Adam, Enough Said (This Can't be Happening) (12 page)

She took another b
ite and thought on my question.

“Well, if it’s all right with you, I’d like to take a shower here.” She paused, caught my eye and waited for me to acknowledge her.

Like I’d say no.

“Do whatever you gotta do,
Freckles.”

Another small smile played on her lips, clearly liking my use of the word “
Freckles”, before she continued. “Thanks. Ok, well, after that, I need to catch the bus to Missy’s place so I can pack my stuff and move out.”

The hand holding the fork an inch from my mouth froze mid-air
, because I couldn’t believe the words that had come out of her mouth. This gorgeous girl actually rode in public transportation and Houston public transportation at that?  Not that transportation here was bad, but for someone who looked like her... it was dangerous.

“Do you have a car or do you always take the bus?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I can’t afford a car. I usually take the bus if I can’t hitch a ride with Missy, which is pretty much all the time. She’s my cousin, but she’s a bitch and we don’t get along - obviously...I was only staying with her because I had to.” Her voice quieted and her eyes veered off, before continuing. “It’s a long story, so don’t ask. I was planning on moving out soon anyway, so I’ll just take the bus.”

Hell
, no
.

The thought of her taking the bus actually made my stomach
roll again. “You’re not taking the bus. I told you last night that’d I’d take you, so I’ll take you. And I'll help you move,” I stated.

Her eyes looked down at her plate of food
. She picked up and sipped from her cup of coffee. She put the cup down and then she looked at my face, but she wouldn’t meet my eyes.

“I’d rather you didn’t,” she said softly. “I appreciate the offer, really, but if Missy sees me show up with you
, it’ll just cause more problems, and I want to get in and out of there as fast as I can. For all I know, she probably threw what little stuff I have outside anyway. I’ll manage fine on the bus.”

“I’m not letting you take the bus,” I told her darkly
, because her casualness about taking public transportation annoyed me. Actually, I refused to let her take the bus, but it would more than likely piss her off if I said that out loud, so I kept my refusal to myself. “It’s Sunday. I have nothing going on today and I feel a little responsible for why you have to move out. The least I can do is give you a ride and help you move. She starts any shit with you, I’ll deal with it.”

Mia bristled at my statement. Visibly bristled. I watched her do it and it was cute. Not only cute, but it was such a fuckin’ turn on knowing she was about
to throw attitude that I had to forcefully stop myself from grinning.

She sighed.
“I get that you want to help me and it’s nice of you to offer, but I really don’t need your help. There’s a chance Missy won’t be there, but it’s slim. If she sees you, she’s going to assume something happened between us - that didn’t. She’ll run and tell her daddy - my uncle - and he’s really the one I don’t want to upset. So, again, thanks for the offer, but I’ll take the bus.”

Mia
Dayes

An hour and fifteen minutes later, I was steaming mad as I sat, arms crossed over my chest, in Adam’s beat up black Chevy pickup, headed to Missy’s. He’d tricked me. The bastard had tricked me!

After we finished breakfast a
nd I’d helped him load the dishwasher, I’d taken a shower and changed back into the clothes I was wearing yesterday. When I was ready to leave, he’d offered to drive me to the bus stop, and since I had no idea where the bus stop even was around his apartment, I’d easily agreed.

But, after ten minutes of driving and passing five bus stops along the way, I knew we were headed toward Missy’s place.
The fact that he knew where her place was sickened me, because I knew exactly why Adam knew where Missy lived. I silently wondered how I hadn't seen him with her. Maybe he snuck in? No, I'd probably been at work while they were doing the dirty.

At least I knew that Missy hadn’t slept in his bed, not that it mattered either way, but I had been in his bed last night for approximately four minutes
and that would have been tacky…not to mention nasty.

Even t
he idea of him with Missy was gross. Not gross on Missy’s part, but gross on Adam’s part. Many men knew where Missy lived, and I decided to let Adam in on that little bit of information, because I was furious, yes, but because he also deserved to know.

I twisted my neck, glared at his profile and had the extreme pleasure of watching him glance at me with
huge eyes as I informed him, “If I were you, I would go get checked out at a clinic. Especially, if you didn’t use protection with Missy. I hope you did, but from what I’ve heard her say, she sometimes ‘forgets’ to use it.” I paused to let all that sink in before adding, “Just thought you’d like to know.”

Adam cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably in his seat, but he didn’t speak. I turned away and kept my eyes locked on anything and everything outside my window
, instantly feeling bad for what I just said. It was rude. It was true, but I never should have said it the way I did. I wasn’t usually that rude, but there was something about Adam that, even without doing or saying anything to set me off, boiled my blood.

I knew I was only taking my frustrations out on him
, because, from the get-go, I hadn’t wanted him to take me to Missy’s. If I was normal, I wouldn’t have cared, but because I wasn’t normal, the last thing I wanted was for Adam to find out anything about me. I didn’t like people knowing things about me. I wasn’t embarrassed about my past, because it couldn’t be helped, but people were cruel and the more they knew about a person, the more power they held. And that power was usually used as a weapon of words.

The rest of the twenty-
minute drive was in silence, which was good since it gave me the perfect opportunity to think of every-which-way to keep Adam from finding out anything about me.

As soon as we pulled up to Missy’s apartment, Adam threw the truck in park and I threw open my door. I was just about to jump out when Adam caught me by the arm and stopped my eager movement.
I faced him and his expression caught me completely off guard, but it also made me feel even more like shit. He didn’t look angry. He didn’t even look disgusted with what I’d said. No, oddly, he looked sorry.

