Anna Martin's First Love Box Set: Signs - Bright Young Things - Five Times My Best Friend Kissed Me

by Anna Martin

  “Add some pepper to it as well.”

  “Like….”

  Jared handed him the pepper mill. “You know how to use this?”

  “Fuck off,” Adam grumbled.

  When it was all done, Jared split the food into two bowls while Adam found forks, then led him through to a dining room.

  “I think I should eat the first meal I made myself in here,” he said, gesturing to the positively cavernous dining room. It was warm and light, a long, narrow room with a dark wood table and elegant chairs, space to seat eighteen.

  “I totally agree.”

  Adam was about to set his bowl down in the head-of-the-table spot when Jared shot out his arm and stopped him.

  “You’ll leave marks on the table if you don’t put a placemat down.”

  “Oh. I don’t know where we keep those.”

  Jared rolled his eyes. “Hold this,” he said, handing Adam his bowl. He jogged back to the kitchen and grabbed two dishtowels, folding them to protect the polished dark wood from the bowls.

  “How do you know shit like this?” Adam said once they were finally seated, digging into the food.

  “How to cook?”

  “Yeah. And the stuff about the placemats.”

  “Because my mom was super into keeping us grounded when we were kids,” Jared said easily. “She never had a paid job, so she spends a lot of time volunteering with the victims of domestic violence.”

  “This is really good, by the way,” Adam interrupted. “I’m very impressed with myself.”

  Jared grinned. “I completely agree.”

  “So your mom made you cook and clean and stuff?”

  “Yeah. My dad is kind of conservative. He was brought up in a very strict religious family. My mom is a bit more laid back, but she never stands up to him. I know she didn’t want me to go to the MPS but my dad insisted.”

  “MPS?”

  “Marine Preparatory School.”

  “Ah. Where you were last year.”

  “Yeah.”

  Adam speared another piece of penne, considered it, then ate it. “I’ve never met an army brat before.”

  “I’m not,” Jared said, laughing. “My dad works in a bank. He couldn’t get into the army because he had bronchitis as a kid, which means he’s got breathing problems. They wouldn’t take him. It’s his biggest regret in life.”

  “How sad.”

  “Yeah. The school was… I mean, I spent enough time in a fairly liberal school before I turned seventeen, so I knew a lot more about life than the other kids at MPS. They were so fucking sheltered. Their parents wanted to keep everything from them. But they could quote scripture at you like it was written on the back of their eyelids.”

  “The perfect place for a flaming homo like yourself, then.”

  “Excuse you. I do not flame.”

  Adam grinned. “I know. It’s a big jump, you know, conservative Christian Texas to ultra-liberal Washington.”

  “Yeah, well, I know what I prefer.” Jared leaned back in his chair and let his fork clatter into the empty bowl. “Thanks for dinner.”

  “You’re welcome. If you want to come over and cook for me again you can, anytime.”

  Jared checked his watch, surprised at the time. Between studying, making out, and teaching Adam how to cook, the time had flown past.

  “Shit. I should head back soon.”

  “What’s time is it?”

  Adam never wore a watch. It was something Jared had noticed right from the start. Adam relied on other people to tell him where to be and when.

  “Almost nine forty.”

  “Oh.”

  “Hadley has her friends staying, and they’re….”

  “What?”

  “I don’t know. Just drunk people in their early thirties who don’t seem to give a fuck that I need to get up at six in the morning to be ready for school. They party until four some nights.”

  Adam winced. “That’s rough. You know… you’re welcome to stay here.” His wince softened, stretched, widened into the half-sexy, sloppy grin Jared now recognized turned his stomach over with more than simple lust.

  “If I stay here, you’re going to spend all night feeling me up.”

  “Sure am. That’s the payoff. You get my bed, I get you.”

  Jared straightened his spine. “I’m not messing, Adam. You’re not fucking me.”

  “Jeez. Okay. I still get at least second base privileges then. It’s my fucking bed.”

  “Second base?” Jared echoed, amused.

  “Yeah.”

