Forgiven (34 page)

Thirty was supposed to be this banner year. Now it was looking like a huge wake up call. He had discovered earlier in the day he had no meaningful relationships, as evidenced by the fact that this was his party and other than Sam, Haley, and now the bartender, no one had even spoken to him. They were enjoying the free food, the free booze, the nice music. The loft had never looked better…except maybe for that time with the one girl who came home with him from. Well, crap. One more name he had forgotten. There was something about this bartender.

“So, do we know each other? Have we ever been properly introduced?” He was really starting to feel badly about his life. On the bright side, at least he had over half his life to be better. This woman was better.

“No,” she said, biting on the inside of her cheek. “We’ve never really met.” She was laughing at him. He could tell. That’s what the cheek biting was about.

“Are you sure? There is something very familiar about you. We never…?” He decided to use his tried and true method of recognition. He squinted at her. Then he looked at her with one eye open.

She crossed her arms over her chest. “What are you doing?”

“I don’t believe you. You have just a hint of bitter that usually only comes from a one night stand with me…in my experience.” He gave her a challenging look.

“Don’t you mean your vast experience? Seriously. What’s the tally?” She wiped the counter, walked a few feet away, passed out a couple of sodas and then returned to him.

“I don’t think the tally matters,” he said straightening. “I think that you have made your point.” He wanted to stay and talk to her, but he was already feeling low enough. He decided instead to walk away. Walk away now before he had anything else to regret. In some ways, he was sorry he had never noticed her before. He’d show her. He wouldn’t hook up with anyone tonight. And if he did, it would only be with her.

The rest of the party was spent mingling. Haley really knew how to plan a party. She had thought of everything. Instead of having a huge birthday cake, she had opted instead to have cupcakes. They were perfect. They came in a variety of flavors. They were low maintenance. And since they were on the dessert table, they were serve-yourself. He rather envied his brother. How in the hell had Sam managed to snag her? She was beautiful and smart and talented. He could see it all. Maybe now he was ready to find someone special to settle down with, too.

Looking around the room, he saw a woman here or there waiting for him to make a move, watching for him to make eye contact. He smiled and was polite, but he didn’t attempt to move beyond that. Mostly what he noticed as he walked around the room was that he had nothing in common with these people. He had been in the hospital for a month before convalescing at his brother’s home. Not one of them stopped by. Nobody here really cared. And he wished that they would all just go. If they weren’t going to go, he would rather just leave.

That’s when Haley came over to sit with him on the black leather living room sofa. “Happy birthday, Adam. I hope this is your best year yet.” She squeezed his arm and then leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek. Sam walked over almost instantly.

“Hey now, you just giving kisses away?” He bent low. “If so, I’m next.” And that comment earned him a kiss and a giggle. “Did you tell him?”

Shaking her head, she said, “Not yet. You want to do the honors, since you seem so excited?”

Sam looked at Adam. And the first thing Adam noticed was that his brother looked like he was absolutely beaming. Still, he was suddenly filled with a sense of foreboding. “We figured you were probably missing your own place and all your things, so we hired a nurse to come stay with you until you are back to par.”

From the look on their faces, he could tell he was supposed to be really excited. This was clearly meant to be a really nice gesture, thoughtful, considerate, a real solution to the problem. Clearly, he was the problem. Only they hadn’t even mentioned it to him. They just…kicked him out. Packed him up and dumped him at his place. Really. All alone.

“Um, maybe it would help if we introduced him to his nurse?” Haley was looking up at Sam with those big green eyes of hers. She wanted the best for him. She was genuine. That he believed.

He looked at Sam. That rat bastard…he just wanted Haley to himself. That was obvious. And no doubt they had found him some huge, hairy nurse who could pick him up if he fell or something.

Nodding, Sam gestured to the woman who had been standing over near the window. It was the same woman he had made eye contact with previously, the one he didn’t recognize, the woman he hadn’t encouraged to talk with him.

“Hello,” she said sensually.

His eyes narrowed. “You are my nurse?” He openly looked her up and down. After assessing the situation, he spoke the first words that came to mind. No sense in censoring now while all the cards were on the table. “You look more like Ferris Bueller’s nurse.” He crossed his arms across his chest to show he wasn’t at all pleased with that idea.

Haley looked confused. “Ferris Bueller’s nurse?”

“Haven’t you ever seen Ferris Bueller’s Day Off?” He spat. He was getting more frustrated by the moment. Clearly, they saw him as superficial as he had been feeling. He was the family joke. He could see it now. He was the playboy, the black sheep, the one not to be taken seriously. And really, it was his fault. His chin dropped to his chest and he sighed. Suddenly, more than anything, he wanted to be taken seriously.

He looked at Sam. It wasn’t that long ago that Sam had needed to lighten up and that’s when he found Haley. Maybe he could find the woman to shape him, make him a better man. He was ready. This was what he wanted. He looked at the nurse again.

“My name is Kiki. I am more of a medical assistant. I’m working on my nursing degree. And they told me that really, you needed help more than you needed a genuine nurse.” She glanced back and forth between the brothers. “I’m confused.”

Adam stood. “I bet you are. It was nice meeting you, Kiki. I won’t be in need of your services. You are free to go. Here, have a cupcake.” He passed her a cupcake from the stand next to the table. He leaned over and gave her a light kiss on the cheek because it seemed like the polite thing to do and it always seemed to make the breakups go more smoothly. Then he walked off, walked to his bedroom to collect himself. Once inside the room, he shut the door. He leaned heavily against it.

He didn’t know what to do. He wasn’t the destructive kind. He didn’t break things. He wasn’t a girl so he wouldn’t be crying. It finally came to him. He needed a drive. A nice drive would clear his head. He could never be wholly rude. He wouldn’t storm out of his own party. He would bide his time. He would wait. And when they were all gone…it would be time for a nice long drive.

From her vantage point behind the bar, Cammie could see everything. She saw the discussion. She saw the introduction. And somehow, after watching him in action for years, her only surprise was that he went to his bedroom alone. Maybe the girl was going to meet him in there at a predetermined time. Yet, when he turned to close the doors, she realized that he looked upset, had been ever since he walked away from her. She couldn’t help but feel responsible. It seemed she had hurt his feelings. Sighing she made a mental note to remedy that after the party. Though she had no desire to be a part of her parents’ birthday party business any longer, she wasn’t going to ruin it for them, either.