“He’s my cousin.”
He looked surprised. “Oh, wow. Small world.”
“So, your sister makes these, huh?” Chloe asked, wiping her mouth with a napkin.
“Yeah.”
He explained how Jackie used marijuana for medical purposes and sometimes made brownies to sell. “To help pay for some of her bills. She has cancer.”
“Oh, no. I’m so sorry to hear that,” Chloe said, putting her hand on his arm.
I clenched my teeth together. I knew she was just being nice but I still couldn’t stand the guy. Sick sister or not, his presence was pissing me off.
“She’s doing really well, actually,” he said.
Chloe smiled. “Good. Oh, do you want a drink? There’s a keg of beer in the laundry room, too.” Chloe looked at me. “That’s okay, right?”
I forced a smile to my face. Was it okay that she was offering the asshole my alcohol? Fuck no. But, I loved Chloe and would do anything for her.
“Uh, no problem. Help yourself,” I said, feeling a rush of tenderness flow through me as the awareness really sank in.
Yes. I definitely loved her.
It seemed like it had happened over night, but the truth was I’d had a thing for her for years. Even when I’d been an asshole, I’d still wanted her. The lust had always been there. But, now… there was more to it. I thought about her day and night. I couldn’t get that beautiful smile out of my head if I tried. She was sweet. Intelligent. Fascinating. Not to mention that she felt so damn good in my arms. As if she’d always belonged there.
“So, what have you been doing with yourself lately?” Stephen asked, leaning back against the counter.
Before she could answer, Blair walked into the kitchen. “Hey, Adam. Rory can’t find some ghost footage you guys have of the Riley mansion. He wants to run the tape.”
“Can’t he show them the footage on You Tube?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. He just told me to get you.”
Sighing, I glanced over at Chloe and Stephen, who were talking and laughing together. I knew that I shouldn’t be jealous, but the tequila was making it hard. Growling in the back of my throat, I left the kitchen to help Rory find what he was looking for.
28
Chloe
I was really starting to feel the effects of the alcohol and brownie as Stephen talked. Not only did I feel good, but I couldn’t seem to stop giggling.
“Your boyfriend isn’t happy to see me,” Stephen said, after Adam left the kitchen.
I hadn’t really noticed although I knew it was probably true. “He’ll get over it.”
“When did you two start seeing each other?”
“Just recently.”
He lowered his voice. “I’m surprised. He was such an asshole to you back in high school.”
I sighed. “I know. He’s grown up a lot though.”
“He has, huh?” He smiled grimly and shook his head. “I don’t know. He keeps glaring at me like he’s about ready to kick my ass.”
“Don’t worry. He won’t touch you,” I replied, staring at him. Stephen was still as good looking as ever, with his blond hair and dimpled smile, but I wasn’t attracted to him. Not like I was to Adam, who excited me in ways that I could barely understand myself. Not only was he handsome and sexy, but I was really beginning to wonder if we were soulmates.
Like Bonnie and Clyde.
Or Miss Piggy and Kermit.
Imagining him talking like Kermit and waving his arms around frantically made me start giggling all over again. The brownie was definitely having an effect on me.
“Pot is kicking in, huh?” Stephen asked, chuckling himself. “Or, do you think he really is going to try kicking my ass.”
I imagined Kermit the Frog kicking him with his long, skinny legs. Unable to stop myself, I laughed even harder.
Stephen stared at me in amusement. “I don’t even know why he hates me so much. It’s not like I’m going to try taking you away. I’m gay, for God’s sake.”
Surprised, I stopped laughing. “Really?”
He smiled and rubbed his ear, looking a little embarrassed. “Yeah. I know. I hid it well in school. I was afraid of being bullied, so I had to keep it hush hush.”
“When did you come out?”
“On my graduation day.” He started laughing again. “Funny thing is… nobody in my family was surprised. It was probably me who was the most shocked that day.” He laughed. “Everyone knew I was gay and I’d been terrified to tell them what they already knew.”
