by Renee Dyer
Next to me, Adriana starts tapping her foot and her legs start bouncing nervously. I give in to the impulses I’ve had all night and give her knee a quick squeeze. A quick nod is all I can give her without making it obvious that there’s something going on. I want to answer for her, but am afraid of her friends’ reactions. So, I sit and wait for her to work through her nerves.
“Well you see… uh… Tu-Tucker isn’t ju-just my guest for tonight. He’s going to be staying here until his show resumes taping in a few weeks.” She says all of this without looking away from her plate. Without looking at me or any of her friends. Oh, shit.
Bomb dropped.
I never thought there was so much sound in silence before. In those few moments before detonation, I swear I could hear everyone’s heart beat speed up, all their throats swallowing, their brains thinking of the best responses. It was defeaning. Silence took on a new meaning. A new sound to me. Then, BOOM!
“Are you crazy?”
“You don’t invite a stranger to stay with you!”
“He’s a fucking movie star, Adri! You know what they’re like!” Ouch. That hurt.
“Have you officially lost your mind?”
“I know it’s been hard for you lately, but, sweetie, you need to think this through.”
I’m not even sure who is saying what the comments are coming so fast and furious. They are all talking over each other and Adriana has buried her head into her hands partially covering her ears. I squeeze her knee again. Partly to offer her support, but I have to admit partly because I want to touch her again. To feel the electricity that goes through me every time I come in contact with her.
When her head snaps up, I pull my hand back. The pissed off look on her face has me worried. Maybe touching her wasn’t a good idea.
Jumping to a standing position, surprising everyone, Adriana screams, “ENOUGH!” She’s breathing heavy, her face red, trembling a little, and has her hands on the table to steady her. Anger is wafting off her in waves and I know I don’t want to be on the receiving end of it ever, but all I can think is I’m so damn proud of her. Six people are yelling at her. And this five-foot-nothing, tiny woman is standing up to all of them, looking like a tigress stalking her prey. Fearless. One word and she effectively shut them all up. Yep. Damn proud.
“I am not a child. I can invite whoever the hell I damn well please to stay in my house whenever I want to. I didn’t call my mother for permission so I sure as hell wasn’t calling any of you to ask.” Venom drips from the words and I feel terrible that she is talking so nastily to her friends. Yeah, they yelled at her, but it was from a place of concern, caring.
They start to protest, but she holds one hand up and gives them all a look. A look that says– if you say one word, you might as well leave. They all remain quiet. I want to say, “That’s my girl! Give ‘em hell!” But she’s not my girl and I’m not sure her friends should be getting reamed out too badly.
“How Tucker got here is his story to tell,” she says looking at me with a weak smile. “When he’s ready to tell you, that’s up to him, but after how you all just acted, I wouldn’t blame him if he’s never comfortable enough to say anything. The decision I made is the right one. I have the space and our little town is nowhere on the paparazzi radar so he can relax for the next few weeks. Like it or don’t. My decision is final!”
I can picture her stomping her foot and I’m totally turned on. She has no idea how hot she is. Not for the first time tonight, I find my jeans restraining.
“Kid,” Preston starts, “What would Al…”
“Don’t you dare, Pres,” she spits at him. “Not you. You of all people are not allowed to ask me what Alex would think.”
At the collective sound of gasps going around, Adriana glares at her friends, looking at them in irritation. “Aww for Christ’s sake, guys, he already knows I have a dead husband.” I don’t think they’re mouths could have dropped any lower. “Think about it. There are pictures all over my house. I wear a wedding ring,” she says lifting her left hand in a huff.
That one act makes my heart ache. The wedding ring he gave her. That she still can’t take off. Because she still loves him too much.
“But, since you asked, Pres, Alex would have taken him in too because he was the best of all of us.” Her voice catches, but she holds her ground. “Now, I expect all of you to apologize to my guest and I expect you to damn mean it or you can leave.” She looks like all the fight has gone out of her.
“Adriana, your friends have the right to be concerned about you,” I say quickly, struggling to find my voice.
