2. Chapter Two
Chapter Two
Samantha
I couldn’t seem to let go of my worry. Not on the elevator down to the parking garage or on the walk to Will’s car. Adrian never got sick. He didn’t allow it.
But he was.
Will opened my door, but I didn’t climb in. Chewing my lip, I turned to him.
“I—”
He huffed, impatient. “We need to get going. If we’re late, they’ll give up our table.”
“I’m sorry.” I pressed my palm to his lapel. “I don’t think I should leave Adrian. He really isn’t well. I’m worried he’ll do something stupid, like try to get up and knock himself unconscious. Or he’ll get into his head he should cook himself soup and wind up burning the whole building down.”
Will’s brow dropped low. “He’s a grown man, and not your responsibility.” Then he took my hand from his chest and tugged, trying to guide me into the car. “Let’s go, Samantha.”
I pulled my hand from his, tucking it behind my back. “I’m really sorry, but I can’t. Adrian is—”
“Not your boyfriend.” He grasped my waist with both hands, his thumbs rubbing gently along my hip bones. “Look, I understand you’re worried about him, but he’ll be fine. If you want, I’ll drive you back here after dinner to check on him.”
That was nice. More considerate than I’d expected of him. Which was telling, if I was being honest with myself.
“I’m not going to dinner.”
Just like that, indignation replaced his gentleness. “You’re kidding.”
“No.” I shook my head. “I really need to get back up there. I’m sorry to cancel like this, but—”
“This is it, Samantha.” He squeezed my waist once before letting go and raising his chin. “I’m sick of my girlfriend constantly running to another man whenever he calls.”
“That isn’t true. I don’t—”
“You do,” he snapped, stuffing his hands in his trouser pockets. “This isn’t the first time you’ve left me to run to Adrian.”
“He’s not just my friend, though. He’s my boss. Sometimes a work situation crops up, and I need to deal with it urgently.”
That got me an eye roll. “You work at a sex club. What—do they run out of lube? Give me a break.”
I almost said, ‘Yeah, that kind of is an emergency,’ but decided not to dignify his dig with a response. He wasn’t looking for one anyway.
“We can talk about this later.” I took a step back, my need to return to Adrian too strong to ignore any longer. “I’ll call you tonight.”
“Really?” His laugh was bitter. “I cannot believe you, and I won’t put up with this. If you go, we’re done. That’s it.”
My knee-jerk reaction was to apologize and try to bargain, but I bit it back because what quickly followed was relief this was about to be over.
Since my first boyfriend in eighth grade, I’d gone through more breakups than I could remember. Sometimes, I’d been heartbroken; other times, they'd barely been a blip.
I let myself consider his ultimatum for a moment, but I didn’t have to contemplate long. When it came down to keeping Will or taking care of my friend, it wasn’t a contest.
Beyond the kissing and sex, I wasn’t sure how much I even liked Will. If I stayed with him, I’d probably end up launched out the windshield, and that didn’t sound like fun at all.
Pulling in a deep breath, I nodded. “Then that’s it.”
His eyes flared, and red painted his cheeks. “Christ, I hope the two of you are happy together.” He shook his head hard. “Maybe stop pulling other people into your dysfunctional little twosome and marry the asshole already.”
My spine stiffened. “I’ve always been honest about our friendship. If I’d wanted to marry Adrian, I would have made it happen.”
Of course, I’d have to get over gagging at the idea of kissing Adrian, and he’d need to be able to stop hysterically laughing to say, “I do.” Neither of which would ever happen.
Contrary to what Will and several other ex-boyfriends thought, it really and truly wasn’t like that with us and never would be.
Gross.
“Sure. Whatever you need to tell yourself.” He threw his hands up. “I’m out of this. I already don’t give a shit.”
I didn’t watch Will drive away, but I heard his tires burn rubber as I waited for the elevator to arrive. No surprise he couldn’t leave fast enough. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he had a backup plan to join him at the restaurant.
The elevator ride to Adrian’s floor was interminable. As soon as the doors opened, I ran down his hallway as fast as my heels would allow.
This time, I didn’t bother knocking and let myself in with my key. “Adrian, I’m back.”
From the depths of his condo came a low moan that made my breath hitch.
“Adrian?” I called as I rushed toward the sound.
He wasn’t in his bed, but there was a light coming from his en suite bathroom and another pained moan.
“Sammie.”
Shit.
Adrian was sprawled on the bathroom tile, a puddle of vomit beneath him and even more in the toilet. At first, I just stared. Seeing him in this state was so foreign it was like looking at a scene from a film.
“Sam,” he groaned. “It hurts.”
That spurred me into action. Kicking off my heels, I grabbed a towel hooked on the back of the door and used it to wipe his face.
“You’re a mess.” Tears pricked the backs of my eyes. “I think we need to go to the ER, buddy.”
He let me sit him up so he was slumped against the wall. I cleaned him as best I could, knowing he wouldn’t want anyone seeing him with vomit all over his face and shirt.
I crouched in front of him and cupped his jaw, waiting for his hazy eyes to focus on mine.
“Sam,” he breathed. “I’m all fucked up.”
“Yeah. I’m worried about you. I’m going to take you to the hospital. Do you think you can walk with my help, or should I call an ambulance?”
He grimaced. “No. No ambulance.” Then his head fell forward, chin on his chest. “Nate. Get Nate.”
“Nate?”
Why hadn’t I thought of Nate? He lived two floors up. Of course I should have called Nate.
“Nate,” Adrian affirmed.
Whipping my phone from my pocket, I found Nate Wells in my contacts.
I couldn’t remember when I’d added him, but I was certain I’d never texted or called him.
I’d known him almost as long as I had Adrian, but he was nothing more than my best friend’s oldest brother.
A self-contained enigma who’d always seemed half annoyed by my constant presence growing up.
I couldn’t begin to guess what he thought of me now.
Most likely nothing. Despite how close I was to Adrian, and how friendly I was with his other brothers, Ben and Roman, my path rarely overlapped with Nate’s.
Still, when I pressed his name, my stomach quivered. It was silly.
I was a thirty-three-year-old woman. There was no reason calling Adrian’s brother should have made me nervous.
“Hello? Samantha?”
The sound of his voice in my ear sent a shiver down my spine.
“Hi, Nate. I…uh, I need you.”