Believing Lies (15 page)

During this time together, Adam and I had moved beyond the initial sexual attraction and had fallen into an effortless friendship. Although we were no longer looking at each other as if we wanted to devour the other person, the lines of a traditional just friends relationship had blurred. One night, I had fallen asleep while watching a movie with him and woke up lying on his lap. I’d been embarrassed, but he’d said that he didn’t mind. After that, I found myself cuddling up to him on the couch whenever we watched a movie. Another day, when we’d been walking around town, I’d grabbed his hand to pull him into a shop with me. But I hadn’t let go once we entered and neither had he.

It hadn’t taken long before I started to look forward to seeing him and spending time with him much more than I should have. Even an incoming text from him brought a smile to my face. At first, it had been only a text here or there. But it had quickly escalated until we both were texting each other several times a day. The texts ranged from stuff like “How was your day?” to “What color bra are you wearing?” (Obviously, he’d sent the bra one).

Now I understood what he had meant the day we went to breakfast. I needed to be around him the same way he needed to be around me. He made me happy, made me laugh, and made me feel special.

For those same reasons, I didn’t go with them to the bars. They’d tried to get me to go on multiple occasions, but I declined each time. If I was being completely honest, I was scared of how I’d feel if I saw him flirting with some girl, or worse, kissing someone. I especially didn’t want to see him leave with someone. Sophie and I were the only girls who entered his life during the daytime hours. Since Sophie was his best friend’s girlfriend, it was only natural she would be around him. I, however, was the anomaly, being the only single girl he spent time with outside of a bed . . . or against a wall . . . or in the backseat of a car . . . You get the drift.

So here I was, alone on a Friday night, watching a rerun of
Friends
and eating a bag of Skittles. I glanced at the clock on the DVR and couldn’t believe it was only eleven o’clock. Sophie left over an hour ago, pouting when I refused to join her. It was getting harder and harder to come up with reasons to get out of going. Tonight, I’d claimed a headache. It was a feeble excuse, but she hadn’t called me out on it.

My phone rang, startling me. I pressed pause on the remote and sprinted to the kitchen, excited that someone was calling me. The word “Pathetic” was flashing across my forehead in neon-orange. I looked at the screen and squealed with delight when I saw Courtney’s name and picture.

“I love you soooo much right now!” I screamed into the receiver.

“Wow, I’ll call more often if that’s how I’m greeted each time.” It was so great to hear her voice.

“You just saved me from opening a second pack of Skittles.”

“What?”

I laughed, and it sounded like the laugh of a hysterical person. Too many nights with the TV and my eReader for company had finally taken their toll. “I’m just rambling. Never mind . . . What’s up?”

“I wanted to know if I can come stay with Sophie and you until I can move into the dorms.”

“HELL YES!”

“Dammit, Sienna! You just blew out my fucking eardrum,” she scolded before laughing. “Don’t you need to ask Sophie?”

“No, she loves you as much as I do. Besides, she’s been sleeping at Conner’s about half of the time anyhow.”

“No crap? That’s awesome. She told me it was getting serious. I can’t wait to meet him!”

“You’ll love him . . . Adam too.”

“Who’s Adam?”

“Um . . .”

“Oh. My. God. Sienna Trudeau, are you seeing someone?”

“No,” I replied too hastily. “It’s not like that. He’s Conner’s roommate and best friend.”

“Is he hot?”

“Super-hot.”

“Single?” she probed in a tone I was all too familiar with.

Jealousy and panic spiked in my veins. “He’s a major player. Stay away. PROMISE ME!” I wanted to take back the words the second they flew out of my mouth.
Way to be completely obvious, dummy!

“Whoa! Okay, I promise. Are you sure you’re not interested in this guy?”

Damage control was needed. I dialed the crazy down a notch and calmly said, “No, I’m not interested in anyone right now. I just don’t want you mixed up with someone who’s only into one-night stands.”

“One-night stands can be fun.”
Shit
. I’d forgotten that she liked an occasional one-night stand.

I let out a long sigh and very reluctantly admitted, “I guess I kind of like him.”

“Kind of like him? Did you forget who you’re talking to? I can smell your bullshit from a mile away. You
really
like him.”

“Fine. Maybe you’re right. But I’m not interested in becoming anything with him. I just don’t want to see him with anyone else. Does that make sense?”
No, you make no sense at all anymore
.

