Believing Lies (13 page)

I found Adam on the couch flipping through TV channels. “I’m ready,” I said.

He shut off the TV and stood up. His dark brown eyes slowly swept over my body from head to toe. There was a look on his face that I couldn’t quite name.

“What?” I finally asked, feeling a bit uncomfortable under his scrutiny.

He looked at me through narrowed eyes. “We agreed to be just friends, so I’m trying to talk myself out of doing all the things I want to do to you right now. You’re not making this easy on me.”

“What the hell did I do?” I asked defensively, ignoring my inner vixen who was dying to know what he wanted to do to me.

“It’s a little bit hard to think straight when you’re wearing a tight tank top and shorts the size of a Band-Aid.” He squeezed his eyes tight and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Will you please change into something that covers more of your body?”

I blushed and laughed simultaneously. “It’s going to be almost ninety degrees today and humid. So, no, I won’t change. Suck it up, and let’s go.”

I picked up my purse, and we left the apartment.

“Do you always have to be so stubborn?” he asked as I locked the door behind us.

“Not always. You seem to bring out that side of me.”

“Lucky me,” he said dryly.

When we got into the elevator, I asked, “Who’s driving.”

“I am.”

I put my finger on the button for the lobby, but before I could press it, Adam reached around me and pressed the button for the garage level.

“Didn’t you just say that you’re driving?”

“Yep.” The elevator door closed.

“Then you pressed the wrong button.”

“I didn’t say that we wouldn’t be taking your car.”

Over my dead body
. “Ha. Not going to happen, buddy, so keep dreaming. You already took one joyride without my permission.”

He took a step toward me, making the elevator suddenly seem incredibly small. I backed up a step in response. “I’m feeling a tad frustrated at the moment,” he said, his voice low. “And since you refused to change your clothes, I need a distraction.” He took another step toward me, but this time I stood my ground. “Think of it this way, Princess. If I drive, I’ll focus on the road. If you drive, I’ll focus on your legs.”

My eyes shot to his, and I saw something which I hadn’t been expecting—an unmistakable hunger in his eyes. Time seemed to stop as my gaze fell to his lips. The air around us was charged with electricity. I could physically feel it. I started to seriously doubt if I could be just friends with him. Unsure if I was making the right move, I reached for his hand and turned it over. The elevator dinged and the doors opened.

“Focus on the damn road, Adam.” I dropped my keys into his palm and stepped out of the elevator.

Chapter Twelve

“I’ll take the ham and cheddar omelet with hash browns and white toast, please,” I told our waitress and handed her back the menu. She was an older lady with frizzy gray hair and a friendly smile.

“I’ll take the same,” Adam replied, also handing his menu to her.

“Coming right up.”

Mel’s Diner was known for their omelets. It was a bit of a rundown joint, but the food was excellent. Sophie, Courtney, and I had spent many mornings here together; usually hung-over.

I sipped on my orange juice as I tried to think of something to talk about. On the drive here, I’d been able to avoid conversation, due to the noise from the top down and the radio up. Adam looked good driving my car. I had to admit that seeing him behind the wheel of my Mustang was pretty hot . . . Not that I’d ever tell him. His ego was already the size of Texas.

“We’re back in a booth together, except this time we’re not strangers,” Adam observed, breaking the ice.

I remembered back to the time he sat across from me at The Turning Point and softly laughed. “I thought you were some jackass trying to hit on me.”

“I was some jackass trying to hit on you,” he said bluntly. “But you shot me down so fast that I had to change my approach.”

“Huh. I thought you were just being a nice, friendly guy. And to think that you came over with less than honorable intentions,” I sarcastically drawled.

He flashed me a cheeky grin but didn’t make an attempt to keep our conversation going. The silence turned uncomfortable and awkward. I took a drink of my orange juice. He took a drink of his coffee.
This is getting painful
.

“Why are we here?” I finally blurted out.

“They have good food.”

“I mean, why are we sitting here together at all? I get why we would hang out with Sophie and Conner in a group, but why are we hanging out just the two of us?”

