Page 52 of Slow Burn
Every single cell in my body felt alive. My nerve endings buzzing with anticipation. Behind my ribs, my heart was beating so fast, almost too fast. The wild thundering in my ears so loud, I was certain Adam could hear. He wet his lips. I felt the warmth of his breath feather over my mouth. There was barely half an inch between us.
I parted my lips when I felt the slightest touch of his against mine.Finally, finally, I thought.
"Madison. That you?"
"Are you freaking kidding me," I groaned. Adam pulled back and immediately angled his body sideways; hiding his left side from the man slowly ambling toward us.
I raised my hand and waved. "Hi, Mr. Stevenson."
Sheldon, who at some point must've scurried away, came trotting back and parked his butt next to Adam. I shook my head.
"Lovely morning, isn't it?" Mr. Stevenson said with a wide smile when he finally reached us.
Pushing to my feet, I returned his smile. "It sure is."
The older man's head bobbed up and down while he gave a now standing Adam a curious look. "You fixin' up old Ronnie Nichols's place?'
"I am, sir."
At Adam's tight tone, my gaze shot to him. His jaw was ticking as he held a stiff arm out to Mr. Stevenson and introduced himself. He looked uncomfortable. So terribly uncomfortable. My heart squeezed a little.
"I was hoping I'd run into you today," Mr. Stevenson told me. "You know my son, Billy?" It wasn't really a question, but I nodded anyway. "He and his lovely wife, Angela, just had a little boy. They named him after me, you know?" He puffed out his chest, the smile on his face stretching wider.
"How wonderful! Congratulations."
He was beaming; it was impossible not to smile right along with him. Unless your name was Adam and your grumpiness was showing.
"They invited me to go visit for a while. You know, meet the little man and all," Mr. Stevenson babbled on. "I was hoping you'd keep an eye on the place for me. Agnus from the library will stop by once or twice a week to water the plants, so you don't have to worry about that."
"Of course."
After he thanked me profusely, Mr. Stevenson slowly strolled along the beach. I watched him for a while before I turned my attention to Adam. He had his serious frown aimed at the ocean.
I poked him with my elbow. "You're being a grumpy butt."
He half-glared at me out of the corner of his eye. "I'm being quiet," he said matter-of-factly. "There's a difference."
"Oh, yeah?" I moved to stand in front of him. Hands perched on my hips. "Enlighten me. What goes on up there," I pointed at his head, "when you are beingquiet?"
Was he thinking about how we should pick up where we left off before Mr. Stevenson interrupted us? Gosh, I really hoped so.
"I just realized I have never seen a single dance movie."
Huh. Not where I thought the conversation was going but I played along anyway. Grabbing my chest in mock horror, I squeaked, "What? Tell me it isn't so."
His lips lifted into a grin that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Nope. Not one."
"We have to fix this, Adam. It's a serious problem."
"It is?"
I nodded furiously. "Yes! We can't be friends unless you've watched at least one of the classics."
One dark eyebrow slowly arched. "That so?"
"Yup."
"Well, then I guess you better school me." He bent forward a bit. "Because I really want to be your friend, Maddie."
