I also kept dwelling on Heath’s words from the day before—his accusations regarding Adam’s nefarious purposes. Was Heath right? Was Adam manipulating me? I puzzled over that, wondering what benefit it could possibly be to him. Adam was acting like we were dating but he knew damn well I didn’t date—and neither did he. Did he get off on having me under his thumb? Was this his own peculiar brand of kink?
Our deal remained unfulfilled. That first night in Amsterdam hadn’t been his fault. His job had interfered. And Friday, the yacht had been out for repairs—or so he’d said.
The more I ruminated, the more wine I drank. And that little creep Jon must have silently been refilling my cup because when I looked up, the bottle was empty. I’d never even asked for a refill. My note cards were now swimming in front of me.
“Whoa…that wasn’t a good idea,” I said.
“What?” Jon said, looking up from his study manual.
“The wine.”
He squinted at the bottle. “Shit, we polished off the second bottle already.”
I checked the time on my phone. “Yeah, and now I’m feeling pretty messed up. I’m no good for studying. I have work in three hours.”
He set his book aside. “You can’t drive home. You should stay here.”
“How much did you drink? Can’t you take me home? I’ll come get my car tomorrow morning.”
“I’m not going anywhere for a couple hours. Why don’t you just have a nap on the couch? I’ll grab a pillow.”
There was no way I was staying over here, especially in this condition. Jon seemed like a nice guy, but I didn’t know him that well and he’d been after me to go out with him for months. And now, he was tipsy. He seemed nice, but lots of people did until they got a few in them. Even with the wine goggles on, I suspected a convenient setup.
“I think I’m going to go.”
He took my hand in his while I was trying to shove index cards into my backpack. “Stay, Mia. Really. It’s okay. Call in sick and crash on my couch.”
I shook my head. “I’m not comfortable with that.” I stuffed the rest of my things into my bag and wobbled to my feet.
My head spun and he took me by the arm as if to hold me back. “Come on, you can’t drive.”
“I’m gonna call Heath to come get me. I’m fine. Thanks, Jon.”
I yanked my arm from his hold and teetered out the door, strode down the sidewalk and got in my car while he watched from the doorway of his apartment.
I fumbled for my cell, opened my contacts and pressed Heath’s number, thankful that he’d put in the information the day before. He’d be pissed, of course, but I knew he’d come. That’s what best friends were for.
The phone rang twice before he answered. “Heath, I need your help.”
“Emilia? Are you all right?” Adam. Shit. I’d dialed the wrong number. Two contacts on this phone…two damn contacts and I’d picked the wrong one! I was drunker than I thought.
“Uh. Hi…”
“What’s wrong?”
“I thought I was calling Heath and I got you by accident.”
A pause. “Are you drunk?”
Shit. “No. Of course not. I was just studying—he had wine and so I drank some and didn’t realize I was drinking so much ’cause he kept filling up the glass.” Realizing I was blathering, I sat back and sighed. “He’s gonna come get me and take me home. Heath, I mean.”
“Where are you? I’ll come get you.”
“No.”
“Emilia, tell me where you are.”
“I’m in Orange. It’s too far for you.”
“I have a fast car. Open up the GPS app and send me your location. Can you do that?”
I hadn’t used that app yet. “Is it easy to figure out?”
“I’ll talk you through it.” And he explained how to do it.
“Don’t you dare start that car, Mia,” he said, clicking off. I frowned, wondering how I’d gotten into this situation, when I heard a loud knock on my window and I jumped.
Jon stood there, gesturing for me to open my door. Instead I rolled down the window. “I’m sorry, Mia. I had no idea you’d drink so much.”
I blinked, the world spinning a little bit. “You’re the one who kept refilling my glass.”
“Come inside. Seriously, you can sleep it off in there.”
“Uh uh, sorry.” Then I swallowed. “I’m gonna be sick.”
“Mia, stop being stupid and come in. I’m sorry. Just come inside.”
“I said no, Jon. No means no.” I cranked up the window.
He disappeared and then reappeared a few minutes later, trying to talk to me through the window but I ignored him. I tapped my foot and checked the clock on my dashboard, wondering how long it would take Adam and his fast car to get here.