They spoke for a little while longer and then Jason took Adrianna’s email address, making her promise that they would get together again soon. He wanted her to meet Alexis, and while she wasn’t sure she was ready for that, she agreed. He also told her he wanted to invite her to their wedding.
They finished their drinks and before parting, Jason hugged Adrianna goodbye. With tears in his eyes he told her, “I still miss her.”
“I do, too,” Adrianna choked back. “Every single day.”
Adrianna didn’t want to go back to her apartment after that. She was afraid to be alone and thought she might end up craving a pill. Instead, she walked to Loki’s, wanting to see Jack, if only for a minute, to get a hug from him. It had only been about nine hours since she last saw him but she missed him.
Even though the bar was slammed that Thursday night, Jack’s thoughts were on Adrianna. He worried about her and wondered how her meeting with Jason was going. She had promised to call him when she got home and checking his phone again, he didn’t see any missed calls. Imagine his surprise and relief when he returned from the kitchen with a bucket of ice to see her walk through the door.
Passing the bucket to Joe, he told him, “I’ll be back in five,” and moved out from behind the bar. As he walked towards Adrianna he saw that she looked a little sad and maybe had been crying. When he reached her she just wrapped her arms around his waist and held him tightly, burying her face in his chest. The music and voices made it impossible to talk so he took her hand and led her down the hall, passed the bathrooms, and into his small office. There, he was finally able to give Adrianna what she needed. She sighed when he pulled her into his arms.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m okay,” she stated. Pulling her head from his chest she looked up into those blue eyes she loved. “I know you’re busy, I just wanted to see you for a minute.”
“How did it go?”
“It went well, I guess. I’ll tell you all about it later; I need to let you get back to work.”
Jack took Adrianna’s face in his hands and frowned. “It’s fine, Ade, you aren’t keeping me from anything. You need me, I’m here.”
Adrianna leaned up for a kiss and told him not to worry. “I just wanted a quick hug from you, that’s all. I’m fine, really.”
“Well in that case,” Jack said and pulled her close to him once again. Squeezing her tightly, he lifted her off the ground and she wound her arms around his neck. “Let me give you something that will hold you over until I get off.”
Laughing, Adrianna let Jack hug her for a full minute before he set her down again.
“I’ll give you my key and you can go wait upstairs. I’ll be home in a little while.”
“No,” Adrianna said. She knew Jack was worried about her spending a night alone and he wanted to be there for her in case she woke up during the night. “I’ll be fine and I need to pack for this weekend anyway.”
“Then I’ll come to you,” Jack insisted.
“You really don’t have to do this for me,” Adrianna said. She smoothed her hand over his black bar t-shirt and then pushed a lock of his hair from his forehead. “I’ll be okay.”
“It’s not for you, it’s for me,” Jack insisted. “I’ll lay in bed awake all night thinking about you and I won’t get any sleep. Besides, you’re going away for three days tomorrow. Let me spend as much time with you as I can until then.” He actually stuck out his bottom lip and pouted, making Adrianna laugh and turning her on at the same time.
“Fine, Harry,” she relented and he rewarded her with loud kisses to her neck.
“Thank you, Sally.”
Chapter 10
“Are you sure you won’t let me drive you?” Jack asked Adrianna just as she was about to board the train. She took her duffle bag from him and repeated herself for the third time that afternoon.
“Yes, I am sure. It’s a two hour drive there and then another two hours back. I’ll be fine on the train. You can’t keep trying to take care of me.”