The Fifth Lesson (The Bay Boys #2) (32 page)

Adam’s golden eyes stared back at her.
 
He looked a little worse for wear.
 
There were circles under his eyes from lack of sleep and wrinkles in his clothes.
 
Christie didn’t want to focus on that last part because it would lead her mind to ponder
how
they became wrinkled.
 
That was somewhere she didn’t want to go.
 
When she spotted a few flecks of glitter on his cheek, she
definitely
knew that wasn’t a place she wanted to go.

He was staring at her, making her feel self-conscious.
 
She’d put on her rattiest, yet most comfortable, pajamas when she arrived home and had thrown her hair up into a messy bun.
 
She had paint all over her hands and probably a few stray marks on her cheeks if tradition held true.
 
And, while she’d already washed her face free of makeup, she was certain some leftover mascara clung to the skin below her lashes.

He made her feel vulnerable all over again.
 
She both loved and hated it.

She didn’t invite him in.
 
Nor did she close the door in his face.
 
Christie wasn’t sure how long they’d been standing there, but when the silence stretched out longer than she was comfortable with, she asked, “Is there something you want, Adam?”

Wasn’t he supposed to be losing his virginity right about now?
 
She almost asked that instead, but figured it would sound too whiny.

“Can I ask you something?” His voice was rumbly and delicious, but Christie tried hard not to focus on it too much.

“Shoot,” she said, trying to sound cavalier and failing.

“Do you want to move on?” he asked, his eyes burning into her.

Her breath left her even as her brows furrowed in confusion.
 
“What?”

“I’m asking if you want to move on.”

“I don’t understand, Adam.”

“Did you go out last night with the guy from the bar?” he tried instead.

Her spine straightened as clarity sunk in.
 
Now, she could detect the tone of anger in his voice, the underlying question.
 
Did you sleep with him?

“Seriously?” Frowning, she snapped, “Even if I did, it’s
none
of your business.”

“Maybe not,” he said.
 
“But I’m asking anyway.”

Her breath whooshed out in disbelief and she gaped at him.
 
He was unbelievable.

“Did you?”

“If this is your version of an apology, you completely suck at it,” she hissed.

“Christie, just answer the goddamn question,” he grated through a clenched jaw, his voice rising.

She stilled.
 
She’d never seen Adam this angry before.
 
Perhaps shock made her answer, but she wasn’t convinced.
 
“Yes, I did go out with him.”

His eyes closed for a brief second before he asked, “So, you
are
trying to move on then?”

“Wouldn’t you?” she shot back.
 
“If the person you’re falling in love with
rejected
you.”

Adam winced.
 
His eyes looked so stricken at her words that she instantly regretted saying them.
 
“Christie…”

She shook her head.
 
“What are you doing here, Adam?”

His answer was immediate.
 
“I’ve been an idiot.
 
I just want to talk.
 
I want you to know why I did what I did.”

“I already know why, Adam.
 
Because of some misplaced sense of guilt.
 
And here I
actually
believed you had feelings for me.”
 
She sounded as though she was mocking him.

“Please, Christie.
 
Just ten minutes.”

Christie stared at him, debating whether or not to let him into her apartment.
 
He’d hurt her.
 
Badly.
 
It still cut her whenever she thought about Sunday night.
 
But he looked so solemn standing in her doorway with wrinkled clothes and tired eyes.
 
So, she stepped back and closed the door behind him once he entered.

It was dark inside her apartment.
 
Only the light above her studio was on, but Christie made no move to flip on the kitchen light or the living room light.
 
Her eyes and nose, no doubt, were red from crying and she didn’t want to give Adam the satisfaction of knowing how much he hurt her.

Then, she felt shame.
 
Adam would never revel in the fact that he’d made her cry.
 
He’d feel quite the opposite.

Adam looked at her painting, observed the gleam of wet paint on the canvas, before looking at her.
 
He studied her with an intensity that made her squirm and shift.
 
Butterflies erupted in her stomach and she hated every single flutter with a fiery passion.

“Where’d you go tonight?” she asked, as a distraction.
 
At least, that’s what she told herself.

Adam hesitated, but then told her truthfully, “A strip club in the city.”

“That explains why you have glitter on your face,” she told him, crossing her arms over her chest.
 
Her mouth pinched down into a frown.

His cheeks fired up as he ran a hand down his face.
 
Mumbling, he admitted, “Luke bought me a…he…”

She held out a hand to stop him from saying more.
 
“I don’t want to know.”

“It didn’t mean anything,” he said.
 
Seeing he was getting nowhere, he offered, “She smelled like you.”

Christie gave off a harsh laugh.
 
“I smell like a stripper?”

“No!” he flushed again.
 
“No, I meant
she
smells like
you
.
 
Not the other way around.”

“Oh my God, Adam,” she muttered, irritation and jealousy making her see red.
 
“News flash, I don’t want to know a stripper smells like me!
 
I don’t want to know
anything
about you and a goddamn stripper.”

“Okay, I’m sorry,” he said.
 
“I just like the way you smell.
 
Like jasmine.”

Christie liked that a little too much and how adorable he sounded as he said it.
 
So, to combat her feelings, she told him, “Mike kissed me last night.”

His jaw clenched, his lips pressed together.
 
“Oh?”

“He’s a good kisser.”
 
It was childish and immature.
 
But she wanted to hurt him just as much as he’d hurt her.

A low sound tore from Adam’s throat and he strode towards her until he could reach out and grab her arms.
 
