6. Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Adalie
A fter Nate left last night, I was too keyed up to sleep, the adrenaline from the motorcycle ride and the kiss not letting me relax. I ended up sketching until after midnight and so this morning I’m sitting in the staff lounge at Blue Vista with a steaming cup of lavender Earl Grey in front of me. I’ll probably need at least two cups, maybe three, to get through today.
“Have a good time last night?” Derek asks as he comes in and pours a coffee.
My eyes widen as I think furiously about how he could know about the kiss. When I don’t respond right away, he says, “Or did Calista bail on you again?”
I let out a slow breath, easing into my seat. “Oh. She bailed.”
He shoots me a glance. “Why didn’t you call me? Ava and I were out for dinner. We could have come back for you, driven you home at least.”
“It’s fine. I stayed at Hops Scotch. Taylor bought pizza, and Nate gave me a ride.”
Derek slides into the chair across from me, a smile forming on his face. “Did he?”
“Who did what?” Spencer asks as he also comes into the lounge, followed by Lis and her corgi, Cerberus.
“Nate gave Adalie a ride home last night.”
Spencer gives me a sympathetic look. “Calista bailed on you?”
I nod.
“That’s not the point, Spencer,” Derek says, and I glare at him. “Adalie has a little crush.”
Lis flops into the third chair at the table. “No! Really?”
“No, I don’t.” But even as I say the words, the kiss flashes through my mind. And I’d instigated it. Sort of.
Lis and Spencer ignore me and turn to Derek.
“Who?” Lis asks.
“Nate Sinclair,” Derek answers promptly.
“He was the brother with the beard and the tattoos, right?” Spencer asks, handing Lis a coffee and leaning against the counter.
She nudges my arm with her hand. “Get it, girl. Tall guys, am I right?”
“I do not have a crush,” I protest. “It’s nothing.”
“Adalie,” Derek says, pinning me with a look. “Are you or are you not attracted to him?”
I lift my chin and fluff my curls. “That’s none of your business.”
Lis snickers.
“And did he or did he not drive you home last night?”
I take a sip of my tea. “He gave me a ride… on his motorcycle.”
Lis smacks the table, then looks at Spencer.
“I’m not learning to drive a motorcycle,” he says. She pouts for a second and turns back to me.
“What’s going on?” Vic asks when she joins the group.
“Adalie is in love,” Lis says.
My mouth drops open. “When did this go from me being attracted to someone, to having a crush, to being in love? It’s nothing. He’s attractive. He gave me a ride home—”
“On his motorcycle,” Derek cuts in.
“—there is nothing going on.” My face flushes as I remember the kiss again, the way his tongue swept into my mouth like he owned it, the way his beard had been so soft against my skin.
“Sweetie,” Lis says as she stands with her coffee. “That blush says otherwise.” She kisses Spencer, hands him Cerberus’ leash, then leaves the lounge to head into the kitchen.
Spencer winks at me and follows behind Lis, going to his office. Vic takes his place at the counter, pouring a coffee.
“So who are we talking about?” she asks, not looking at me, sounding for all the world like she doesn’t care. Of course, she does.
Derek looks at me, waiting for me to answer the question this time.
“Nate Sinclair,” I say, resigned.
“Hm,” she says, stirring her coffee. “I would have guessed the other brother. Taylor?”
“Taylor is the other brother,” I confirm. And she’s right. Taylor is much more my type than Nate. He’s a little softer, a little more ready to smile. But that just makes the few times Nate smiles that much more special.
Ugh. What am I thinking?
Vic picks up her mug. “All right. Let’s stop bugging poor Adalie about her crush. We have work to do.”
Derek stands, but before he follows Vic out of the lounge, he squeezes my shoulder. “For real. I want you to be happy, Ad.”
“I know.” I bite my lip, not sure if I should mention the kiss or not. It’s confusing and part of what kept me up all night was wondering what it meant, if anything. Maybe Nate goes around kissing women senseless all the time. I don’t actually know him at all.
I stand and Derek gives me a hug before we go into our offices to start working. I manage to keep my mind on my job for the rest of the morning. I even manage to get my mind off Nate for a little while when my phone rings right before lunch.
Calista is calling. I’d texted her last night when I got home asking her to call. It’s been over twelve hours since the text, so I let it ring a couple times before I answer.
“Hello?” I say.
“Hey, Addie. What’s up?”
I blink in shock. “What’s…? What do you mean, what’s up? You stood me up last night.”
She scoffs. “Oh that? That’s not a big deal. What were you doing, anyway?”
Anger burns through me, so I stand, using movement to try to keep my voice from showing it. “I was waiting for you. You said you were on your way.”
“Well, you know a brewery isn’t really my scene.”
I close my eyes, pressing my fingers to the bridge of my nose. “Yes, Calista. Which is why we were going to meet there and go somewhere else.”
“If I had known you wanted to go somewhere else, you could have joined me. I went to this cute little spot with a few friends. I totally would have told you if I thought you’d be interested.”
“I was interested. Which is why I said last week that we could do whatever you wanted.”
I flop back into my seat, dropping my forehead onto my hand, rubbing away the headache that’s forming.
“Come on, Addie. You never want to do fun things. That’s why I never invite you out, because you’ll say no, anyway.”
I try to keep my voice light and not accusing when I say, “That’s not true. I was pretty upset last night that you bailed on me again. It was my—”
Calista groans, cutting me off. “You never care. What makes last night different?”
I open my mouth to tell her, actually, I always care. It hurts when she decides something else is more important and doesn’t even bother to tell me so. Especially since last night was my birthday . But before I can say anything, Calista says, “Oh, my friend is here. I have to go. See you later, Addie.”
I’m left holding my phone, the line gone dead. I pull it away from my ear to stare at it. Had my sister really just hung up on me? Did she not remember it was my birthday yesterday?
Her accusations rattle around in my head.
You never want to do fun things.
You never care.
She’s my younger sister, but I always feel like I’m trying to catch up to her.
I totally would have told you if I thought you’d be interested.
Why does she think I wouldn’t be interested? What would she say if she knew I’d ridden home on a motorcycle? Or that, after, I’d kissed a man I barely know just because it had felt right in the moment?
“Hey Adalie,” Spencer says, coming into my office with some papers. “Can I get your—”
“I’m going out for lunch.”
Startled, he looks up from the papers he’s holding.
“Everything okay?”
“Yes. There’s something I need to do.”
I go out to my car. I’d driven today, intending to go to Hops Scotch this evening to return the things I’d borrowed last night before I meet my friends for the play. But after the call with my sister, I can’t wait another second. I need to talk to Nate, because I am done being overlooked and forgotten by people who are supposed to care about me. I’ve never been strong enough to cut my family out the way Spencer did, though I’ve thought about it.
If I can convince him, maybe Nate can help me break out of this box my family put me in.