“Did Michael order another pizza?” Hannah asked, almost hopefully. The leftovers of the night before were already gone. Hannah had smuggled half of vegetable one into her lunch box and shared it with Scott, while I’d hidden out in the school newspaper office, avoiding Adam. I wasn’t proud of that, but facing him was just impossible right now.
“He’s not home,” I reminded her. He had gone to the movies about an hour or so earlier, claiming he was of better use to us as long as he was out of the way. Nora was too stressed out to try and protest.
I stood up and headed towards the front door, peeking through the peep hole. Adam. Of course. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before opening the door and forcing myself to smile at him. I felt my heart skip a few beats, the reaction I always had when I was face to face with him.
“What are you doing here?” I asked. He stepped forward and wrapped me in a hug. He smelled so good, always. I buried my face in his chest despite my better judgment, willing him to take me away from everything, at least mentally; at least for a few minutes.
“Isn’t a guy allowed to miss his girlfriend?” He asked, kissing the top of my head. I held him tighter, unexpectedly afraid that I’d be incapable of ever letting go. All the things that Erin had said to me just minutes before flooded back, and I felt suddenly terrified. I tried to forget the fact that he was leaving in a mere few months, but it always came back, reminding me that whatever we had was temporary.
“Yeah,” I glanced over my shoulder, half-expecting Hannah or Scott to follow me out. No one was there. “Come on,” I grabbed his hand and led him back outside, into the cool November night.
“I’m not allowed in?” Adam asked. He laughed slightly, but I could hear the tension underneath. It bothered him that Nora wasn’t fond of him, and didn’t approve of our relationship. His family was so open and accepting of everyone and everything, it was hard for him to really understand.
“I don’t think you want to go in there,” I explained, pulling him down the steps and around the side of the house where it was completely dark. Like most houses on Hatteras Island, Bella Vista was built on stilts, but there was siding build around them, making it look more like a regular house. I leaned against the siding and pulled him close to me.
“I love you,” I told him, feeling the need to express that more than ever.
He looked surprised, but a slow smile spread over his face. “I love you, too,” he whispered, leaning in and kissing me tenderly. I melted in to him, the way I always did.
It was magic, kissing Adam, every time. And it never got old, and never went away. Every time was like the first time.
I unzipped his leather jacket and slid my arms inside, wrapping them around his waist, feeling the warmth of his skin underneath his t-shirt. He rubbed his forehead against mine and pulled me even closer.
“It’s cold out here,” he remarked. “Do you want to wear it?”
I shook my head and pressed it against his chest. “No, I just want to be close to you.”
He lifted my shirt up slightly, stroking my bare skin. I shivered at how cold his hands were, but it felt too good to ask him to stop.
“Do you want to come over?” He asked. For a minute, I considered it; just getting into his car and leaving, not telling anyone where I was going or that I was leaving at all. I knew that Nora looked at me as the responsible one, the reasonable one, the one that did what she was told and didn’t argue. Hannah would leave with a cute boy in an instant and while Nora wouldn’t exactly be happy about it, she’d expect it.
Adam tilted my head up and touched the side of my face before sliding his hand through my hair. “We can hang out in the guest house,” he told me, grinning slyly.
“I thought your mom hid the keys.”
“She did, but I found them again.”
I bit my lower lip, contemplating it. I knew what hanging out in the guest house really meant; that was where it all began, the mistake that had led to this. Maybe I should go. Maybe it was the best place to reveal the secret that I’d held for only twenty-four hours, though it felt more like a lifetime.
“What’s bothering you?” He asked, moving his hand from my hair to the base of my neck. “Nothing has to happen. I just want to be with you.”
“It’s not that. I just, I have to help Nora, and Hannah and Scott are in there now…”
I saw his jaw clench at the mention of Scott. “He’s in there?”
I nodded, wondering why I’d felt the need to mention that.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I know you’d just get angry and upset and I didn’t want you to have to worry about it.”
He moved his body away from me slightly, and I immediately held onto him, hating even the smallest amount of distance between us.
“I hate him being around you.”
“It’s harmless, Adam.”
“The guy is still nuts about you.” His face softened slightly. “I can’t exactly blame him for that, but I hate it.”
“You have nothing to worry about.” Possibly the biggest lie I’ve ever told, but not for the reason he might be thinking. I pulled him closer to me again and kissed him, wanting to kiss away all his jealousy and insecurities. I wanted to kiss away everything he was going to feel when I couldn’t hide this anymore.
He kissed me back and it was like every other time before. The world around us disappeared. There was no Scott anymore, no Hannah and her schemes, no Nora and her rules, no guest house and no mistakes, no unplanned pregnancy that would never feel like reality. It was just the two of us, Adam and Lainey, alone in the world that we had created, a world where nothing could ever go wrong because we were the only parts of it. We were the best parts of each other, and I didn’t want to lose that. Not for college miles and miles away, not for a mistake that could have so easily been prevented.
And then it happened. The nauseous feeling I’d been carrying around with me for the past week intensified and I ripped myself away from Adam faster than I could ever remember moving before. I hurried away from him, making it only a few feet before I doubled over and threw up in the sand.
