Chapter 3 Adam
ADAM
I needed another five hours of sleep, and I wasn’t gonna get it today.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Derek's handwriting on that note. Every creak of the house made me think someone was breaking in, and every car that drove past sounded like it was slowing down and watching. Was it?
Either way, it was time for work. I parked in my usual spot and sat there for a minute to pull myself together.
Sarah had called me a few hours ago and asked me to come in early.
She was covering for Ronny who had gotten stung by wasps and had a bad reaction.
She sounded even more exhausted than me, so I was grateful for the distraction.
Work kept me busy and meant I didn't have to think about Derek or the note or the feeling that I was being watched.
I grabbed my bag and headed inside.
Sarah was at the counter, looking like she'd just come back from war.
Her hair was falling out of its ponytail, and she had that glazed-over expression people got when they'd been dealing with customers for too long.
"Thank god you're here." She grabbed her purse from under the counter and started walking. "I'm so done with today."
"That bad?"
"Wasps, angry customers, and the lotto machine was up and down all day." She was already at the door before I even put my bag down. "But the landscaper guy took care of the wasps, so you should be fine. He's in the bathroom right now."
My brain took a second to catch up with everything she’d just unloaded on me. "Ellis is here?"
"Yeah, the hot one who comes in the morning." She grinned despite her obvious exhaustion. "Lucky you."
I barely noticed as the door chimed behind her as she left.
Ellis was here. My heart started doing that stupid racing thing it always did when I thought about him. He was here, and neither of us were in a rush to get out of here. Interesting.
A few hours ago, I had no idea wasps were even a problem at work, but I was suddenly very grateful for the aggressive insects that might have turned my night around.
I stashed my bag behind the counter and tried to smooth down my hair. Did I look okay? I probably looked like I hadn't slept, which was accurate. Maybe he wouldn't notice.
The bathroom door opened and Ellis walked out.
Damn, he looked amazing. Sweaty in a way that shouldn't be sexy but absolutely was. His hair was messier than usual and his t-shirt had dirt smudges on it, but seeing him all rumpled and rugged made my mouth go dry. “Hi.”
"Hey, Adam." He smiled and came right to the counter. "Didn't expect to see you this early."
"Sarah asked me to start early." I was staring and needed to stop, but I couldn’t. "I heard Ronny got stung?"
"Yeah, pretty bad. It took me a few hours to get everything handled, but the nest's gone now." He pressed his hip against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. His movements screamed confidence and safety. "You should be good for the night."
"Thank you." The words came out quieter than I meant them to. "That's really nice of you."
He shrugged like it was nothing, but he seemed to be staring at me just as intently as I was at him. Almost like he was trying to figure something out. "Just doing my job."
I wanted to say something clever that would make him laugh or smile or maybe ask me out for real, but my brain was too flustered to think straight. All I could do was stand here like an idiot.
Then I remembered the note in my pocket.
I'd brought it with me without really thinking about it. Some part of me had wanted to show someone and ask if I was overreacting. Ellis seemed like the kind of person who would tell me the truth. He would be honest on whether I should be scared or not.
I pulled it out and set it on the counter between us. "I, um, found this on my car this morning."
Ellis picked it up, and his expression shifted as he read it. His jaw tightened when he got to the end. "Who's D?"
"My ex." The words tasted bitter in my mouth. I hated thinking about him, much less speaking about him. "Derek. We broke up months ago, but I think I saw his car outside the station this morning."
Ellis's nostrils flared, and he looked like he was about to go on a rant, but his phone rang before he could say anything else. He glanced at the screen and sighed. "Sorry, I need to take this. It’ll just be one minute."
"Yeah, of course." I needed a minute just to catch my breath. Being close to Ellis was all-consuming, especially when he was obviously upset by the note.
He moved toward the back of the store near the refrigerated section with his phone already to his ear. He was far enough away that I couldn’t hear him speaking, but I could see his reflection in the security mirrors mounted in the corners, watching him pace as he talked and listened.
My attention was squarely glued to Ellis when the door chimed. I turned to greet whoever was coming in and froze. It was Derek.
