Chasing Destiny (6 page)

“I wasn’t staring. I was waiting for you to answer my question.”

“Oh,” she said, blinking slowly. “What was the question?”

I lifted a brow. “Can’t find anything to watch?”

“Does it look like I’ve found something for us to watch?” She whipped her head back in the direction of the TV.

“Well, Ms. Bitchy, I guess it doesn’t.”

Kristin sighed and pulled her feet up on the couch. “Adam called and wants me to have dinner with him and his parents on Wednesday night.”

“You said yes.” It wasn’t a question; I had already heard her tell him she would.

“Yes,” she groaned. “We’ve agreed to stay friends so I feel like I need to go.

“You owe that asshole nothing, Kristin. Don’t go.”

She leaned her head back and began chewing on the inside of her cheek. “I don’t know. I guess I have a couple days to think about it.” She tossed the remote on my lap. “You find something for us to watch.”

I didn’t say anything else. It was completely Kristin’s decision on whether she was going to go out to dinner with him. I didn’t think it was a smart idea, but I wasn’t the best at making wise decisions either. Hopefully her friend Molly, or Polly, or whatever her name was, would be able to talk her out of it. I knew that girl didn’t like him.

I finally settled on a comedy and began eating my ice cream. “Eat up, it’s melting.”

She grabbed the bowl, still not saying anything. We both ate the ice cream in silence, watching the show that wasn’t very funny, both of us too lazy to change it. After I finished every last drop of snow ice cream, I grabbed my mug of hot chocolate off the table and pulled down the throw blanket from the back of the couch.

“Lay down,” I suggested, patting my lap. She glanced over at me, her eyes flickering from my face to my lap and back. After a beat, she finally grabbed the pillow on her other side and laid it on my lap, her head following. I placed the blanket over her lower body. “Good?”

“Yes, thank you,” she replied.

We continued to watch the awful comedy as I drank my hot chocolate and ran my fingers through her silky hair. Kristin might not be my girlfriend, but I cared deeply for her. I hated the thought of her getting hurt again by the same asshole.

After a few hours of watching TV, Kristin was asleep on my lap. I kissed the top of her head, then shifted out from under her as gently as I could to carry her to her bedroom. After slowly walking down the hallway, being careful not to wake her, I placed her on the bed and pulled the comforter over her. Once my phone was on the nightstand, I settled beside her and she moved her body closer to mine, snuggling into the pillow. A few minutes later, I fell asleep, holding her while silently promising to always be there for her whether she asked me to or not.

Kristin

Wednesday came way faster than I wanted it to. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to see Adam; it was his parents. They had always tolerated me, but I’d never been able to stand them. They were pretentious assholes. The kind of rich that made people like them feel untouchable. Just snobby bitches. My parents had just as much money, but they sure didn’t act the same. They were kind and enjoyed doing common, fun things.

“I seriously can’t believe you are going out with that dumbass—and his parents, of all people,” Holly stated as she lounged across my bed looking at a magazine.

“He’s my friend. If you asked me to have dinner with you and your parents, I would go. Same goes for Carson.”

She smiled sweetly. “But we didn’t break your heart.”

“He didn’t either,” I corrected, though I knew that wasn’t completely true. “Okay, maybe he did for like a day.”

Holly pushed up on the bed to a sitting position. “And you know why that is?”

“No,” I answered as I put on my earrings.

“I can’t believe I didn’t realize this before!”

“Realize what? Spit it out, Holl.”

“Carson! He’s the reason!” She began to giggle like an immature girl.

“How do you figure?” I asked, then turned around to lean on my dresser.

“Didn’t Miranda invite him over like the night after you officially dumped Adam’s sorry ass?”

I thought about it. “I don’t remember, but maybe. What does that have to do with anything?”

She bent her head back and stared up at the ceiling. “I don’t know. I guess I’m just trying to say Carson obviously makes you happy. He got you through a really bad time with ease.”

“He’s a great friend,” I replied before going into the bathroom to check my appearance. I hated to admit it, but I still wanted to look good for Adam’s parents. A scowl marred my face as I gazed into the mirror. I hated that I cared what they thought of me.

“You look great, don’t worry,” Holly shouted from the bed.

