Page 24 of Bookworm
Hell, Adam was already pissed about the blackout drunk conversation we shared, why not add this onto it, too? Although admittedly, if I could handle this without his help, that’s far what I would prefer to do.
The groan of the old elevator pulled me from my looping thoughts and fears and within moments, it dinged like a dying doorbell as the doors slid open.
Please be the FedEx guy, please be the FedEx guy, please be the FedEx guy…
Adam stepped out.
With a FedEx box under his arm!
Well… I guess I sort of got my wish. I gave a victorious mental fist pump.
He stopped short, as startled to see me as I was him.
“Are those my supplies?” I asked, rushing toward him.
“I assume so. The delivery guy was downstairs about to leave one of thosesorry we missed youslips. Why weren’t you inside to buzz him up?”
I threw my hands overhead. “I didn’t know I had to buzz him in or that he needed a signature! I just thought he’d come up and leave it at my door!”
Adam’s face pulled into a grimace. “Well, it’s a good thing I arrived when I did, isn’t it?”
I studied Adam. He wasn’t mad anymore, per se. He certainly wasn’t giving me the silent treatment and avoiding eye contact like earlier. But there was also something different. Something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. A shift in his demeanor that was so minor, I might not have recognized it if I didn’t know him so damn well.
“You’re still mad,” I said.
His eyes widened. “What are you talking about?” he said, his voice just a tad too snippy. “I’m being cordial. I brought your package up.”
“Cordial. Sure. If I wanted cordial, I would have gone to a cotillion.”
He swiped a hand down his face and I noted the dark stubble shading his jawline despite the fact that it was clean shaven this morning.
“Fine,” he exhaled. “I’m not so muchmadas I am disappointed. It just surprised me, that’s all. Here I thoughtwe had this long, meaningful conversation catching up after all these years and you… you didn’t even remember it. Then to find out you overheard…”
“Yeah,” I said, not really wanting to go into it all again. “I know. I’m really sorry. But before you fully forgive me, I have another infraction to add to the list.”
Adam’s face paled. “You were drunk this morning, too, weren’t you?”
“What!? No. Good God, do you think I’m an alcoholic or something?”
“Well, I don’t know!” He threw his hands in the air, just as frustrated as me. “You hide your drunkenness really well, Harp!”
A frustrated growl escaped me before I grabbed his hand and dragged him down the hall to my front door. “Just follow me.”
I opened the door, catching Jules cleaning herself. Wide green eyes peered at me, then Adam before she darted for the bathroom to hide. I waved in my cat’s direction. “That’s Jules. Ignore her and she’ll do the same.”
Adam looked around the apartment and noted the open windows despite it being March in New England.
He shivered and hugged his torso. “What’s going on, Harper? Why is your window open, what is it you need to show me, and why in God’s name does it smell so funky in here?”
I decided to ignore two of his questions and focus only on the second one. “This.” I pulled the copy of Robinson Caruso from where I’d safely stashed it away from Jules and her overactive bladder. “This is what I wanted to show you.”
Adam’s eyes went wide as realization dawned on him. “You stole one of the university’s books!? What in the actual hell is wrong with you?”
“Stoleis a bit extreme. More like…accidentallytook it. Well, wait. Not exactly accidentally. IknewI was taking it. I just didn’t know how not to take it, so?—”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Adam interrupted me, pinching the bridge of his nose. “How can you not know how not to take something. You justdon’ttake it!!!”
I went into the story of what happened… how Dr. O’Macklin came in and I had no choice.
