Relentless(16)

I stare at his chin to avoid staring at his mouth or eyes. “Probably watching Senia’s boyfriend get drunk. Then I’ll be listening to their wall-banging from the safety of the sofa.”

He tilts his head as he considers this information. “You’re welcome to hang out with me tonight, you know, if you need to escape.”

Tina walks in before I can answer. “She’s down for the count,” she says, snatching her tan leather purse off the kitchen counter. “I’ll see you two on Monday.”

She appears peeved that Cora now has two companions around to keep her from slacking off. Once she closes the door behind her, I slither around Adam and dart toward the door. He quickly follows and hooks his arm around my waist.

“Hey!” I whisper-shout at him over my shoulder. “Personal space!”

He grabs the sides of my waist and turns me around so we’re facing each other. “We’re beyond that, honey.” He chuckles softly and I cringe at his arrogance. “I’m kidding. Go ahead and get whatever you need for the night. You can sleep in my bed and I’ll sleep on the sofa. I know how important it is that you get your sleep.” I narrow my eyes at him and he laughs again. “What? I’m just trying to help. I swear I’ll keep my hands to myself.”

It’s a very tempting offer. I won’t get to sleep until three or four in the morning or whatever God-forsaken hour Senia and Eddie tire out. Of course, I hardly know this guy other than the fact that he’s extremely patient and charming, and more than a bit persistent. He doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who would force himself on me. Plus, it will be convenient not to have to wake up Senia and Eddie when I get ready for our date tomorrow morning.

“Fine, but if you think you’re getting laid you’re going to be very disappointed. And if you try anything funny, I’m leaving and our date is off. Got it?”

He clasps his hands behind his back. “I wouldn’t dream of jeopardizing all the fun we’re going to have on our date.”

I toss my toothbrush and a few cleansing products into my makeup bag. The makeup bag gets thrown into my Roxy backpack with my bikini, a beach dress, and some gladiator sandals. When I come out of the bedroom, Senia is glaring at me from the other side of the breakfast bar.

“You going somewhere?”

“I’m going to hang out at Adam’s tonight so you and Eddie can be alone. We’re leaving early in the morning for whatever he has planned. I don’t want to wake you up getting ready.”

“You’re spending the night with him?”

“Not with him, just in his bed. He’s sleeping on the sofa.”

Saying the words aloud makes it sound so much worse than it sounded when I agreed to this five minutes ago with Adam breathing on my face.

“Claire, this is so not like you,” she says, rounding the breakfast bar toward me. “I love it!” She smiles hugely, showing off all her perfectly white teeth, then throws her arms around my shoulders. “I’m so proud of you.”

I pat her back a few times and she finally lets go. “This is not a big deal. We’re just hanging out. I am not sleeping with him.”

“I know. But it’s a start.” She kisses my forehead before I leave.

My heart pulses in every inch of my body as I climb the steps to Adam’s apartment. My feet are like concrete blocks attached to my legs as I grip the handrail and drag myself up the final step and stand before apartment B. I roll my shoulders in an attempt to loosen the tension then take a deep breath and knock.

He answers the door immediately, as if he were standing on the other side impatiently waiting and watching through the peephole. The smile on his face makes my stomach flutter. He looks genuinely excited and somewhat relieved, as if he thought I might change my mind.

“Welcome back,” he says, waving me inside.

The lamps are lit inside his dazzling apartment bathing the space in a warm glow. Everything is still perfectly clean. The LCD TV affixed to the wall is set to MTV, but the volume is too low to hear. Nothing out of place—except maybe me.

“Can you change that?” I say, pointing at the TV. “I hate MTV.”

“You and I are not going to get along,” he says, closing the front door.

I don’t need to tell him the reason I’ve avoided watching MTV for nearly a year. I’m here to get past that, not dwell on it.

He snatches the remote from the black coffee table and changes it to the Discovery Channel. “Better?”

I nod and set my backpack on the floor next to the sofa. He immediately slides past me and snatches it up. “I’ll put that in the bedroom for you. Want to come see your room at Hotel Parker?”