She looks up at me, somewhat confused, as she nervously rubs her dark hair between her fingers. “I have the day off. That guy told me you wanted to switch days off with me. The one you were just talking to.”
I shake my head as I realize Adam must have come back in after I disappeared into the stockroom. “You don’t have to do that, Jo.”
“No, I want to,” she says abruptly. “I like working on Saturdays. It’s busy.”
I suddenly have a feeling that Jo must have her own memories she’s trying to bury. “Okay. Thanks.”
She smiles and nods as she grabs the plastic cup from my hand and fills it with cold water from the filtered pitcher inside the refrigerator under the counter. She hands the cup back and I’m taken by a sense of concern for her. I wish I knew what it was that made her so shy. Before I can stop myself, I pull her into a hug and I can feel her surprise as she draws in a sharp breath.
“Thanks, Jo.”
When I arrive at Cora’s house at five after three, I only knock once before the lock turns and the door creaks open. Adam is standing before me wearing a soft smile and I know he’s probably been here all day.
“Come on in,” he says, holding the door wide open for me.
I walk inside and Cora is sitting in her recliner in front of the television with Bigfoot in her lap. The apartment is clean and the usual sharp litter box smell is gone. Cora looks up and smiles so big I can see the gap where she’s missing her two back molars.
“Hello, honey. Have you met Adam Parker? He’s your new neighbor,” she says in a voice that makes me feel a little like a preschooler being introduced to a classmate. “I think you two should get to know each other.”
She obviously doesn’t know about our date yet.
Adam takes a seat on the sofa, on the side closest to the recliner, and pats the cushion next to him. “Yeah, come sit down, Claire. Let’s get to know each other.”
I take a seat on the sofa, making sure to put at least a foot of space between Adam and me.
“What did you do today? Where’s Tina?” I ask as I turn to Cora.
“Adam’s been taking care of me today. He gave her the day off,” she says, her eyes crinkling with delight.
I narrow my eyes at him and he grabs Cora’s hand as he turns back to her. “It was my pleasure. I didn’t have anything to do today since the only other person I know in this town was working.”
“You work too much, Claire,” Cora chimes in as she continues to stroke Bigfoot with her free hand.
Geez. It’s like these two have spent the past six hours scheming to get Adam and me together. First he switches my schedule without my knowledge and now he’s using Cora to get on my good side. He is a master conspirator.
I stand up and do a quick check around the kitchen just to satisfy my curiosity. As expected, he did everything I asked. He even stocked her cupboard with plenty of hot cereal packets and her refrigerator with lots of fresh fruit.
“Well, it looks like you’re all taken care of so I’m going to head home,” I say as I plant a kiss on Cora’s forehead and rub Bigfoot’s head. “I need to shower and get to bed early. I have the early shift tomorrow.”
“Walk her home, Adam,” she says sweetly and he immediately pops up off the sofa.
“See you later, Cora. We’ll have to watch that movie another time.”
“See you later, sonny,” she says, and I know what’s coming next. “But just because I call you sonny, doesn’t mean you’re bright.”
He laughs and points at her. “I can’t keep up with you, C.”
Adam follows me out of the apartment and uses his own key, which Cora must have given him, to lock her deadbolt.
I take a few steps and turn around when I reach my door. “C? Did you spend the whole day with her?”
“I ran a few errands for her, but other than that, yes, I spent the day with Cora. She’s funny and we were about to watch a movie before you interrupted us.”
“Oh, well, don’t let me interrupt your date with Cora. Please, go right back in.”
He steps forward and my back hits my front door as I take a step back. He leans against the door with his hands on either side of my head, effectively caging me in.
“Are you jealous of my relationship with Cora?”
His breath is hot against my nose and warmth rushes through me, lighting up my core.
“I just don’t want her to get used to having you around. She’s had a lot of people bail on her and I….” His face is getting closer with every word I speak. “I don’t want her to get hurt.”
“Are you sure we’re talking about Cora?” he whispers against my lips, lingering for a moment before he pushes away from the door. “I work all week, but I’ll be by your house at nine a.m. on Saturday. Wear a bathing suit under your clothes.”
I let out a deep sigh and scramble into my apartment, slamming the door behind me. I take a few calming breaths, trying to ignore the ache pulsating between my legs as I make my way toward the bedroom to meditate.