“They don’t have the right to be rude,” she snaps back. Looking and pointing at each of her friends, she says, “Apologize. Now.”
I was wrong. She’s fierce. I’m filled with pride again for my tiny warrior. No, not mine. I need to stop seeing her this way. When she smiles at me I’m unable to stop myself from smiling back. Somehow in just a matter of hours this woman has found a place in my life. I’ll be damned if I know what to do with it.
Feeling eyes bore into the back of my head, I turn to the right and fall into the icy stare of Alahna’s blue eyes. It feels like she’s peering into my soul, but I can’t look away. And she can see her friend has gotten under my skin. Not ready to fully admit this to myself, I’ll be damned if I’ll admit it to the one person who’s hated me since I stepped on the scene.
Mustering up another smile I know she’ll shoot down, I nearly pass out from surprise when one side of her mouth lifts up. It’s more of a smirk than a smile. A look that says she knows something I don’t, but I’ll take it.
Alahna, shocking me, apologizes first followed by the rest. Seeming to be satisfied by the apologies given, Adriana sits back down, but she doesn’t continue eating. I have a feeling she’s lost her appetite, too.
Dinner is quiet for a while, nothing like it was before the bomb of my stay here was dropped. I should tell Adriana that I’m leaving in the morning, but after how she just defended me to her friends, I’m afraid I’ll hurt her. And the last thing I want to do is hurt her.
And you don’t want to leave. My conscience nags at me. No, I don’t want to leave, but I know I have to because I’m already feeling this invisible force pushing me toward her. I try not to watch her, but my eyes seek her out of their own accord. I try not to listen for her, but I’m tuned into the tone of her voice and her laughter and her sexy little snorts. In a few hours, I find myself yearning for her. This is happening much too soon. It’s crazy.
Leave yourself open to possibilities. What Grams said keeps coming back to me at odd times throughout the evening and Eddie telling me I’m a good guy. It’s fucking with my head. Making me want things I shouldn’t. With a girl who is totally wrapped up in her dead husband still. Just proves Eddie is wrong about me. A good guy wouldn’t be thinking of the several ways I want to take Adriana while I sit here with her friends that took a reaming because of me. I wouldn’t be wishing for them to leave so I can possibly get her naked knowing I plan to leave in the morning. And, a good guy would have made Grams life a lot easier than I did all the years she raised me. I’m not a good guy. Never have been. Eddie’s wrong.
I’m. Not. A. Good. Guy.
I need to leave here before I hurt her more than she already is. I never should have agreed to stay. She wouldn’t have this tension with her friends right now. It’s so wrong and it’s all my fault. It’s always my fault.
Maybe this time I can fix it. Do one thing right before I leave.
“How did you all meet?” I don’t recognize my voice. I meant to ask the question. One, to get the conversation going again and, two, because I’m genuinely curious. They appear to love each other like they’ve known each other their whole lives, but life isn’t all rainbows and ponies. Groups this size don’t tend to stay together that long. The smile that curves Adriana’s lips knocks every bit of air from my lungs. I thought I had seen her smile earlier, but she had been holding back. This smile s
he gives now as she looks around at all her friends is truly the smile of an angel. Heaven is shining through her face and if I were standing, I would have been dropped to my knees. God, this girl is beautiful.
After a small conversation, they all agree that Adriana should tell the tale of meeting because she’s somehow involved in all of them. A little more discussion ensues before her angelic face meets mine and she begins. The excitement from everyone is infectious and I’m glad for the tension relieving conversation I thought of.
“It started back when we were young. Like, infancy,” she muses. “Preston and Alex were best friends pretty much in utero because their moms were best friends who lived next door to each other.” No wonder he saw me as an instant threat. He sees me as the guy moving in on his best friend’s girl. “I met them both the first day of first grade and we all became inseparable.” Another angelic smile graces her face. She’s lost for a minute in a memory, but not one that leaves her looking vacant. One that leaves her radiant. Happy. “We were inseparable through grade school, junior high, high school, and even went to the same college. The thought of leaving each other to go to school never even occurred to us. We just knew where one went, all three of us would go. My freshman year of college I met Alahna in our Introduction to Photography class. I liked her right away. So did Preston when he saw her, so I introduced them.”
