Chapter Thirty-Four
Blake
U sing the spare key that Adrian gave me yesterday, I unlock the front door for Margo, Meera, and I.
“How many times have you been here?” Margo asks, dropping her bag on the floor as soon as we walk in.
“Only once,” I admit. Not wanting to elaborate, I walk further inside and drop my bag on the bed. It’s been about a week and a half since my injury, and I’ve switched to only one crutch. It allows me more freedom, though not enough to go to the pool for another couple of weeks.
“It’s like, really clean.” Meera looks around.
Laughing, I nod and sit on the edge of the bed. Quickly, I realize that this is the first time I’ve been on Adrian’s bed, and I have to fight the urge to jump off like I’ve been burned.
“That’s a good sign,” she continues.
“A good sign?” I ask.
Margo rolls her eyes, but Meera just looks at me over her shoulder with a small smile. “I mean… obviously something is going on here, right?”
Twisting my lips to the side, I make a decision to just be honest with them. I’ve always been private about whatever happened between me and Cody, or any other boy.
But this is the moment I had told Catalina I was looking for. I want to tell them about Adrian.
As soon as I open my mouth, the doorknob turns, and all of our heads move in that direction.
Without opening it all the way, Adrian’s head gingerly pops in. “Hey, Storm Cloud.”
“ Oh my God ,” Meera quietly squeals, but it’s still loud enough for him to hear.
“I tried calling…” he goes on, “I forgot to grab my laptop, and I have that paper I’m working on.”
“Oh,” I grab the crutch and awkwardly lift off his bed. “You can come in. I mean, obviously . It’s your apartment.”
He smiles easily and takes a step inside before shutting the door behind him. Ignoring the looks I know I’m garnering from Margo and Meera, I walk closer to Adrian leaving a few feet separating us.
“Thanks again. For letting us stay here,” I awkwardly tumble over my words. Gesturing behind me, I tell him, “These are my friends, Margo and Meera.”
Without seeming to think about it, he quickly squeezes my waist and smiles down at me as he makes his way to introduce himself.
Turning to watch, I silently thank my friends for reining in their craziness. I know it’ll end the second he leaves again.
“Hey, I’m Adrian.” He shakes Margo’s hand. Somehow knowing she was the loud one on the phone last night, he adds, “Nice to see you again.”
I can imagine the flick of his eyebrows as he jokes about the ‘hot guy from the grocery store’ comment.
Except he underestimates my best friend. Firmly shaking his hand, she agrees with a nod, “It is good to see you again. Especially in this new”—slipping her hand from his, she gestures around his living room—“setting.”
Adrian just snorts and turns to Meera, who’s watching their interaction quietly. “Adrian,” he says and holds his hand out again.
She takes it and tells him, “Lovely home. Very clean, especially for a guy.”
It’s such a weird thing to say, but of course, Adrian just looks around—taking in his own apartment with a new eye—and says, “Thanks. I’m going to tell my mom you said that.”
Stepping forward, I ask, “You’re going to tell your mom I’m staying here?”
Turning toward me, he looks confused. “Did you tell your mom you’re staying here?”
“I mean, yeah. Obviously. She knows you though.”
“And mine know of you.”
“What?” It comes out like a squeak.
“They were at the grocery store,” he simply states. Through this entire conversation, I’m extremely aware of my friends who are watching it play out. “I’ve told them things about you,” he continues.
And because in times of the slightest panic, I have no filter, I ask, “Like, everything ?”
He tilts his head in confusion, looking at me for the first time like I’ve lost my mind. Then realization dawns on him, and he looks both amused and kind of embarrassed. “ No, Blake . Not everything.”
Behind him, Meera grabs onto Margo’s arm, and both of their mouths are hanging open.
Recovering just as quickly, he demands through a laugh, “Please tell me you don’t tell your parents everything.”
That makes both of my friends burst out in giggles behind him. “Can you imagine?” Margo practically howls.
I’m honestly fucking embarrassed right now only it’s different than feeling humiliated. I’ve made a complete fool of myself, except in front of these three people, that’s okay. I can laugh at myself and not want to cry in bed about it later.
“No, I promise,” I tell him.
“Good.” He nods. “Tell your friends whatever you want about what happened on the couch, but let’s leave the parents out of it.”
“Yes, agreed!” Margo claps in support of his idea, and of course, Meera follows right along.
Turning back to Adrian, I ask in a snarky tone, “Can I kick you out of your own home?”
With a giant grin, he steps toward his coffee table and picks up the laptop. He’s walking back when Margo asks, “What are you doing on Halloween?”
Over his shoulder he says, “Not sure. Why?”
Instead of answering, she gives me an expectant look.
“Want to go to a haunted house?” I pose cautiously.
Immediately, he spouts, “ You want to go to a haunted house?” Then he gestures toward my ankle.
“It’s a tradition,” Meera chimes in. “What does that have to do with your twisted ankle though?”
“The Paulson boys,” I say.
“Ohhh,” both of my friends slowly utter. Not needing more of an explanation than that at the moment.
“I’ll go, sure,” Adrian easily agrees.
“My brother Dev always tries to sneak something inside, like last year he lit some smoke bombs. You’d think he was eleven, not twenty-one. My oldest brother Jatin plays the chaperone.”
Adrian nods and looks down at me with a sly grin. “I think I’m over pranks for the time being.”
“Me too,” I agree. “But you should still come.”
With a final goodbye toward my friends, he stops next to me and looks down with affection. He doesn’t make a move, and I realize he’s waiting to see what I’m going to do.
And I figure my friends have already gotten some of the details I hadn’t planned on sharing, so what the hell?
Putting the weight on my good foot, I lean up and wrap my hand around the back of his neck, pulling him down until I can reach his lips. It’s soft and sweet, a small farewell before he leaves for the weekend.
Pulling away, I quietly murmur against his lips, “Bye, Adrian.”
In a low voice, he says, “Bye, pretty girl.”
I turn and watch as he walks out. As soon as I hear the click, the sounds of my friends behind me take over.
“ Blake Carmen Miller ,” Margo practically screams.
At the same time, Meera asks in a lovestruck tone, “Storm Cloud? Pretty girl ?”
“There’s so much that you need to explain. Tonight.”
“Now,” Meera insists.
Shaking my head, I decide to give into the demands. “Well, buckle in because there are some stops along the way that you aren’t expecting.”
In a silent agreement, we each take over a task. Meera asks what we can move to make room for the sewing machines I brought. Margo starts to unpack the Halloween costumes she and I have been working on for the last couple of months. And I know my worth is in sitting out of the way and ordering our food.
Once that’s all finished, and Margo has explained what needs to be done, I take a deep breath and give my friends what they want—the story of everything from the moment we left the grocery store up until tonight.
After my own interrogation, they take time filling me in on all the details we can’t fit into a phone call. Like how Meera has the attention of her hot TA, and the quarterback of Columbia University’s football team, Zane. And about the problems Margo is having with one of her professors.
By the end of the weekend, I feel more at peace, and caught up, with my best friends than I have in months.