Bad Girlfriend (First & Last #4) (12 page)

Adam placed his forearms on the table and leaned forward.
  The silver watch on his left wrist caught the setting sun.  “I know talking about past relationships is a big first date no-no, but I have the feeling it will be a big help in getting to know you, Brooke.  So, I have to know what prompted Leah and Lindsay to give you a list of rules to follow.”

My first instinct was to play dumb and deny any knowledge of why I had to have the very simplest of dating rules written down and tucked into my bra at all times.  But something about Adam made me want to talk to him. 
To tell him the truth about myself.

With a sigh and big gulp of wine, I said, “In case you couldn’t tell from the night we first met, I’m kind of a whore.”  I meant it half-jokingly, but Adam didn’t seem to see the humor in my statement.

His expression immediately turned dark, and his voice was low and firm when he said, “Brooke, I don’t ever want to hear you say that again.”

The steel in his voice caught me off guard, and he seemed very much like the pri
ncipal he was during the week.

“I was just joking.  Sort of,” I mumbled.

My right hand was nervously straightening and re-straightening my silverware.  Adam reached across the table and took my hand.  Rubbing his thumb over my fingers, he said in a softer tone, “I’m sorry if that came across a little harsh.  I just don’t like hearing you talk about yourself like that.  Some women might deserve that label, but you’re not one of them.”

I shrugged but didn’t want to say anymore.  Adam refilled my wine glass with the hand that wasn’t holding mine.

“Tell me why you said that, Brooke,” he prompted, his brown eyes focused solely on me.

So I did.  I told him about my first “boyfriend” in high school, although he was actually someone else’s boyfriend.  I was just the girl he called when his real girlfriend wouldn’t put out. 
That lovely relationship lasted from the beginning of my junior year until we graduated and he left for college.

Adam didn’t say anything as I talked.  He just continued to hold my hand and listen.  His expression was completely neutral, and I had no idea what he was thinking.

Then I told him about the guy I dated the summer after high school.  He was in college and was working on one of the vineyards for the summer.  There wasn’t anything too dark and twisted about him, except that he promised we would stay together after the summer was over.  When he left to return to college in September, I never saw or heard from him again.

My third relationship was with a married man.  In my defense I didn’t know he was married when I met him.  It wasn’t until we had been together for several months that I found out he was married.  Of course, he swore he loved me and was planning to leave his wife.  It wasn’t until I found out his wife was pregnant that I summoned enough inner strength to break it off with him.
  That was the one I was most ashamed of.

Finally risking a glance at Adam, I shrugged and said, “And that just leaves
the last guy.”

“The scary guy with the muscle car?”

I snorted, remembering that Adam had met Chet when I was screaming at him in my driveway.  “Yeah, that’s him.  We’ve been together on and off for about a year.  Of all of them, he’s probably the best.”

Adam raised a doubtful eyebrow.

“We’ve never been exclusive.  He’s never promised anything or claimed he loves me.  At least with him, I knew what to expect.”

Uh
oh.  The stern principal face was back.

“Brooke.  You deser
ve to know you’re the only one.  To have promises kept.  To believe that the guy you’re with loves you.  That’s what you should expect.”

Deep down I knew these things were true.  My grandma and my friends had said these same things to me more than once.  But it was very different to hear the words coming from a man.  I don’t know if
it was his sincere honesty or the wine or the flowers, but for the first time since I was sixteen, I actually felt hopeful that I could find love.  The kind of love that my friends had all found.

Chapter Twelve

Adam

The waiter appeared with our entrees, completely breaking the intense mood.  I released Brooke’s hand, and we both leaned back so our plates could be set in front of us.

I had never been in a physical fight, preferring to take a more civilized approach to solving problems.  It’s what I taught my students and how I had lived my life.  Until now.  As I had listened to Brooke describe how she had been used and taken advantage of by every man in her life, I felt violent tendencies creeping up inside me.

Sure, a case could be made that it was Brooke’s fault for getting herself into these situations and putting up with the shit these guys doled out. 
But knowing Brooke’s upbringing - being abandoned by her parents and raised by her grandmother - I could see how she would be hungry for love and acceptance.  I was somewhat surprised that I didn’t see her as weak.  But that’s not how I saw Brooke at all.  Instead I saw someone who kept looking for what she needed even when she was pushed down again and again.

Knowing what I knew then, I gave her a lot of credit for showing me the dating rules.  She was committed enough to making a change that she risked scaring me away.  There were plenty of guys that would have taken one look
at that paper and said “See you later.”

Realizing that Brooke was silently picking at her food, I smiled and said, “Thank you for telling me all that.  I know it can’t have been easy.  I promise no more tough questions tonight.”

She visibly relaxed and smiled the sweetest smile.  It was so easy to make her happy, and again I felt raw anger at the guys who had come before me.  I’m sure all they saw was the long red hair, full lips, and the body a swimsuit model would be envious of.  Of course, I saw all those things.  But I also saw the sweet and sensitive girl behind those wide green eyes.

“So what about you?
  Tell me about your life before you moved here,” Brooke said.

“My life is pretty boring.”

She waved her fork in the air with a flourish.  “Boring is good sometimes, Adam.”

I wasn’t sure if I should take that as a compliment.  “Well, my childhood was pretty normal.  I grew up in New Jersey with my mom, dad and sister.  My parents were both teachers, which is probably why I do what I do now.  My sister was three years older and used to dress me up like a girl when I was little.  She always wanted a sister.”

Brooke laughed.  “I’ll bet you were a cute little girl.”

“Hey now.”

“What about girlfriends?  I told you my sordid past.  It’s your turn.”

