“Oh yeah, I heard you.” He saunters over towards me, and he’s wearing a sly smile. “So, you’re falling for me, Peaches? If I remember correctly, you told me you and I would never happen. Ever. Yet here we both are, falling for each other. I knew I could get you to like me.”
I can’t help the smile that’s creeping up on my lips.
“Whatever was I thinking, falling for someone as cocky as you? Your ego doesn’t need to get any larger.” My heart skipped a beat when he said he was falling for me too.
“Admit it, Peaches, you like me and my large ego.”
“I can’t admit something...”
My words are drowned out by his mouth pressing hard against my lips. This kiss is much different than the one we shared last night. His kiss before was tentative and sweet. Now his mouth is hard and demanding against mine, causing me to gasp for breath. He grabs my hips and pushes me hard up against the wall, digging his hips into me. I can’t help the low moan that escapes from my lips. Oh my, can he kiss.
He picks me up and I lock my legs around his waist. “This is where your legs belong, around my waist. Remember that,” he huskily says.
Abruptly he turns around and we slam down together on his bed. He lands on top of me, and all the muscles below my waistline clench in the most delicious way. He slowly pushes his hips into me and I can feel just how much he wants me. Tentatively I lift my hips up to meet him and a low growl comes deep from his throat. He moves his mouth down to my neck, sucking and kissing as he goes. I grip my hands in his hair, pulling him closer to me. I don’t want to ever break our connection; I want to stay in this perfect bubble with Adam. He starts to slowly rock his hips into me, and chills break out over my body. In this moment I realize how much I want him, all of him. The rocking of his hips feels so good and it’s causing the perfect amount of friction. My eyes involuntary roll back in my head and I can’t help the small noises that escape from my lips.
His hand plays with the little patch of skin showing between my stomach and the top of my jeans. He lightly runs his fingers over my stomach causing goosebumps to erupt all over my skin. He starts to undo the button of my jeans.
“Can I touch you, please?”
I stare up into his eyes, and the look he is giving me sets my blood on fire. It’s a look of pure desire. I’m sure my look mirrors his, but I just don’t know if I’m ready to take this step yet. I feel like there are things Adam needs to know about my past before we take things farther than we are right now. I’ve never willingly slept with anyone before and the thought terrifies me. But somehow Adam makes me feel at ease. He makes intimacy feel good, and not scary. My body craves his touch, but my mind is conflicted.
“We won’t take it any farther than this. I just need to feel you.” His breathing is heavy, and the look he is giving me makes me forget what I was thinking.
Deep down I know Adam won’t take advantage of me and I trust him completely with my body. I just don’t think I’m ready to go all the way with Adam, but the thought of his hands leaving me makes me feel a hollow ache in my chest. I answer his question by crushing my mouth to his. I reach my hands up and tug at his shirt trying to get it off. I want to feel his skin against me. He unzips my jeans and I lift my hips to help ease them off.
“You are so beautiful, Abigail.”
He grazes his index finger down my cheek and then to my neck. His lips then follow the trail of his finger. He’s slowly kissing down my cheek and down to my neck. He dips his tongue at the hollow spot at my throat, causing a chill to erupt from the tip of my fingers all the way to my toes. He slips his hand inside my panties and slowly sinks a finger inside me. The initial contact causes my back to arch off the bed, and my hips involuntarily start to move against his hand. He starts to pick up speed and before I know it a wave of pleasure washes over me and I’m left in a pure state of satisfactory bliss. So that’s what all the fuss is about. I’ve never felt anything like that in my life. A slow smile starts to spread across my face.
“I could watch you do that all day. I thought watching you tap that keg at the party last week was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. But this tops the list by far.”
He pulls me into his arms and I lay my head on his chest, listening to the erratic beat of his heart. His steady breathing almost lulls me to sleep when suddenly he leans over and kisses my forehead and playfully slaps my ass.
“Now get up, our breakfast is already probably cold. We need to eat, and I’m sure you’d like to go to the hospital and see your mom. Let’s eat, and then we’ll go see her.”