He kept his hold on my arm and leaned over. His free hand wrapped around the back of my head,
and his fingers tangled in my hair as he brought my face closer to his. My heart stopped, dropped to my stomach and quickly restarted.

“What are you doing
?” I asked in a whisper, but he didn’t respond right away. Instead, his eyes studied my face brazenly. After a painfully slow minute, he spoke; his words and deep, low voice, rattled me to the core.

“I get that you don’t know me. I get that, for whatever reason, you don’t want my help. I get that you and your cousin do not get along. I get that you think I fucked up by fucking your cousin, but you gotta know that I had no idea you even existed when I met her. If I’d known you, if I’d only laid eyes on you, I wouldn’t have looked any other way. Whether you would have let me get close to you is another thing, but I sure as shit would have tried. So, you also need know that I regret your cousin, and I don’t regret much in my life so far. Not only do I regret it, but I don’t remember much of it and I thank a lot
of alcohol for that.”

I’d stopped breathing the moment he started talking. His green eyes bore into mine so deeply
, I felt lost in them. The little specks of blue that surrounded his pupils were hypnotizing. His eyes moved to study my face with methodical care, as if memorizing every single one of my features. And I let him. When his eyes came back to mine, they locked tight and he continued.

“I like you. The cousin thing makes this messy, and I get that, but I want to know you better. I think you’re fucking gorgeous
. Not only that, but you’re adorable. You have little freckles on your nose that I want to kiss.” The hand behind my head released my hair from its grasp and drew back. He touched the bridge of my nose with the tip of his index finger and his eyes traveled the same path.

His voice was softer when he spoke next. “I like that you aren’t afraid to piss me off, but the fact that you think you’re actually pissing me off is cute as hell. So, I’m getting to know you whether you like it or not. And I’ll get checked, not that I’m worried because I’ve never gone without protection, but to be positive, I’ll
get tested. If you can’t take the cousin thing after you get to know me better, I’ll leave you alone...but that’s gonna be hard for you, because I’m gonna
make
it hard for you,” he finished in a low, determined growl.

With that, he let me go completely, twisted his body, opened his door, and in one fluid motion, slid out of the truck.

Oh shit!

Chapter
Nine

Adam Bryant

Bitches be fuckin' crazy.

I shook my head
, thinking that was the only reason Missy would run out of her bedroom wearing nothing but panties and a tank top as she flung obscenities and bitchy remarks at Mia. From the moment Mia had opened the front door, Missy started in.

Mia
was taking it like a champ, holding her head high and not giving her asshole cousin the time of day, but I wanted to slap the filthy mouth off her face.

And I knew, in that moment,
as I followed Mia down the hall to her room, that I must have been out of my mind fucked up when I’d slept with Missy, because she was disgusting; everything about her, from her chocolate brown hair to her chunky feet and red toes. It also hit me that Mia probably thought I was just as disgusting for having been with Missy.

I made a mental note to fix the screwed
-up shit I hadn't realized I had gotten myself into as soon as we left - starting with a call to the doctor.

Fuck!

That unwelcome realization pissed me off more.

“God, I
wish my father never found you,” Missy continued to shout. I didn’t even know what she meant, but I’d had enough. I spun around and Missy took a step back, probably because of the murderous expression on my face.

“Shut the fuck up
, bitch, and take your nasty ass back to bed where you belong,” I roared and Missy gasped.

“Adam,” I heard Mia
call out behind me, but I ignored the worry in her tone and kept my narrowed eyes trained on the whore in front of me.

Until I heard Johnny’s voice.

“Hey, what’s goin’ on?” I glanced at him as he strolled out of Missy’s bedroom without a shirt on. Well, clearly he’d gotten what he’d wanted last night. I gave him a chin lift and a, "What's up, man," and turned my narrowed eyes back to Missy to give her a piercing stare.

As soon as I knew my eyes relayed my warning, I turned
back to continue following Mia.

Her eyes were locked on mine
and she didn’t move until I made it to her. I placed my hand on the small of her back and she mouthed a silent “Thank you.” I grinned, her eyes hit my mouth and she rolled her eyes and started walking.

When we
made it to Mia's room, which was the size of a matchbox, I noted instantly that it was empty. She had almost no personal possessions other than a few framed photos, clothes and shoes. Mia pulled out two ratty suitcases, unzipped them and started throwing clothes - hangers and all - inside. I could tell she was trying to get the hell out of there as fast as she could.

I picked up the picture frames, glanced at the p
eople posing in each one and made another mental note to ask Mia who they all were – especially the blonde dude hugging her in every one. My gut was tight with unanswered questions, but I knew it wasn’t the time to start asking them.

About fifteen minutes later
, we finished packing and walked through the living room, past a fuming Missy and smiling Johnny, and headed down the stairs. I was carrying both suitcases and following behind Mia as she led the way back to my truck.

"It's no wonder why no family ever wanted you, Mia! I'm sure they saw the same loser in you that I see. You're trash, ju
st like your mom and dad were," Missy hollered so loud I had no doubt every tenant in the complex heard.

I stopped dead in my tracks the same time Mia did.

My heart thundered in my chest and blood roared in my ears when I realized what Missy was saying and what her words meant. Mia spun on her heels, her eyes caught mine and they were filled with tears.

"
You bitch,” Mia hissed in disbelief.

Then, catching me off guard, she
repeated in a shout, “You bitch!”

Mia
took the steps, two at a time to reach her cousin. I dropped the suitcases in my hands and caught her around the waist before she could pass. She was so tiny that I hauled her up, back against my chest, feet clear off the steps and I started down them.