by Jenn Hype
Our mom died when I was eighteen, so I petitioned the court for guardianship of Carrie. We continued to live off of our dad’s monthly payments, but we didn’t need much and I put most of it aside in an account for Carrie to use for college or whatever she would need later. We continued to spend most of our time at Stacy’s house and we were thankful for the home cooked meals.
If it weren’t for Stacy and her mom, that time of our lives definitely would have been a lot more difficult. I did as much as I could to be a father figure to Carrie, but I was still very much a kid myself. I worried constantly about her, trying to watch for signs of depression, not wanting her to end up like our mom. One of her passions was dancing and I made sure she was still able to continue pursuing that even when everything was falling apart. Carrie managed to make it through high school with good grades and ended up going to school for dance. I couldn’t have been more proud of her than I was.
And none of that could have happened without Stacy. Stacy was our rock, standing by our side through everything. Even with how young her and Carrie were when our dad left, Stacy always seemed to know the right things to say and could tell when we just wanted to pretend everything was normal. She was our only family, so even as I sat in the car listening to her rant about her night in jail, I knew I’d do anything for her. Which might soon include bailing her out of jail for assaulting a police officer.
Snapping out of my reverie, I tuned in to hear the girls complaining about how hungry they were. I turned to ask Adalyn where she wanted to eat and Stacy pushed her way up from my backseat and stuck her head in between us. “I don’t care where we go, but I want some fucking pancakes. And I want them stat, so stop eye fucking each other and get going.”
Adalyn just rolled her eyes and I laughed under my breath while Stacy threw herself back, crossing her arms over her chest. All I could think about was that moment in my apartment right before Stacy called. The way Adalyn was looking at me and how amazing her lips felt against mine. I’d had my fair share of women and some of them had been extremely gorgeous and really great in bed, but I had never wanted any of them as much as I wanted Adalyn. I’d never really wanted any of them for more than a night. They were a means to end, a scratch to an itch. I wanted so much more from Adalyn than just one night, even though I knew it would be amazing.
I shifted in my seat, trying to discretely rearrange my cock, now hard from the thought of Adalyn naked in my bed. I wasn’t discreet enough, though, because I could see Adalyn’s mouth twitch into a smile before she quickly looked away. I wanted to reach over and twine my fingers through hers, desperate for some sort of physical contact, but remembering Stacy was with us I decided against it. Whatever was happening with Adalyn was fragile, and I didn’t want to put pressure on her. For all I knew she regretted kissing me, though the smile still lingering on her lips as she quietly stared out the window told me otherwise.
The next hour was the most enjoyable I’d had in a while. Just sitting back, listening as Stacy recounted the previous night’s events to Adalyn, getting to watch Adalyn’s face light up and the laughter flow so easily was causing my chest to tighten. She looked so happy and carefree. I wanted to be the one making her look that way.
I knew I should be terrified by the intense feelings I was already having for Adalyn, but I couldn’t bring myself to let my mind go there. Having spent so much of my life focused on my career, I found I was ready to put my focus somewhere else for once. But not just somewhere, on someone. I could reason away my attraction to her, find excuses as to why I was already growing so attached, but my instincts had gotten me this far in life. Anything worth having involved risks. Everything I had, I had earned by pushing limits, being determined and by taking risks on things other people found to be insane or unreasonable.
So even though this girl already had the ability to completely crush me, I knew it was worth it. I didn’t do regrets, and not pursuing Adalyn would undoubtedly be a regret I would have to live with for the rest of my life.
I realized I had just been sitting there like a dumbass, not saying anything the entire time, when I could have been using this opportunity to get to know Adalyn. So as soon as there was a lull in the conversation, I made my move.
“So Adalyn, Stacy has shown me some of your artwork. It’s pretty phenomenal. Did you go to college for art?”
Adalyn, who was sitting directly across from me, choked on her water and Stacy, who was sitting next to her, started pounding on her back. It took several seconds for Adalyn to get her coughing settled down and she finally looked up at me, looking slightly embarrassed.
“Sorry, wrong pipe,” she finally said as she cleared her throat. “No, I didn’t study art in college. I mean, I took some classes and originally I had planned to major in music education with a minor in art history, but after the ra…the uh…once it came time to make a decision I figured it would be smarter of me to pick something that would give me more options when it came time to start a career.” She let out a self deprecating laugh and shook her head. “It backfired in the end. I still haven’t been able to find anything I’m passionate about enough to make a career out of.”
“Well, I’m no art buff by any means, but from what I saw, you have some serious talent. I’m sure there is a way for you to put that talent to use in the work force. Have you thought about looking for jobs at museums or art galleries?”
“Yeah, I thought about it, but I’m more of a do-er, so just standing around selling someone else’s stuff really sounds more like torture than anything. And honestly, I kind of left that part of me behind. It’s more of a hobby than anything.”
“Well, that’s a shame. Keeping all your beauty from the world like that seems like an injustice.” She tilted her head to the side and smiled coyly at me. “I mean the beauty of your paintings, not you yourself. Not that you aren’t beautiful, because you are. You’re extremely beautiful. Breathtakingly beautiful. I just meant that…dammit, I’m just going to shut up now.”