I shrugged.  “I dated a couple of girls in high school, but nothing serious.  I did have one serious girlfriend in college.  We dated for almost five years, but eventually broke up a couple of years after graduation.  Since then I haven’t
been with anyone for longer than a few months.”

Brooke took a sip of wine and licked a stray drop from her bottom lip.  My
eyes were frozen to her mouth.

“What happened with the girlfriend? 
The serious one?”

“She was pushing me to get engaged.  We’d been together for a long time, and it seemed like the logical thing to do.  But when it came right down to it, I just couldn’t do it.  I told her I wasn’t ready, and she said she wasn’t going to wait around any longer.”

“Finally!  Something wrong with you.  You’re a commitment phobe,” Brooke teased while pointing her fork at me, though I could see disappointment in her eyes.

At the time, I thought that might be it.  I mean, Angela and I had gotten along well.  We had the same values and goals in life.  I didn’t understand why I couldn’t fully commit to her.

“No,” I said, shaking my head.  “I don’t think that’s it.  She just wasn’t the one.”

Brooke tilted her head, causing her long hair to fall over her bare shoulder.  “Do you believe in that? 
The idea that there is only one person out there for you.  Your soul mate.”

I popped the last bit of my steak in my mouth and chewed.  When I swallowed, I said, “Honestly, I don’t know.  But I do know that we’ve covered way too many heavy topics for a first date.  Do you want dessert?”

Brooke pushed her nearly empty plate away from her and shook her head.  “No, thank you.  I’m full.  That was wonderful.  Thank you, Adam.”

I motioned for the waiter to bring the check over.  “Don’t thank me yet.  The night’s not over.”

“You’ve already surpassed my highest expectations,” she replied.

I chuckled.  “Brooke, we really need to work on your expectations.”

After the bill was paid, we left the restaurant and headed for part two of our date.  It was nearly dark by the time we drove back into town and parked on the street outside the movie theater.  The mood was considerably lighter than it had been during dinner.  Brooke seemed almost relieved to have told me about her previous relationships.  It was like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.  I didn’t want her to spend one more minute thinking that’s how she deserved to be treated.

We walked down the sidewalk, and I laced my fingers with hers.  She looked up and smiled.

“Hand holding on the first date is acceptable, right?”  I asked.

A small smile played on her lips. 
“Definitely.”

I bought two tickets to a romantic comedy even though Brooke said we could see the action movie that was playing.  I did enjoy a good action movie, but I was looking forward to Brooke having a reason to snuggle up to me.

We stopped at the concession stand for two sodas and a large box of candy to share.  The theater was practically deserted, and we took two seats in the back row.

I raised the arm rest between our seats.  “Oh, look.  This goes up.”

“How handy,” Brooke replied as she scooted closer to me.

I draped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her even closer, so she was resting her head on my shoulder. 
My fingers traced patterns on the bare skin of her shoulder and upper arm.  After two hours like that, I couldn’t tell you one thing that happened in that movie.  I was completely consumed by Brooke - the scent of her perfume mixed with the chocolate she was eating, her soft hair tickling my neck, the little sniffles she made when the movie must have gotten to the sappy romantic parts.  Thank God for those damn rules.  If I hadn’t promised to abide by them, I would have trouble not begging for a repeat of last Friday night.  This time sober, so I could remember every single second.

When the movie ended and the lights in the theater came back on, I heard Brooke sniffle again.  There were tears in her eyes, but a smile on her face.

“That was such a good movie,” she sighed, as she attempted to wipe her eyes with her fingers in the way girls do when they try not to mess up their makeup.

“Here,” I offered, rolling down my shirt sleeve so she could use it to dry her eyes.

“Thanks,” she said, smiling sheepishly and leaned down to daintily dab the corners of her eyes with my sleeve.

She walked ahead of me as we exited the theater, but I took her hand as soon as we were outside.  I had been touching her for the last two hours, and that hadn’t been nearly enough.
  I couldn’t bear to stop now.

We drove home in silence, and I walked her to her front door after parking the car
in my usual spot.

The porch light was on and there
were lights on upstairs, which I assumed meant her grandmother was home.  Not that it mattered, since our date was destined to end here on the porch.

Brooke turned to face me.  “Thank you for everything, Adam.  This was truly the best first date ever.”

“You’re welcome,” I said, stuffing my hands in my pockets to keep myself from grabbing her face and breaking the first rule.

We continued to look at each other for a few more seconds.  Brooke bit her bottom lip and looked around like she was checking to see if anyone was watching.

“We could kiss goodnight.  Nobody would know,” she whispered with a devilish gleam in her eyes.

Oh, Lord.  Don’t tempt me.

“No.  We agreed to abide by the holy rules of dating from Leah and Lindsay.  I won’t have them coming after me if they find out I corrupted you…but…we could hug goodnight.”

Brooke nodded her head vigorously.  “
Yes!  The rules don’t say anything about hugging.”

A hug.
  A nice friendly hug.  That was easy.

Except I should have known that no physical contact with Brooke would be nice and friendly.
  She stepped forward and threw her arms around my shoulders, turning her face towards me so I could feel her warm breath on my neck.  I wrapped my arms around her waist and rested my hands on the small of her back.

The only problem was that with her arms raised, her tank top raised as well.  My fingers somehow made their way to the bare skin above the top of her jeans.  The smooth soft skin that reminded me of waking up with all of her bare skin sprawled across me.

Brooke made a sexy little inhaling noise and blew out a breath right across my neck.  I groaned involuntarily and tightened my grip on her waist, pulling her flush up against me.  She wound her arms tightly around my neck and I could feel every inch of her lush body pressed up to the front of mine.