“It makes perfect sense. You don’t have to worry about me. Off limits. Got it.”

Relief blanketed me. Seeing him with a random girl would suck, but seeing him with one of my best friends would be unbearable.

“Back to why you called, when will you be here?”

“Thursday afternoon, if that’s okay?”

“Yes. Yes. YES! The sooner the better.”

“Don’t have an orgasm.” She was full out laughing. Apparently, I hadn’t dialed down the crazy as far as I needed to. Her laughter trailed off, and she asked, “Want to go out that night? Do you think you can tear Sophie away from Conner for a girls’ night?”

“Absolutely.” I was excited that I was going to be able to go out with just my girlfriends. This was just what the doctor ordered.

“Can I invite Cassie to come with us?”

Crapsicles
. I’d obviously known that Courtney would get a new roommate when I’d moved out of the dorms. What I hadn’t counted on was her getting someone like Cassie. That chick annoyed the living hell out of me. If you looked up pretentious in the encyclopedia, you’d see her picture. She was petite, had huge boobs, and bleach blond hair. She was cute enough, but in her eyes, she was the most beautiful girl ever created. To top it off, her voice was like nails on a chalkboard. Cross that out—more like Freddy Krueger gloved knives on a chalkboard.

“Of course. The more the merrier.” I tried to sound perky since Courtney liked her.

“You’re the best. I’ll see you Thursday. Love ya, and thanks a bunch.” She made kissy noises in the phone, causing me to smile.

“Love you too. Bye.”

Regardless of having to see Cassie, I was very excited about seeing Courtney. I sent a text to Sophie with the news.

ME: Hope ok I told Courtney could stay w/ us starting Thurs til school starts.

I didn’t expect an immediate reply since she was at a noisy bar and probably wouldn’t hear her phone. I was pleasantly surprised when she answered back almost immediately.

SOPHIE: Fo shizzle!! Will be fun.

ME: Girls nite at bars thurs too.

SOPHIE: Count me in.

ME: Cassie coming :(

SOPHIE: Boo :(

ME: Necessary evil.

SOPHIE: I know. FYI sleeping at Conner’s 2nite.

ME: Cool. CU 2morrow.

SOPHIE: Peace out

ME: Word.

I went back to the couch to finish
Friends
. My butt was hovering over the cushion, ready to plop down, when the intercom buzzed. Confused and startled, I walked to the small box on the wall.

“Hello?” I cautiously asked, pressing the Talk button.

“Just me, Princess.” My stupid heart fluttered as I buzzed him in.

I opened the door, leaned out into the hallway, and impatiently waited for Adam. When he appeared, not only was he sinfully sexy in dark jeans and a black T-shirt, he was carrying a brown paper bag that filled the hall with the mouthwatering scent of Chinese takeout.

A huge smile lit up my face when he held up the bag and said, “I come bearing gifts.” He slid past me into the apartment and walked toward the living room.

I shut the door and followed behind him, wiping the smile off of my face before he saw me looking like a complete fool. I sat down on the floor next to him.

“What are you doing here? I mean, I’m glad you’re here. I just didn’t expect to see you tonight.”

He started to pull the containers of food out of the bag, setting them on the coffee table. “I missed you.”

“Really?” I asked, the word sounding too optimistic.

He shook his head and flatly replied, “No.”

I flicked the back of his head with my finger. “Ass.”

“Is that the way you treat someone who brings you food?” he questioned, chuckling as he rubbed the back of his head.

“Depends on what you brought me. If it’s Crab Rangoon, then yes.” I scrunched up my nose. “I hate seafood.”

“Picky, picky, picky,” he taunted, slowly shaking his head. “I was hoping that you would say something along the lines of ‘Oh Adam, I’m so happy to see you.’” He was using his best damsel in distress voice. “I can’t believe you gave up your night out to come see me . . . Gasp! And you brought me takeout too!” He clutched his hand over his heart, and a giggle escaped my lips at his theatrics. “You’re the best man in the whole universe, Adam Korbell! Please let me get naked and thank you properly.”

I shoved him as he chuckled at his own words. I mockingly replied in my own damsel voice, “Oh, thank you, Adam. You’re the best man in the whole universe.” I batted my eyes at him. “Please, oh please, let me stay dressed in my pajamas and
not
thank you properly.”

