Jolene:
Bye.
Adam:
Bye.
Jolene
Idashed out of my apartment early on Sunday morning to avoid having to say anything to Shelly and practically ran into Adam.
“Oof,” he said, his arms coming up around me to balance both of us. “You always come barreling out of your door like that?”
“I guess you wouldn’t know, since you always make me come to you.”
Adam dropped his arms and moved back, his neck going blotchy red.
I made a sound in the back of my throat and my stomach knotted. “I didn’t mean that. I’ve been dealing with Shelly, and... I’m sorry, okay?”
He looked slightly mollified when I mentioned Shelly. He knew that few things could set me off like an interaction with her. But I’d still been way harsher to him than he ever deserved.
“Can we...?” I gestured at my door, making it clear that I wanted to put some distance between me and my apartment. Adam stopped when we reached his door.
I glanced between it and him and took in the suddenly sheepish way he’d shoved his hands in his pockets. “You can’t hang out, can you?”
He shoved his hands deeper into his pockets.
“Five minutes again, or do we get a whole ten?” I wasn’t being fair. I wasn’t even being smart, because I’d nearly killed myself on our last weekend trying to convince him that I was fine spending less time together.
“I’m going to church with my dad and brother in a few minutes.”
A few minutes. So not even five. “Well, that explains the necktie.”
“I hate this,” he said.
“Oh, I don’t know.” I angled my head at his chest. “I think you’re pulling off the green pinstripe.”
Adam didn’t show a trace of annoyance at my deliberate misunderstanding. “You know what I mean.”
I did know and I hated it, too. “It’s okay,” I said. “What can you do?”
“I’m trying to talk to my mom more, but I don’t know if it’s helping. She still hasn’t come up to see my dad.”
“I know,” I said, softening my voice for the first time.
“You know?” Adam frowned before a slight smile replaced it. “You were watching for me? Why didn’t you come down? You could have met her, and I wouldn’t have had to wait another entire day to see you.” His hands came out of his pockets and he extended the fingers of one hand to brush against the back of mine. Warmth tingled over my skin. “I wouldn’t have had to wait to...” He shifted closer and the hand that brushed mine encircled it. My eyes fell to his lips at the same time his settled on mine. I rose onto my toes without thinking.
And the door opened across from us.
Guy. He had a trash bag in his hands. He saw us, his gaze sliding to where Adam held my hand, and I pulled it free. Guy didn’t say anything, just turned and headed down the stairs, but I knew with stomach-souring certainty it’d be the first thing he mentioned the next time we were alone.
The door that opened next was Adam’s.
There was his dad, dressed as nicely as Adam, and Jeremy, who was in the process of lynching himself with his own tie.
“Morning, Jolene,” Adam’s dad said. Jeremy was too busy fighting with his necktie to do more than glance in my direction and give me a head nod.
“Morning.”
