“You looked like you were waiting for someone to kiss you.”
“Don't be silly,” I grabbed my stuff and practically ran out the door. I was mortified. I can't believe I just did that. Did I seriously just lean forward inviting Adam to kiss me? I'd reached a new level of crazy, even for me. What has gotten over me lately? I wasn't sure what embarrassed me more, letting Adam see me acting so ridiculous, or Jeremy witnessing me begging to be kissed by no one. For the first time, I hated the effect Adam had on me.
Adam didn't join me for my next few classes, which embarrassed me even more. I had completely humiliated myself in front of him. The only reason he was acting jealous was because it was the first time a boy had shown the slightest interest in me. I wanted to crawl under a rock and hide. At lunchtime he was still gone, causing me to feel queasy.
I was walking to the library when someone's body shoved against my shoulder, knocking me down. I landed hard on all fours, pain shooting through my body.
“Oops, sorry, you're so easy not too see,” Charlotte said, giggling as she walked off linking arms with Haley. My cousin looked back at me with guilt and concern. Strong hands gripped my arm and pulled me up.
“That girl's a real bitch,” Jeremy scowled, “You okay?”
“Yeah, I'm used to her crap. Don't worry, I'll get back at her,” I replied, readjusting my backpack.
“I have no doubt that you will,” he smirked, his eyes twinkling back at me.
Adam appeared behind him, hands clenched tightly together.
“Well, thanks,” I gave him a quick smile before scooting past him and entering the library.
“I can't believe Haley lets her best friend treat her cousin that way,” the loathing in Adams voice rang clear.
“I'd say they are more frenemies than anything else.” I took a seat at our usual table.
Adam stood, his body tense, hands still clenched together. He was upset; it always bothered him when others were unkind to me. It made him more aware of how helpless he was to defend me. I needed to distract him before he let himself get deeper into his anger. I pulled out his newest book of poems that we had bought the week before.
“Any good ones in here?” I mumbled softly under my breath so only he could hear. His hands slowly unclenched but his body remained stiff. I opened to the page he'd had me mark a few days ago. “Tell me about this one.”
Adam's chest rose and fell as he tried to calm himself, letting his body slowly release its tension. He sat down next to me and stared silently down at the page. I realized I was holding my breath waiting for a response from him. As I started to take a deep breath in, Adam began reading me the poem. He spent the rest of the lunch break explaining what the words meant to him, and how they made him feel.
Hearing him explain poetry was, well, poetry in itself. He articulated every feeling, every emotion so beautifully that you began to think his thoughts were your own. Listening to him analyze a poem was captivating. His passion for what he'd read poured out of his soul and you couldn’t help but lose yourself in his words. By the time lunch break was over the morning's events had vanished, neither one of us wanting to dwell on them; we were back to being Adam and Annie again. So why did I find myself continually staring at his lips, acutely aware of the lack of contact we could make? It was getting harder and harder to ignore.
Chapter 4
It was finally Friday and I couldn’t have been happier. It was lunchtime, and I was doing my homework.
“So whats the deal with you and libraries?” Jeremy’s voice startled me. He grabbed the chair in front of me and sat down.
“Not that it's any of your business, but I like to get my homework done now so I can do what I want later.”
“That's not a bad idea. You don't have any friends to keep you company?”
“Why are you here?” My voice was cold and withdrawn.
“I watched you come in here and I decided to follow you,” he nonchalantly replied .
A few girls had followed him in and were pretending to search for something. They kept inching closer to us, trying to get his attention.
“You have groupies,” I said, nodding my head in their direction.
He gave me a cocky grin, “I always have girls following me.”
My face expressed the disgust I felt for his self-important attitude. The girls finally got up the courage and strutted past him.
“Hello, ladies,” he said, winking at them. They giggled and stopped at our table.
“Hi, I'm Natalie. These are my friends, Amber and Jen.” The boldest one of the group stood in front, batting her lashes and pouting out her lips. Her friends wiggled their fingers at him, smiling in what I assumed were their most flirtatious smiles.