“Because he’s a nice person?”
He shook his head, like he couldn’t believe how na?ve I was. “He wants to get in your pants.”
“No, he doesn’t!” I said, shocked. “He hasn’t tried any such thing.” But even as I was saying the words, I was remembering the other night at Frog, when Adam had put his hand on my leg. At the time it seemed innocent, but was Justin right? Was Adam just trying to get in my pants?
“Trust me,” Justin said. “He’s just biding his time, making you think he’s this great guy, and then when he has you roped in, he’s going to try something.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Trust me,” he said. “It’s not.”
Was he right? Adam had put his hand on my leg. But still. Other than that, he’d been nothing but nice to me. And besides, I couldn’t start getting all paranoid about people just because Justin had some kind of chip on his shoulder.
“Well, whatever,” I said, hoping we could change the subject.
“Whatever, nothing. If he touches you, I’ll kill him.”
“Justin!”
“What?” He shrugged. “I’m serious, Lindsay. I don’t want him putting his hands on you. And you can tell him that, too.”
I wanted to ask Justin why he didn’t want Adam putting his hands on me when he himself hadn’t even tried to kiss me. It didn’t make any sense. If Justin was that jealous of another guy, then why didn’t he try something with me?
I took a bite of my eggs. “These are really good,” I said.
“See?” He grinned, proud of himself. “I told you.”
A few minutes later, we were cleaning up the breakfast dishes when my phone rang again.
“If that’s Adam again…” Justin warned.
“What if it is?” I challenged.
“Let me see that phone,” he replied, trying to grab it from my hands.
Once again, I felt the familiar spark of electricity as Justin’s body came in contact with mine. I tried to retain my composure, but it wasn’t easy.
“It’s Rachel,” I said, looking down at the caller ID and keeping the cell out of his reach. “You know, my roommate? She’s probably wondering why I didn’t come home last night.” I sent the call to voicemail, not wanting to get into a big conversation about where I’d been. Then I sent her a quick text, letting her know I was okay and that I’d be home soon.
Justin took a step back and sighed. “Probably time to get back to real life, huh?”
“Yeah,” I said. But I didn’t mean it. I was disappointed. I didn’t want to go back to the dorms. I didn’t want to be away from him. Still, I knew we couldn’t spend every moment together. That would be crazy.
“I mean, you can stay here, of course. We could –”
“No, no,” I said quickly, not wanting him to think I was some kind of crazy stalker. “You’re right. I should get back to school. I have a lot of work to do, anyway.”
Which was true. I did have work to do and a real life to get back to—didn’t I? I was unsure, suddenly, what really mattered and what didn’t.
He nodded, then went to his room and returned with my hoodie.
“I hope Gil’s going to be okay,” I said as I slipped it on.
“Gil’s going to be fine,” he said. “Trust me, he’s been through worse.”
I wasn’t sure how that was possible, but I nodded. “Okay, well, um…” I didn’t know what to say. Text me later? Call me later?
“I’ll text you later,” he said. We were at the front door now, and he opened it for me.
“Okay,” I said. I turned around and gave him a little wave. “Bye, Justin.”
“Bye, Lindsay.”
He smiled that perfect smile at me, and I practically skipped to the T station. Yes, I had hours of work waiting for me back at my dorm, along with a roommate who was probably going to give me the third degree about where I’d been and what I was doing, not to mention the whole Adam situation.
But none of that mattered.
All that mattered was Justin, and the giddy feeling that was staying with me, even after I’d left his apartment.
JUSTIN
Gilbert was asleep again when I went in to check on him after Lindsay left. He looked pale and old, like he’d aged ten years in the last few days. He stirred a little as I was standing over him, opened one eye and looked up at me. Gil’s mouth stretched into a slow grin. “Am I in hell or did they just find the ugliest angel to watch over me?”
I crossed my arms. “There’s nothing funny about what happened last night. Do you even remember?” I’d been nice when I’d checked on him this morning, but the time for me to be understanding was over.
He yawned and made a face. “Actually, I don’t remember much.” He tried to sit up. “I’m dizzy. Shit.” He lied down again. “I feel like crap.”
“You need to stay clean, Gil. You’re going to die.”
He looked up at me, this time with both eyes open. “Don’t you think I’ve tried, JB? It feels like every day takes a year to go by, and it never gets better. It’s just another day where I try to survive the sickness I’m feeling.”
“It will get better. You just have to trust…”
“Trust what?”