All the Wrong Reasons: When something so wrong can feel so right! (Destiny's Games Book 1)

by Jerilee Kaye

  After dinner, they took a joyride. Most of the time, he would take her hand in his and kiss it.

  When they got home, he walked her to her door. They kissed passionately. She felt drugged. Excited. Like her world had flipped upside down again. And yet there was a sense of knowing. She knows this man… Justin… she feels comfortable at the same time. She felt the same excitement as ever, but the fear was gone.

  When he pulled away, he looked as lost as she was. He smiled and kissed her on the forehead.

  “Goodnight,” he said.

  “Goodnight,” she whispered. She felt disappointed. She knew that she would miss sleeping in his arms that night. And she didn’t want to break the magic just yet.

  Then she dared ask him, “Do you want to come inside?”

  Triumph glinted in his eyes. He replied, “Honey…you know if I come in, I would stay the night.”

  She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Then stay the night,” she murmured.

  He smiled at her. He looked genuinely happy she asked him to stay.

  She turned around and opened the door. He followed.

  She went into the bathroom to take a shower and change into her pajamas. When she got out, she found Justin on her bed, watching the news.

  “Hey…” she called.

  He smiled at her and then took off his shirt, which exposed the torso and abs that melted her knees when she first looked at them… and they still did.

  “Toothbrush?” he asked.

  She went into the bathroom and took a brand new toothbrush head and placed it on her electric toothbrush.

  “Sorry. I don’t have the whole brush. But I have spare heads.”

  He laughed. “That’s fine.”

  After brushing, he took a quick shower. Adrienne placed a clean towel on the towel bar and closed the bathroom door behind her.

  When Justin got out of the bathroom, his hair was wet and he had a towel wrapped around his waist.

  “What are you watching?” he asked.

  “Nothing interesting.”

  He sat beside her and kissed her. “I can think of something interesting to do,” he whispered mischievously.

  She laughed. “You! You sound like you’re not tired of me yet.”

  He shook his head. “Why should I be? You’re a fox!” His face descended towards hers and he gave her a soft kiss that turned passionate and deep. He nuzzled her neck and she moaned in pleasure.

  After they made love, she felt senseless but happy.

  She felt comfortable in his arms. She felt adored…and at the same time, safe.

  She smiled even in her sleep. She thought, from the day she walked into Gypsys, she would never be the same.

  7. Junpu manpan

  Japanese. Translation: Smooth Sailing.

  It was true. Adrienne was never the same.

  Her spirits soared so much higher when she went to work. She didn’t dress in boring square pants and skirts anymore. She still exuded an executive look and yet became…foxy!

  She didn’t wear glasses anymore. She just kept them with her whenever she read or wrote. She frequently styled her hair down, either straight or in perfect waves behind her shoulders. She actually loved its red highlights. It made her look smart and naughty at the same time.

  She became a little worried, though. On the fourteenth day since they began seeing each other, she still expected Justin to walk away.

  Two weeks. This was his reputation. After two weeks, he would just disappear like a bubble.

  She sighed on her desk and promised herself that she wouldn’t get hurt. That she would accept things as they were. When he walked away, she would still be the same Adrienne that she had become. She wouldn’t go back to her old wardrobe or her eyeglasses. This whirlwind thing had done a great deal to her confidence and self-respect. Regardless of how sinfully she acted, she got her self-love back. She wouldn’t regret a single moment of her time with Justin.

  “Are you okay?” Jill asked her.

  No! He hasn’t called me or texted yet! And it’s after lunch!

  It took all her effort not to scream that. Instead, she said, “I’m fine. Whatever made you think that I’m not okay?”

  Jill shrugged. “You looked tense.”

  You think?

  Adrienne sighed. “Too much work, I guess.”

  From the seventh day since that night at Gypsys, Justin had always sent her messages throughout the day.

  You’re a fox.

