by Alexa Davis
I wandered around the kitchen in a daze to find myself some breakfast and brew a decent cup of coffee. After rounding up some eggs and toast, I sat down at the kitchen table and started mapping out my day. I still needed to finish setting up my room and unpacking all my things. Adam had finished putting together my dresser and nightstand for me, but the clothes were still in boxes scattered about my room. Dad had been encouraging me to get some business cards printed, and I had a lunch date with Max.
He’d texted me late last night to set up meeting him at a small café. I was looking forward to it. I hadn’t been able to spend much time with him lately, so it would be good to catch up.
I finished eating what was left of my breakfast and went to work on some of the chaos in my room before changing into some actual clothes for the day. I opted for an oversized fuchsia sweater that had a ruffle around the edge, and some stripped leggings to match. It was both comfortable and warm and allowed maneuverability while I was sorting through my things.
I was neck deep in my closet when the alarm went off on my cell phone, letting me know that I needed to start heading over. With a tired sigh, I finished hanging up the clothes that were in my hands and grabbed my keys off the kitchen counter.
It was still thrilling to have my own key as I locked the door behind myself and headed over to my car. Feeling the weight of it in my hand was like freedom. I climbed into the car and started backing out of the parking lot so I could meet Max for our lunch. Traffic was awful, and I was fifteen minutes late by the time I got there.
Max stood up from his table when he saw me enter. I waved to him excitedly and skipped over to embrace him with a hug. "Hey, sis. How's it going?"
"Pretty good," I replied in a sing-song manner, pulling out my seat to sit beside him. "I actually got a job."
"That's great!" Max complimented instantly. "Where?"
"Frank Howell photography. Adam helped me land an interview the other day, and they hired me on the spot."
"Adam, really? Huh, I wonder why he didn't mention that."
I swallowed the lump that was rising in my throat and smiled, hoping he took the bait. "I couldn't say."
Max just shrugged noncommittally and took a sip from his water. At this point, the waitress came walking by our table and asked if we were ready.
"Yeah, I'll have the Ruben," my brother told her as he gave me a little wink.
I rolled my eyes at him and said, "I'll have the French onion soup, please."
The waitress scribbled down our order on a notepad and smiled, looking up at both of us. "Anything else?"
"No, thank you."
"Alright, I'll have that out for you in a minute."
As she walked away, Max laced his fingers together against his chest and sat back deeper in his seat. "You know, Frank is a member of Men's Club..."
I nodded in agreement and mirrored his body language. "That's what Adam told me."
"You seem really excited about that."
"I am! It seems like a great opportunity."
"Was he the one who interviewed you?"
"Yes."
"What did you think of him?"
I shrugged. "I dunno, he seemed nice. He was really impressed with my work, so we hit it off right away."
Max nodded, looking down at the plate in front of him and refusing to meet my gaze. "You know, I've known Frank for a couple years now. He's not a great as he seems."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean there's more to him than meets the eye. I want you to be careful, okay?"
My brow puckered in confusion and I stared at him in shock. "Max, is there something you need to tell me?"
He shook his head. "Nah, don't worry about it. Just don't get too deep within that company."
"O-okay..."
We talked a little more about how I was settling in at work, and he seemed relieved to know that I was happy. He even knew that Adam and I had moved in together. I expected him to be upset, but he seemed completely alright with it.
At the end of our lunch, Max kissed me on the cheek and walked me to the car. It had been such a long time since he and I spent time with one another, and it was exactly what I needed.
I waved goodbye to him as I was climbing into the car and started the ignition. Adam was still at work, so I let myself inside and set my purse and keys down on the counter. There were still a still a few hours before Meghan and I were meeting for drinks, so I had plenty of time to get ready.
After stepping back into the bedroom, I put on some music and started looking through my clothes. I wanted something light and fun to help me celebrate the new job, new apartment, and complete rebranding of my life.
I pulled a floral top off one of the hangers and a flattering pair of jeans that made my butt look good. It had been over a month since I had any real “girl time.” No matter how hard Mom tried to make me feel included with her group of friends, it would never be the same. I needed someone closer to my age.
As I was putting on my makeup, a song by Taylor Swift came on the radio, and I started singing along with it and dancing in the mirror. Tonight was going to be epic. I used green eyeshadow on my eyelids and used some liquid liner to form them in a perfect cat-eye. After that, I picked out a coral lipstick that had some shimmer to it and smeared that on, as well. I was pleased with the reflection in the mirror and blew myself a kiss before heading out the door.
The bar we chose was the opposite direction than the one I usually took, and it was crammed with people by the time I made it to the parking lot.
When I got to the bar, Meghan was waiting for me outside. Her wavy hair had been curled away from her face, and she was wearing a pair of large hoop earrings that twinkled lightly when she moved. Her face lit up when she saw me get out of the car and squealed with delight. "Vanessa!"
I smiled while walking up to her, my boots tapping against the sidewalk. "Hey, girl? You ready to get your drink on?"
"Hell yeah, let's do this."