Chapter Seven
Relentless Games
I don’t hear from Adam all week. And, although I do hear him coming in and out of his apartment a few times, he never stops by to say hi. But I know he’s still visiting Cora because every time I pop in on her, she’s always wearing an enormous grin. When Senia and I arrive at her house on Friday evening at seven, Tina answers the door.
“Oh, hi, Claire,” she says in an exasperated tone.
She quickly waddles into the kitchen to continue washing the dinner dishes. I try not to get upset with Tina. That’s just her manner. She’s never been particularly friendly and I’ve never taken the time to get to know her enough to find out why.
I step inside with Senia and find Adam and Cora engaged in a game of cards on a wooden TV tray table. Neither of them look up from their cards. I know he said he was going to be working all week, but it’s not as if he couldn’t just drop by and say hello—at least pretend I exist. The fact that I neglected to ask him what he does for a living just made the entire week of waiting even more uncomfortable. When Senia and I discussed it, our best guess was he changed his mind about the date and couldn’t bring himself to break the news to me.
“We’ll come by later,” I say, turning to head out the open front door.
Senia grabs my arm to stop me. “No, we can’t. Or at least, I can’t. Eddie’s coming over.”
I wrestle my arm out of her firm grip and Cora finally looks up at me from her cards. “Oh, hi, honey. I didn’t see you there. Want to get in on this action?”
Adam smiles, but he still doesn’t look at me. What is his problem? My stomach is in knots and I feel like a total idiot for allowing myself to think that a guy like him could be interested in me.
“What’s your problem?” Senia asks and Adam finally looks up.
“Senia, please don’t do this. Come on. Let’s go home.” I try to pull her toward the door, but she’s four inches taller and at least fifteen pounds heavier than I. She’s not budging.
“I’m sorry. Are you talking to me?”
To his credit, Adam looks genuinely confused. Maybe he’s a professional actor.
“Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. You left Claire hanging all week wondering if you two were still hanging out tomorrow and now you ignore her. What kind of asshole does something like that?” She turns to Cora, whose mouth is hanging open, and apologizes. “Sorry, Cora.”
“Is this true, Adam?” Cora asks, laying her cards on the TV table face-up.
Adam lays his cards down and looks straight at me. “I didn’t visit you during the week because I was working.”
Senia shakes her head. “We heard you coming and going from your apartment.”
He turns on Senia. “You didn’t let me finish.”
She crosses her arms. “Go ahead.”
“I was working, and when I’m working I’m usually in a shitty mood. I didn’t want you to see me like that so I just st
ayed away.”
“That doesn’t explain why you ignored me when we came in here,” I say, and he turns to me with what I know is an apology ready to roll off his tongue.
“That was just bad manners,” he says, and a tiny smile curls the corners of his lips. “Cora’s a sneaky one. I have to keep my eyes on her at all times when we’re playing cards.”
If this guy is any fucking sweeter I’m going to need a dentist. I can’t even be angry that he’s moving in on my turf because he seems to be doing a better job than me at keeping Cora company.
I turn to Senia and she raises her eyebrows as if to say you’re on your own.
She claps me on the shoulder and heads for the door. “I have to go wait for Eddie. Don’t want him to accuse me of getting too friendly with the new neighbor.”
“Sit down, honey,” Adam says, using Cora’s favorite term of endearment as I shut the front door behind Senia.
When I turn around, he’s rubbing the cushion next to him and wearing a sexy smile. I don’t know if I’d rather punch him or kiss him.
“I’m not your honey,” I mutter as I sit next to him.
He drapes his arm around my shoulder and presses his lips softly against my temple. I’m frozen as my shoulders and arms go weak.
His lips are warm against my cheek as they travel to my ear. “Just play along. I told her we were going on a date and it made her so fucking happy.”
I shake my head and turn to face him. “You think you’re so clever, using Cora to get to me.”
He shrugs, keeping his eyes on me as he reaches for the cards on the table. “Can you blame me for wanting to keep her happy?”
“Adam, honey, I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck and run over twice,” Cora says as she shoos Bigfoot off her lap. Bigfoot immediately scurries towards me to rub his fluffy body against my bare legs. “I’ll have to finish embarrassing you tomorrow. Can you lock up on your way out?”