  It never failed to bring a smile to her face. Yet when she got to Day Fourteen, she was starting to feel like she didn’t exist at all. She didn’t want to swallow her pride and call him. Not at the end of the two weeks, when rumors said that he’d lose interest in a woman.

  She composed herself and went back to work.

  “Miss Adrienne Miller?”

  She looked up and saw a guy dressed in a Khaki uniform in front of her.

  “Yes?”

  He put a large bouquet of red roses on her desk.

  She looked up at him. “From whom?” she asked.

  “There’s a card, ma’am. Please sign here.” The delivery guy took her signature, and left.

  When he was gone, she scanned the card nervously. Jill went to her side, curious and excited at the same time. “My God? Who sent those?” she asked. “Troy?”

  “I don’t know.”

  She read the card. Hoping against all hopes that it’s from Justin, but also hoping that it wouldn’t say so in the card because Jill stood right in front of her and definitely would snatch the card from her fingers after she read it.

  The card read, You’re a fox… She recognized Justin’s neat handwriting.

  She sighed in relief. She smiled to her ears.

  Justin.

  She only waited for a text message. He gave her more than that. He gave her roses! First time she ever received a bouquet of roses from a guy. And he was discreet enough not to put his name on it, but he left no doubt that he sent them.

  Jill seized the card from her.

  “Oh my God! You have a secret admirer! Do you know who it is?”

  Adrienne shook her head. She didn’t say anything. She feared she would scream if she opened her mouth at that moment.

  “So sweet! And mysterious! I can say some guy is gaga over you! I told you! You’re hot! You know why Kim had to be prude and had to pretend she is smart? Because it’s so evident that you have the looks!”

  “Jill!”

  “And now that you’re coming out in the open, see what happens?”

  With all of Jill’s excited wailing, other girls soon crowded in her cubicle, talking about who could possibly be the sender. They had some suspects and names to suggest, which surprised Adrienne.

  “Jake from Marketing, he was asking about you,” Cynthia asserted.

  “And oh…Matt from Accounting, also asked if you had a boyfriend, the other day,” another colleague said.

  Adrienne just half-listened to the conversation. She wasn’t interested in any of it. She found herself quite thrilled with her own thoughts. This is the first time she received flowers in her life.

  Yes! My relationship with Troy was that pathetic!

  Then somebody went, “Ssshh!!!” And then they all fell silent.

  When she looked up, she saw Justin walking past her cubicle. He had an eyebrow raised and a corner of his lips curled into a half-smile.

  She knew he gazed at her. And she felt good. When all of these women drooled over him, she knew his eyes were on her.

  She bit her lip and just stared at him. And then he was out of sight.

  The girls sighed in unison.

  “All right. Back to work ladies. Jada will have my neck if she finds out I’m causing this commotion.”

  She brought home the bouquet of roses and placed them in a vase. She thought herself on cloud nine.

  After five minutes, the doorbell rang.

  When she opened it, Justin wrapped his arms around her waist, li
fted her off her feet and carried her inside her apartment. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “Did you send them?” she asked.

  “Did you like them?” he countered, his crystal blue eyes sparkling.

  “I love them!” She leaned down to kiss him.

  They had Thai food delivery and afterwards, they watched DVDs in Justin’s apartment. She fell asleep in his arms.

  * * *

  One month and a half elapsed since that night she went to Gypsys and met Justin Adams, who had become monumental in her life. They spent almost every night together. When he and his friends would have poker nights, he would borrow her key, so he could slip into her apartment and into her bed after midnight. When she woke up, she would find herself comfortably nestled in his arms.

  She started trading stocks as well. She found it quite exciting. Her one thousand bucks paid twenty percent. Well, it was Justin who called the shots. She put her money on some blue chip company he was trading on. And it wound up being a good choice.

  She invested more money. An amount she thought she could do without. She wanted to prove that she had learned how to risk some things. Every move she made, Justin would tell her if he thought it good or not. She saw him as a genius in this game. No wonder he made his own millions here.