  “Come on, you spoiled child,” Jared said, pushing away from the table and grabbing his bowl. “I’ll show you how to wash dishes.”

  Washing up—by hand, at Jared’s insistence—took longer than it should have, mostly because Adam kept flicking soapsuds and laughing at Jared’s “serious teacher” voice. That, and they stopped to make out every few minutes, so by the time they were done the water was going cold and the dishes on the rack were almost dry.

  “Come on,” Adam said, slipping his hand into Jared’s. “I just need to lock up.”

  “I dread to think how long that takes in this place,” Jared said, teasing, following Adam out of the kitchen.

  “Uh, about two minutes.”

  In a small room off the side of the grand entrance hall, there was a computer with several monitors and a panel that must control security for the whole house.

  “It’s easy, really,” Adam said. “You just press this here, and it tells you where any windows are open or unlocked. Same for the doors. Then if anything beeps—like, there.” He pointed to an output on one of the monitors. “That’s the door from the kitchen to the back balcony. But we can lock it from here.”

  He clicked a few buttons, and the red light turned green.

  “The others are all in my room,” Adam said, referring to the suite he kept on the far side of the building. “I don’t mind leaving that unlocked from here. I can always do it myself when I get upstairs if I want to.”

  “That’s a pretty cool system,” Jared said.

  “Yeah. My mom helped design it. That’s part of what she’s into—not just the physical architecture, but how we can use technology to improve our lives.”

  “So, can anyone get in here now?” Jared asked as Adam input a code and the computer dinged pleasantly.

  “Only people who have the code. That’s me, my mom—who’s in Paris—the housekeeper, and the police.”

  “I feel very secure.”

  Adam smiled and pushed his hair back from his face, showing off his tight biceps. Jared swallowed hard.

  It was too early to go to bed, so Jared sent Hadley a text to let her know he was staying over at a friend’s and changed into another set of Adam’s pajamas. These were softer than the first, red flannel that felt comfortably worn.

  They played two-player video games until Jared was yawning, then took it in turns to use the bathroom. Jared found his toothbrush from the last time in the glass next to the sink. Adam had kept it. It was strange to think why, so Jared didn’t. Didn’t think.

  In bed, there were no pretenses. As soon as Adam flicked the lamp on his nightstand off, Jared was tugging at his T-shirt, and Adam pressed his knee between Jared’s thighs. It was a continuation of their kissing earlier, only now Adam claimed second base privileges and stripped Jared of his T-shirt.

  “God, you look good,” Adam sighed as his flat palms roamed over Jared’s body, thumbs gently caressing puckered nipples.

  Jared’s stomach clenched, and he wondered what the fuck was happening to him. He’d been here before, with other guys and one girl, so he knew how it worked. He knew how lust and desire functioned in his body, how those signals were delivered to his cock from his brain, and sometimes the other way round.

  Adam seemed to rewrite all the rules. In a rational way, Jared knew Adam wasn’t the singular most handsome man on the planet. That was David Beckham; everyone knew that. Adam was slim and toned, and
he had a line of hairs on his belly Jared thought was possibly the most gorgeous thing he’d ever seen. His hair was very, very soft just after he’d washed it. He had a long neck and the most delicate, lickable collarbone Jared had ever tasted.

  “You sure you’re not going to let me steal third?” Adam murmured. His fingers were already everywhere, or so it felt, skimming over Jared’s nipples and belly and down, teasing the waistband of Jared’s pants.

  “What are we doing here?” Jared said, pulling back and propping himself on an elbow. His heart was pounding hard in his chest and his skin felt flushed, buzzing. He could ride this feeling for hours, days, but there was something nagging at the back of his mind. Something that made him want to question it all.

  Adam leaned back too and regarded Jared with an easy smile. “Do you always question stuff like this?”

  “Do you always answer questions with more questions?”

  Adam laughed. “Sometimes. We’re having fun, Jared. At least, I hope we are.”

  “Yeah. I know, but….”

  “Hm?”

  “I don’t know.”

