“Well, my mother is a violinist. Years ago she played many concerts all over the world, but then she met my father and became pregnant with Ben.”
“Doesn’t she play at all anymore?”
“For herself mostly and every now and then a concert somewhere in the U.S.”
“Why?”
“She always says she doesn’t want to miss any time with her family. And as I have already lost a mother…she wants to be there.”
“You lost your mother?”
“My mother died during my birth, my father told me. So Jenna’s only my stepmother and I’m an adult already…but still, she loves me like a son, or so she says.”
I kept silent for a moment, not knowing what to say.
“She once told me that when she met my father for the very first time, he was holding me in his arms. I was one and a half years old then. It was in a cafè, he was kind of arguing with an old man. ‘You need to find a mother for the poor child. No man can bring up a child on his own,’ the old man said again and again, and she saw that my father was wearing no wedding ring. My father turned around and laid his arm around her shoulders and said, ‘Excuse me, will you become the mother of my child?’” Adam chuckled once at the thought. “Naturally she was shocked, but something in his eyes made her wish for his request to be serious. She always says she was looking at the two of us and instantly fell in love with my father.”
He pulled me closer and I hid my grin in his sweater. “Weird story, I know.” I felt the words resonate from his chest. “But still, they got married a year later and had Ben another nine months afterwards.”
“No, it’s a good story …a bit sappy, but that’s material for a big Hollywood love story. Write it down and sell it to Warner Studios.” I curled my right arm under his neck and pulled myself up so I could read his face. He looked far away. “It’s just that nobody would believe it. But I like kitschy things,” I said. Like you, I added in my mind.
He really was the most unrealistically wonderful thing in my whole life, but I didn’t think he needed to know the dimensions of my infatuation. I just hoped that I could behave mature enough that he would stay with me, because I was positive that he belonged there.
“So, your father?” I asked smiling down at him, dazed by his light green eyes.
“My dad is a professor of history at the college. He collects books and antiquities in his spare time. The book he gave you is one he recently bought in London from an antiquarian.”
“And that’s why you live in this posh palace?” I asked bluntly.
“No.” He chuckled at my nosiness. “The house is an inheritance from Jenna’s family. But yes, my father definitely enjoys the historic flair” I glanced at Adam’s watch as he lifted his hand to caress my face.
“Half past eight.” He answered my unspoken question.
I shook my head and curled back into his side. We just lay on the bed for a long time. I enjoyed the nearness between us. Adam told me a few stories about the house—Lenard Mansion. It had been named after Jenna’s great grandfather William Lenard, who had been the son of a rich European family that had come to America. Nobody really knew where the money had come from and why he had settled in this specific area, but William Lenard had built this mansion here in the late eighteenth century and his family and descendants had stayed. I felt like I could listen for hours, and it actually was hours later when Adam sat up and pulled me upwards with him. It had grown dark inside the room.
Adam reached for the switch to turn on a small light on the bedside table.
“Wow, it’s late.”
I shook my head and tried to pull him back to the pillow, but he was already getting to his feet.
When he was fully upright he flashed me a breathtaking smile. “By the way, I’ve gotten you a present, too.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small flat velvet box and handed it to me.
“Thanks.” I took it from his hand awkwardly, wondering what it would be. “That wasn’t necessary—really.”
“Will you open it?” he asked curiously.
I shook my head. “Not now. Later.” I wanted to be alone when I opened it, so he wouldn’t feel all the emotions rushing through me when I opened his present.
“I’ll drive you home then,” he offered.
“No, really, I don’t want to go home yet,” I tried to keep my expression serious. He looked at me with his piercing eyes, there was no way of escaping that gaze. Again, he caught me off guard. He grinned at my bewildered expression—and maybe at what he was perceiving from my emotional state.
“Don’t you have to go to school tomorrow?” He said mockingly. “You’ll sleep through all the lessons if I don’t get you home now.” I’ll take the risk, I thought, but I pulled my lips into a smile. I knew, he just needed to look at me with those eyes and he had what he wanted.
“But I get at least a million good night kisses.” I bargained as he helped me up.
“Whatever it takes to make you happy, Claire.”
Unintended
It was the the first week of December. School days were dragging and it still kept me busy to stay up to date with history. But I had some additional help now. Chris told me loads of stuff one couldn’t learn from school books. It was enough to make Greg look disgruntled just by mentioning Adam’s or Chris’ name.
Adam’s birthday present had been a thin silver bracelet with a small purple stone woven into several layers of shiny sliver chains. It was pretty and I wore it every day, not caring about whether it matched with the color of my clothes.
In the past one-and-a-half months since my birthday, I had been hanging out at the Gallagers’ place a lot. Sophie had already started to complain that I was never at home. I didn’t care—I was too much in love with Adam. He had persuaded me to spend the afternoon at my place today—we had the afternoon off school. He had said that lunch with Sophie wouldn’t kill me, and laughed. I had agreed because I had known Sophie would be out in the afternoon.