Adalyn giggled at my rambling and gave me a shy smile. The spark in her eyes and the change in her demeanor just in the last day had changed so drastically, and this shy side of Adalyn was adorable. Yeah, I still had some walls to break through, but I was a patient man. It was time to put into action my plan to win over the girl in front of me who unknowingly already possessed my heart.
Chapter 14
Adalyn
After spending two excruciating hours at my bank, canceling my cards and switching over my account numbers to be safe, I finally had all of that sorted out. Problem was, my checking account was dwindling fast and I didn’t have credit cards to rely on until they came in the mail.
I’d spent all day Sunday nursing a hangover with Stacy. Ian had dropped us off after breakfast and for a second I thought he might lean over and kiss me, but Stacy and her oblivious ass shoved her face in between us spouting off about the cop that arrested her. She hadn’t stopped talking about him since we picked her up. I thought she would calm down with time but the more she ranted over it, the worse she got.
So first thing Monday morning, I set out to replace everything that had been stolen. My purse hadn’t shown up at the club, so I had no choice but to just cancel everything and replace it all. Only I didn’t have enough to buy a new phone and my insurance had ran out. What did that mean? It meant I was done screwing around and needed to find a job. ASAP.
Knowing this was coming, I’d spent part of Sunday afternoon, the day before, going through the want ads and circling potential jobs. After spending the remainder of the day sending out resumes and making calls, I had lined up three job interviews for the next day. I just prayed one of them would hire me, and soon, because this being poor shit was getting old.
By the time I made it back to Stacy’s apartment late on Tuesday, I was beat and in desperate need of chocolate. A glass of wine would probably work better, but I had learned my lesson at Grind. When Stacy got home from work about a half an hour after me, she threw her ba
gs on the floor¸ her stuff scattering everywhere. She was such a slob. I loved her anyway.
“What are you doing lying on the couch in sweatpants eating a candy bar? You’re way too young to give up, Addy. Seriously, you’re a hot mess.”
“Well, hello to you too, bitch.”
“How did your job interviews go?”
“How do you think they went? Do you think I normally celebrate in ratty pajamas, stuffing my face with empty calories while I watch reruns of Married With Children?”
“I’m sorry, Addy. You’ll find something,” Stacy tried to console me, plopping down on the couch next to me, almost knocking me over.
“Why do you love getting in my personal space? You are a special kind of evil, you know that, right?”
Stacy just grinned wickedly and snatched the candy bar out of my hands. “Hey! Give that back!” We wrestled for a minute on the couch, fighting over the candy bar, before I finally gave up and scooted further down the couch, crossing my arms and pouting.
“Don’t take your shit out on me, Addy. You know the answer to your problems, you’re just too stubborn to accept it.”
“I’m not going to interview with Ian.”
“I don’t understand why not. He’ll give you the job, the interview’s just a formality. I’m sure it pays well and you’re kind of desperate, probably in more ways than one,” she joked, nudging me with her elbow. “I bet he could help you with both.”
I smacked her in the face with a throw pillow. “I hate you.”
“You love me. Now take my phone and call Ian and set up that interview.”
Ugh. She was right, I had no other options. Not if I wanted a job any time soon. I pinched her and then jumped off the couch when she tried to pinch me back, barely making my escape. She threw the candy bar at me right as the phone starting ringing. I was still laughing when Ian answered.
“Stace? What’s up?”
“Oh, um, actually, it’s Adalyn.”
There was a long pause. I checked to see if the phone had been disconnected, but it still showed the call on her screen. “Hello?”
“Sorry, I just wasn’t expecting it to be you Adalyn. I was surprised. Is everything okay? Why are you calling from Stacy’s phone?”
“Oh, I um, I haven’t had mine replaced yet so Stacy let me borrow hers to call you and see if, um, if maybe…” Why couldn’t I get the words out? It was so much easier to be confident when I was face to face with him. It didn’t make any sense because he was so handsome it almost hurt to look at him, but being able to see him reminded me of the type of guy he was. The kind I avoided.
“I just…I was wondering if that position was still open at your company? I was hoping maybe…maybe you would still let me interview? If I haven’t already ruined that opportunity after the first time we met.”
Another pause. Was I interrupting something? He seemed distracted. Or at least from what I could tell over the phone, anyway.
“Ian?”
“No,” he said, clearing his throat. “I mean, you didn’t ruin anything. Of course I would be happy to bring you in for an interview. Can you meet tomorrow morning? I had a meeting cancel at 9 a.m. so that would be a good time for me. There is a coffee shop across the street from my office, so we could meet there.”
“Oh, yes, of course. Thank you. I’ll be there at 9. Thank you.”
Another long pause. This was the most awkward phone conversation I think I’d ever had.
“Adalyn?”
“Yes?”
“I look forward to tomorrow.”
And then he was gone.
“Adalyn, you look great. Stop stressing over this. I told you, Ian’s going to give you the job no matter what.”
Stacy was sitting on my bed, lecturing me. Why was lecturing me one of her favorite pastimes? She was seriously annoying sometimes. I threw my hair brush at her but she dodged it at the last second.