I was happy for him. “So, they accepted the news with open arms?”
“Not everyone. One of my uncles wasn’t happy about it. Fuck him though.” He giggled. “Actually, no. Yuck. Even if he wasn’t my uncle he totally looks like Chester the Molester.”
We both giggled.
“Does Tony know you’re gay?”
He smiled and looked over by the doorway into the living room. “Yeah. We’ve hooked up in the past,” he murmured. “That’s why I showed up tonight. I heard he broke up with Robert.”
“So, you were hoping to get lucky?”
He burst out laughing. “Yes! I’m such a dog. More like a bitch in heat. Woof.”
We both laughed again.
“Adam must not know you’re gay.” I had a feeling he wouldn’t be so wound up around Stephen if he knew the truth.
“No. I doubt it.” A wistful look spread across his face. “You know, I used to have this massive crush on him.”
I nodded. “Me, too. Well, I had a crush on you first. Then him.”
He looked shocked. “Really? I feel so bad now. I should have told you I was gay. I know you wouldn’t have turned your back on me.”
“It’s okay. I had a crush on so many guys back then.”
He chuckled. “Me. too. Especially, Adam.”
“We must have been pretty warped. I mean, we both had a crush on him and he was such a dick to us.”
“Don’t say dick and Adam in one sentence. It turns me on.”
“Me, too,” I replied.
We both laughed hysterically.
Adam walked back into the kitchen with a guarded look on his face. “What’s so funny?”
“Just talking about you,” I said, still laughing.
He frowned.
“And your… dick,” Stephen added.
Adam’s face turned red and a vein in his forehead began to throb. Before I could explain, he stormed over to Stephen and pointed to the doorway. “Get the fuck out of my house. Now.”
Shocked, I grabbed Adam’s arm and pulled him away from Stephen. “Adam, for God’s sake!”
He stared at me in frustration. “Why are you always sticking up for him? Even when fucking he insults me?”
“He wasn’t-”
“Really?” He shrugged off my hand. “Where I come from, talking about someone’s dick and laughing isn’t a compliment. I didn’t realize it was such a joke to you.”
Stephen snorted. “Leave it to Adam to point fingers before he knows the facts. God, you still really are an asshole.”
“I told you to get the fuck out of here,” Adam shouted at him.
“You really are being a dick right now,” I said, shocked at his anger. “I mean what the hell?”
“What the hell? Yeah. Exactly what I was thinking,” he snapped. “What the hell is right.”
Tony and Rory stepped into the kitchen.
“What’s going on?” Tony asked, frowning. “What’s with all the yelling?”
“Someone was just leaving. Looks like it’s going to have to be me,” Adam snapped.
The next thing I knew, he turned on his heel and stormed away.
29
Adam
I left the party and was about to get into my truck, when Rory caught up with me.
“Dude, what in the hell are you doing?”
I nodded toward the house. “Sure as hell not sticking around here.”
He studied my face
. “You can’t leave. You’ve had too much to drink.”
“I can drive better than most hammered.”
“Tell that to the cops when they pull you over. You’re too drunk to be driving.”
I wanted to argue that I was sober, but he knew me better than myself. “I don’t fucking care. I’m not sticking around.”
“Why are you so pissed off?”
I stared off into the darkness. “That fucking guy… Fisher. I want to murder the bastard.”
“Stephen?”
I nodded.
“What did he do now?”
“I walked into the kitchen and heard the both of them talking shit about me and laughing.”
He frowned. “What kind of shit?”
“Trash. Insulting me and laughing about it. Both of them.”
There was no way in hell I’d tell him that they were laughing about my dick. I still didn’t get what the joke was. I’d never had any complaints from Chloe or the ladies before her. Hell, even I knew I was hung pretty well.
“I think you should come back inside and talk to her, man. Chloe is crazy about you. I can’t believe she’d talk trash.”