I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, and she opened the door as we made our way toward a booth. "You look great by the way. What have you been doing all this time?"
"You mean since we left high school?" she asked as we slid into the leather seat.
I nodded, slipping out of the leather jacket and tucking some hair behind my ear.
She sighed, picking up the menu off the table. "Let's see, I went to community college for a while, got an associate in computer programming, and then decided it wasn't for me. I dropped out, had a couple different jobs before ending up at Frank Howell, and I've been there ever since."
"Wow. So do you have a boyfriend?"
She made a face and shrugged. "Paul and I have been off and on a bit, nothing serious. How about you?"
"Boyfriend, or the other stuff?"
"Let's start with the boyfriend," she instigated. "Is there anyone special?"
I blushed, looking down at the menu in front of me. "I wouldn't say 'boyfriend,' but there is someone I'm kind of interested in."
"Oh really? Who?"
"Well... I kinda had sex with him over New Year’s. We were both drunk and agreed it was a big mistake, but I dunno, there just something about him."
She nodded, "Is this the guy you live with?"
I nodded. "Yep."
"Wow. Is he cute?"
I laughed at her and said, "Oh my god, yes. Actually, you know him. We went to high school together."
"Okay, now you have to tell me," she insisted.
"Adam Hillis."
Her face went blank as she processed that. "Adam...Hillis? The kid you were in love with sophomore year?"
"That would be the one."
"Oh, honey..."
"It's not like that," I assure her. "He's different now. He's really nice to me, and I enjoy hanging out with him."
"Huh, sounds like he finally got over himself and decided to be a decent human being. Stay right there; I'm gonna go get us some drinks."
I smiled, watching her cl
imb out of the seat and walk over to the bar. A few minutes later, she returned with some beers and came to join me.
"So, Adam Hollis, huh? Weird."
I nodded, picking up the drink and taking a swig of the amber liquid.
"You're right, though, he is cute."
"Haha! See, I told you."
We both laughed, and she threw back part of her drink as well. "So how do you like working for Frank?"
Meghan's smile faded slightly. "Oh, it seems like a nice company. It's kinda weird, though. I get these weird feelings that something's going on that I don't know about."
"That's so weird. Max was just telling me that I should be careful."
She nodded urgently. "I can see that. Franks part of this men's organization—"
"Right, Men's Club," I said encouragingly. "Max and Adam are part of the same group."
She made a face, stirring her drink with her finger. "They're a real secretive group of guys. I don't feel comfortable talking about it."
"Okay, we don't have to. We can just talk about boys and how much we hate our parents."
She smiled, and I reached over to squeeze her hand encouragingly. Soon we were laughing and comparing horror stories of our college roommates. I had no idea why made her so nervous about the Men's Club; it seemed like a respectable organization and a decent group of guys.
After all, Max is a member of it. He wouldn't be involved if there was something to be worried about, right?
Chapter 15
Adam
Sunday
I got home from running errands around the city and parked my car in front of the apartment. Vanessa’s car was in same place it was this morning when I left, so I knew she must be home. We were running low on a couple items, and I’d run out to pick them up while she finished setting up her bedroom. I shut off the ignition and sighed, stepping out of the car so I could retrieve the groceries from the trunk.
Loading up my arms as much as possible, I carried as many bags as they could carry and stumbled over to the front door. It swung open easily once I grasped my hand around the handle. Vanessa was sitting on the couch with her camera and disassembling it carefully. The coffee table was littered with all the different pieces all set up carefully in a row.
She looked up when I came inside and smiled over the edge of the couch. “Hey, welcome back! Did you get everything you needed at the store?”
“Sure did,” I responded cautiously, not sure what to make of the scene that I’d walked in on. “Whatcha doing there?”
Vanessa chuckled, her blonde hair cascading down her back like a golden waterfall. “Well, tomorrow is my first day on the job, so I’m cleaning my camera lens. Just gimme one sec, and I’ll be right over there to help you.”
I grunted, hauling the bags over to the pantry, shook my head, and said, “Don’t worry about it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yep.”
I set them on the ground and began putting things away onto the shelf. She smiled, wiping the glass of her camera with a special cloth designed for delicate work like that. I unloaded the milk and other groceries I had bought and put them away while she finished with her project.
“How do you feel about Kung Pao chicken?” I asked her suddenly, putting the last remaining item in the pantry.
She looked back at me confused and said, “What do you mean?”
I shrugged, standing up from putting away the rest of the groceries and walked over to the couch where she was sitting. “I was thinking about cooking some for dinner. Do you like Asian food? It’s kind of spicy.”
“Oh, yeah. It’s fine I guess.”
I smiled walking over to the fridge and said, “Good! Then I’ll get started. It’s just as easy to cook for two people as it is for one.”
She chuckled and set her camera down on the coffee table. “I didn’t know you were so into cooking.”
Pulling out a few of the ingredients we’d be needing and the chicken from the freezer, I glanced over at her and shrugged. “I never really thought about it that way, it’s just part of living on your own. Everyone’s got to eat, so I just learned how to make the food worthwhile.”