  Troy would call her at least once a week. She would indulge him in his med talks, and when it would normally freak her out to hear him say Kim’s name more than once in every phone call, it didn’t matter to her anymore.

  Whenever he’d say I love you, she would reply goodnight, or remain silent. She actually found herself looking at the door when Troy embarked on a monologue, hoping Justin would walk in. And he always would.

  And that’s the time her face would brighten up.

  “Kimberly gave me another pointer today...blah…blah… blah…” Then he went on and on.

  She raised a brow, then let out a yawn while she let him talk to himself.

  She knew it was only a matter of time before she broke up with Troy. She just needed time to be ready for what her mother would say to her. And she’s definitely not going to end their relationship over the phone.

  She reveled in high spirits that day. Before she went home, Jada called her and gave her another column. And she promoted her to Assistant Editor-in-Chief. The title raised her salary by a whopping twenty percent. But she figured Troy wouldn’t be interested in hearing that. Even if she became a major stockholder for Blush, she didn’t think he would be proud of her.

  Justin opened her door and went into her apartment. She smiled at the sight of him. He did so in return.

  He held a bottle of wine and a bouquet of roses.

  “What?” she mouthed.

  He shrugged. He didn’t say anything. He knew she was speaking to someone on the phone. If he knew it was Troy, he never asked. In fact, he never asked about Troy anymore or where she stood with him. It was like when they’re together, there’s only the two of them.

  “Hey…I gotta go…My boss just texted me. I need to go back to the office. Something came up,” she lied.

  “Sweetie, what kind of a profession does that? Pays so little and demands so much of your time. You gotta have time for yourself, you know.”

  “And what? Being doctor is an eight-hour job?” she snapped back at him.

  “But at least it pays a lot more…” he started.

  “Look Troy, you do your thing, I do mine. I don’t fancy being a doctor, and you can’t be a writer! Now, I have to go. Goodbye.” Then she hung up.

  She closed her eyes and took deep breaths to calm herself down.

  Justin went to her but didn’t say anything for a while. She looked up at him.

  “I should remember not to argue with you, honey.” He smiled. “You have a hell of a temper.”

  She sighed. “I’m sorry. Let’s drop that.”

  “You want to talk about it?” he asked.

  “Why would you want to talk about Troy?” she asked him, raising an eyebrow.

  “I don’t,” he began softly. “But if you want to talk about it, I will endure it.”

  She smiled and shook her head. Then she threw herself in his arms and gave him a hug.

  “I don’t want to talk about it. I just want to be with you,” she whispered.

  “Hmmm…what are you doing with a guy who gives you a lot of problems anyway?” he asked quietly.

  She shook her head. “It’s complicated, Justin. My mother…she might never forgive me for breaking it off. I can’t imagine what she will say to me. Besides, I can’t break up with him over the phone. I have to plan this appropriately. And I can’t think about this now.”

  He took a deep breath. “I just wish you would think about it someday.” He hugged her tighter.

  She didn’t answer. She looked up at him. She couldn’t make out any expression on his face.

  “You could be a shrink, you know that?” she teased.

  He raised a brow. “I don’t think my Dad would name me his heir if I choose to be a shrink, though.”

  She laughed and then reached up and kissed him on the lips.

  “Now, what’s with the wine and the flowers?” she asked as she pulled away from him.

  He handed her the roses. “For you.”

  “Hmmm. Justin Adams is a romantic soul.” She giggled.

  “Not every first impression proves to be true,” he responded. “And we’ve been together for more than a month now, you should know that by now.”

  She nodded. “I know.” She gave him a reassuring smile, sort of saying to him that she doesn’t see him based on his reputation anymore. He’s become a totally different person to her. “And what’s with the wine?”

  He placed the bottle of Chardonnay on her table. “Somebody received a promotion. I thought there’s a reason to celebrate.” He was beaming.