“I’m not worried,” I said. “I just don’t want to give them any reason to think I’m beneath them.”

“You know they’ll find something, but I wouldn’t worry. They gave birth to douche magoo. I say that puts them beneath us.”

“You’ll have to give Carson that name to use for Adam. He’s been stuck on asshole and doodling shithead for way too long,” I told her as I walked into the bedroom and grabbed my purse from the chair. “I guess I better get over to Adam’s.”

“The jerk isn’t picking you up?” she questioned as she rose from the bed and grabbed her bag.

“No,” I said. “I wanted my own car.” I began walking toward the living room with Holly following.

“Where is Carson?”

“He texted me and said he was going to his parents’ house because he needed to pick something up. I guess he’ll be back tonight or tomorrow.”

“He’s probably out at some girl’s place.”

I opened the door and we left the apartment. “He’d tell me if that’s what he was doing. He isn’t shy about that.”

“And that doesn’t bother you?”

“Nope,” I stated truthfully for the millionth time. Carson and I were friends—really good friends—and I didn’t want to mess that up.

“Whatever you say. But if I lived with a hottie like Carson, you better believe we’d be sharing some time together under the sheets.” She winked and walked to her car. “Later.”

“Bye,” I said as I opened my car door and slid inside. I took my phone out of my purse and texted Adam to let him know I was on my way to his place then tossed it on the passenger seat. Like I had told Holly, spending a night with Adam didn’t bother me, but I couldn’t wait for the night to be over.

***

“How have you been, dear?” Adam’s mother, Maggie, asked as he pushed in my chair. I laughed inwardly at Adam’s attempt to be a gentleman in front of his parents. If they only knew the real Adam—the Adam who blew me off every chance he could get and kept me around as a plaything. I cringed at the thought before realizing I was still his plaything by being here.

“I’ve been great, thanks. And you?”

“Excellent, dear, just excellent.” I wanted to gag. Her sickeningly sweet voice was over the top.

I nodded and smiled as Adam’s dad said, “I hope you’ve been keeping Adam in line. Making sure he’s keeping his grades up. Even if it is stupid art school.”

Two things came to mind. One: his parents still think we are a couple, which is why Adam begged me to come to this dinner. Two: his dad was a complete asshole. I guess he’d never hung a painting in his home or watched a movie—both art, both he had indulged in.

I glanced at Adam and narrowed my eyes, letting him know I was on to him. “I’ve been keeping great track of Adam. And his grades are excellent. I’m so proud of him for choosing art school and his dreams,” I said with a sweet smile, my barb hitting exactly how I intended it to by the tight-lipped smiles glaring back at me.

Adam reached over and took my hand under the table, giving it a gentle squeeze to thank me. I was pissed he hadn’t told his parents the truth about us, but I hated how they treated him over his art. Always had.

The rest of the dinner was spent with his parents letting him know which of our classmates were succeeding and how if he would change his major, he could join the family business and one day take over as CEO when his dad retires. To say it was uncomfortable would be an understatement, but I understood why Adam had invited me along. It may not have seemed so, but I was his buffer.

“It was nice seeing you, dear,” Maggie stated as we exited the restaurant.

“You, too,” I lied. I turned to Ralph, Adam’s dad. “You as well.”

I stepped to the side and let Adam give them both a hug before they walked away. “Thank you,” Adam said after they were out of earshot.

“Yeah. You could have warned me that they still think we are together! Why haven’t you told them?”

“Because,” he said as we began stepping toward his car, “I didn’t want them to know I messed us up. They already think I’m a loser for choosing art.”

“Well, you still should have warned me!”

He unlocked the car and opened my door. “I’m sorry, but if I told you, I knew you wouldn’t have agreed to come tonight.”

“Damn ri—I might have agreed. I do a lot for my friends. Including having dinner with rich, snobby parents,” I huffed.

“They are definitely snobby.”

We both laughed and I sat down before he shut the door. Adam walked around the car and got inside, his cologne wafting through the small confines of his BMW. I hated to admit it, but he smelled really good tonight.

“Thank you again. I owe you,” he stated before starting the car and putting it in drive.

