the cold bed, and stared at the wall til morning.
* * * *
Just before sunrise, I was dressed and out running.
The sky was a pretty palate of pinks, purples, and oranges before it smeared into an early morning blue. I was tired and probably not fit for running, but I pushed through it and ran anyway.
I forced myself to eat some fruit for breakfast. Well, Sydney forced me. But it came with coffee so I didn't object too much.
I skipped lunch and, too tired to walk the beach, I only came out of my room after the lunch crowd had gone.
Armed with my book and iPod, I found my table and sat in
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sun, settling in for what I hoped would be a few hours of uninterrupted peace.
But without a word and without an invitation, Adam sat down in the chair next to me. When I looked at him, my stomach dropped. He looked… sick.
I frowned at him. "Adam, when was the last time you ate? Or slept?"
He ignored my question. "Sy won't tell me what's wrong," he whispered. "He's really stressed out. There's a meeting with the owners here tomorrow and he's got that to deal with… but he's miserable. He keeps saying it's nothing. He tries to smile. He tries to act like he's okay…"
"And what about you?"
Adam shrugged. "I thought what we had was it, ya know?"
My heart ached for him. "I'm sure once this meeting with the owners is done, he'll be back to normal," I told him, trying to comfort him.
Adam stared at me for a long moment then he shook his head. His voice was just a whisper. "I wasn't talking about just me and him."
Oh.
He meant the three of us. He thought the three of us had something special.
I smiled sadly. "I did too," I admitted quietly. "I
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know it was just a week, but it was… intense."
Adam looked at me and nodded quickly. "I know.
That's what I thought. I thought that's what Simon thought."
"I'm sorry, Adam. I really am. If I had known it was going to cause problems between you, I wouldn't have agreed…"
"No, Wil," he said, shaking his head. His eyes were a wide and honest blue. "I don't regret it. In fact, I… I wouldn't change it."
I huffed out a sigh, resigned. "Neither would I."
Adam's face twisted. It wasn't right to see him hurting like this. I wanted to make it better for him. "Adam, you and Simon were the best things to ever happen to me. I don't regret it, not a second of it. But it would have been nice to leave here on a high."
"I know," he whispered.
Then a silence fell between us. I guessed at this point there wasn't much left to say. It wasn't me or Adam who needed to do the talking.
"Do you want me to try and talk to Simon?"
Adam shook his head, and his voice was barely a whisper. "He's got a lot on his mind right now, with the owners and everything…"
And that answer just pissed me off. Simon was the one who put us in this mess and he got out of it scot-free.
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Adam looked out toward the water and changed the subject. "That Kyle kid told me you left him at the club.
Said your heart wasn't in it."
I pushed down the twisted lump of sudden anger in my gut, but my tone still had bite. "No, you wanna know why? Because he smelled wrong. He felt wrong. Because there wasn't two of him. Even if there was, it wouldn't be the right two."
I stood up, and bit down my anger. It wasn't Adam I was angry at. I sighed, tired and frustrated. I leaned over and touched his arm.
"Fuck, Adam, I'm sorry. You don't need this from me."
He looked at me with his sad blue eyes, and it squeezed my heart.
"You have no idea just how sorry I am."
I stood up and walked away, but I'd swear I heard him say, "But I do."
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Chapter 9
After my run, I showered and didn't bother with breakfast. It was Wednesday so I knew Adam wasn't working and I didn't really feel up to seeing him. On my second to last full day there, I wanted to get out and do something.
So I took in some more
* * * *
Just before sunrise, I was dressed and out running.
The sky was a pretty palate of pinks, purples, and oranges before it smeared into an early morning blue. I was tired and probably not fit for running, but I pushed through it and ran anyway.
I forced myself to eat some fruit for breakfast. Well, Sydney forced me. But it came with coffee so I didn't object too much.
I skipped lunch and, too tired to walk the beach, I only came out of my room after the lunch crowd had gone.
Armed with my book and iPod, I found my table and sat in
126
Three's
Company N.R.
Walker
sun, settling in for what I hoped would be a few hours of uninterrupted peace.
But without a word and without an invitation, Adam sat down in the chair next to me. When I looked at him, my stomach dropped. He looked… sick.
I frowned at him. "Adam, when was the last time you ate? Or slept?"
He ignored my question. "Sy won't tell me what's wrong," he whispered. "He's really stressed out. There's a meeting with the owners here tomorrow and he's got that to deal with… but he's miserable. He keeps saying it's nothing. He tries to smile. He tries to act like he's okay…"
"And what about you?"
Adam shrugged. "I thought what we had was it, ya know?"
My heart ached for him. "I'm sure once this meeting with the owners is done, he'll be back to normal," I told him, trying to comfort him.
Adam stared at me for a long moment then he shook his head. His voice was just a whisper. "I wasn't talking about just me and him."
Oh.
He meant the three of us. He thought the three of us had something special.
I smiled sadly. "I did too," I admitted quietly. "I
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know it was just a week, but it was… intense."
Adam looked at me and nodded quickly. "I know.
That's what I thought. I thought that's what Simon thought."
"I'm sorry, Adam. I really am. If I had known it was going to cause problems between you, I wouldn't have agreed…"
"No, Wil," he said, shaking his head. His eyes were a wide and honest blue. "I don't regret it. In fact, I… I wouldn't change it."
I huffed out a sigh, resigned. "Neither would I."
Adam's face twisted. It wasn't right to see him hurting like this. I wanted to make it better for him. "Adam, you and Simon were the best things to ever happen to me. I don't regret it, not a second of it. But it would have been nice to leave here on a high."
"I know," he whispered.
Then a silence fell between us. I guessed at this point there wasn't much left to say. It wasn't me or Adam who needed to do the talking.
"Do you want me to try and talk to Simon?"
Adam shook his head, and his voice was barely a whisper. "He's got a lot on his mind right now, with the owners and everything…"
And that answer just pissed me off. Simon was the one who put us in this mess and he got out of it scot-free.
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Adam looked out toward the water and changed the subject. "That Kyle kid told me you left him at the club.
Said your heart wasn't in it."
I pushed down the twisted lump of sudden anger in my gut, but my tone still had bite. "No, you wanna know why? Because he smelled wrong. He felt wrong. Because there wasn't two of him. Even if there was, it wouldn't be the right two."
I stood up, and bit down my anger. It wasn't Adam I was angry at. I sighed, tired and frustrated. I leaned over and touched his arm.
"Fuck, Adam, I'm sorry. You don't need this from me."
He looked at me with his sad blue eyes, and it squeezed my heart.
"You have no idea just how sorry I am."
I stood up and walked away, but I'd swear I heard him say, "But I do."
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Chapter 9
After my run, I showered and didn't bother with breakfast. It was Wednesday so I knew Adam wasn't working and I didn't really feel up to seeing him. On my second to last full day there, I wanted to get out and do something.
So I took in some more
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