“News flash, Christie,” he growled.
 
“I don’t want to know
anything
about you and another guy.”

Was it wrong that a thrill went through her at his possessiveness?

Probably.

“What?” she asked, smiling coldly.
 
“Are you jealous?”

“Unbelievably.”

She blinked, not expecting him to admit it.
 
Caught off guard, she said nothing.

“Do you like him?”

She deflected.
 
“He’s a nice guy.”

“Yeah, and a good kisser, apparently,” he said darkly.
 
“You didn’t answer the question.”

“I don’t have to, Adam,” she pointed out.

Understanding flashed in his eyes.
 
He took a step back, releasing her arms.
 
He ran a hand through his hair, messing it up even further.

“You’re right,” he said, blowing out a breath.
 
“You don’t.”

Christie watched as he took another step back.
 
He looked unsure, yet his intensity still burned bright.

“You wanted to talk,” she reminded him.

He sighed and nodded.
 
“Yes, I do.”

“So talk.”

He opened his mouth to say something, then shook his head.
 
He seemed to be struggling with something.
 
Finally he said, “I was a fool, Christie.”

She didn’t say anything.

“I handled Sunday poorly.
 
I’ve handled the past couple weeks poorly.
 
But you have to believe that the last thing I wanted was for you to get hurt.”

“But I did get hurt,” she told him softly.
 
“I
am
hurt, Adam.
 
You can’t change what happened.”

“No, but I can try and remedy it.”

Her breath caught as their gazes connected and held.
 
“What are you saying?”

He shook his head and then said, almost solemnly, “I still remember the first time I saw you.”

“You do?”

“Yeah.
 
At Livy’s New Year’s Eve party.
 
Remember?”
 
He didn’t wait for her to nod or shake her head.
 
“She’d only moved in with Alex the month before, but she hadn’t introduced you to us yet.
 
I was in Alex’s kitchen, talking to Luke and Kate.
 
Livy’s family was there, so it was kind of crowded, but then I heard this laugh from the other side of the room and I looked up and saw you.
 
Livy was taking your coat by the entryway and saying something that made you laugh.
 
I noticed all of your bracelets first.
 
I remember thinking how good they looked on you because your skin was golden, even in winter.
 
It looked like they shimmered as you moved and I couldn’t look away.”

“Adam,” Christie whispered, staring wide-eyed up at him.

“Your hair was longer then, but just as beautiful.
 
I couldn’t tell what color your eyes were from so far away, but I got my chance a moment later because Olivia was dragging you towards us.
 
I suspected even then she was trying to set us up.”

“She most likely was,” Christie murmured.

“Your eyes were a light blue.
 
But they seemed even bluer because you were wearing this short little strappy blue dress.
 
I couldn’t take my eyes off your legs all night.”
 
Her lips parted and her tongue darted out to wet them.
 
He smiled.
 
“I couldn’t even talk.
 
I just stared at you like an idiot because I couldn’t
physically
talk.
 
You’d stunned me.
 
Because I had never seen a woman as beautiful as you in my entire life.
 
And then Livy introduced us and you smiled and said—“

“
Livy told me you’re adorable, but she didn’t tell me how gorgeous you were,
” Christie finished for him.
 
“And you blushed so much your whole face turned red.”

Even now, Adam groaned in embarrassment just thinking about it.
 
But he was pleased she remembered.
 
“Yeah.
 
And then I choked on my beer when I tried to take a sip because my throat was so dry.”
 
Christie tried to hide her grin but failed.
 
“And then I’m pretty sure I didn’t talk for the rest of the night.”

“You didn’t,” she confirmed.

He smiled.
 
“But I watched you.
 
And I mean that in the least creepy way possible.
 
I was just so taken by you.
 
And…and,” he took a deep breath.
 
“I know it sounds crazy, but I think I fell in love with you that night.
 
On New Year’s Eve.
 
At Alex and Livy’s house.”

Christie’s breath hitched.
 
The apartment air seemed to still.
 
Even though he wanted to turn away in fear that
she’d
reject him this time around, he held her eyes because he needed her to understand.
 
Everything
.

“I was wrong not to tell you how I felt on Sunday.
 
I made a mistake.
 
A
huge
mistake.
 
And I’ll never forgive myself for hurting you.
 
But I hope that maybe, when you’re ready,
you’ll
be able to forgive
me
.”

“And is that all you want?” she asked, immediately, not yet acknowledging his confession.

He allowed a wry smile to cross his features.
 
“No.
 
Definitely not.”

Christie blew out a shuddering breath and placed a hand on her kitchen counter behind her.
 
She was trying to process everything, but Adam was happy to note that she didn’t seem as pissed off as she’d been before.

“Christie, about Sunday and what I said…I wanted to apologize.
 
I’ve been a mess these past couple days.
 
Not only was I caught off guard, but you have to understand that I thought I was doing the right thing.
 
I didn’t realize how wrong the whole lesson thing was until a couple weeks in.
 
I mean, I essentially
blackmailed
you into doing it.
 
And that’s—“

“You didn’t blackmail me, Adam,” she said with a huff of impatience.
 
“So please don’t bring it up again.
 
I wanted to do it just as much as you.
 
I told you that on Sunday, but maybe you just didn’t believe me.
 
So, I’ll say it again and this time, get it through your thick head…
it wasn’t wrong and I really fucking liked everything we did.
 
Do you honestly think I felt
put out
when you were giving me some really intense orgasms?”