Gregory’s hand glided towards me, pushing a sheet of paper. I turned the page of the textbook absentmindedly and then stared at the sloppy written words on the paper. Mr. Jackson was pacing the front of the classroom. We were supposed to read a few pages about Mendelian genetics.
* * *
Lunch? Think I need to talk to you.
* * *
I picked up a pencil and started scribbling.
* * *
Sorry, can’t. Adam is coming over for lunch.
What do you want?
* * *
I shoved the paper back to him silently and returned to Mendel. The laws of genetic inheritance were interesting without question, but I was waiting expectantly for the bell to make the noise I loved so much these days. The sheet of paper reappeared in front of me.
* * *
You never have time for me anymore.
Forgot…HE’s so much more important
than your best friend.
* * *
Man! What was the problem now? I spent all day—at least six hours of school—with Gregory, every day. And we had lunch together nearly as often. Today, the afternoon was free and I wanted to spend it with my boyfriend.
* * *
Hey…not my fault I’m in love with him.
* * *
I painted a little winking smiley under the note and slid it towards Gregory. Only a minute later he gave me the sheet back.
* * *
Never mind…I wanted to invite
you for the Christmas holidays.
Skiing with my parents.
What do you say?
* * *
I mouthed “Later” and pushed the sheet back into his hands.
“Is this something you would like to share with the rest of the class, Mr. Milton-Davis?” Mr. Jackson had left his pacing route at the front of the class room to have a closer look at our activities.
“Er—no.” The paper had vanished somewhere under Gregory’s books just a second befo
re Mr. Jackson had appeared in front of our desks.
“Well, back to work then.” He turned on his heels and marched off to the front, pacing again in a slightly faster step.
I started reading about the chromosome theory of inheritance, and about how dominant and recessive characteristics work together. I was just reading an example of fluffy white-haired, and straight haired brown guinea pigs when finally the bell rang.
“I don’t know what I’ll be doing over Christmas yet.” I said to Gregory, packing my bag. “Maybe Sophie has planned something for us. Where do you go for skiing?”
“Canada,” he answered.
“I also don’t know if I have the money for such a trip…” I added very quietly.
“Oh,” he just said, without any further questions.
We headed for the parking lot together with Amber and Lydia, who were talking about Richard’s birthday present. He had been born on Christmas Day, actually, and Lydia was desperately searching for the perfect gift.
I didn’t pay much attention, my eyes were already fixed on the tall young man who was standing a few yards to the right of the entrance.
“Adam,” I called and hurried towards him. He closed the space between us with a few quick strides and pulled me into a hug first and then pulled away to kiss me enthusiastically. I instantly lost track of time.
“Hey Adam, long time no see,” Gregory said in an unusually cold voice.
Adam loosened his lips from mine to greet Gregory. His expression changed the very moment he looked at Gregory. It was bleak and icy. I felt the muscles in his arms tighten around me—strangely possessive.
“What is it?” I asked in a whisper and turned around to see Gregory.
Adam didn’t move or say anything for a moment, he just stared at Gregory with clear hostility. I lay the palm of my hand to his cheek to force his attention on me.
It worked. He relaxed a little.
“Hey—what’s the matter?” I tried again. Now that his eyes were focused on me he must have felt what I felt. I was anxious. I tried to intensify the feeling inside me so he would know for sure how little I wanted him to fight with Greg right now.
“I’ll just leave the happy couple alone then,” Gregory mocked and progressed through the crowd of students towards his car.
The tension left Adam’s body and he kissed me once before he took my hand and pulled me towards his car. He almost hurt me with his hard grip.
“What was that about?” I asked as we sat inside the car.
“It’s not only that he loves you…I could live with that. He is going to fight for you.”
“What. Are. You. Talking. About.” I said each word slowly and emphasised them all in the same way.
“Greg is in love with you.”
“I know—so what?”
“He is going to fight for you.”
“Is this a fact or are you guessing?” I felt heat creeping through my body.
“Both.” He answered coolly.
“Which means?”
“I felt him feel about you, and then about me. He loves you, he’s jealous, he hates me. Or do you think he had that particular sequence of feelings randomly?”
I didn’t know what to say, so I blew the air from my lungs in a gust.
“I don’t think so.”
Adam followed his own thoughts. “It’s more likely that he really was jealous.”
“And what’s the problem with that. So he’s got a crush on me …that passes by. I don’t care. He’s my best friend, and I think he wants me to be happy.”
Adam made a disgruntled face and I started to realize what was going on here.
“You are jealous, too.” I laughed.
He frowned and turned away, letting the car engine growl into life.
“Am I right?” I pressed. I couldn’t believe this childish behavior.
He sighed. “So what if I am?”
I lay my hand on his hand and pulled it away from the steering wheel and cradled it in mine.
“You know there is no reason for you to be jealous.”
“Do I?”
“Yes. Or at least you should.”