“Scariest and best day of my life,” Preston says with a huge grin on his face. Alahna sits on his lap and gives him a kiss on his cheek.
“I thought our wedding day was the scariest and best day of your life,” she teases him.
“It’s a toss-up,” he throws back, wrapping his arms tightly around her. Everyone chuckles. I know I must be missing something, but I’m guessing this is a story for another time.
Adriana seems so content watching her friends that I think she won’t continue, but then her eyes meet mine and it dawns on her that she’s in the middle of a story. Watching a little “o” form on her lips makes me want to grab onto her face and kiss her, push my tongue into the opening of her lips. “Well, you can see that Alahna and Preston hit it off. It took them a little while, but that’s a story for another time.”
“Were you and Alex already a couple then?” I didn’t even mean to ask the question. So wrapped up in the company and Adriana talking, I didn’t think before speaking. The glares I’m getting from her friends tells me I fucked up. Little do they know, I already know this. Regret consumes me. “I’m so sorry. That was rude to ask and totally none of my business.”
“Don’t sweat it, Tucker. I get why you asked. I’m not upset.” A collective sigh of relief goes around the table. Acting like she doesn’t notice the reactions around her, she goes on. “To answer your question, no Alex and I were not together. We were just best friends at that point. I wanted to be more, he knew that, but at that time, he wasn’t ready. We didn’t start dating until the end of our sophomore year. And even that took an… event you could call it, to push us together.” Again, I watch her get lost in her memories. I wish I could stop being an ass and bringing up her husband, but somehow I keep asking about him. I don’t know who I’m tormenting more. “I think that’s a story for another time, too.”
She stops for a minute to drink and I think to collect her thoughts. I’m not sure. She doesn’t seem to be in a rush to tell her story and I’m in no rush for the evening to end or for morning to get here.
“Alex interned for an architecture firm throughout college. Preston continued working for Smitty’s Construction as much as he could.” She must have seen my confusion because she adds, “He worked for Smitty in high school, too. Alahna and I were naturals as far as our teachers were concerned. We interned, but we also took as many freelance jobs as we could. All of us had hopes of owning our own companies or studios after school. We banked every penny we could. Don’t get me wrong, we still partied and had fun like college kids do, but we saved a lot.” The pride on her face and Alahna and Preston as they look at each other, spoke volumes about how they all felt about each other. I was starting to understand why Alahna disliked me from the second she saw me. I hadn’t earned her trust. I’m disappointed because I was hoping to hear more about her college exploits with Alahna, but it looks like my Alex question changed the course of the story. “Alahna and Preston got engaged our senior year. Graduation day, actually, and got married a little over a year later. By then Alex and I were engaged. I was taking culinary classes. Photography is my passion, but I love to cook and Alex loved to eat,” she says grinning from ear to ear, her hands moving a mile a minute as she talks. Everyone erupts into laughter and starts cracking jokes about Alex mounding his plate until food was falling off the sides, or talking with his mouth full because he was too hungry to wait to eat, or begging Adriana to make more food because he was starving. All comments lead back to Alex’s never full stomach, but it also leads back to six happy friends talking about their seventh friend no longer here and their eighth friend who’s trying to be just as happy. The look on her face is hard to explain. It’s a combination of complete sadness and overwhelming happiness rolled into one. I desperately want to wrap her into my arms, hug away the sadness and tell her to embrace the happiness with her friends. To remember the fun times. Grieving sucks.
But, then she starts talking and the moment is gone.
“Ever since junior high school people joked about how close Alex and I were. They even called us A+.” She makes a vomiting gesture at how much she hates this nickname and I chuckle behind my hand at her childish behavior. “Alex + Adriana or Adriana + Alex. Didn’t matter because wherever you found one, you found the other. As much as we hated the nickname, it was great when it came time to name our businesses.” She looks at Alahna and they smile at each other. “Alex named his firm A+ Architecture and Alahna and I agreed to name our business A+ Photography.”