  She was touched. She didn’t tell him about the promotion yet. How did he find out?

  “Oh, thank you! But how did you know?”

  He shrugged. “I work part-time at Blush, remember? I have ears. Your friend, Jill, was talking about it with the layout artist when I came into the guy’s office.”

  She smiled. “Thank you!”

  “I’m really proud of you, hon,” he said.

  She hugged him. Now, more than ever, she felt what it was really like to have a boyfriend. How is it that Justin actually acted more like her boyfriend than Troy ever did? Come to think of it, Justin treated her the way she hoped Troy would treat her in the three years they were together.

  She served dinner. Earlier, she cooked beef and pasta, thinking Justin might want to have dinner at her apartment. And now her plan worked out even better. Justin even brought wine.

  The continued drinking the wine on her balcony.

  “I have something for you,” he stated.

  “Really? Now how could you possibly top the wine and bouquet of roses?” She smiled.

  He didn’t answer. He took out a box from the pocket of his jacket and gave it to her.

  “What is this?”

  “My congratulations gift to you.” He smiled. “Go ahead, open it.”

  The box was Tiffany’s. Her heart pounded. She took off the ribbon, and slowly opened the box.

  She lost breath when she stared at what lay inside.

  A pair of dangling diamond earrings. The diamonds looked like raindrops, and it looked like to it could be at least two carats. She only could admire their absolute beauty.

  “Justin…” She could barely breathe.

  “Come on, I want to see them on you.” He cut her off.

  “Justin…this is expensive. You didn’t have to…” She started.

  He reached forward and silenced her with a kiss.

  “But I want to, okay?” he whispered. “Do you like them?”

  She nodded. “Yes…but you didn’t have to get me something expensive…and not this expensive! Don’t spoil me this way.”

  He chuckled. “It doesn’t matter, hone
y. I walked by the shop, saw them in the window and I thought they would look stunning on you. I’m spoiling myself.”

  She leaned forward and gave him a kiss.

  “Thank you,” she whispered. Her eyes became wet with tears as emotions overwhelmed her. No other human being had ever made her feel this appreciated before. Not even her parents. She was the hand-me-down girl of Kimberly. She never had anything as beautiful or as expensive as Justin’s present for her.

  He smiled. “You’re welcome. Now, let’s see them.”

  She put the earrings on and pulled back her hair so he can see them on her.

  He stared at her for a full minute. Not saying anything. Just giving her an intense look that suddenly made her nervous.

  “What? They don’t look good? The store can take them back, right?” she asked, almost in a panic.

  He smiled at her. “They’re gorgeous. Fifty times more beautiful than when they were sparkling in the window.”

  She smiled at him, released her hair and leaned forward to kiss him.

  Troy never gave her anything extravagant or romantic. Two out of three birthdays of hers that they were together, he didn’t even remember. And he never gave her flowers at all… not a single one…

  8. Réaliser

  French. Etymology of the word: Realize

  Adrienne woke up that morning with the sound of the doorbell.

  “Shit!” She panicked. She realized that she was naked and lying in Justin’s arms.

  “Who is that?” Justin asked, lazily sitting up from the bed.

  “I don’t know. It must be Jill or Yuan or both of them,” she said, hurriedly getting her clothes and getting dressed.

  “How will you hide?” she asked him.

  “What if I just don’t?” he asked squarely, getting dressed himself.

  “Justin…this isn’t the time okay? I need a good timing to tell them about us. I’ve kept it hidden for so long and they would hate me if they found out I didn’t share something this huge with them,” she explained.

  “Do you realize that every day you don’t tell them is keeping it from them longer? I’m still gonna be with you tomorrow, Adrienne. And the days after. If you don’t tell them today, you will only increase the number of days that you have lied to them. They are your best friends. And besides, I wanted to meet them. I know Jill, but I’ve had to pretend I didn’t because you didn’t want her to know about us.”