“You don’t owe me anything.” I glanced in his direction. “Well, maybe some liquor. Your mom’s voice is seriously way too fake.”

“Oh, I know. Believe me.”

I liked this easy conversation between us. It reminded me of how we used to be before college had changed him. Changed me too, if I were being honest.

We laughed and joked the entire way back to his place. “Come inside for a little while,” Adam offered as he opened his door.

I got out of the car and thought over going inside. It wasn’t late, only eight-thirty, what harm could it do? “Okay.”

“Good. I have wine so I can pay you back for having to deal with my mother.”

I followed him to the door and took in his body. He wasn’t extremely built, but he was lean and trim. His hair was a beautiful blond and it completely meshed with his personality. Pretentious and free spirited all in one. Normally I would say those two traits couldn’t go together, but Adam made it work, similar to my parents.

After unlocking the door, he turned the light on and held the door open for me. I passed by and went straight to the couch. I sat down and got comfortable as Adam went to the kitchen.

“Need any help?” I asked.

“I’ve got it,” he answered, walking into the living room. “I have Sangria, your favorite.”

“Awesome!”

He poured us both a glass and I grabbed it from him, taking a huge gulp.

“Thirsty?” he asked as he sat down beside me. His thigh brushed mine and a tingle of awareness shot through me. I hated that Adam was having this effect on me. I could only chalk it up to familiarity and the fact that it had been a while since I’d had sex.

“Very.”

Adam placed his arm on the back of the couch and we both sat in silence, drinking. A few minutes later, he placed his almost empty glass on the table, his arm never leaving the couch behind me.

He sat back, then his fingers began mingling with my hair. Our gazes locked as I tried to figure out his intent. When his other hand made contact with my thigh, letting his finger graze back and forth, I knew exactly what he was doing. He wanted sex.

I bit my inner lip, letting his fingers continue their back and forth trail over my thigh while I tried to decide what I wanted. Did I want sex? I was pretty positive I did, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted it with Adam. We were over, done. Did I want to go back down that road?

“Adam…”

“Shhh,” he whispered as his gaze traveled to my mouth. I let my eyes flicker to his, then back to his eyes. His hand moved from my hair to cup my cheek. “Please.”

Please what? Please let him kiss me? Please have sex with him? I had no idea, but I found myself nodding. One last time wouldn’t hurt anything. A nanosecond later, his mouth was on mine. The kiss was gentle, but that wasn’t what I wanted.

Go big or go home, right?

I deepened the kiss and moved my hands to his chest. Adam wasn’t as good of a kisser as I remembered, but the kiss wasn’t bad. He let his hand move from my thigh to snake around my waist and pulled me closer.

We began taking off each other’s clothes and before I knew what was happening, I was too caught up in feeling to comprehend anything more.

***

“I’ll be right back,” Adam said as he pushed up from the couch.

“‘Kay.” I watched him walk toward his bedroom and shot off the couch to grab my clothes and put them on as quickly as I could. I had to get out of there. I didn’t want to have the awkward after sex conversation. Once I was dressed, I snatched my purse and ran out the door, sprinting to my car.

After practically jumping into my car, I drove home as fast as I could without breaking traffic laws…well, most traffic laws. I sat in my car for a minute and gathered my breathing.
What had I just done? It was just sex. Nothing more. Nothing to feel bad about. Just sex.

I wasn’t sure whether I should regret my night with Adam or not, but I decided to forget about it and pretend it didn’t happen until Adam called or texted. No need to beat myself up for sleeping with a guy I’ve slept with countless times.

Once I got out of the car, I walked to the apartment door and unlocked it. I pushed it open and was met with Carson’s raised eyebrows looking me over.

“You look like you just had sex and ran.” I didn’t reply, just walked right past him. “Wow. I’m good. I feel like I just found my superpower. I was right, wasn’t I?”

“Shut up,” I yelled as I walked down the hallway. I really didn’t need Carson’s asshole remarks tonight.

“Oh, hell!” he hollered. “Wait, please tell me it wasn’t the doodling shithead!” He kept talking, but I tuned him out and shut my door.

Carson

By Friday, the sun had melted all the snow and the temperature was a nice seventy degrees. That was just Oklahoma, though.