatly folded. 

        "Where's mom?" Grayson asked, sitting down across from me.

        "She had a ladies event to attend to. Well, she said she was visiting friends but a ladies event sounds boring and mysterious at the same time," Clay amended. 

        "Clay," his brother said warningly. Grayson was in a snippy mood.

        "Fine. Jackie, Grayson, I think we need to discuss the events of last night," Clay said in a voice much too gentle. 

        "We?" I asked skeptically. I didn't like the sound of we.

        "Yes, we. Clearly you two haven't resolved it on your own," he said calmly. "It's cold in here. We don't tolerate that sort of behavior at the Answell Preschool Academy." 

        "The what now?" Grayson asked sharply.

        "It's obviously a preschool academy, or worse, a nursery. You two-my finest and only students-were acting like toddlers. If toddlers knew about the little shenanigans that adults like to pull," Clay said much too reasonably. 

        My face burned. "We are not toddlers, Clay, it's complicated."

        "Really? Because I would love to be Grayson's older brother," he said eagerly, then wilted. "Nevermind, that means being Laura's golden pet poodle." 

        "Huh?" Grayson did not speak Clay.

        "Look, we're just working through some things and..." I trailed off, not knowing how to defend that claim. 

        "Trying to fix it with shenanigans?" he asked, giving me a look.

        I blushed deeper, swirling my bowl of oatmeal.

        "Stay out of it, Clay," Grayson said glumly, munching through his breakfast.

        "Or what? You'll make out with Jackie again?" his brother asked innocently. 

        "You knew about that?" I asked, horrified.

        Clay smiled and reached over to rest his hand on my wrist. "Sweetheart. We all knew about that. It was written all over your faces." 

        "Oh!" I was mortified.

        "It's okay, Jackie. You know, I figured that some trusted adult in your life would talk to you about this, but I guess ol' Clay's gotta step up," he said in a voice that made me even more skeptical of what he was about to say. "See, this is perfectly normal. When a young person, or as I like to say, a youngster, starts getting older, they begin to have these urges—"

        "Clay, we are eating breakfast," Grayson snapped, throwing down his fork and saving me from throttling Clay.

        "Dang okay, no one wants Uncle Clay. I get it," he mumbled.

        "Yes, no one wants Uncle Clay." 

        "Uncle Clay is fine sometimes," I corrected, not wanting to hurt his feelings.