Adam
Iknocked on Adelaide’s door,my head hung low.
I’d let shit fester for two days.Twodays had passed since Callum’s wedding, and I was finally showing up at her door. That was too long, I knew that, but it had taken me a while to come around. Not that I was mad at her. I mean, maybe a little, because what was that shit? It was private business she shouldn’t have ever known.
Still in her work clothes, she opened the door with a tight, wary expression. I thrust a bouquet of wildflowers toward her. Colorful and whimsical, they were tall and pretty, just like Adelaide Zala Goodman.
“Let me in,” I said.
Without a word, she backed up, then brushed by me, cradling her flowers, and headed to the kitchen. I followed.
She opened an upper cabinet, pulled down a crystal vase, and filled it with water. Then she snipped the ends of the flowers and arranged them expertly. Once that was done, she turned to me, arms crossed.
“Hi.”
I blinked. I hadn’t expected her to lead with that.
“I’m an asshole, Adelaide.” I shoved my fingers through the side of my hair. “Jesus, I’m such an asshole.”
Her head canted. “I kind of thought I wouldn’t see you again.”
“How could you think that?”
She kept that same tight expression as she answered. “I don’t know. You’re going on tour for the summer in a couple weeks. I thought you were just going to let this go, and by the time you got back, our friendship or whatever it was would be an old memory.”
I threw my arms out. “Our friendship orwhatever it was? Are you kidding me?”
She sucked in a sharp breath. “No.”
“I’m not throwing away our friendship, which really fucking matters to me, because of what happened.” I scrubbed my face hard. “Shit, I don’t even know what happened. I just know I let you walk out of that wedding and I shouldn’t have.”
“I shouldn’t have brought up what Iris told me—”
“Iris has a big fuckin’ mouth when she gets drunk. She never should have told you that. She knows what you and I are and what we’re not. But…I don’t know, maybe she doesn’t get it. I’ve never had a friend like you.”
Adelaide swallowed hard. “What does that mean?”
“It means I want to protect our friendship more than anything. You don’t need to know about a side of me I’ll never show you. That’s not for you, and I’m glad about that.”
“Why would I need to be protected from that side of you? I’m not a child. I know you have sex. I do too. Was that supposed to be a secret? The cat was out of the bag when you held my cock ring. Or is the problem that it’s kinky sex? Am I too young and naive for that? I don’t get it.”
“Because…” I hit the counter with my palm, “I’ve done a lot I’m not proud of. I get to decide whether I want to tell you about it or not. There’s nothing wrong with kink, but I sure as hell am not discussing it with you.”
She picked up the vase of flowers and thrust them at me. “Take your flowers and go. I don’t like you right now, and if your flowers stay here, they’ll end up in the garbage.”
“Stop it. These are yours. I’m not taking them anywhere.” I put the flowers on the counter. “I’m done fighting with you. You’re going to forgive me for not treating you like you deserve, and you’re going to forget you know any of that about me.”
She clicked her tongue on her teeth. “Yeah, that’s not how it works.” She shoved past me, striding to her bedroom. I was on her heels, not giving her an inch of space. She went to her dresser, grabbed clothes from one of the drawers, then disappeared into her en suite. I sat on the corner of her bed, waiting.
Her bedroom smelled good. All powdery fresh and girly. All of it was girly, with fluffy white bedding, rich purple curtains, and gold-framed art on the walls. Everything about this room screamed Adelaide.
Eventually, she came out of her bathroom wearing leggings and a tank. She took her work clothes into her closet and emerged empty-handed. She glared at me on her bed for a long beat before sighing. Stopping in front of me, she put her hands on her hips.
“You should know, the only thing that will make me think less of you is you treating me like garbage. If you like people to watch you having sex, that’s your thing. I think I like being tied up. That’s possibly my thing.”
“You think?” Oh, holy fuck, I barely held back a hiss. I’d blocked out the bondage straps she’d bought. I didnotneed to think of my Baddie that way.
“It’s a fantasy. I’ve never been with anyone I trusted enough to try it.” She swished her hand through the air. “That doesn’t matter. The point is, I don’t judge you, Adam—not for how you like to have sex. But I don’t like being treated like a child, and I really don’t like being scolded.”