“Don’t throw shit at me! I’m trying to help you!”
Looking in the mirror, pushing one last stray hair back into place, I sighed and exited the bathroom. “I know Stacy, but I don’t want a job that I didn’t earn. I don’t even know what his company does. What does he do anyway?”
Waving her hand at me dismissively, she downed the rest of her disgusting kale wheatgrass something-or-other nasty smoothie. “I don’t know, I never understand when he explains. Something to do with making stuff.”
“Well that’s vague. If you don’t even know what he does then how do you know I’d be a good fit there?”
I started to make my way to the living room to drink a quick cup of coffee before heading out to meet with Ian and Stacy followed.
“I know it requires being creative and I don’t know anyone more creative than you.”
“You just don’t know very many people, Stacy,” I laughed, shaking my head at her. Stacy had always been my biggest cheerleader.
“Whatever, you know that’s not what I meant. Look, you may not want the job, but you have to at least meet with him. You never know.”
Slipping on my heels, I let out a heavy sigh. “I know, Stace, I know. Thank you for getting me this interview. I’ll text you later and let you know how it goes.” She started towards me with her arms open, so I turned and bolted out the door.
“Nice try, Stacy!” I yelled as I ran down the hallway. I hated hugs.
“Good luck, whore!”
It was a nice day out so I decided to walk. The coffee shop we were meeting at was only four blocks away and I had left plenty early. I thought the fresh air would help me clear my head and prepare for whatever was about to happen.
Things with Ian were tense, at best. I hadn’t heard from him since the day he dropped me off after staying over at his place. I wanted to tell myself that if I had a phone, he would have been trying to call or text me, but who knows if that’s true. I’m not even sure if I would want that.
There was something different about Ian. I got the feeling that my initial judgment of him may have been a little off. Of course I saw the expensive suit and his perfectly defined body and panty dropping smile, so I assumed what any woman would. That he was a chauvinistic, cocky bastard. Okay, maybe not all women would jump to that exact conclusion, but I had.
Not that my instincts were to be trusted nowadays. But even if Ian was a great guy and I had been wrong, I wasn’t in any kind of place to be dating someone. I was still trying to work out my own crap, not to mention finding a job and figuring out the basics.
Of course I was sexually attracted to Ian. There isn’t a woman alive who could resist that man. With his perfectly chiseled face, dark hair, dark eyes and million-watt-smile. Just thinking about him made me shiver. But he was close with Stacy, so no matter how much I wanted him, I couldn’t sleep with him. It wouldn’t end well for anyone.
When I approached the cafe I spotted Ian already inside, sitting at a table in the far corner. As I walked in the door chimed and he looked up and smiled. That smile. Pretending to not be affected by that smile was getting harder and harder. Resisting the urge to reach up and fan myself from the sudden wave of heat I felt rush through my body, I forced a polite smile and made my way towards him.
He stood up as I neared the table and pulled out my chair. Such a gentleman. “Good morning, Adalyn. Thank you for meeting me here. Sometimes I like to do interviews outside of the office. It’s more casual and it’s easier to have honest conversations when you’re relaxed. Can I get you something to drink?”
“Oh, um, no thank you. I had coffee before I left.” He tilted his head to the side and looked at me quizzically. Probably wondering why I drank coffee when I knew I was going to a coffee house. Truth was I was too afraid I’d spill it all over myself or do something embarrassing. Interviews were hard enough, but sitting here with Ian was almost unbearable.
Pulling my resume out of my bag, I handed it to him and started to give him a little back ground of my education and job experience. “As you can see, I have experience in many
areas. Everything from clerical work to manual labor. I’ll try just about anything once. I have…”
He held up a hand cutting me off mid sentence. “Why have you had so many jobs in such a short amount of time? There has to be at least 15 employers here from the last two years alone. I expect loyalty and long term commitment from my employees, is that going to be a problem?”
This was the worst part. This was the part where I lost any chance I had at landing a job. There were no good answers for this. No matter what story I gave I still ended up looking bad. I started to tell him the fake story, but I quickly shut my mouth when I saw his expression. He wasn’t looking at me with judgment, just curiosity. Something about him in that moment made me want to tell him the truth. And before I could stop myself, I did.
“I don’t really know what I want to do with my life. I’ve been trying different things, hoping to find something I’m passionate about, but I haven’t found it yet. Most of the time I either get bored and leave or I have…conflicts…with my superiors that results in my termination. I can assure you though, I work hard and I will do a good job, no matter the task.”
“Until you get bored, right?” My shoulders tensed and my defensive instincts kicked in, but when he winked at me, I instantly relaxed again. “Tell me what you mean by conflicts with your superiors.”
“I have…difficulty…with control. I don’t like to be held to a certain standard, given specific expectations, or to be put in a box with people they assume are just like me. I like to be independent, creative, push boundaries. I’m not content to just follow orders and do as I’m told.” His lip curled up on one side and I could tell he was fighting a smile. “I know, it’s unrealistic. Everyone has to answer to someone in some shape, way or form. It’s an issue I’m working on. But I definitely thrive more in a position where I’m given more freedoms.”