At first he remained silent, the awkwardness growing with every passing second. “Christ, I have no idea,” he exasperatedly answered. His eyes looked to the ceiling before meeting mine. “I’ve been asking myself that the entire ride here.”

“I don’t understand. You texted me and showed up at my apartment, remember? This was
your
idea.”

“Fuck,” he breathed out, as if he was thinking aloud. He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. “I’ve been trying to stay away from you.” I didn’t know if it was the edgy tone he used or the admission that he was purposely trying to avoid me that bothered me the most. Either way, it stung to hear.

“If you don’t want to be around me, then I’m really at a loss as to why we’re here.” My frustration was evident in my voice.

“I didn’t say I didn’t want to be around you. I said that I was trying to stay away from you. Those are two very different things.”

“So you
do
want to be around me?” I looked at him baffled. “I’m confused.”

He sighed heavily. “So am I . . . I thought about you after you left The Turning Point that first day. I’ve never given a second thought to a girl before, much less to one who I didn’t have a chance of sleeping with. But I think about you, and I don’t like it.”

“I don’t know if I should be flattered or upset. You’re not making sense.”

“I know. None of this makes sense. Can’t you see that?” He looked at me, willing me to follow his logic. “When I came over with Conner, the day I moved your car, I came there because I wanted to see you. Afterwards, I was both disappointed and relieved that I hadn’t.” He took a drink of his coffee and seemed to be working out the words he wanted to say. “When Conner mentioned that Sophie was taking you to the beach, I knew I had to see you again. I figured that once I did, I’d realize you were just another girl. So we drove forty-five minutes to Conner’s aunt’s house to borrow her Jet Skis and went to the lake.”
Holy shit
. This was a lot to take in. My mind was reeling. “When I saw you in the water, I knew I should turn around and leave, but obviously I didn’t.” He started to lightly laugh. “Then you flipped your tube.”

I giggled at the memory. “That was pretty funny.”

His laughter trailed off. “I tried to give you shit, and you threw it right back at me every single time.”

“What did you expect? Was I just supposed to take it?”

“No. I liked that you gave it back. I had fun with you that day.”

“Oh. I had fun with you too. In fact, it was the first time I had fun since the breakup,” I admitted.

He looked out the window for a moment. I was still trying to process everything he was saying when he turned his attention back to me. “I hated that your ex showed up. I saw you kiss him, and I wanted to rip his fucking face off. Why do you think that is? I still don’t quite know.” I remembered when I wanted to rip the face off of the girl who had kissed him at the bar, but I kept that thought to myself. “The only thing I do know is that I’ve never hit anyone out of anger before.” His look was so intense that it was burning into me.

“I’m sorry,” I said sheepishly.

He tried to laugh it off as if it was no big deal. “No need to apologize. It wasn’t your fault that I flew off the handle. Shit, I don’t even know why I’m telling you any of this. I guess I just needed to get it off my chest.”

“I don’t know what to say, Adam.”

His brown eyes regarded me. “Is this one sided?”

I was stunned by his candid question. “No, it’s not one sided,” I confessed quietly. “But it doesn’t change anything.”

“Yeah, I suppose it doesn’t.” He paused. “So I’m ready to give this whole being friends idea a real try because, even though I don’t quite understand it myself, I feel as if I need to be near you. That’s the answer to your original question, Princess. We’re sitting here in this restaurant, waiting for greasy breakfast food, because I need to be near you—no expectations or complications, just plain and simple.”

I couldn’t help the smile that curled the corners of my lips any more than I could stop the butterflies that had taken flight in my stomach. “I can live with that. Sophie is busy with Conner a lot, so it would be nice to have you around. Kind of like a stray puppy.”

His eyes popped, and he looked positively flabbergasted. “A stray puppy?”

I bit my lip to keep from laughing out loud. And just like that, the atmosphere shifted from heavy to light. “Yeah. And if you promise not to pee on my carpets, you can come watch a movie with me when we’re done eating.”

He huffed. “I haven’t peed on any carpets in at least six months.”

Our waitress came with our food at that exact moment and gave him a disgusted look. She set down our plates and quickly scurried off, shaking her head. Adam and I looked at each other and cracked up laughing.