He pointed his finger at me, moving it up and down. “Your so called pajamas consist of a tiny tank top and even tinier boxers. I’ll count it as a win.” He winked.
Damn him and his winks
.

Okay, so maybe I was a tad underdressed, but at least I’d put on a bra. “I’m dressed for bed. It’s not as if I knew you were coming over and rushed to find something skimpy on your account,” I said in my own defense.

“I’m not complaining, so stop getting your panties in a bundle . . . You are wearing panties under those little shorts, aren’t you? Wait.” He held up his hand. “Don’t answer that. Just let me imagine.” He wiggled his eyebrows, and I rolled my eyes. “If you aren’t going to thank me by getting naked, at least give me a little lovin’.” He turned his face to the side and tapped his cheek.

I gave him a chaste peck on the cheek before hopping up to get two bottled waters from the fridge and plates and forks. When I returned, I peeked into the four open containers. Sweet and sour chicken was in the last one.
Jackpot!

“Did you know I love sweet and sour chicken?” I asked him as I piled it onto my plate.

“Nope. I took a guess and got a few options to be on the safe side. Figured you might like one of them.” He filled his plate with General Tso’s Chicken. I gestured to the paused
Friends
episode. He shook his head. “No TV. Talk to me.”

I shut off the TV. “What do you want to talk about?” I asked, then took a huge bite of my food.
Amazing
.

“The topic of majors came up at the bar tonight, and it occurred to me, in all of the time we’ve spent together, we’ve never talked about that. So, Princess, what do you want to be when you grow up?”

Charmed by the way he phrased the question, I answered, “A ballerina. You?”

His eyes danced with amusement. “Space cowboy.”

I smiled at his reply. “You’d make a pretty good space cowboy.”

“You wouldn’t make a very good ballerina. I’ve experienced your dancing skills first hand. If I recall correctly, they’d make other ballerinas blush.” There was a devious twinkle in his eyes.

Forget about making a ballerina blush, he made
me
blush crimson from head to toe. It was the first time either of us had alluded to our little dance floor make-out session since that night. “I’m going to be a social worker,” I blurted, needing to redirect the conversation back to neutral territory.

He stopped his fork midair and set it down. “Seriously?”

“Yes, seriously.”

“Huh.”

“Hey, that’s my word,” I teased.

“Guess you’re rubbing off on me.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

He cocked his head. “Maybe.” He paused, seemingly contemplating something. “You do know that social workers usually don’t make much money, right?”

I frowned, offended. “Is that all you think I care about?”

“No,” he quickly replied. “It’s just that I know you’re used to . . . a certain lifestyle, and it would be hard to keep it on a social worker’s pay.”

“Not that it’s any of your business,” I hissed. “But I have a large trust fund, so money is not an issue. I
want
to be a social worker.”

He gave me a perplexed look. “When will you stop surprising me?”

“When you stop pigeon holing me,” I retorted.

He smiled genuinely. “I’ll try to stop. Honestly, I think it’s great that you want to be a social worker. What made you choose it?”

“My mother is big into coordinating charities, and my dad is a surgeon. They both help people. I’m not a charity coordinating kind of girl, and I could never be a doctor, but I’ve always known I wanted to be someone who helped people too.” I stopped talking when I noticed Adam hadn’t eaten a bite. “Eat your food.” He huffed at my mini scolding and then began eating. “One night, when I was about fifteen or sixteen, I got out of bed for a glass of water and overhead my parents talking in my dad’s study. My dad was telling my mother about a little girl he couldn’t save that day. She had died of Shaken Baby Syndrome. He went on to talk about the bitch mother who wasn’t even remorseful for what she’d done.” I teared up, and Adam handed me a napkin.

“I get it,” he said softly. “You don’t have to keep talking if you don’t want to.”

“I’m okay.” I wiped my eyes. “My dad said the little girl was covered in bruises—some old and some new. I wanted to vomit picturing what my dad had witnessed. I went back to bed without ever making my presence known, but I couldn’t fall asleep that night. The story of the little girl stuck with me, and I decided that I wanted to be a social worker for children. Maybe I can prevent something like that before it happens.”

He leaned over and kissed my forehead. I was struck speechless by the gesture. “I love that you surprise me, Princess. I hope you never stop surprising me.”