Page 108 of Wrecked

He smiles, despite the shadow of concern in his eyes. Where that concern lies, I don’t know.

There is something that has been on my mind. I don’t know if I should say it. Maybe it’s weird for me to bring it up, but I just kind of spit it out. “You’re only the second guy I’ve slept with.”

The hand that is gliding up and down my rib cage falters. His fingers are hot on my skin as they just sit there, motionless. His chest isn’t moving either, so I lift my head to make sure he’s still alive.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

His eyes look closed, but they’re really just looking down toward the sheets.

I lean up on an elbow. Now, I’m starting to worry. “Adam?”

“I ruined you.” He turns to face me, his gaze drenched in conviction. “My words that day…they utterly destroyed you.”

“Let’s not get carried away. I have hooked up with guys. Plenty of guys. I get picked up all the time at the bar, and my girls love to set me up. I might not have rounded home base, but I’ve certainly—you don’t want to hear any of this, do you?”

His nostrils are flaring, and a growl is coming out of his throat.

I sigh and continue, “What I mean is, yes, your words affected me so much that I was afraid of being with anyone because you would have been right. And, if I’m honest, I’m glad I haven’t been with anyone because, last night, this morning, this afternoon…” I bite my lip because I can’t even speak.

With his thumb, he pulls my lip out and traces my mouth with his finger. “What about the dances, the sexy outfits, and the flirting? You have no idea how much that has eaten away at me over the years. That’s why I was in the bar. I wasn’t scouting the room. I was checking up on you. I was prepared to kill anyone who came near you.”

I playfully bite his thumb and then release it. “I was so angry with you. Mostly because I wanted to talk to you more than I’d wanted to talk to anyone. I have so much to tell you.”

He pulls me into the nook of his arm and wraps his arms around me. With our faces close together, he says, “Then, talk. Tell me everything. All seven years.”

So, I do.

I talk. We talk. It’s the most magical moment of the last twenty-four hours.

I’m hanging blinds in a bedroom, the home almost ready for the Montgomery family to move in. Handicap fixtures have been installed in the bathroom and kitchen, and the hallways are four feet wide to accommodate a wheelchair.

I’m excited to see the home almost finished, yet sad for the project to end. I wonder where Adam and I will work next. Homes for All Souls means a lot to him, and now, it means a lot to me.

Staying away from him is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. We decided it would be best not to work around each other. Hell, we decided not to see each other at all. He still stops by the bar every night whether he’s on or off duty. His patrol car is always watching as I walk to my car every night.

We don’t have an excuse for him to drive me anymore, so we take two cars to the work site. Whenever I get a chance, I look outside where he’s laying sod on the front lawn. Each time I sneak a peek, he always seems to be looking up my way.

At lunch, he leaves my brown bag with my name on it on a cooler while he takes his and sits under our tree in the field. He always includes a dessert of some sort. Today, it’s Hershey’s Kisses. I pop one in my mouth and take out the neon-orange Post-it he placed inside the bag.

It’s only been a few days, and it feels like an eternity.

I’d wait a thousand more if it meant you’d be mine forever.

I try to hide my blush as I fold the paper into my pocket. When my lunch is finished, I walk over to Toby’s office trailer and rip out a sheet of loose-leaf.

You once told me you loved the smell of coconut.

I’ve worn coconut perfume every day since then, just hoping you’d notice me...or my coconuts.

Do you like my coconuts? Because they like you.

Making sure not to put any names on the note, I fold it and place it in my back pocket. I walk outside and over to his toolbox. I make sure he sees me put the note inside, and I close the top. I walk my sweet ass inside and finish hanging blinds.

Making my way to the dining room, I drill the holes in place when Rick comes in, holding Adam’s red-and-black toolbox.

“Here you go,” he says as he puts it on the floor.

“What’s that for?” I questioningly eye it.