He looked exactly the same as he had three months ago. Dark hair perfectly styled, designer jeans, the kind of arrogance that came from never being told no. He smiled when he saw me, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Hey, babe."
My stomach dropped, and I swayed on my feet.
Had he followed me to work? I never came in this early, so he must have been watching and waiting for me to leave the house.
Apparently, those paranoid feelings I'd had all day weren’t so paranoid after all.
"Derek." My voice came out low, almost like a whisper. "What are you doing here?"
He sauntered up to the counter like he had every right to be there.
Like we were still together and the past three months hadn't happened.
His eyes landed on the note still sitting on the counter, and his smile widened.
"You got my note." He reached out and touched it in a way that his fingers brushed against mine.
I pulled my hand back in horror. "Why didn't you call me back? "
"Are you following me?" I glanced at the mirrors to find Ellis. He was still on the phone, but his body language had changed. He was tense. Alert. "What do you want?"
"I want you to give me another chance." Derek leaned against the counter and put his hands out like he expected me to reach for them. "I've been thinking about us and what we had. I miss you."
Well, that made one of us. "We're done, Derek. I told you that before. Nothing has changed for me."
"Come on, Adam. Don't be like that." His voice dropped an octave to that tone he used when he wanted something.
"I know I hurt your feelings or whatever, but I can get on board with the weird baby shit you like. I’ve been watching kink porn, and I think I can get into the diapers and control stuff. "
Mortification flooded through me as I realized Ellis could hear everything he’d just said.
The weird baby stuff he referred to was a bigger part of my life that I liked to admit.
I needed to spend time in a Little space.
Where I could let go of grown-up responsibilities and worries and just be taken care of.
He thought it was gross and told me that many times before finally dumping me for being a sick freak.
And now he thought he could get on board with it.
Hell no. "I don't need you to get on board with anything.
" I tried to keep my voice steady and my eyes dry. "I need you to leave me alone."
Derek's expression hardened, and his fake smile dropped. "You don't mean that, babe. You love me."
"I do mean it, and I don’t love you." I glanced at the mirrors and saw Ellis staring up into one, watching me back. “Please leave and don’t come back.”
Derek lost his patience and reached across the counter. His strong hand closed around my wrist, and he pulled me closer to him so our faces were just inches from each other over the counter. "You're being dramatic, Adam. Just talk to me like an adult."
"Let go." I tried to pull away, but he held on tighter. Panic shot through me as I pulled harder. "Please, you’re hurting me."
His grip didn’t loosen as he stared into my eyes. "You're mine, Adam. You don't get to tell me what to do."
Everything happened so fast after that.
One second, Derek was gripping my wrist, and the next he was stumbling back and his ass landed on the floor.
Ellis yanked Derek up by the collar of his shirt and hauled him farther away with a strength that shouldn't have surprised me but did. “He said it was time for you to go, fucker.”
"What the fuck?" Derek tried to take a swing at Ellis, but he was off balance and Ellis dodged it easily. “Let go of me.”
"Touch him again, and you'll regret it." Ellis's voice was low and dangerous in a way I'd never heard before. He dragged Derek toward the door by his collar and gave him a firm shove. "Get the fuck out of here and don’t come back."
Derek was shocked, looking at me as if I might come to his rescue. "You can't just throw me out. This is a public place."
"Watch me." Ellis grabbed the door and pulled it closed.
Derek got to his feet and turned to me with murder in his eyes. "This isn't over, Adam!"
"Yeah, it is." Ellis cracked open the door, blocking Derek from coming back in but leaving enough room to speak to him. "Leave now or I’ll call the cops."
Derek looked between Ellis and me with daggers in his eyes. For a second, I thought he might actually try to fight his way back in, but then he seemed to realize he was outmatched. He straightened his shirt and pointed at me. "You're gonna regret this, Adam."
Then he stormed across the parking lot to his car. The same car I saw this morning.
Ellis stayed in the doorway until Derek's car peeled out of the lot and then turned back to me. "You okay?"
I looked down at my wrists and saw the red marks where Derek had grabbed me already starting to bruise. My body was as shaky as my voice when the first tear fell. "I don't think so."