Page 39 of Bookworm
“Oh my God, I heard you the first time!” I ripped the underwear from my pants, balling them in my fist. “This is mortifying,” I murmured. “First I fell and spilled a vat of coffee on myself this morning and now this! And they’re not even cute panties! Idohave cute panties, you know?”
“I never said you didn’t.” His smile had leaked out, but now he pressed his mouth together, trying to not laugh.
“Well, Ido,” I emphasized yet again, unsure why I was so stuck on this. “Lacy ones that are red and black and sexy!” I wasgesturing wildly, forgetting for a moment that I was gesturing with the same hand holding the panties. So, now I was basically flinging them around in front of his face.
His eyes darkened for just a moment. “Hey,” Adam offered, “at least they’re clean, right?”
I looked down at the pair of sensible cotton briefs in my hands and cringed. Truth was, I wasn’t even sure theywereclean. But I wasn’t about to admit that to Adam or anyone.
Jasmine popped into my head and the sight of her shocked face this morning when she caught us kissing. I bet she only wore thongs. Lacey ones. The flossy string kind, too.
With a sigh, I shoved the non-sexy panties into the pocket of my coat. “Can we start over?”
Adam bit his lip, a snort-laugh escaping. “No way. I want to hear more about your black and red lacy panties.”
With an exasperated sigh, I lifted my gaze to the dim-lit ceiling and counted to three.
I had to talk to Adam.Reallytalk to him. Ask him about this whole Jasmine thing before it completely consumed me.
And I couldn’t do that with stupid cotton panties wadded up in my pocket.
But I wasn’t good at talking about my feelings. Never had been. Hell, most of the time, I ran from them. Case in point, seven years ago.
It was easier to end things with Adam rather than tell him about what I’d overheard that night on the phone with his dad.
After a few breaths, I brought my eyes back to Adam’s… only his eyes weren’t on me. Or rather, they weren’t on myeyes. Instead, he was looking at my lips.
Nope. Not just looking… but rather, staring at them.
Staring at them with the same intense, heated gaze that I’d seen with him so many times in our life together.
My nipples went hard, textured and scraping against the soft cotton of my bra. His eyes tipped back up to mine, hungry desire in their depths.
I knew from experience, from history, what that look from Adam meant. I knew that in only a few small steps and inches, intense passion and ecstasy awaited me.
Gulping, the question ripped from my throat. “What’s the deal with you and Jasmine?”
In a blink, the spell was broken. A flash of confusion and disappointment twisted his expression. “There is no deal with Jasmine. She’s a friend. That’s all.”
“Then why did she act like someone kicked her puppy when she caught us kissing this morning?”
“It probably had more to do with the fact that in all my years here, I haven’t dated much. My friends and colleagues have only heard of me dating two girls and neither lasted long. So what you saw on her face was more likely shock than anything else.”
I stared deeply into his shuttered eyes, searching for the truth within his words.
Because I knew Adam. I knew Adam to his core even if we hadn’t been together in years. And while there was shreds of truth in what he said, my gut told me it wasn’t the whole truth.
“You two seriously never dated?”
He shook his head. “I promise you, Harper. Jasmine and I have never dated.”
He was telling the truth this time. I could hear it in the steady baritone of his voice. See it in his unflinching gaze.
“You two have never kissed?”
Why was I pressing this issue? Was I determined to push him away?Again?
Adam took a tentative step toward me, then reached down and cautiously laced his fingers with mine. “I’ve never kissedJasmine. I don’t want to kiss Jasmine. The only woman I want to kiss… isyou.”
