“Yeah?” I unlock my door, open it, and step behind it, begging the steel to barricade my hormones and emotions.
Bo tucks his hands into his pockets, leaning against the car behind him. “I’m sorry if I made things awkward tonight. This is your town, your bar...I don’t want you to feel out of place because of me.”
“It wasn’t you. I didn’t mean for you to feel that way. I just didn’t realize how strange it would seem to try to slide back into a regular routine.” I laugh. “Though, I guess we weren’t really “routine” from the get go, were we?”
He laughs and crosses his arms in front of him. “No, we weren’t. So, we’re good?”
I nod. “We’re good. I’ll see you Wednesday. Oh, by the way, Regan seems like a good guy, so don’t freak that he gave Rae his number, OK?”
“I’ll try to keep that in mind. Night, Em.” He walks casually back to his car, gets in, and drives away.
Em. Well, that’s what your friends call you...
My car seems to drive itself home, and within a few minutes, I’m in my own bed for the first time in several days. I toss and turn over the last forty-eight hours. Last night with Adrian was incredible on a number of levels. I find myself excited for the next time I can see him, while my phone dings twice with text messages.
Adrian: Hope tonight went well. Call me in the AM. xo
Rae: I had a great time tonight. Thank you for trying. Regan’s hot, so thanks for that. Xo
What a fucking mess...
Chapter Thirteen
The splitting headache that accompanies sunrise has nothing to do with liquor. Last night was a disaster. Rae knows I’m having a hard time handling being Bo’s friend. I don’t think she’ll say anything to him, but it’s still disconcerting. The only bright light from last night came in the form of the phone call from Monica, telling me that she and Josh got engaged. I smile at the thought of their life together, and the headache slips slowly away. My phone rings, and my smile widens as Adrian’s name graces the screen.
“Hey you, it’s early.” I yawn.
“Morning, Gorgeous. It felt weird not waking up next to you this morning. How’d last night go?”
I sigh loudly. “God, it was a mess. Rae was there, andwe had a nice time. But, Bo wants to be friends.”
“Yeah, you told me that before. What’s the problem?”
“Ha! Adrian, come on. You and I didn’t speak for five years and you’re asking me what the problem is with being friends with Bo? He was perfectly nice and polite, but it felt so wrong. And, it feels even more wrong talking about it withyou. What has my love life become?” I bury my face into my pillow and suppress a giggle.
“Ah ha! I’m in your love life now, am I?” Adrian teases.
“Yeah,” I sigh again, “you absolutely are. Anyway, guess what? Monica and Josh got engaged last night.”
“Awesome, good for them.”
“I know. I can’t wait to help her plan. I’m going to throw them an engagement party at the end of the summer—a clam bake, I think.”
“Sounds great.” Adrian’s tone turns seductive, “When can I see your beautiful face again?”
“I can’t really get away much since my time is basically spent between here and Concord. I can come to your place on Friday again; only, I’ll have to address this situation with Monica. Hopefully, my schedule opens up more when the new DROP center opens by the end of the summer. Shit, Monica’s calling. I’ll call you later, K?”
“I can’t wait until Friday. I’ll look at my schedule and call you later about when I can come to town—Monday or Tuesday. Bye.”
Grinning with satisfaction, I click over to Monica.
“Hey lady, it’s early. Shouldn’t you be busy making sweet engaged love or something?” I giggle.
“We’ve got that covered, don’t you worry. I was calling to hear about last night, seeing Bo play. You sounded stressed right out when I called last night.” Monica’s tone is full of concern. She can’t even bask in the wild love of her engagement without checking up on me.
“I threw up.”
“You threw up?”
“Yes, I threw up. When I got off the phone with you, I was sitting with Bo, Rae, and Regan. Bo was playing friends perfectly. I got all sweaty, ran in the bathroom, and threw up.” I shake my head at the recollection.
“Shit, that sucks. I’m really sorry.”
“Oh, no, that’s not the best part.”
“I figured as much with you.” I can almost hear Monica rolling her eyes.
“When I was done throwing up, Rae came in, hugged me, and told me to try to be Bo’s friend. She said he fucking loves me, that she thinks I love him, and said Bo will take being my friend if that means I’m still in his life.”
Crickets.
“Monica?”
“I ...”
“Whatever, it’s fine. I’ll figure it out. Look, I really need to talk to you about something, but I want to do it in person. So hurry your happy ass over here when you get home, OK?”
“Great. I’ll be over this afternoon. Love you.”