“Adriana + Alahna or Alahna + Adriana. I think we’re a better A+.” Alahna winks at Adriana. I’m starting to like her more by the minute. She has Adriana’s back and loves her more than I could possibly realize. The respect I feel for Alahna overwhelms me and if I wasn’t afraid she might punch me, I might try to explain it to her.
Instead, I decide to try to get some information on the other friends. “This is great background on you four, but I don’t understand where the rest of the group comes into play.” I know I shouldn’t rush the story, but I need a little break from the Alex talk. Not thinking I’ll actually get it, I brace myself for watching the first woman in my life I’ve had true interest in light up at the mention of another man.
“Patience, Mr. Stavros. Patience. I’m getting there. Am I boring you?” she asks, raising her eyebrow and placing her hand on her hip. Holy shit she looks hot. Respond, Tucker. Respond.
“Um. No. Not boring me at all. Uh… uh… sorry. I’ll try harder to not interrupt.” Shit. I feel stupid. I can’t think of what to say and her looking so sexy is making my little brain overrule my big .
“Holy fucking shitballs, Adri. You just made one of the sexiest men in the world stammer. I take back every comment I ever made about you being a priss, the girl next door, or too cutesie. Hell, all you have to do to flirt is raise your eyebrow and ask if you’re boring a man to make him putty in your hands. I want to kiss your fucking feet I worship you so much right now!”
“Mickayla!” Blake gasps as he spits his drink out. “I can’t take you or that mouth of yours anywhere.”
We all stare at Adriana, waiting for her reaction. I’m holding my breath waiting for her to say something, anything, even if it’s just for her to scream at Mickayla for being an ass. I thought it was funny and accurate. Adriana did have me stammering. Now she’s just sitting there silent, not moving. Please don’t let her cry. Please God.
Just. Don’t. Let. Her. Cry.
The sound that escapes her has all our mouths dropping to the floor. We’re all waiting for the meltdown to start, but instead she lets out a whooping belly laugh. She’s laughing so hard s
he wraps her arms around her stomach and holds onto her sides. Tears are streaming down her cheeks and she continues to laugh, snorts and cackles rolling through the air. She tries talking a couple times, but the confusion on our faces cracks her up all over again. About five minutes in, her laughs are calming down to giggles and she’s looking around at all of us openly gawking at her. She gives us a shit eating grin and says the last thing I think any of us expect to hear. “Holy fucking shitballs, that’s why I love this bitch!” The whole table bursts into laughter with her.
Tension forgotten.
I peek at her as she’s wiping the tears off her face. She looks radiant. Smiling at her friends, knowing she diffused what could have been another explosive situation. The happiness pouring off her warms me to my very core and I know I’ll carry a part of her with me to the day I die. She is someone who can never be forgotten.
“Are you all ready for me to continue?” She purposely raises her eyebrow at Mickayla to gain another round of giggles and profane comments from her. It gains laughter from everyone else, too. I can’t help but enjoy seeing this side of Adriana. Fun. Carefree. Enjoying herself. Watching her square her shoulders, I know she’s getting ready to begin again so I start mentally preparing myself to hear more about the man that she is still in love with.
“Alex and I found that starting his firm and my studio at the same time was a lot harder than we thought it would be. He took on a partner. Alahna and I were fortunate enough to have an investor.” Tension skyrockets and I see Adriana wringing her hands. “Another story for a different time. Alex found Lance Jacobs who already had an established firm. It was small, but established. Lance was a great business mind, but what he needed was a design genius. Fortunately for him, that’s what Alex was. He was brilliant. A visionary. He saw the world, houses, buildings in a way other people didn’t, and how they should all fit together. This neighborhood was one of those visions.” Her voice had gotten soft, full of emotion. Not sad, but nostalgic. “Speaking of this neighborhood. This was the first project that A+ Architecture and Levine Construction, Preston’s company, undertook together. The two companies started out doing residential developments together, building a name for themselves and worked their way into commercial. It all started here,” she says, waving her arm out around her yard. “It was a perfect working relationship. Alex’s company designed the houses and Preston’s company built them.”