Chapter 6
Faye
Faye gazed off into the distance, not seeing the dirty window above the sink of her RV, the fingertips of one hand resting on her lips, and a persistent ache low in her belly as she remembered the way Adam had kissed her at the museum.
Her other hand was resting in a bowl of warm, sudsy dishwater, the dishes she was washing forgotten as she remembered the way the rough palms of his hands had seared her skin when he slid them beneath her shirt, his fingertips digging in as if he was afraid she would disappear, and a deep moan escaping his throat like he’d never felt anything better than her.
One thing was for sure, she’d never felt anything better than the way that man had kissed her. Her face was on fire—along with certain other parts of her—just thinking about it. She would’ve fucked him right there in the storage room, most happily, if he’d kept going.
Unfortunately, he hadn’t. As soon as she’d slid her hands down his hard chest and grabbed the waistband of his jeans, he’d stiffened against her, his entire body freezing up hard as a board.
With one last squeeze of his fingers, he’d broken off the kiss and backed away after carefully setting her back on her feet.
Then he’d apologized.
He’d fucking apologized.
Waving off his awkward words, Faye had turned away and tried to get herself together as she searched for the box of old newspaper clippings she’d been wanting to sort through ever since she’d first found it.
He’d helped her carry it out to the truck, where Rocky was waiting patiently, and then she’d begged off dinner, claiming she’d forgotten she’d promised her mom she’d stop by.
The ride back to the garage where she’d left her car was…
not comfortable. But like any woman who’d been kissed senseless one moment and then just as suddenly rejected, Faye thanked him and smiled so hard her cheeks hurt as he transferred the box to her car.
Then she gave Rocky a warm goodbye with some head scritches and headed to her car.
Adam remained standing beside his truck until she got in and started the engine.
With one last smile and a little wave, she pulled away.
Just smile and wave, girl. Smile and wave.
She’d made it all the way to her driveway before that smile slipped and the tears began to fall.
Now it was Thursday, and Faye hadn’t seen or heard from Adam since that night. She assumed this meant their date for Saturday was off.
Well, that was okay. It was unfair of her to drag him into her problems with Jeff. She’d go meet her friends alone and make an excuse for Adam. She’d tell them they’d had a fight. Something that would lead to their eventual “breakup.”
She would just say they’d already split, but being engaged one minute and single the next would most certainly raise suspicions. She’d give it a week or two of them not getting along and then admit they’d rushed into things and called it quits.
Of course, she could always just admit that she’d faked the entire thing to get Jeff off her back.
Faye thought about that for a second. The idea was tempting.
Maybe it would finally get it through his thick skull that she didn’t want to date him so much she was willing to lie about already being in a relationship.
But who was she kidding? He’d probably just turn it around and make it look like she’d done it to get his attention. And then she’d forever be known as the girl who was so pathetic she made shit up to get a guy’s attention.
Sometimes living in a small town really sucked. If she lived in a big city, it would be easier to avoid people and she wouldn’t be reduced to playing high school games.
With a heavy sigh, Faye went back to doing the dishes.
She only had about an hour before she was supposed to pick up Jules for their regular Thursday girls’ night out, which consisted of lots of wine in a corner booth of Greg’s bar and many toasts to what they had, what they’d lost, and the amazing things they had coming, in between fits of giggles as they gossiped about the other people in town.
Wiping her hands on the dishtowel, Faye glanced at the clock and debated whether or not she should make a little effort with her appearance or just go out in the kitten leggings and gray sweatshirt she currently wore.
She’d just decided to at least put on a bra and change her shirt since the one she was wearing now had big wet spots all over the front, when there was a knock on her door.
Frowning, Faye checked the time on her phone. Had she gotten the time wrong, and Jules had gotten tired of waiting for her?
But it wasn’t Jules waiting impatiently on her doorstep.
“What are you doing here?” she blurted.
Adam stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at her.