  He couldn’t find the words to accuse Adam, not when he didn’t know what to accuse him of. The weird, nagging feeling wasn’t enough.

  “If you want my opinion,” Adam said, grabbing Jared’s wrist and dragging him back down to the bed. “Stop thinking.”

  Chapter 9

  This was it. Jared knew it.

  He’d held on for weeks already, but his willpower had been resolutely worn down over and over by the singularly most beautiful man in the Pacific Northwest, and Jared didn’t have the energy to fight it any more.

  They were going to have sex. And if that meant Jared had to give himself up… well, he was okay with that. Adam was good at this—so fucking good—and for some strange reason, Jared trusted him.

  Clothes had long since been kicked off and they were down to boxers, just two layers of fabric keeping them from being naked together. Jared was beyond hard; his dick was aching and straining, tenting the fabric as they rolled together.

  As Jared kicked off his socks, Adam kissed his neck, hands roaming everywhere as they both furrowed their brows, licked deep into each other’s mouths, and ignored the constant buzzing of Adam’s phone. It was on silent and vibrated with a call.

  “Shit,” Adam muttered as the buzzing started again. “Let me get rid of them. Whoever they are.”

  Jared laughed breathlessly and nodded, rubbing the palm of his hand over his chest as Adam leaned away. He didn’t give a fuck about Clare anymore. She could go to hell.

  “What the fuck do you want?” Adam demanded in a voice that, not so long ago, would have made Jared flinch. “What? Are you fucking serious?” A long pause, then, “Shit.”

  “What’s going on?” Jared asked.

  Adam refused to look over and visibly squared his shoulders before responding. “It’s Ryder,” he said. “She OD’d.”

  The call had come from Mia. Adam said she sounded exhausted, her voice raw. She was at the hospital already and had taken the job of calling round and telling everyone since Dylan hadn’t arrived yet, and their parents were out of town.

  Adam swung his legs over the edge of the bed and propped his elbows on his knees, resting his face in his hands for a moment. Jared leaned over and kissed his shoulder, just once, then climbed out of bed and started to pull his clothes on.

  “Come on,” he said, when Adam made no attempt to move.

  “Where are we going?”

  “To the hospital. Is she alive?”

  “Fucking hell. Yeah. She’s in a coma, though.”

  “Then we should go.”

  Adam nodded, and Jared was worried for a moment. He hadn’t seen Adam like this before. Then he got out of bed and started to pull on clothes haphazardly, the lights off until Jared reached over and turned the lamp on the nightstand on.

  There were too many questions that were yet unanswered, and talking or speculating seemed cringingly awkward, so they said nothing. When they were both dressed, Jared took Adam’s hand and led him out of the house, nudging him to lock the door behind them.

  “Shit. Let me just set the security,” Adam murmured, and ducked back inside while Jared started his truck.

  They drove to Virginia Mason Hospital in silence, the radio playing something in the background that neither of them was listening to.

  When he’d arrived at New Harbor, Jared had immediately pegged Ryder as the fun time party girl. There wasn’t a lot of substance behind her pretty face and sweet nature; she wasn’t particularly intelligent and was probably too trusting of people. He guessed that was what had gotten her into this mess.

  Jared needed directions and forced Adam to pay attention to the roads, taking them in to the main parking lot at the hospital. It was late, nearly two in the morning, so the place was pretty empty.

  When they walked into the main building, they didn’t hold hands. That would have been too much.

  “We’re here to see Ryder Gorden,” Jared said to the night shift receptionist.

  He got a cold stare in return.

  “She’s in the ICU,” Adam said.

  “Ms. Gorden already has several visitors,” the receptionist said stiffly.

  “Well, now she has two more,” Jared said, his voice falsely bright. “Where is she, please?”

  After being given terse directions, they headed for the bank of elevators.

  “Bitch,” Adam murmured under his breath.

  In the solitude of the elevator, Jared reached over, gave Adam’s hand a quick, reassuring squeeze.