“No. I’m done. I can’t compete with Fisher and I’m done trying to apologize for the past. She’s always going to choose him over me.”
“I get why you’re angry, but you can’t leave. Give me the keys.”
“No.”
Rory scowled. “Don’t be a fool. If you get a DUI, you’ll be fucked. It’s not worth it.”
I knew he was right but there was no way I was stepping back into that house.
Suddenly, the front door opened and Chloe and Blair walked out of the house.
Rory swore as they headed toward Blair’s car. “Looks like they’re leaving now, too.” He started jogging over toward them. “Blair, wait!”
Blair stopped and Chloe got into the car, not looking back.
Fuck.
I didn’t know what to do. I was hurt and angry. I was also already missing her. I put my hand on the door to go and talk to her, and that’s when I saw Tony and Stephen walk out of the house.
Clenching my teeth, I glared at them in the darkness as they approached my truck.
“Adam,” Tony snapped, now apparently angry at me for God knows what. “We need to talk.”
“About what?” I growled, when he was at my window.
“Stephen filled me in on what happened in the kitchen and you owe him an apology.”
My jaw dropped. “Excuse me? I owe him an apology? How many of those fucking brownies did you eat?”
“Look, we weren’t making fun of you in the kitchen,” Stephen said. “Yeah, we were talking about your dick. But, not in a bad way.”
I didn’t understand. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Stephen took a deep breath. “I had just admitted to Chloe that I’d had a crush on you for years and somehow your dick got into the conversation. I don’t even remember how, to be honest.”
Shocked, I stared at him. “Wait, what?”
Tony burst out laughing. “You should see the look on your face. I wish I had my phone so I could take a picture. So, you seriously didn’t know that Stephen was gay?”
“No.” I looked over at Blair’s car and my stomach dropped. I felt like such a fool. An asshole, like they’d said. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
“I thought you already knew,” Tony said. “Anyway, you owe both Stephen and Chloe an apology.”
I looked at Stephen. “I’m sorry. I wish you would have fucking told me though. Before I blew up.”
He grunted and shook his head in disdain. “I tried. We both tried, but you freaked out and stormed away.”
I got out of the truck and started walking over toward Blair’s car. I felt like such a fool. She had every right to be mad at me. I was such a fucking idiot.
Unfortunately, they took off before I could reach the car.
“Damn, she’s pissed at you,” Rory said as we watched their taillights disappear down the road. He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “She’s even talking about not going on the trip.”
I pulled out my phone and sent Chloe a test, apologizing and asking her to forgive me. Unfortunately, she didn’t respond.
“Can you give me a ride to Chloe’s?” I asked.
“Dude, we’re both drunk.”
“Maybe I should get an Uber,” I muttered.
Rory shook his head. “No, man. Bad idea. Just wait and talk to her tomorrow. When you’re both sober.”
I began to pace. “I have to talk to her.”
Tony and Stephen approached.
“Let’s go back inside,” Tony said. “With our luck the cops will show up and we’ll get busted for serving to minors. Not everyone in the house is twenty-one.”
Sighing, I followed them back into the house and tried messaging Chloe again. Still, no answer.
“Here,” Tony said, holding out the plate of brownies for me. “You need to calm down. Take one.”
I scowled.
“I mean it. Take one,” Tony insisted. “You’ve already wrecked the party and you’re making everyone anxious with your pacing and rambling.”
I grabbed a brownie and shoveled it in. “There. Happy?”
He smiled. “Yes. You will be too, soon enough.”
Unfortunately, he was wrong. An hour later, I was praying to the porcelain god and cursing myself for eating the fucking brownie.
“But, you’re sober now, aren’t you?” Tony asked through the bathroom door, a smile in his voice.
I did feel less drunk, but I also now had a pounding headache and just wanted to lie down. But, my stomach wasn’t allowing it. “Go, away.”
“That’s no way to talk to your loving cousin,” he said, amused.