His green eyes started at the slippers on her feet and slowly roamed up her legs, paused at her hips with a flare of his nostrils, then continued up her oversized sweatshirt to her face, until finally taking in the mess of her hair thrown haphazardly on top of her head with a hair band.
“I thought we could go on that real date before our fake one on Saturday. Have you eaten yet?”
The rough gravel of his voice sent chills chasing each other up and down her spine as she stared at him in confusion.
He cleared his throat. “So, is that what you’re wearing?”
Faye frowned, completely thrown off kilter by his appearance at her door. “What?”
He nodded toward her kitten leggings.
She glanced down at herself, completely forgetting in that instant what she had on.
“Oh. Uh. I’ve been home all day.” They stared at each other until a gust of wind blew past, bringing some snow flurries with it.
Faye shivered and blinked, breaking the spell.
“I’m sorry. Come in. Please.” She held the door open for him until he climbed the steps and stepped inside.
Her breasts brushed against his chest as he squeezed by, and Faye sucked in a breath as her nipples hardened, keeping her eyes at the level of his collarbone.
Once he was in, she pulled the door closed and watched him as he looked around at her home.
It wasn’t much, but it was bought and paid for and, with the help of some friends, Faye had fixed it up until it was cozy and homey.
She’d put in new flooring. Then she’d gotten rid of the dark cabinets and refaced them and made them white with new hardware.
Behind the stove, she’d added some fun copper-washed white tiles in a floral design.
Her fridge was small and white, as was her sink and stove.
But it was a good-sized kitchen for her.
She’d removed the extra cabinets on the other side to make more room for a table and a couch, painted the entire thing white, including the bathroom and her bedroom and added some accent wallpaper in more floral designs that reminded her of the wildflowers native to Colorado.
The bedroom at the other end was mostly used as a giant closet with a large dresser and a small guest bed.
She’d done it all herself, and she was very proud of the way it had turned out.
But still, she braced herself for his disgust. Faye could tell by the cut of his clothes that Adam came from money, something she’d never really had much of.
Adam turned back to her. “I like this. It’s…you.”
She listened for the lie and didn’t hear it. “Me?”
He shrugged one shoulder. “Yeah. It feels like summer in here.” Closing his eyes, he inhaled deeply. “And it smells like you.”
What a weird thing to say. “Um, well, I live here. So…” Faye trailed off, her face too warm and her body entirely too aware of Adam standing in the middle of her small home.
He opened his eyes and, if she didn’t know better, she would swear they were glowing.
“I guess I’ll go get changed.” She pointed over her shoulder with her thumb as she backed away toward her bedroom. She’d have to text Jules and reschedule. “I’ll be right back.” Turning swiftly away from the heat of his stare, she was almost to the safety of her room when he spoke.
“Faye, wait.”
She stopped but didn’t turn around.
“I’d like to say something first.”
She glanced back over her shoulder. Adam was leaning casually against the counter with his big arms crossed over his hard chest. Faye remembered the feeling of that chest well.
She fisted her hands at her sides, her palms tingling with the sudden urge to touch him again.
Only maybe this time without the barrier of his shirt.
But she was being ridiculous. Adam wasn’t interested in her that way.
Or if he was, he didn’t think she was worth going there.
He’d made that abundantly clear the other day.
Her shoulders fell as she turned to face him.
“Look, I know what you’re going to say. And you’re right.
This is stupid. This whole idea was stupid.
And I’m really sorry I dragged you into it.
But I still plan to tell everyone Saturday night that we’re not really dating.
That I made it all up.” Saying it out loud made her realize it was the right thing to do.
Even if the idea made her face and chest burn with embarrassment.
“Honestly, I wasn’t really expecting to hear from you again.
So you don’t have to take me out tonight or come with me Saturday.
Although I do really appreciate that you kept your promise to take me. ”
He waited until she was done talking and stood there awkwardly, shifting from foot to foot as she waited for him to respond. “Actually, I wasn’t going to say any of that,” he told her. “And I don’t know if telling your friends the truth is a good idea.”