“I’m surprised you still want to stick around me after what you saw last night. If you stay in my life, fucked up things tend to happen all the time. My mom tends to be a lot of drama. I don’t really want to go see her today if that’s OK. Can’t we just stay in bed all day and pretend the real world doesn’t exist. Pretty please? Pretty please with a cherry on top?” I pout out my lip and try to give my best sad-face expression I can muster up. I see his eyes soften and I think I may have won him over.
“It would take a lot more than that to keep me away from you, Peaches. As adorable and tempting as you look right now, we really do have to get up. We don’t have to go visit her if you don’t want to, but I have a surprise for you.” He gives me a playful smile and tries to push me out of bed.
“What kind of surprise? Heck I’m curious, curious like a cat. I have a couple of friends that call me whiskers.” His expression looks amused and I can tell he’s trying to hold in his smile.
“Did you just quote Will Farrell? I think I found my dream girl. Seriously, marry me?” I know he’s joking, but I can’t help the butterflies that go off in my stomach.
“Now, get up before I have to drag your ass out of this bed.”
“Fine, all right. You win, you always do.” I say that line in my best Will Farrell voice. He throws his head back and starts to laugh loudly, which in turn makes me laugh.
We eventually get out of bed and start to head towards the kitchen. We walk back down the long hallway, and down a set of stairs. Once we reach the bottom, it opens up into a large living room. Off to the side I see a massive book shelf that takes up the entire wall. From floor to ceiling I see nothing but books. I find myself drifting towards the books, and I’m sure I have a look of awe on my face. I’ve never seen so many books in someone’s home before. I start running my fingers across the books, and reading their titles. I could stay stay in the room forever and read every single book.
“Have you read all these books?” I ask in wonder.
“No, I have read a few of them, but these were all of my dad’s books. He read them all. He had a slight obsession with reading. When I was a kid he used to read some of these books to me before bed. I remember coming in here, spinning in a circle with my eyes closed, and whatever book my finger landed on was the book we would read. Then we would curl up in that big chair over there and he would read to me until I fell asleep. He had the most animated voice, and I felt like I was actually in the story. I used to pretend I was sailing on a raft with Huck and Jim, hunting for the white whale aboard the Pequod, or casting spells at Hogwarts. I hope to do the same with my kids one day.”
He says this with a sad smile on his face. I can tell he and his dad had a good relationship, and that he misses him terribly. I want to erase the pain on his face, so I do the only thing I can think of. I walk over towards him, place my arms around his neck, and gently put my lips against his, kissing away the sadness. I kiss his cheeks, his nose, his eyes, his neck, until I work my way back to his lips.
“Your dad would be very proud of the man you have become. You are kind, caring, smart, funny, and a whole lot of other adjectives, but I wouldn’t want to name them all and enlarge your ego anymore that it already is.” I give him a playful wink, hoping to lighten his mood a little bit.
He pulls me into a big hug and kissed my forehead. “How did I get so lucky to find you, Peaches? You are perfect.” I blush at his words. N
ormally hearing things like this makes me uncomfortable, but when it comes from Adam, it feels sincere and just…right. It seems unreal to have the connection Adam and I have.
We finally make our way to the kitchen and Adam has our breakfast laid out on the table.
“Our breakfast is most definitely cold by now, and my cooking sucks ass, but you will just have to suck it up and eat it anyway. I’ve never cooked before, so go easy on me when judging my cooking skills.”
I smile sweetly up at him. “Thank you for cooking for me. I can’t tell you the last time I ate a home cooked breakfast. Most of my meals are takeout.” The pancakes are burnt, and my scrambled eggs look a little runny. I drown the pancakes is syrup, and douse my eggs in ketchup. Hopefully that will block out the burnt taste of my pancakes. I take a bite, chew a few times, and force the pancakes down my throat. I think him getting up and making this meal for me was the sweetest thing anyone has ever done, but he wasn’t kidding when he said his cooking sucks ass. My cooking probably sucks just as bad, so who am I to judge?
