his beer, but she’d never seen him drink to get drunk.
He slumped on the futon, looking glum, but didn’t bother to tell her why he’d shown up at this time of night. Her curiosity and even a bit of concern kicked in. Which just shows what a patsy you are.
Guy dumps you then shows up on your doorstep all pathetic and you let him in. Smart, Kim, real smart .
To show how little she cared, she fooled with her plants and picked some dead leaves off her geranium while watching him surreptitiously.
Why the hell was he here? If not for sex, then what? Did he expect her to pry the information out of him? She wasn’t his mom. It wasn’t her job to fix whatever bothered him. She wasn’t his girlfriend.
He’d always made damn sure she knew that.
He seemed almost shy as he touched one of the pillows she’d sewn. “Cute place.”
She looked at him. “You’ve been here before.”
Kim enjoyed watching him squirm as a red flush moved up his neck and into his face. “Uh. Well, I’m just saying…”
“Yeah, whatever.” She went over and grabbed a beer, popping the top. “You’ve always been in such a hurry to get to the bedroom, you never took the time to notice anything about the place.” She perched on the arm of Groucho’s chair.
Adam scowled at the cat. “Why don’t you chase him off? It’s your house.”
“It’s his house, too.” She took a sip. “And he was there first.”
She took a few more swallows before she finally cracked. “So what’s going on, Vostek?”
“My life is shit, is all.”
“Oh yeah?” She pooched out her lower lip in mock sympathy. “Poor baby. Welcome to the club.”
Adam blinked at her in surprise. What? Did he think he was the only one whose life sucked?
She leaned back. “Look, I wasn’t kidding. If you rolled in here hoping to score some nookie by getting me to feel all sorry for you, you’re shit out of luck.”
He reached for another beer. “You really think I’m that low-class?”
“You’re a guy, aren’t you?” Groucho had enough of Vostek’s self-pitying bullshit and hopped off the chair. Kim slid onto the vacated seat. “So what’s the real problem? You and your girl have a falling out?”
He looked dumbfounded. Or just dumb. “How’d you know about—”
God, men are stupid. “Duh, Adam. I knew something was up the minute you said you wanted to take a break . And I’ve seen her picture.”
“You’ve seen—”
“The pretty blonde, right? Oh, keep your shorts on, I wasn’t snooping. I was looking for rubbers one time, and I opened the wrong drawer.” She took a quick swallow of beer to hide her expression.
Liar liar pants on fire . She’d been snooping big time, looking for clues. Clues to why Adam was fine with kicking it, having sex and hanging out, but never letting her close. When she found the picture, she had all the information she needed. It was a great big smack in the face.
“But shit. A guy keeps a woman’s picture in his nightstand, it’s a pretty big fucking clue he’s still hung up on her.” Kim paused, her heart thumping.
She had to ask the next question. “So what’s her name?”
“Elyse.”
Kim felt as though her insides had been scooped out. Elyse. Such a pretty name for a pretty woman.
“She hates my guts,” Adam said, making short work of another beer.
Kim hid her sense of emptiness behind a smirk.
“You make it pretty easy for women to hate your guts, you know. You can be a real dick sometimes.”
He belched. “Thanks a lot.”
“You always have to be a hard-ass. Put people off with snarky comments and put-downs. Afraid to show your feelings.”
Yeah, Kim, you tell him. You’ve got all the answers, don’t you? That’s why your life is working so well.
“It’s the truth. What is it about guys? You all act like you’re so tough and strong, but when it comes to being honest about how you feel, you’re a bunch of scared little babies.”
Adam popped a new can and mentioned
He slumped on the futon, looking glum, but didn’t bother to tell her why he’d shown up at this time of night. Her curiosity and even a bit of concern kicked in. Which just shows what a patsy you are.
Guy dumps you then shows up on your doorstep all pathetic and you let him in. Smart, Kim, real smart .
To show how little she cared, she fooled with her plants and picked some dead leaves off her geranium while watching him surreptitiously.
Why the hell was he here? If not for sex, then what? Did he expect her to pry the information out of him? She wasn’t his mom. It wasn’t her job to fix whatever bothered him. She wasn’t his girlfriend.
He’d always made damn sure she knew that.
He seemed almost shy as he touched one of the pillows she’d sewn. “Cute place.”
She looked at him. “You’ve been here before.”
Kim enjoyed watching him squirm as a red flush moved up his neck and into his face. “Uh. Well, I’m just saying…”
“Yeah, whatever.” She went over and grabbed a beer, popping the top. “You’ve always been in such a hurry to get to the bedroom, you never took the time to notice anything about the place.” She perched on the arm of Groucho’s chair.
Adam scowled at the cat. “Why don’t you chase him off? It’s your house.”
“It’s his house, too.” She took a sip. “And he was there first.”
She took a few more swallows before she finally cracked. “So what’s going on, Vostek?”
“My life is shit, is all.”
“Oh yeah?” She pooched out her lower lip in mock sympathy. “Poor baby. Welcome to the club.”
Adam blinked at her in surprise. What? Did he think he was the only one whose life sucked?
She leaned back. “Look, I wasn’t kidding. If you rolled in here hoping to score some nookie by getting me to feel all sorry for you, you’re shit out of luck.”
He reached for another beer. “You really think I’m that low-class?”
“You’re a guy, aren’t you?” Groucho had enough of Vostek’s self-pitying bullshit and hopped off the chair. Kim slid onto the vacated seat. “So what’s the real problem? You and your girl have a falling out?”
He looked dumbfounded. Or just dumb. “How’d you know about—”
God, men are stupid. “Duh, Adam. I knew something was up the minute you said you wanted to take a break . And I’ve seen her picture.”
“You’ve seen—”
“The pretty blonde, right? Oh, keep your shorts on, I wasn’t snooping. I was looking for rubbers one time, and I opened the wrong drawer.” She took a quick swallow of beer to hide her expression.
Liar liar pants on fire . She’d been snooping big time, looking for clues. Clues to why Adam was fine with kicking it, having sex and hanging out, but never letting her close. When she found the picture, she had all the information she needed. It was a great big smack in the face.
“But shit. A guy keeps a woman’s picture in his nightstand, it’s a pretty big fucking clue he’s still hung up on her.” Kim paused, her heart thumping.
She had to ask the next question. “So what’s her name?”
“Elyse.”
Kim felt as though her insides had been scooped out. Elyse. Such a pretty name for a pretty woman.
“She hates my guts,” Adam said, making short work of another beer.
Kim hid her sense of emptiness behind a smirk.
“You make it pretty easy for women to hate your guts, you know. You can be a real dick sometimes.”
He belched. “Thanks a lot.”
“You always have to be a hard-ass. Put people off with snarky comments and put-downs. Afraid to show your feelings.”
Yeah, Kim, you tell him. You’ve got all the answers, don’t you? That’s why your life is working so well.
“It’s the truth. What is it about guys? You all act like you’re so tough and strong, but when it comes to being honest about how you feel, you’re a bunch of scared little babies.”
Adam popped a new can and mentioned
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