“What?”
“I know what that means.”
“Oh, really?” I said with a small chuckle. “And what does it mean?”
“It means you ran into that old flame of yours. Zack? Zane? Something like that.”
I sighed deeply and looked up at the ceiling. I would never know how Adam did it, but he could always hone in on the one thing I didn’t want to talk about; it was like he had a sixth sense.
“What old flame?” I asked evasively.
Adam snorted on the other end, not buying my act. “Talk to me, sweetie,” he said, putting on his therapist voice. “Come on. Tell me everything.”
“There really isn’t much to tell. I saw Zane and I ran away. He found me. We talked. Then he ran away. The end.”
“That is so not the end. You saw Zane for the first time in years, and that’s all you have to say about it? Please.”
“Don’t push this, okay?”
“Alicia, I only do this because I love you.”
“I know you do, but—”
“And because I love you,” he interrupted, “it’s my job to help you deal with these things. But I can’t do that if you don’t talk to me.”
“What makes you think I need help dealing with it?” I demanded.
“Honey, we both know you can’t be trusted to do this on your own.”
I sighed again. “Okay. Fine.”
“Thank you.”
“Well,” I began, moving a step forward in line, “he came to my uncle’s wake. Just walked right in wearing a black suit and—”
“How did he look?”
“Handsome. Amazing, actually.”
“Swoon,” Adam cooed. “Continue.”
“He walked in, we made eye contact, and I bolted. I ran out as fast as I could. Didn’t stop running until I’d made it two streets over.”
“Why?” Adam asked, his tone suggesting I was certifiably insane.
“Bec
ause I’m chicken shit! I couldn’t face him. Not after everything…”
“But you said you talked? So did he follow you or something? Oh my god—did he actually run after you? Because that would just melt my heart.”
“No, he didn’t follow me.” I scoffed. “That’s not Zane’s style.”
“Maybe it wasn’t five years ago, but you don’t know what his style is now.”
“I guess that’s true. But in any case, he didn’t follow me. I went back to the pub and found my mom. Everyone else was gone, so I decided to walk home. He found me in the town square.”
“What did he say?”