“God, this is awful. How are you even eating it right now?” He has a look of disgust on his face, and he is spitting a bite of food into a napkin.
“Oh come on, it's not that bad.”
By the look on my face I know he can tell I’m lying. We both immediately start laughing. He gets up and scrapes our plates into the trash can, and puts the dishes in the sink.
“I did make coffee for you though. I noticed every morning you come to school you have coffee with you. It was my first time using the coffee pot, but I don’t think I screwed it up too badly.” He pours me a cup and sets it in front of me. “Do you like anything in your coffee? My mom has about 20 different flavors of that creamer shit to pour into it.”
“No thank you, I like my coffee strong and black.”
He picks up my coffee and takes a sip. “Oh shit, that tastes fucking terrible. How do you drink this stuff?”
“Hey, without coffee I’d be walking around like a zombie, and it isn’t pretty. I started drinking coffee when I was little. Sometimes my mom’s little stunts would keep me up late at night, so I needed coffee to stay awake during school. But give it a month or two and you will acquire a taste for black coffee.”
“I doubt it. I’ll stick to orange juice in the mornings.”
I laugh at him. I bet I’ll have him liking coffee in no time. “I would offer to make breakfast for us, but my cooking is just as awful as yours. I can’t cook to save my life.”
“Well we make a great pair then, don’t you think?” He grabs a box of cereal and some milk and puts them on the table in front of me.
“I should have just stuck to what I know how to do. I just so happens I hold the world record for best cereal maker. You should see my trick for pouring the milk.”
“Wow, your mom must be so proud. You’re a man of many talents.” I teasingly say.
“I could go upstairs and show you some of my other talents if you wish.” He gives me a wicked grin and my stomach does a somersault. How does he turn me on with just one sentence? But I find myself wishing he would take me upstairs and show me a trick or two.
Just then I hear the front door open and shut loudly. It pulls me from my dark thoughts about Adam’s other talents. I must remind him to show me those sometime. “God Adam, what is that awful burnt smell? Did you attempt to try and cook something? You should stick to cereal or pop tarts when I’m not home. I am quite fond of my house and prefer if you didn’t burn it to ashes.”
I see a woman who looks to be in her mid-thirties round the corner. I immediately know it's Adam’s mom just by looking at her. The resemblance is striking. She’s absolutely beautiful. She has shoulder length brown hair, olive colored skin, and she is wearing a set of scrubs. I remember Adam saying she works nights, so she must just be getting off work. I hope Adam isn’t in trouble for letting me stay here, I can’t believe I didn’t think of that last night. She notices me sitting at the table and she raises her eyebrows.
“I didn’t know you had company, it’s quite early, one can only assume your guest spent the night.” She quirks up a eyebrow at Adam and gives him a playful smile.
“Mom, this is Abigail. Her mom is in the hospital, and I helped her out last night. I didn’t feel comfortable leaving her alone so I let her stay here.”
She reaches over and gently cups his cheek. He leans his face into her hand and smiles sweetly at her. It’s obvious he adores him mother. She turns her attention to me. “Hi Abigail, it’s nice to meet you. I’m sorry to hear about you mom. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help. May I ask what happened?”
“Um, well…” I fumble for what to say to her. Should I tell her the truth? Make up a story? I decide to go for honesty. Since meeting Adam, he for some reasons makes me want to be a better person and to tell the truth for once. “She was um, stabbed last night and beaten up by some guy,” I whisper out, and it looks like she is straining to hear me. Her face has a look of shock, mixed with sympathy.
“Oh honey, I’m so sorry. I’m glad Adam was there for you last night. He’s spoken very highly of you. Adam has never brought a girl home before, so you must be very special to him. I was beginning to think he was gay,” she jokingly says. I look over at Adam and I swear I see a slight blush on his face. I also can’t believe I’m the only girl who has met his mother. Or the fact that she just called me his girlfriend.
“Really mom? I am far from gay. I just never found someone who held my interest until Abigail.”
I’m not that interesting.
