Adam's List(29)

I push him with enough force that he glares back angrily. “It’s her room, too. We can’t just lock her out all night.” I throw on my jeans and shirt, braless. As I pad over to the door, I twist my hair off to the side, hoping it doesn’t look too wild after Levi messed it up. At least her melted candle masks the smell of sex. Glad for the interruption, I open the door, beaming. “Hey—”

Only all excitement plummets when I’m met with Adam’s dimples.

SIX

Deep within, I celebrate the pleasurable sight of a freshly shaved Adam in my doorway, wearing a cobalt zip-up sweatshirt, his steel blue eyes alive. His excitement dwindles, however, when he gets a good look at me. “Is this a bad time?”

I hear Levi slip into his jeans behind me and suddenly forget how to swallow. I squeeze the doorknob with such force that I half expect it to shatter into a million pieces.

“Who are you?” Levi asks, appearing shirtless at my side. His arm slips around my waist, as if making it clear that I belong to him. I swear I can feel my heart drop into my stomach. On one hand, this may be the first time I’ve seen Levi jealous. On the other, it really pisses me off. I already broke up with him, so he has no right to play alpha male.

Adam offers his hand to Levi. “Adam Murphy.”

I almost laugh when I realize I didn’t know his last name before now and had actually considered running off with him. Maybe I do need to slow everything down to get my head on straight. I can’t even properly dump Levi at this point.

Levi refuses Adam’s hand as he looks him over, lip curled. “It’s late. Why are you here?”

“He’s a friend,” I snap, wiggling away. “I told him to stop by so I could give him notes for Econ.” The lie falls from my lips so effortlessly, just as it had with Kelly.

“It can wait until tomorrow,” Adam retorts, his hard gaze unrelenting.

“No, it’s okay.” I touch Levi’s chest. “I left the notes in Kel’s car. I’ll be right back.”

As I reach for the keys on the desk, Levi spins me around, pulling me in for an embarrassingly long, deep kiss. I break away from him, my face red. He hits me on the ass, hard. “Don’t be too long. We need to finish where we left off.”

Adam stands in the hallway, his eyes drawn to the side. I slam the door behind me and lead him to the safety of the stairway. “I’m sorry. I really wish you hadn’t seen that.”

He looks down the stairway, as if looking for someone to interrupt us, saving him from the torture. “You don’t have to apologize.” He tilts his head up to look at me, his plastic smile saying everything I need to know. The artificial nicety feels like a personal blow. Adam’s one of the most sincere guys I’ve ever known, and I’ve already forced him to fake it. “I knew you were seeing someone when we first met.”

“But I’m not.” With my heart racing in my chest, I shake my head. “I mean, I was, but I broke it off with him. It’s like I told you, it wasn’t anything serious.”

“Then who was that?”

“That was him, the guy I broke it off with. I didn’t know he was coming over tonight.

It’s complicated.” I rub at my face. “Can we meet up tomorrow so I can explain everything? I don’t want to leave things like this.”

He shuffles a small distance away from me, his palms held up. He’s difficult to read as if he’s deliberately shutting down. “It’s okay. Really. I didn’t expect this to become anything more than a friendship.”

His words bring my world crashing down in a heaping blaze. I’m such an idiot to assume he wanted to be anything beyond friends. I look down at my fingers, picking at a stubborn hangnail.

“I’ll still meet you tomorrow, but you don’t have to explain yourself,” he tells me in a soft voice. “I don’t want things to be weird between us. I don’t want to ruin what we started this week.”

Looking up to catch his gaze, desperation fills me. I don’t want to just be friends. I want us to fulfill his list, exploring new places and trying new things, and end the day settled in each other’s arms. “I have to work tomorrow. Can you meet me for breakfast, or does that mess with your busy schedule?”

The hint of a smirk graces his lips. “I can probably pencil you in. I’ll pick you up.

Does seven work?”

“That’s awfully early for a slacker.”

The dimples pop back into his cheeks. “I’m a people pleaser.”

I try to play it cool, but my pulse races. “So I’ve noticed.”

“See you tomorrow.” He starts down the stairway, one hand in his pocket and the other on the railing. I have to stop myself from following after him and telling him how I really feel, and that I don’t want to see him go. But a small, unsure voice reminds me once again that I may not be capable of pulling off a meaningful relationship with Adam.