“Hi Adam.” I cringe at the sound of the girl on my left.
“Lucy,” I say banally, not giving her the satisfaction of looking in her direction.
She trails her fingers along the back of my hand and I bristle at the touch. “Fancy meeting you here,” she purrs.
I pull my hand back and glare at her. “I didn’t meet you here, Lucy. I’m here with my girlfriend.”
Lucy’s dark eyes narrow and she tilts her head towards Ellie. “You mean that girl? I have no idea what you see in her Adam. She’s so… boring. Everyone knows it won’t last. You don’t have it in you to be faithful.” Lucy shoots a sly smile in Ellie’s direction and I see Ellie’s cheeks redden in embarrassment.
“Here you go.” The barista places my drink order on the counter and goes to wait on the next customer.
Usually, I’m friendly towards the girls I’ve shagged, always portraying the easygoing, laid-back guy. It seems easier than being an asshole like Dax, but Lucy has shredded my last bit of patience in keeping up the act.
I turn and face her head on. The fury I feel must show on my face because Lucy recoils and her skin blanches. In a low voice I hiss, “Don’t ever speak to me about Ellie again. You have no idea what you’re talking about, so fuck off.”
Unable to stand near Lucy for another minute without doing something I’ll regret, I snatch up the coffees and stalk over to the table where Ellie is staring down at her hands, her face red with humiliation.
Fuck!
I hate that the girls at school make her feel like that. Never in a million years did I think that I’d regret my extensive extracurricular activities, but I do. Anything that puts that look on Ellie’s face was definitely not worth it, plus, I know that they give her a hard time at school. It kills me that it’s my fault.
“Here you go.” I place El’s cup in front of her.
“Thanks,” she mumbles, still staring down at her hands.
I squeeze in next to her in the booth and put a hand on her leg under the table. “I’m sorry about that, El. She’s a bitch and she’s jealous, that’s all that is. Please don’t let her get to you. You mean everything to me. Only you. Got it?”
Ellie looks up at me through her lashes, her mouth still pulled down in the corners. “I know, Adam.” She takes a shaky breath and smiles. “It’s hard to watch.” She shrugs and sips her coffee.
“If I could take it all back I would. You know that, right? I didn’t care about any of them, especially not Lucy. I don’t even like her.” I take her chin and tilt her head up until I can see those gorgeous blue eyes. “I love you, El. I’d do anything for you. Anything.”
She nods and attempts a small smile. I figure that she probably needs more time to accept the truth. I’m sure it’s difficult to believe that I only want her when my past indiscretions are constantly being flaunted under her nose.
I move slowly, deliberately as I lean in and brush my lips across hers. A faint whimper comes from her as we connect, so I deepen the kiss but keep it chaste enough that she knows it comes from love and adoration, not lust.
When we break away, she licks her bottom lip and her gaze locks with mine. “I love you too, Adam.”
I sigh and give her one last kiss. As long as she loves me, we can make this work, create something perfect together.
If I didn’t have Ellie, I’d have nothing.
14
Ellie
The closer it gets to the end of term, the harder it is for me to concentrate. My mum had her surgery and has been getting the last type of chemo, which has made her weak and very sick most of the time, but the doctor says it’s shrinking the cancer. Dad has been working just as much as usual, maybe more now that Mum has had to take leave from her job.
I don’t care about going to uni anymore. My goal is just to finish school and get a job to help out my family. My parents fought with me on this and are insisting that I continue on to study nursing like I always said I would. How can I say no to my mum when she’s ill?
The problem is, none of my past goals seem important to me. Only my mum, my dad, and Adam. Everything else is just background noise in my chaotic life.
“Well, what did you think?”
“Huh? What?” I look up at Adam blankly as the rest of the band stares back from across the empty pub.
“I guess that answers our question. You weren’t even listening, were you?” Adam asks, coming over to where I’m sitting on a barstool.
“I’m sorry.” I wrap my arms around my body to keep myself from falling apart. Sleep has been hard to come by since my mum’s illness, so I’m pretty much always on the edge of falling asleep or crying from exhaustion.