Page 18 of Of Flesh & Bone

"For the love of Gandhi!Did he spend the night?!With YOU?!?Oh, Eve."She says the last part with pity.

The whole time that V and I are going back and forth, Adam doesn't move.He stays on the bed, leaning back and propping himself up on an elbow.His face is an impassive mask.

"Ok yes, he did spend the night, but it's not what you're thinking.We watched a movie, and I fell asleep.Adam was kind enough to stay and let me sleep.I was just about to take him back to his car."

"Kind.Hmm...Ok."She takes a deep breath in and lets it out."Phew.You have to know what this looked like.I mean, you're standing there all messy and looking freshly...well, you know.And then here he is on your bed."Vaughn chuckles."Are you tutoring him?"

I glance at Adam, and he seems much less impassive now.Now, he's...angry?Why?He's glaring at my roommate.Maybe he doesn't like what she was insinuating.Maybe he doesn't like that she thinks I'm smarter than him.

"Ah, no.We have a class together."I hate lying to her but I’m not ready to explain what’s going on here when I’m not even sure myself.

"Oh, okay.Well, cool I guess."

Adam straightens and stands.Vaughn lifts her face to take him in, but his face is much higher than her line of sight because he's standing so close.He turns from her and looks at me now, walking toward me.He grabs me by the side of my face and kisses my temple, long and lingering.My lips part as I lean into him.Keeping his lips on my face, he says, "We're not going to my car.You're taking me home to shower and change my clothes, Wildcat.And then we'll make plans for the day.I'll wait for you in the living room.Don't be long."He kisses my temple again and walks out of the room.

I have no idea what is going on between us.I know almost nothing about him.He knows nothing about me.All I do know is thatI want to be near him, and I think he wants or needs to be near me.I'm not even sure how much I want to learn about him or how much I want him to learn about me.Vaughn and Eli are on the short list of people who love me the way I am.I can already sense that if Adam got to know me and then rejected me, I wouldn't come out of that unscathed.

Looking back to my roommate, she's standing there with crossed arms, pursed lips, and her hip cocked to the side.Just shoot me now.He made sure that there was no denying what was going on here.We obviously aren't just friends who fell asleep watching movies.But we were, weren't we?When I actually fell asleep, we were just friends.Not even friends.Acquaintances at best.I mean we've known each other for a total of less than 30 hours.We did see each other before that but we didn't even exchange words then.

"I don't know what to say.I really did fall asleep, and nothing happened until just before you knocked.I don't even know what happened then.We kissed.Maybe some touching.That's it."

"Honey, you know I love you.I just don't know about this.I feel like you're jumping out of the kiddie pool and into Lake Michigan."

"Lake Michigan.That's your reference?"

"It's home to the most drownings in the country."

"Where do you come up with this shit?"

"It's what I do.I shoot tequila and I know things, but that's so not the point.The point is that this guy is dangerous to women, but to you, he's a stonefish."

"A stonefish."

"Yes.A stonefish."

"Deadliest fish on the planet?"

"Deadliest fish on the planet."

"Right.Got it.Ok, listen.I want to tell you that I will be careful, but honestly, it's like I'm on the steepest, slipperiest slope I have ever been on, and my shoes have no traction.I just can't claw my way away from him.The more I try, the more I slip and now...I don't know.I don't know if I want to get away from him and I've only known him a little over a day."

Vaughn looks to the ceiling and sighs heavily."Okay."She starts toward the door.

"Okay?That's it?"

"Yep.That's it.It's going to take time to plot his murder, scope out a disposal site for the body, and procure credible alibis for the three of us."

"The three of us?"

Vaughn huffs a laugh, "If you think we're leaving Eli out of this, you are crazier than I thought.We'll never pull it off without him."

"I love you."

"I love you, Eve.Just...I don't know.Just protect your heart."

Smiling, I bring her into a tight hug, all the while knowing that I have no control over this circulatory organ that seems hell bent on going in blind.

I walk into the living room and see Adam looking out the sliding glass doors.Without turning around, he says, "You know these are the preferred entrance points for burglars, right?"

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