I felt him come up behind me, placing his hand on the small of my back, asking me if I was alright. His touch felt foreign and his voice sounded like it was coming from a million miles away. I stood up slowly and wiped off my mouth, pulled my hair from my face and looked up at the sky. I had spent the last twenty four hours pretending that this wasn’t really happening, that it was some sort of a mistake that would be corrected later on. I looked at Adam and saw the concern on his face and I felt even worse. I turned away from him in the hopes that he wouldn’t notice I was starting to cry, before I ran away from him and back into the house, where I could at least pretend I was safe.
July 27
I moved my legs around slowly in the pool water, watching as it rippled around me. A few feet away, Adam was swimming underwater, his strokes slow but purposeful. I felt my heart begin to flutter, thinking of how perfect he was, how perfect every moment spent with him felt.
The sliding glass door opened behind me, and Julia Montgomery emerged. She was a beautiful woman, likely in her early forties but not looking a day over thirty. She always had a fresh look about her, with her naturally tanned skin, honey-blonde hair and clear blue eyes. Today her hair was piled high on top of her head and she was dressed in all white. We were going through a bit of a heat wave this past week, and she carried a decorative hand fan with her.
“Lainey,” she said when she noticed me sitting by the pool. She greeted me with a large smile. “I didn’t know you were here.”
“I just got here a few minutes ago,” I explained.
“Did you come over to swim?” She asked, waving the fan in her face. “This weather is ridiculous. There hasn’t even been a half-decent ocean breeze all day. Normally I hate the thought of being cooped up in the house with the air conditioner on, but it hasn’t even been a choice all week.”
I smiled hesita
ntly. Both of Adam’s parents had never been anything but warm and welcoming towards me, especially Julia, who actually seemed to like me, though we hadn’t spent much time around each other. Still, I felt a little uncomfortable. Adam had met with such resistance from Nora; I couldn’t help wondering what Julia might really think of me. Maybe it was just paranoia, or a lack of self-confidence. Things with Scott’s parents had been natural, since I was already so used to both of them by the time we began dating.
“I was going to, but I think it might be too hot even for that,” I replied.
Julia nodded in agreement. “I’m with you on that. When Ned built this, I should have specified an indoor pool,” she winked at me. Ned Montgomery was an architect, and Adam had mentioned to me on a few occasions that he’d designed their house. It was the only one they had ever lived in as a family. I couldn’t even imagine.
Adam swam over to us, finally noticing that his mother had come outside. “Hi, Mom,” he said, placing his arms up on the side of the pool and grinning up at us. Water dripped from his hair onto his face, and I resisted the urge to reach over and brush the drops away.
“Hi, honey. I came out to ask if you wanted to join your father and I for dinner, we’re going out. It’s too hot to think of even making a salad in the kitchen, even with the air on.” She smiled at me. “You’re more than welcome to join us too, Lainey.”
I glanced over at Adam, who was shaking his head. “No, thanks.”
“I didn’t see you asking Lainey if she was hungry,” she pointed out.
“Lainey, are you hungry?” He asked pointedly.
I blushed and shook my head. “No, not really.”
Julia chuckled and shook her head, amused. “Okay, I get the point. You’re both too cool to be seen with a bunch of boring old parents on a Saturday night. I’ll leave some money on the kitchen counter in case you decide to feed your girlfriend, okay, Adam?”
He nodded. “Thanks, Mom.”
“No problem, honey. Lainey, it was really nice seeing you again. You should come over more.” She squeezed my shoulder and then disappeared back into the kitchen.
Adam grabbed my legs. “Come in,” he said.
I hesitated before shaking my head. “It’s getting dark,” I replied.
“So? You can’t swim when it’s dark? That’s the best time.”
“Thanks, but no thanks.”
“You’re no fun,” he complained.
“You sound like Hannah now.”
He laughed and swam backwards towards the other side of the pool. “Then maybe it’s true.”
“Maybe,” I agreed, pulling my legs from the water and standing up. I felt unexpectedly nervous, being alone with Adam. It wasn’t like we had never been alone before. Most of the time we had spent together so far had been alone, with the exceptions of the times we hung out with Nolan. But lately things had started to change a little; it had become a little too hard to stop. I was beginning to worry that we were losing our sense of boundaries.
“If you didn’t want to go swimming, why did you wear your bathing suit?”
“I didn’t,” I lied, crossing my arms over my chest.
“You’re wearing a white shirt. I can see the outline,” Adam pointed out.
I blushed and turned away. The blue bikini had been Hannah’s idea. I should have learned by now that most of her ideas were bad ones, but somehow this one had slipped by me. It wasn’t anywhere near as revealing as some of the ones she’d picked out for herself, but still, it was more than I was used to. And it wasn’t even like I’d never worn a bikini before; there was just a big difference between wearing one at the beach where there were plenty of other people around at any given time, and wearing one when I was alone with Adam, at his house.
Adam pulled himself out of the pool and grabbed a towel, quickly drying himself off. “You don’t have to be scared of me, you know,” he pointed out. “I think I’ve exhibited a lot of self-control this past month.”