Adam quickly gets to his feet to help Cora out of the recliner. “Of course, right after I help Tina clean up.”
I watch in awe as he guides Cora to her room, followed closely by Tina. I spring up from the sofa and make my way into the kitchen to finish doing the dishes. I grab a pot with a little left over chicken soup and dump the contents down the drain before hitting the switch on the garbage disposal. A few bits of carrot stick to the sides of the steel sink and I push them into the drain with my hand. I listen to the sound as they hit the blades inside the garbage disposal, so lost in the squishy, grinding noise that I jump when Adam appears at my side.
“You scare easily,” he says as he flips the switch on the garbage disposal and the grinding noise dies.
I wipe down the sink one last time before I turn to face him. “Thanks for hanging out with her.”
I step sideways to get around him and he steps sideways to block me. “I know our date isn’t until tomorrow, but what are you doing tonight?”
I stare at his chin to avoid staring at his mouth or eyes. “Probably watching Senia’s boyfriend get drunk. Then I’ll be listening to their wall-banging from the safety of the sofa.”
He tilts his head as he considers this information. “You’re welcome to hang out with me tonight, you know, if you need to escape.”
Tina walks in before I can answer. “She’s down for the count,” she says, snatching her tan leather purse off the kitchen counter. “I’ll see you two on Monday.”
She appears peeved that Cora now has two companions around to keep her from slacking off. Once she closes the door behind her, I slither around Adam and dart toward the door. He quickly follows and hooks his arm around my waist.
“Hey!” I whisper-shout at him over my shoulder. “Personal space!”
He grabs the sides of my waist and turns me around so we’re facing each other. “We’re beyond that, honey.” He chuckles softly and I cringe at his arrogance. “I’m kidding. Go ahead and get whatever you need for the night. You can sleep in my bed and I’ll sleep on the sofa. I know how important it is that you get your sleep.” I narrow my eyes at him and he laughs again. “What? I’m just trying to help. I swear I’ll keep my hands to myself.”
It’s a very tempting offer. I won’t get to sleep until three or four in the morning or whatever God-forsaken hour Senia and Eddie tire out. Of course, I hardly know this guy other than the fact that he’s extremely patient and charming, and more than a bit persistent. He doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who would force himself on me. Plus, it will be convenient not to have to wake up Senia and Eddie when I get ready for our date tomorrow morning.
“Fine, but if you think you’re getting laid you’re going to be very disappointed. And if you try anything funny, I’m leaving and our date is off. Got it?”
He clasps his hands behind his back. “I wouldn’t dream of jeopardizing all the fun we’re going to have on our date.”
I toss my toothbrush and a few cleansing products into my makeup bag. The makeup bag gets thrown into my Roxy backpack with my bikini, a beach dress, and some gladiator sandals. When I come out of the bedroom, Senia is glaring at me from the other side of the breakfast bar.
“You going somewhere?”
“I’m going to hang out at Adam’s tonight so you and Eddie can be alone. We’re leaving early in the morning for whatever he has planned. I don’t want to wake you up getting ready.”
“You’re spending the night with him?”
“Not with him, just in his bed. He’s sleeping on the sofa.”
Saying the words aloud makes it sound so much worse than it sounded when I agreed to this five minutes ago with Adam breathing on my face.
“Claire, this is so not like you,” she says, rounding the breakfast bar toward me. “I love it!” She smiles hugely, showing off all her perfectly white teeth, then throws her arms around my shoulders. “I’m so proud of you.”
I pat her back a few times and she finally lets go. “This is not a big deal. We’re just hanging out. I am not sleeping with him.”
“I know. But it’s a start.” She kisses my forehead before I leave.
My heart pulses in every inch of my body as I climb the steps to Adam’s apartment. My feet are like concrete blocks attached to my legs as I grip the handrail and drag myself up the final step and stand before apartment B. I roll my shoulders in an attempt to loosen the tension then take a deep breath and knock.
He answers the door immediately, as if he were standing on the other side impatiently waiting and watching through the peephole. The smile on his face makes my stomach flutter. He looks genuinely excited and somewhat relieved, as if he thought I might change my mind.
“Welcome back,” he says, waving me inside.