Faye frowned. “Why not?”
“Because if you do that, Jeff will think you lied to get his attention. I’ve known guys like that my whole life, and that’s how they think. They’re too full of themselves to entertain the idea that a woman could possibly just not be attracted to them.”
Even though that was exactly what she’d been thinking, she released a soft, disparaging laugh. “Or it’ll just make me look like a girl so desperate for a boyfriend that she bullies the first guy she sees into pretending he is.”
“You didn’t bully me. I offered. And I was glad to help.”
That was true. He had.
Pushing himself away from the counter, Faye held her breath as he approached, stopping so close to her she was afraid to take a deep breath for fear he’d feel how hard her nipples were. This man did things to her. Things she’d never experienced before and didn’t understand.
His fingertips skimmed her temple lightly as he brushed a few stray hairs away from her eye. “But like I said, that’s not what I was going to say.” He paused, his green eyes traveling over her face. “I wanted to apologize for the other night.”
Faye’s blood went cold, even as her skin still tingled from his nearness. She took a step back, putting some much-needed space between them. “You already did that, so it’s really not necessary to do it again.” You already made me feel like a fool once, so please, please, don’t say anything else.
But he kept talking anyway. “I didn’t mean for any of that to happen, and I didn’t handle things very well, and I’m sorry,” he told her. “I never wanted to make you feel embarrassed or anything.”
“I wasn’t—”
He interrupted her, talking fast, like he couldn’t hold the words in any longer. “The truth is, I’ve had a hell of a time staying away from you these last few days.”
Whatever she was about to say was forgotten. “W-what?”
Adam closed the distance between them again, pushing her back against the wall outside her bedroom until she had nowhere left to go and she felt like her heart was going to pound out of her chest. His eyes locked with hers until she couldn’t look away.
“You set my blood on fire.” He shook his head slightly.
“And I can’t think of anything but the way you felt in my arms. How you tasted. How you would feel beneath me.”
When she could bring herself to speak, her voice was little more than a whisper.
“But, I thought…” Faye frowned, confused.
“I thought…you said you were sorry.” He’d acted appalled when she’d reached for his pants.
He’d pulled away. And Faye had spent the last few days trying to convince herself, unsuccessfully, that it wasn’t because he thought she was a slut who moved too fast. But she hadn’t been able to help herself.
The only thing she was able to think of when he’d kissed her like that was having him inside of her.
Ducking his head down to hers, Faye felt his warm breath near her ear. As though he read her mind, he said, “It wasn’t anything you did. I loved having your hands on me. I just…”
She tried not to move. Or breathe. Or do anything that would keep him from saying whatever he was about to say. Because she desperately needed to know.
“I shouldn’t be doing this with you.”
Oh.
Her heart sank into her stomach. “Because you’re already taken.
” Of course. Of course, he was. Just look at him.
A guy who looked like that, and dressed the way he did, and who was nice enough to help out a woman who had an unwanted admirer.
She didn’t know why the thought had never occurred to her.
But his answer surprised her. “No. At least not the way you think.”
Faye was so confused. His hard body—and she could feel exactly how hard he was everywhere—was telling her one thing, and his words another. “I don’t understand.”
He pulled back just enough to look her in the eye.
“Neither do I.” His eyes dropped to her lips, and Faye wet them with her tongue.
She wanted to touch him so badly, but was afraid if she did, it would pull him out of whatever the hell this was and he’d leave again.
So, instead, she kept her palms flush against the wall behind her.
When his lips finally pressed to hers, Faye swayed on her feet as her blood rushed through her body, making her lightheaded, her lungs aching from holding her breath.
Breathing in through her nose, she was overwhelmed with his scent as it invaded her lungs.
He pulled back until their lips were just barely touching, his soft and warm as they brushed hers.
“But I can’t stop it.”