“Well one can only assume you were into men when you’ve never, not one time, have you ever brought home a girl.” She leans over and loudly whispers in my ear, “Plus he takes longer than I do to get ready in the morning.”
I can’t help but laugh at Adam's expense. I already like his mom.
Adam rolls his eyes and glares at me. “Please don’t laugh at her, she really isn’t funny. Now, you go up to bed and Abigail and I are going to run by her house to get some clothes and a few things. Do you mind if she stays here for a few days?”
“Oh Adam, that isn’t necessary, I can go stay with Jessie or I’m sure my house will be back in order soon. I don’t want to impose on you guys any more than I already have,” I quickly say.
“Abigail, I told you and I meant it, I don’t think I can let you stay at your house anymore,” he says through gritted teeth. Any time he talks about me staying at the bar he gets angry. I can tell he’s trying to reel in his temper, but it doesn’t seem to be working.
“Adam, I’m sure her parents will want her back at her house. You can’t keep her away from her home, you’re talking crazy.” She playfully slaps his arm, but I see her give her son a look of concern.
“Mom, she lives above McCarthy’s bar. Her parents own the place. Her mom was just stabbed there, and I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep at night knowing she is there.” He gives her a hard glare. I look over at his mom and all the color has drained from her face, and it looks like she is fighting back her tears.
“That’s where you live?” she whispers out. She is looking at me like she’s seen a ghost, and to be honest, I’m not quite she how to take this. Why is she looking at me like that? It looks like the same look Adam had on his face when he dropped me off after our date. It’s not uncommon for people to live above the bar they own. Lots of people do it.
I start to get an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. It’s the same feeling I got while Adam and I were waiting at the hospital for my mom to come out of surgery. He was telling me about his dad, and how he died. I try to squash the feeling away, I don’t want what I’m thinking to be true. It can’t be true. Please, please, please let it not be true. She starts to walk backwards out of the kitchen, still staring at me while she walks away.
“Please excuse me, I have to go take a shower and get to bed. I had a long night last night. It was nice meeting you, Abigail. And yes, please stay here as long as
you’d like. We would be happy to have you here, ” she softly says, and before I know it she’s gone.
I stare at Adam wanting him to explain to me his mom’s odd behavior. I have a feeling I know what he’s going to say, but I need to hear him say it. I won’t believe it until I hear him say it. The little bit of information Adam told me, mixed with both of their odd behavior anytime the bar was brought up doesn’t ease my nerves any.
“Please tell me why your mom looked at me like she just saw a ghost.” Adam stares at me for a long time. I can tell he’s battling something in his head. He’s chewing on his bottom lip, and he won’t meet me eyes. “Please Adam, I need to know. You gave me the same look last night when you dropped me off after the concert. The bar means something to your family, doesn’t it?”
He takes a deep breath before answering. “The bar your family owns was where my dad was shot. He was playing a show with his band one night, and there was a brawl and someone took out a gun and started shooting. He didn’t get out in time.”
Hearing him say it out loud hits me harder than I expected. His dad was the man who saved me. I am the reason his dad isn’t alive. If he didn’t stay behind to help me, he would have gotten out in time. He would still be here, and Adam wouldn’t be so sad. I can’t help but feel like I have caused Adam’s pain. Suddenly, I feel like I need to get out of here. It’s too much, the walls are starting to close in, and my breathing it starting to pick up. I have to walk away from Adam. If he finds out I’m the reason his dad isn’t here anymore, he will hate me. I don’t think I could stand the thought of Adam hating me, so I do what I do best. I leave. He can’t know my secret.
“Please excuse me for a minute.”
I run upstairs and dig in my purse for my phone. I text Jessie and tell her she needs to pick me up immediately. I give her directions and tell her to get here as fast as she can. I go in Adam’s bathroom and try to clean my face as best I can. I don’t want Adam to see me cry. I don’t want him to ask questions.
I hear a soft knock on the door. “Abigail are you OK?” I hear the door handle jiggle and twist. “Please let me in.”
Alive Page 8
