Adam's List(70)
Wow. Just... wow.
His dark brows shoot up. “Can I get you...anything?”
“I’m...beer,” I sputter, holding the bottle up. “I have beer.”
He chuckles in a deep, hearty laugh. “So I see. I just have to get dressed and I’ll be out in a sec.”
“Clothes. Good call.” I spin around as my cheeks grow warm. I have to actively tell my feet to move toward the patio doors where Adam’s completely unaware of the not completely awkward encounter.
“Jewels?” he calls after me. When I look back he’s still smirking, still naked. “Just so we’re clear, you’re welcome to stop over anytime.”
Intentional peep show aside, Theo turns out to be a lot of fun. He plays a mix of hard rock over the speakers mounted underneath the roof as we work on depleting the beer supply. Adam and I both roll in laughter with his stories of the rather varied people of the neighborhood. And as he’s busy playing host, I see a Marine Corps tattoo on his calf muscle.
While Adam’s clueless to the exact level of comfort Theo has around me, I’m hyper aware of every sideways smirk or twinkle of his eye. It’s awesome to have someone so hot obviously wanting to be more than friendly neighbors, but I have my hands full the way it is with Adam. And I can’t stop staring at that damn tattoo.
Jason had one just like that.
The three of us are debating what flavor of pizza to order when a group of Theo’s buddies stop by with enough booze to knock out an entire football team. And I can’t help but wonder if that’s exactly what they do for a living as they’re all just as well built as our host.
“Another actress, or is this one a model?” one of the guys asks Theo, taking a swig of his mixed drink while wiggling his blond eyebrows at me. He’s taller than Theo, though not quite as built or all-American looking. A scar over his eyebrow has the curious feel of many fights gone bad.
Adam stands up too quickly, his hand held out. “She’s Jewels, I’m Adam.”
The guy shakes his hand. “James. You new to the neighborhood?”
“We’re renting the place next door for a couple weeks,” Adam answers. It’s great to see him being friendly with these guys, even if it is because he’s becoming all Alpha male. Still, I’m beginning to feel the burn of gnawing guilt for dragging him over here without asking what he wanted to do.
James cups Adam on the back. “Welcome to Murray Hill. My man, Theo, will take real nice care of you while you’re here. We’ve got a few house parties lined up this weekend. You’ll have to join us.” He tilts his head at me. “Where you from?”
“Wisconsin,” I answer, standing to join them. “You know, the land of milk and cheese, and shit.”
I waver on my feet, the five beers hitting me in a blanket of haze. Since hanging out with Adam I’ve hardly had any alcohol, and apparently it’s made me a lightweight. But seeing Theo’s tattoo had me pounding down more beers than I intended.
The three guys each move as if to catch me. Theo, being the closest, clutches my arm. “Whoa. Take it easy, beautiful.”
“Hey, I’m from Wisconsin,” I repeat, smiling brightly. “We drink beer for breakfast.”
James cackles brightly. “You guys sound like news people.”
I raise one eyebrow with an attempt of seduction. “You should hear me do the weather.”
Adam cuts past Theo to take my other arm, pulling me from our neighbor. “Time to call it a night.”
“She just needs something in her stomach,” Theo decides, pulling his phone from his jeans pocket. “I’ll order the pizzas.”
Theo’s buddies launch into a lively conversation on what flavors to order as Adam pulls me aside. “Enough with the beer. Let’s go back to our place.”
“Our place?” I ask with a drunken snort, lessening my eyes to small little slits. “I don’t think so. You can go. I think I can manage to find my way back.”
He rolls his eyes before pinning me down with a look that makes me want to hide in a corner of shame. “These guys are just like my brother—willing to take a girl any way they can get her, even if she’s too plastered to know what she’s doing. You really don’t know me if you think I’d leave you here alone with them.”
The guilt-inducing stare, the bitter tone of his voice, they’re too much. The feelings I’ve been working so hard to keep at bay rise to the top like an army of Rottweilers. I lean in closer. “I once thought maybe I knew you, but I’ve decided I really don’t.” I stretch my arm from his reach. “You never talk about your family other than telling me your brother’s an asshole. You won’t explain why you quit school, or crash at your buddy’s shit-hole of a house even though you have all this money. Then there’s this big fucking secret you’re so intent on keeping. So the answer is I don’t know. Would you leave me here alone? You’ve had me, why not give some other poor bastard a chance?”