The lamps are lit inside his dazzling apartment bathing the space in a warm glow. Everything is still perfectly clean. The LCD TV affixed to the wall is set to MTV, but the volume is too low to hear. Nothing out of place—except maybe me.
“Can you change that?” I say, pointing at the TV. “I hate MTV.”
“You and I are not going to get along,” he says, closing the front door.
I don’t need to tell him the reason I’ve avoided watching MTV for nearly a year. I’m here to get past that, not dwell on it.
He snatches the remote from the black coffee table and changes it to the Discovery Channel. “Better?”
I nod and set my backpack on the floor next to the sofa. He immediately slides past me and snatches it up. “I’ll put that in the bedroom for you. Want to come see your room at Hotel Parker?”
“So hospitable,” I say as I follow him toward a dark hallway.
The hallway is short, just like our apartment downstairs, and he quickly flips the light switch as we enter his bedroom. He sets my bag down on the king-sized bed as I look around. As expected, his room is pretty enough to be a suite in a modern hotel.
“How much is this going to cost me?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “Please don’t say stuff like that. There’s only so much teasin
g I can resist.”
It feels good to be able to joke around with him like this. It means I feel safe.
“We’d better go watch some Discovery Channel,” I suggest, and he nods. Yes, watching TV is safer than standing in his bedroom.
After twenty minutes of me silently swooning over Bear Grylls and him pointing out that Bear’s cameraman is the real hero of the show, he turns off the TV and looks at me.
“All right. It’s time to play a game,” he declares. “Question tennis. I ask you a question and you answer with a question, but it has to be relevant to what I asked. If you break the rhythm by not asking a question then you have to answer one question truthfully before the game can continue. Are you ready?”
“Leave it to you to find a game that allows you not to answer questions.”
“You are being afforded that same luxury, missy, so stop complaining. Okay, you go first.”
I pull my legs up onto the sofa and sit cross-legged as I face him. “What do you do for a living?”
“Does it really matter?”
“Does it really put you in a shitty mood?”
“Does that concern you?”
“It’s a simple question.”
“Ah-ha!” he shouts, pointing at me. “You messed up. Now you have to answer a question.”
I know what he’s going to ask, but I’m not the least bit worried because there’s no way I’m going to tell him just to comply with a stupid game.
“Go ahead.”
He smiles as he leans back against the arm of the sofa. “When did your last relationship end?”
This isn’t the question I expected, but I’ve come to realize that Adam rarely does anything I expect him to do.
I fidget with the loose threads of my cutoff shorts. “It ended almost exactly one year ago.”
“Why?”
“Nuh-uh. You got your answer. Now back to the game.”
“If you tell me why then I’ll tell you where I work.”
“That’s not an even trade.”
He leans forward. “I work for my dad. He owns a construction company in Wilmington. The company’s been in the family for more than a hundred years so it’s pretty much expected that I’m going to take over once my dad retires in a few years. I fucking hate it.”
His green eyes appear darker, harder as he stares at me and I can see that it upsets him just to talk about this. I know he’s waiting for me now, but all I can think of is how much I want to give him a hug. I want to tell him how well I know the fear of disappointing others. I want to tell him how familiar I am with the guilt that comes from making selfish decisions.
“My ex was offered his dream job and I was starting my sophomore year at UNC. He was going to be doing a lot of traveling, so I decided it would be best to break up so he could experience this new opportunity to the fullest. I didn’t want to weigh him down the way I had for more than four years.”
“Four years? So he was your first love?”
The muscles in my chest tighten at these two words. Chris was more than my first love. He was my first friend, my first family, my first heartbreak, and my deepest betrayal.
I nod as I inhale a deep breath. “I’m tired. I think I should go to bed.”
He nods solemnly. “You know where the bathroom is if you need to do any girly stuff. Feel free to pilfer my toiletries.”
I smile at his attempt to ease the tension then make my way to the bedroom to grab my makeup bag. As I pull it out of my backpack, a wave of nausea rolls through me. I sit on the bed to ride it out as sweat beads on my forehead. Hugging myself, I breathe deeply and close my eyes, trying to focus on something, anything, other than the pain of losing everything.
The creaky floor alerts me to Adam’s presence. I open my eyes to find him standing in the doorway.
“Do you need to meditate or do you need some company?”
“Can I answer that question with a question?” He nods and I draw in a shaky