She nodded, walking over to the counter. “That makes sense. I wish my mom had taught me about this stuff before I went off to college. I had to learn most of it by trial and error.”
I laughed while putting some water on to boil so I could cook some rice, as well. “Me, too. You should have seen my first attempts in the kitchen. I’m lucky no one got poisoned because the food was nearly inedible.”
“Seriously? Because everything I’ve had so far has been delicious.”
“Well, thank you. I appreciate the compliment.”
“We should come up with some kind of meal plan or rotation schedule, so not all the cooking and groceries fall on one person.”
I nodded while continuing my work and started organizing the cooking station. “We could do that. I’m not going to eat any gluten-free, organic crap, though. It has to be real food, that humans eat,” I insisted.
She laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m not into any of those fad diets, either.”
“Good.”
I began preparing the chicken by marinating it in some spices and set them in on the counter while Vanessa washed her hands. We chatted about our day and started talking about how I knew Frank Howell in the first place. She set the table for us and even pulled out a pair of candles from the drawer. Her laughter and the pleasant conversation were something I could easily get used to.
It was turning out to be a most enjoyable evening, and the chicken smelled even better than I had hoped. I dished us each up a plate of the chicken and some fried rice and brought them over to the table. She smiled at me as I set them down in front of us.
I picked the fork off the table and stabbed one of the pieces carefully before bringing it to my mouth. The chicken was hot and tangy, with the appropriate amount of spice to give a tasty kick. Vanessa hummed approvingly as she picked up a fork and started digging in as well. “This is good,” she complimented.
I smiled, taking a sip of the water in my glass and said, “Thanks, but I can’t really take credit for it; it was my Aunt Sonya’s recipe.”
“Well, your Aunt Sonya is very talented.”
“Next time I see her, I promise to let her know.”
“Do you mind if I ask you something?
I shrugged, taking another bite of the chicken and looked at her. “Sure, what’s up?”
“Well, I know you and Max are both part of that Men’s Club organization out of Bowling Green,” she started nervously.
“Yeah…”
“And, I think it’s great that you have such a tight-knit group of friends, but how much do you know about them?”
I set down my fork and leaned forward against the table. “Uh, they’re a really nice group of guys that Max and I got involved with our sophomore year. They helped me through some tough times after Linda and I broke up. I owe a lot to them. They’ve been really good to me.”
She nodded quietly, poking idly at the dinner on her plate. “Yeah…”
My eyebrows puckered and I reached over to touch her hand. I didn’t like seeing her upset, and there was clearly something bothering her. “What’s wrong?” I asked her softly.
“I just have a funny feeling about it, that’s all. Ever since I got hired at Frank Howell, two people have told me I need to be careful. I have a friend that works there, Meghan, and she was really nervous.”
“Maybe she just doesn’t know enough about it,” I suggested. “Who was the other person?”
Vanessa shifted uncomfortably in her seat, unwilling to make eye contact with me, and whispered, “Max.”
Whoa.
My thoughts went back to the incident at the Christmas party with Brandon Fletcher. When I tried to speak with him about it, Max had just shrugged it off like it was no big deal. He made it clear that since Brandon was one of the guys now, we had to stick up for one anot
her.
Maybe he knows something that I don’t.
“Max?” I asked her in surprise, raising an eyebrow in alarm.
She nodded, looking away embarrassed, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“No, Vanessa. Hey, I don’t want you to be uncomfortable. It just caught me off guard, that’s all. What did he say?”
She laughed. “The same thing Meghan did: that I need to be careful.”
“That is weird,” I agreed.
She bit her lip and pouted, sitting back deeper in her seat as she asked. “Are you upset?”
“Not at all. I met this guy at our Christmas party who gave me a really bad vibe, too. That’s never happened to me before, so maybe there something to it. Overall though, I still think they’re a wonderful group of guys.”
“So, you don’t think I should be worried?”
I shook my head, but I was beginning to have my doubts. “No, I wouldn’t have sent you to Frank if I didn’t think he was on the up and up. He’s a cool guy; we used to go drinking together on the weekends. I’ve even played tennis with him a couple times. If at any point you feel uncomfortable, just come and talk to me, and we’ll take care of it together.”
She relaxed slightly and rolled her wrist so that we were holding hands. “Thanks.”
We sat there for a moment, gazing into one another’s eyes, and it felt like we were back in that perfect little bubble with just the two of us. It was warm and familiar, like coming home. I forgot about everything else that was going on outside. I felt my heart skip a beat when her eyes met mine, and I wet my lips to say something, but she looked away, embarrassed.
“Here, let me take your plate, and I’ll go wash the dishes,” she offered with a smile. She stood up and began to clear the table, but an irrational sensation took over me, and I didn’t want her to leave. I wanted to hold on to that moment with her a little longer.
I was completely unprepared for the flood of emotions that accompanied her close proximity, and as she reached over to pick it up off the table, I gently grabbed her hand. I leaned down, my tie loosened and cuff unbuttoned with a pair of green eyes looking down at her.