“I shouldn’t have listened to you. I will never touch that shit again in my life.”
“The tequila or the pot brownie?”
“Both,” I muttered.
30
Chloe
I ignored Adam’s texts and voicemails. I didn’t want to talk to him or hear his excuses. That night I’d seen the old Adam Knight make an appearance and it made me sick to my stomach.
“You know, he was pretty drunk,” Blair said when we were back at her house and in her bedroom. Fortunately, I didn’t have to go home since I’d told my grandmother that I was sleeping at Blair’s house.
“I don’t care. He was such an asshole to Stephen. Hell, to both of us. He was acting so jealous and wouldn’t listen to reason.”
“I just don’t understand why he ended up getting so mad. What happened?”
I explained the conversation I’d had with Stephen right before Adam had walked in.
Blair’s jaw dropped. “So, he’s gay?”
I nodded. “I know. It shocked me, too. He also told me that he’d always had a crush on Adam.”
Blair laughed. “Now that’s funny.”
“We somehow started talking about his dick. I was as high as a kite and so the both of us were laughing at the dumbest things. That’s when Adam walked in and got all pissed off.”
“So, he was mad that you two were laughing together?”
“Actually, he thought we were laughing about his dick.”
Her eyes widened. “You set him straight though, right?”
“I tried but he got into Stephen’s face and then mine. You should have seen him freak out. He acted like an asshole. It actually reminded me of back when we were in school together…” My eyes filled with tears. “You know, I thought he’d changed. But, deep down he’s the same jerk he always was.”
She sighed and gave me a hug. “Everything will be okay. Tomorrow Adam will realize what a tool he’s been and apologize.”
“He’s already called and apologized. I just can’t stop thinking about it though. That look in his eyes… the loathing. Like, he hated me. It was just like back in high school.”
“But, he doesn’t hate you and you know that.”
&
nbsp; I snorted. “Do I though? Maybe he really doesn’t feel the same way that I do. Maybe… he’s just doing all of this because of the trip and once it’s over, never calls again.”
“I don’t know. Rory says that Adam’s always had the hots for you.”
“The hots,” I repeated dryly as we both slipped under the covers. “I think that’s all he really has for me. No respect. No trust. I mean, how could he think that I would make fun of his dick? I mean... seriously?”
“So, no complaints?” Blair asked with a smirk.
“No. None at all. He’s…” I sighed. “The best I’ve ever had.” I closed my eyes. “I just don’t understand him.”
“So, the only place Adam is really lacking is in self-confidence.”
“Well, tonight he’s proved that he’s also lacking in trust and common sense. He obviously, doesn’t trust me.”
“I’m sure he does. He just has issues like the rest of us.”
“I don’t care. I’m done with him. And I’m sorry, but I’ve decided that I’m not going on the trip.”
“I think we should just wait and talk about it after we get some sleep.”
“I’m sorry. You can still go to California with them, but I’m not getting on a plane with that asshole.”
The following weekend, I found myself sitting in First Class on a plane heading for California. Adam and I still weren’t on speaking terms, but Blair had talked me into going. I was there only for her. At least that’s what I told myself.
Meanwhile, Adam had given up on trying to reconcile, which I had mixed feelings about. He’d stopped by my house on Monday, to try and talk, but I’d been way. He tried calling a couple of times, but never left messages. When I showed up at the airport, he’d been surprised but also as reserved as me.
“Wow. First Class,” Blair said, relaxing. “I’ve never had seats like this before.”
“Me neither,” I replied, grateful that Rory and Adam’s seats weren’t next to ours. They’d been purchased separately, so I’d lucked out. I could still see Adam, however, and as frustrated as I still was with him, I yearned to have things the way they were. Before his meltdown. Especially when I noticed the stewardess flirting with him. Admittedly, it made me a little jealous, too.
The Prize: An Enemies-to-Lovers Romance (Diamond Lake Romance Book 3) Page 15