that he’d actually gotten physical with someone on my behalf. I’d half expected him to go after Rich. Adam had exploded and stormed out of my mum and Clark’s house when Braden relayed the news to them all. Braden had told them after he told me, but my throat was still tight with tears as I had to hear it a second time.
After Braden’s departure, I finally made the decision to cancel my night out with the girls. I took a long shower, blow-dried my hair straight, and threw on a long skirt with a low waistband, my Uggs, and a wooly turtleneck with a cropped hem. I wanted to be casual, but whenever I knew I’d be seeing Adam, I liked to remind him in some way that I was a woman with a woman’s figure–not that it seemed to make any real impact. Despite evidence that he checked me out sometimes, Adam had been carefully platonic in our interactions since our lips brushed at The Voodoo Rooms three years earlier. I had dated three guys in an effort to get over him. It never worked. The guys just paled in comparison to him and the relationships fizzled out.
With a mind to the cold weather, I’d thrown on a short wool jacket over my top, along with a scarf, and I’d flagged down a taxi outside my flat. It was only as the cab was pulling up to Adam’s place that I thought maybe I should have called to warn him I was coming over. It was a Saturday night.
He might have company.
My stomach lurched unpleasantly at the thought. The last time I’d visited Adam unannounced had been four months prior, and I’d walked in on him with a girl called Vicky. Not only was I horrified once more to play witness to one of his sexual interludes, but I’d been shocked to realize that he and my brother shared women. Not at the same time, thank God. I knew Braden had gone out with Vicky too. In an effort to soothe my severely bruised romantic notions, Adam had explained
ex post facto
that Braden and Vicky had been really casual and when Vicky had said she fancied Adam, Braden had mentioned it to Adam and—
la, la, la, la, la, la, la!
I didn’t hear the rest of the explanation because I had indeed stuck my fingers childishly in my ears and tuned him out completely.
Sex was not casual to me. Not only was I annoyed that my brother, who had once been a secret romantic, had turned into serial monogamist who showed no signs of settling down, I was even more annoyed at Adam for encouraging it. I couldn’t even describe how angry I was at Vicky.
After asking the cab driver to wait a second, I pulled out my phone and called up to Adam.
“Hey, sweetheart,” he greeted me, his rich voice filled with concern. He was clearly still worried about how I was coping with Rich’s treachery.
“Hullo,” I replied quietly, letting the warmth of hearing his voice fill my chest. “I’m downstairs. Are you okay for me to come up?”
“Of course. I’ll buzz you in.”
I hung up, paid the taxi driver, and hopped out, my heart racing as I hurried to the entrance. Adam let me in.
My palms began to sweat as the lift took me up to his floor. It was strange but my reaction to being alone with Adam had only gotten worse over the last few years. Every time was like a first date, and yet I knew him better than I knew practically anyone.
When the doors opened, my eyes met Adam’s. He was standing in his doorway across the hall, his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned his shoulder against the doorjamb. He wore a plain white T-shirt and a pair of old jeans; his feet were bare, his hair mussed, and he needed a shave.
He was so bloody hot it was a wonder I didn’t start hyperventilating on the spot.
I crossed the hallway to him and held out the bottle of wine I’d brought. He took it with a quizzical smile and I sighed. “It was either a bottle of wine or a slap on the wrist.” I eyed his bruised knuckles pointedly.
Adam’s lips twitched. “Wine will do.”
I followed him into the duplex, my eyes drinking in the well-designed flat. A large
After Braden’s departure, I finally made the decision to cancel my night out with the girls. I took a long shower, blow-dried my hair straight, and threw on a long skirt with a low waistband, my Uggs, and a wooly turtleneck with a cropped hem. I wanted to be casual, but whenever I knew I’d be seeing Adam, I liked to remind him in some way that I was a woman with a woman’s figure–not that it seemed to make any real impact. Despite evidence that he checked me out sometimes, Adam had been carefully platonic in our interactions since our lips brushed at The Voodoo Rooms three years earlier. I had dated three guys in an effort to get over him. It never worked. The guys just paled in comparison to him and the relationships fizzled out.
With a mind to the cold weather, I’d thrown on a short wool jacket over my top, along with a scarf, and I’d flagged down a taxi outside my flat. It was only as the cab was pulling up to Adam’s place that I thought maybe I should have called to warn him I was coming over. It was a Saturday night.
He might have company.
My stomach lurched unpleasantly at the thought. The last time I’d visited Adam unannounced had been four months prior, and I’d walked in on him with a girl called Vicky. Not only was I horrified once more to play witness to one of his sexual interludes, but I’d been shocked to realize that he and my brother shared women. Not at the same time, thank God. I knew Braden had gone out with Vicky too. In an effort to soothe my severely bruised romantic notions, Adam had explained
ex post facto
that Braden and Vicky had been really casual and when Vicky had said she fancied Adam, Braden had mentioned it to Adam and—
la, la, la, la, la, la, la!
I didn’t hear the rest of the explanation because I had indeed stuck my fingers childishly in my ears and tuned him out completely.
Sex was not casual to me. Not only was I annoyed that my brother, who had once been a secret romantic, had turned into serial monogamist who showed no signs of settling down, I was even more annoyed at Adam for encouraging it. I couldn’t even describe how angry I was at Vicky.
After asking the cab driver to wait a second, I pulled out my phone and called up to Adam.
“Hey, sweetheart,” he greeted me, his rich voice filled with concern. He was clearly still worried about how I was coping with Rich’s treachery.
“Hullo,” I replied quietly, letting the warmth of hearing his voice fill my chest. “I’m downstairs. Are you okay for me to come up?”
“Of course. I’ll buzz you in.”
I hung up, paid the taxi driver, and hopped out, my heart racing as I hurried to the entrance. Adam let me in.
My palms began to sweat as the lift took me up to his floor. It was strange but my reaction to being alone with Adam had only gotten worse over the last few years. Every time was like a first date, and yet I knew him better than I knew practically anyone.
When the doors opened, my eyes met Adam’s. He was standing in his doorway across the hall, his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned his shoulder against the doorjamb. He wore a plain white T-shirt and a pair of old jeans; his feet were bare, his hair mussed, and he needed a shave.
He was so bloody hot it was a wonder I didn’t start hyperventilating on the spot.
I crossed the hallway to him and held out the bottle of wine I’d brought. He took it with a quizzical smile and I sighed. “It was either a bottle of wine or a slap on the wrist.” I eyed his bruised knuckles pointedly.
Adam’s lips twitched. “Wine will do.”
I followed him into the duplex, my eyes drinking in the well-designed flat. A large
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