  It took a few minutes of navigating the maze-like hallways to find the ward Ryder was being kept on, and even then it was only recognizing Mia’s hunched, shivering figure that indicated they were in the right place.

  “Mia,” Jared said, calling out.

  She looked up, phone clutched in her hand, face tear-stained. As Jared slid into the seat next to her and pulled Mia’s small frame into his arms, Adam looked through the doors that led to the ward.

  “Biggie’s in there,” Mia sniffed. “Dylan should be here any minute.”

  “Okay,” Adam said. “I’m going in.”

  Jared reached over and took his hand, and saw a flicker of something cross Adam’s face.

  “Do you mind if I go in too?” he murmured to Mia, and she nodded.

  “I’m okay. Just upset, I suppose.”

  “Okay. I’ll see you in a minute.”

  When they finally got into the small hospital room, Jared couldn’t help but notice how Chris looked so out of place in the small, uncomfortable visitor’s chair next to Ryder’s bed. He’d always been a larger-than-life presence. Now he looked… deflated.

  “Hey,” Adam said, moving closer to the bed to squeeze Chris’s shoulder. Jared hung back, unsure why Adam had wanted him to come in here. He wasn’t one of them.

  “Hey.”

  Ryder was deathly pale, which was saying something since she was naturally so fair in the first place. Her hair was scraped back from her face, and her skin had a sickly gray tinge. A variety of different drips, monitors, and a cannula decorated her small body. Jared felt sick.

  “Do we know what happened?” Adam asked.

  Chris carefully set the small hand he’d been holding down on the bed.

  “Someone gave her E, not knowing she has a heart condition,” he said slowly. “It made her collapse.”

  “Who gave it to her?” Jared asked.

  “You know I don’t know that. When I do, fucker will find himself without any motherfuckin’ kneecaps.”

  Adam nodded. “Is she going to be okay?”

  “The doctor thinks so. Her heartbeat is stable again. She didn’t get enough oxygen to her brain, which made her have a seizure, so they’re keeping her in a controlled coma right now until the swelling goes down.”

  “It’s not your fault, Chris,” Adam said.

  “Like fuck it isn’t.”

  “I know
what you’re thinking, and you need to stop. That isn’t going to help her right now. You need to put all that shit behind you and concentrate on helping her get better.”

  Chris nodded and ran his hands harshly over his face.

  “I don’t know why she didn’t call me. If she wanted shit, I would have got some for her.”

  Adam moved toward the second visitor’s chair, but a light knock at the door interrupted them before he could sit down. A young nurse stuck her head around the door.

  “Gentlemen, could I have a word?” she said softly.

  Adam looked to Chris, then to Jared, then led the way out into the hall. Chris shut the door behind them, then leaned against the frame.

  “The police have made contact with Ms. Gorden’s family,” the nurse said. “Due to the nature of their daughter’s condition, they’ve asked that we vacate the room of all except medical staff, family, and the police.”

  “You want us to leave?” Chris asked.

  “Yes,” she said, having the grace to look somewhat embarrassed. “I’m sorry.”

  “We’re her friends,” Adam said. “We didn’t hurt her. We had nothing to do with this.”

  “I understand that, sir, but we need to comply with the wishes of the patient’s next of kin. She’s not yet eighteen. Her parents have the right to exclude visitors from the room.”

  Chris looked like he was going to protest; Jared could see his chest puffing up in tell-tale defiance. It wasn’t worth it, though. There was nothing else they could do here.

  “Come on, Chris,” Jared said with a sigh. Then, to the nurse, “Is it okay if we call in the morning? To find out how she’s doing?”

  “You can call,” the nurse said. “I’m not sure how much we’ll be able to tell you.”

  “Okay.”

  In the hallway, Mia was standing, waiting for them with Dylan. Jared shrugged out of his hoodie and draped it over her shoulders, nodding to Dylan in hello. It was nearly three in the morning.

  “She’s okay?” Dylan asked. He looked wrecked.

  “She’s good,” Chris told him. “Looks a bit delicate, but she’s always been a skinny kid.”