***

We watched
Billy Madison
after breakfast. Adam thought it was odd to watch a movie during the day, but I explained to him that anytime was a good time for a movie. I made sure we sat on opposite sides of the couch. We both started to quote lines during the movie, and I was really enjoying his company. Being with him, like this, was nice.

The closing credits started to roll. “What are we going to do now, Princess?”

“You chose to go get breakfast. I chose to watch a movie. I’m pretty sure it’s your turn to choose again.”
“I’m open to suggestions.”

“Is it your day off?” I inquired. He’d never mentioned a job before, but I’d also never asked. Despite this odd, apparently mutual, draw to each other, we really didn’t know very much about each other’s lives.

“I don’t have a job,” he replied.

“What do you do for money?”

“Aren’t we nosey?”

I felt like an ass. “I’m sorry. That was out of line. I didn’t mean to pry.”

“It’s okay. I’ll tell you.” He scooted across the couch until he was right next to me and whispered, “I’m a male escort.”

I looked at him in disbelief. The glint in his eyes was one hundred percent conspiratorial. “You’re shitting me, right?”

He laughed. “Yes, I’m shitting you.”

“You can be such a jerk.” I pushed him, and he scooted back to his side of the couch.

“I have a house that I rent out. I use the rent as my income while I’m still in school.”

“The male escort thing was much more intriguing. How did you end up with a house?”

“My grandfather’s. He passed away last year and left it to me.”

My face fell. “I’m sorry.”

“You say ‘sorry’ as much as you say ‘huh.’ There’s no need to be sorry. I’d never even met him.”

I scrunched my mouth. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really.” The mood was now somber, and I was at a loss for words. “Let’s go play Frisbee golf,” he suggested out of the blue.

“I don’t know how. My old dorm mate, Courtney, tried to get me to go play before, but I never went.”

“Can you toss a Frisbee?”

“Yes.”
Kind of
.

“Then you’ll be fine,” he said reassuringly.

I wasn’t convinced. I hated trying new things. Indecision crept over my face. “Um . . .”

“This morning, I asked you if you were in or out, and you said you were in. Have you changed your mind, or will you trust me?” He gave me a look which made me feel as if I was being put through some sort of a test.

“Okay. I trust you.”

I was rewarded with a broad smile. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

We left my apartment and got into the elevator. I didn’t know how to get to the Frisbee golf course, so I was planning on letting Adam drive my car again, but he pushed the elevator button for the lobby.

“Sick of my car already?”

“I’ll never get sick of that car, but I need to get the discs out of my car.”

“Ah.”

We walked down the sidewalk and passed multiple parked vehicles until we came up to a black Volkswagen Jetta. If I had to guess, it was probably about five to ten years old. Adam pulled out a mesh bag with four discs from the trunk.

“Do you just want to take my car, or should we go back for yours?”

“Let’s just take yours.”

He opened the passenger side door and gestured for me to get in. I was sure he didn’t mean anything by it, but I found it sweet. He got in and started the engine. The music that shot from the speakers was deafening. He immediately turned it down, but not before I recognized the song. As he cranked on the air-conditioning, I started to laugh.

“What’s so funny?”

“Lots of things.”

“Such as?”

“This car doesn’t seem like you. It’s a nice car and everything, but I didn’t really see you as a Jetta kind of guy.

“What kind of car do you see me in, Princess?”

“Stop putting me on the spot and just drive.”

“I’m not in a hurry. Answer the question.”

“Fine.” I thought about it for a moment before replying, “The color suits you. Definitely black. Maybe a Dodge Charger? Nah, a motorcycle.”

His mouth curved up slightly. “If I had a motorcycle, would you take a ride with me?” I imagined him on a motorcycle, me sitting behind him. Being with him on the Jet Ski was very hot, but being on a motorcycle with him would be scorching.

“Maybe.” I winked at him. I felt sexy when I did it.
No wonder he winks all the time
.

He laughed.
Of course! I try to act sexy, and it makes him laugh
.

He put the car in drive and pulled out onto the road. “The car was my mom’s.”

“I see. What would you buy if you could pick out any car you wanted?”