I smiled faintly. “I know. I just don’t want to swim.”
He walked over to me and slid an arm around my waist, kissing me quickly on the forehead. “Let’s eat, then.”
I followed him through the sliding glass door into the kitchen. It was a bit cooler in there, but Julia was right about it not being cool enough. I leaned back against the kitchen counter while Adam grabbed a stack of menus and started flipping through them.
“What are you in the mood for?” He asked.
“I just want a salad,” I replied.
“You eat like a bird,” he complained.
“I do not. I just like to eat healthy.”
“Me too, which is why I’m going to order mushrooms on my pizza.”
I smiled. “I don’t think they really count as a vegetable.”
“Well, they’re listed under vegetables on this menu, and that’s all the proof I need. Want me to order now, or wait a little?” He moved closer to me and put his hands on my hips. The skin tingled underneath my shirt.
“Wait a little,” I decided, my stomach suddenly in knots. He nodded and leaned in, brushing his lips softly against mine. I relaxed into him, wrapping my arms around his neck. His skin still felt warm, despite the small drops of water that remained.
“I want to show you something,” he said, pulling away after a few minutes. He walked back over to the small drawer where he’d found the menus and pulled out a small ring of keys. He motioned for me to follow him back out the door.
I followed him to the structure a few yards away from the pool that I’d always assumed was a pool house, and stood behind him as he unlocked the door. He stood back and let me enter in front of him.
I was surprised to find that it wasn’t actually a pool house at all, but instead just a very small house. The door opened up to a small living room with a kitchen area off to the side, fully equipped with every necessary appliance, and a small dining table in the center. There was a hallway next to the door leading off to where I imagined there was a bedroom and bathroom.
“What’s this?” I asked as he came in behind me and closed the door. He headed over to a thermostat on the wall and hit a few buttons.
“It cools down pretty fast in here,” he explained before turning around and facing me again. “And to answer your question, this is the official Montgomery guest house.” He waved his arms around dramatically, a wide grin on his face.
“I thought it was a pool house,” I said, walking to the center of the living room and sitting down on the couch. It was surprisingly very comfortable.
“Nope, we have a shed behind this to store all that stuff. My dad had this built when he designed the house, so his parents would have their own place to stay whenever they visited. It’s more convenient than a guest bedroom, I guess.” He walked over to the refrigerator in the kitchen area and opened it, scanning its contents.
“I’d offer you something to drink but there’s only beer and soda in here, and I know you won’t go for either.”
“Beer?” I asked.
“Yeah, my brother lives here when he comes back form school now.” He pulled out a soda and snapped the lid. “I guess he’s too cool to stay in his old bedroom.”
I’d never met Greg Montgomery, and everything I knew about him came from what Adam told me. He didn’t seem overly fond of his older brother, but never really offered an explanation as to why.
“You don’t have to pick soda just because I’m here,” I said with a small smile. It was no secret to me that Adam drank, or at least used to, but it seemed he stayed far away from it whenever I was around.
“I don’t mind,” he replied, sitting on the couch next to me and wrapping his arm around my shoulders. “I’d rather be completely alert when I’m around you, anyway.”
I smiled and relaxed into him. “If Greg lives here, where is he?” I asked.
“He’s in Spain for the summer. Something having to do with school; I didn’t ask. I wanted to take the place over while he was gone, at least until
school started up again, but my parents won’t let me. I think they’re just not ready to experience life as empty nesters yet.”
I smiled up at him. “Can you blame them? It’s probably sad.”
He shrugged. “Wouldn’t it be great, though? We could be together all the time, without anyone ever bothering us.”
That did sound great, but risky, too. I climbed onto his lap and ran my fingers through his hair. He rested his head back and closed his eyes. Adam loved having his hair played with; this was something I learned very early in our relationship.
“Then Nora would somehow find out and ban me from you completely,” I replied, planting a few kisses on his forehead.
He smiled. “True. But I can pretend, can’t I?”
“There’s no harm in that, I guess,” I agreed.
He put his soda on the end table beside him and wrapped his arms around me, running his hands up and down my back. “Maybe when you graduate we can get a place together,” he suggested. “Something small, nothing fancy. Just enough room for the two of us. Would you like that?”
I imagined Adam and I, just the two of us, together always and smiled. “Of course, but that’s a million years away.”
“Just two.”
“Two years is a lot when you’re fifteen and seventeen.”
“Not necessarily. Not when you’re sure of what you want.”
“I don’t think it’s possible to ever be sure of anything like that. You never know what the future is going to hold.” I realized how pessimistic I sounded, but couldn’t help it. As much as I loved Adam, I wasn’t going to allow myself to get carried away with that emotion, and forget that things didn’t always turn out the way you wanted them to.
“I do,” Adam insisted. “I’m going to want you in two years as much as I want you now.”
I outlined his face with my fingertip, considering this. “My dad’s been married three times,” I pointed out. “I don’t think he planned for that, but it happened.”
“You don’t have to be a cynic just because your dad is indecisive.”
The Consequences of Forever (Lainey) Page 4
