Alison reached across the table and dragged her talons across my hand seductively. “Excited to get out of here now, huh?” she purred.
I yanked my hand away from her. “Yeah, excited to get the fuck away from you.” I gave the waiter my credit card and begged him to hurry back with it. I tried to avoid Alison’s glare as I took a large gulp of my scotch. The waiter returned quickly and I signed the receipt and stood. But I couldn’t resist one parting comment. “You know, Alison, I want to thank you. It’s people like you and your husband who reassure me that I’m not nearly as screwed up as I think I am. Have a good one.”
As I turned to walk away, I heard her hiss, “Fuck you.”
“Not in this lifetime, sweetheart,” I replied with a smirk, never breaking stride. “Not in this lifetime.”
Chapter 29: Adam
Ever since Valentine’s Day, Lily and I had spent as much time together as possible. It was like we were finally back to where we had been last year, and it was incredible. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to love her with the same completeness as I had before, but my doubts about that were slowly slipping away.
I also knew that I owed it to her and our relationship to begin fully incorporating her into my life. So, when Frank called and said that Claire was dying to meet Lily, I accepted his invitation to dinner and drinks with them and a few of our other friends.
“Claire’s literally salivating to get her hands on your girl. And she started clapping like a seal when she realized that now you'd get to be included in our couples’ nights. It’d almost be cute if it weren’t so annoying,” Frank chuckled. He could call Claire annoying all he wanted, but we all knew that she was the best thing to ever happen to him. And he knew it too.
“Well, would you try to reel her in a little. I don’t want her coming on too strong and scaring Lily away.”
“Ah, so you’ve got yourself a shy one, huh?” Frank asked.
I hesitated before replying. Was Lily shy? I hadn’t interacted with her much around other people. She didn’t seem shy; she certainly hadn’t come off that way when I had met her. The Lily I knew was outgoing and friendly, but would she be that way with a table full of strangers? It seemed odd that I didn’t know, even though the answer didn’t really matter. I couldn’t blame her if she were reserved when she first met my friends.
“Nah, she’ll be fine,” I finally answered, hoping it was the truth.
***
I pulled up in front of Lily’s apartment at five minutes to seven. We were meeting the rest of the crew at 7:30, and while the restaurant was only ten minutes away, I thought it would be easier if we were the first ones there so that Lily got to meet everyone gradually as they arrived. I pulled out my phone and called her. “Hey, I’m downstairs,” I said when she answered.
“Okay, be right down,” she quickly replied and hung up.
I watched her exit her building and walk toward me. She looked beautiful, as always. Her hair flowed over her shoulders and down her light blue top that accentuated her slim figure, even though it was partially obscured by a khaki jacket. Her dark rinsed jeans and black heels made her legs look incredible, and I quickly wondered if I had time to take her upstairs before dinner.
“Hey,” she breathed as she sat down beside me and turned to pull her seatbelt around herself.
“Hey, gorgeous.” I leaned in to give her a soft kiss on the lips. “You look great.”
She smiled warmly at me, her eyes sparkling. “You too.”
I ran a hand down my green cashmere sweater. “Glad you approve.”
“Always.” She gently brushed her hand along my cheek.
We just sat there and stared at one another for a moment, letting our adoration for each other fill the car. Finally I shook my head. “We better get going before I make us very late.”
“You know, there is something to be said for being fashionably late.”
I smiled. “All good things come to those who wait.”
She giggled. “Well when you put it like that, let’s get this show on the road.”
I laughed as I pulled the car onto the road and drove to the restaurant, holding Lily’s hand in mine the entire ride.
We talked about trivial things: how Lily was sad that February was almost over and she hadn’t gotten another snow day, what Eva had done recently to show me what an inconvenience it was to have me for a father, Amanda losing her mind over her upcoming wedding.
“Why the rush?” I asked her. “Why didn’t they just pick a date a year from now so they could’ve taken their time planning?”
“I think Shane’s worried that Amanda will change her mind if he gives her too much time to think about it,” Lily said laughing.
I didn’t see the humor. “Should they really be getting married then?”
Lily’s face sobered and confusion seemed to set in as she silently asked me to explain what I meant.