“But I know how very comfortable you feel with him. It’s like you feel you belong there.”
“I do. He’s my best friend.” I emphasised the last word. “He’s one of the few people I can trust. It’s only natural I want him around.”
Adam’s expression lost the edge. “I don’t want to lose you.” The hardness melted from his eyes. “You are so precious to me, I’m never going to let anyone hurt you. Sorry I behaved so stupid. It’s inexcusable.”
Sophie was waiting for us with lunch ready on the kitchen table.
“Smells like fried chicken and mashed potatoes,” Ian commented as he joined us from the living room. He had guessed right. And it smelled delicious.
“Hi, Adam,” Sophie welcomed him.
He sat down on the bench right next to me. Ian handed us two glasses and drinks.
“How was school today?” Ian asked. I remembered Gregory stalking off in the parking lot and flinched, swallowing the too hot chicken. Adam handed me a glass of water which I drained greedily.
“It was pretty boring.” That was true—nothing had happened at school technically. It had been after school that Adam had freaked out over nothing.
“A bit more enthusiasm, please!” Ian made a serious face.
“Ian and I are off to classes after lunch. Could you wash the dishes and clean up?” Sophie pointed at the kitchen in general.
I nodded, frowning.
“I’ll help you.” Adam offered.
“Don’t you have classes this afternoon?” Sophie asked him, sounding more like an overprotective mother than my big sister.
Adam laughed and shook his head. He swallowed the bite of mashed potato he still had in his mouth.
I felt smug, knowing I would have him all afternoon. Nobody would be there in the house except the two of us. Now that I thought about it, I liked the idea of being alone with him more and more. The time we usually spent together was no alone time. There was always someone with us. Either his parents, my sister or his brother, or one of my friends, although I tried to avoid having Gregory and Adam around at the same time.
Amber was still trying to convince me Adam was not right for me. Our friendship was suffering from her persistence in talking me out of my relationship. Lydia on the other hand was great. We double dated sometimes with her and Richard and it was always great fun. Adam and Richard mainly talked about college, and Lydia and I talked about things we couldn’t talk at about school. But some topics remained untouched even then.
I needed to get my mind cleared up about how the physical side of my relationship with Adam should progress. I loved him more than anyone had ever loved somebody, I was positive about that. I wanted to be near him, I wanted to stick to his lips continuously and I wanted to feel him more than anything. I was not that sure about how he felt about it, however.
Sophie and Ian got to their feet and hurried for the front door after a short goodbye. Adam collected the plates and put them into the dishwasher. I joined him and started washing the saucepan.
“You are extraordinarily beautiful today,” he commented as he moved past me to get the cutlery that had remained unused. I nearly jumped at the quick change of atmosphere in the room, and I started to think about the physical part again. I had to talk to him. Or maybe it was better not to talk at all. Maybe I had better seduce him without words.
While I was thinking about strategies, he stood behind me again and kissed my neck softly. He must have perceived my feelings. I didn’t exactly feel that way, though. I felt indecisive and confused. Maybe it was his own feelings he was reacting to. That would mean, maybe I wouldn’t need to put that much effort into my plans—
“Claire, love,” Adam tore me from my daydreams. Water was splattering from the saucepan onto my clothes. Damn! The front of my hoodie was soaked already, and the water was dripping ont
o my jeans. I took a step back and grabbed the dishtowel Adam handed me to dry myself. He finished the dishes for me.
“Thank you,” I said, annoyed with myself. I had lost my advantage of the situation by not paying attention. I headed upstairs murmuring something about changing my shirt.
In my room, I was just stripping off the wet shirt when I heard a soft knock on the door.
“Come in!” I called from in between the layers of textile. I managed to get the hoodie over my head before Adam appeared through the half opened door.
My hair was messy and stuck in every direction, and I still had the moist shirt on.
Adam looked at me from the doorway with a sweet smile on his perfect lips.
“What?” I asked impatiently.
“Well …this,” he pointed at the shirt sticking to my stomach and my hair, “looks good on you.”
So his mood still hadn’t changed? I put my hands on my stomach in sudden self-consciousness.
“It makes you sexy.”
I threw him a look that suggested he might have lost his mind.
“Really,” he assured me, “wow.”
I went to the mirror to have a look at what he called sexy. Surprisingly, the girl in the mirror really looked quite good. Her hair was tangled in wild strands around her head, her shirt stuck to the shape of her body as if it had been glued there. I looked untamed.
I smiled at my reflection.
“What do you think?” Adam asked. He was leaning against the desk now, playing with a hair-clip.
“I think I need to get out of this wet shirt before I get a cold.” I turned away and started pulling the shirt up. His hand suddenly lay on mine.
“No.”
I looked at him.
“I’ll wait outside.”
It was frustrating. I had the perfect reason to undress and he had seemed to be in the right mood, but he preferred to wait outside. Wonderful!
White (The Wings Trilogy Book 1) Page 15
