Chapter 12 #2
Joey grinned at him. “I mean, it wasn’t that bad.” She nudged him with her shoulder and gave a light laugh. Adam thought it sounded like soft spring rain, and he let his feeling flow through him freely.
And he liked this woman a whole lot.
“You know what would be amazing?” he asked. Joey raised her eyebrows at him. “Popcorn. A movie and popcorn, while the storm rages around us.”
The moment he said that, something popped in the house. Joey yelped; the lights went out; Adam pulled in a breath and held it.
Someone else yelled from somewhere in the house, but for some reason, Adam couldn’t tell where the sound had come from.
“I’m right here, Mom,” Joey said. She moved beside him, and the flashlight on her phone illuminated the room in the next moment. “The generator will come on in a minute.” She got up and went into the kitchen.
Adam followed her, mostly because he wanted to be near her—and he wanted to be helpful too.
“Let’s get you to bed,” Joey said. “Then you can plug in your phone and watch a show and not have to navigate the house in the dark.” She helped her mother stand from the recliner, and Adam moved to her other side.
“I’m okay,” Lauren said, and Adam stayed out of the way. He told himself not to overstep, that helping Joey wasn’t exactly the same as helping her mother. He let Joey shuffle out of the kitchen, and to help, he cleaned up his dishes and the pot pies for a second time.
He’d just set his bowl in the dishwasher when the lights flared back on, the generator kicking in the way Joey said it would. He turned off all the lights he could and still see, because he saw no reason to use more energy than necessary.
He returned to the couch, and while it wasn’t the most comfortable item of furniture he’d ever sat on, it would be fine for a single evening. He leaned back and sighed as his eyes closed, the exhaustion of the day weighing on his shoulders.
A yawn stretched through him, but he knew it wasn’t anywhere near late enough for him to actually lie down and go to sleep. It took Joey several more long minutes before she rejoined him on the couch, a sigh slipping through her lips as she did.
“They’re both settled in their rooms,” she said, leaning back against the couch beside him.
“Is it time for bed then?” Adam grinned and turned his head to look at her. The dim light he’d left on over the stove in the kitchen barely haloed her, and he found her incredibly beautiful.
“It’s not even seven o’clock.”
“It feels later,” he said. “It got dark so early.”
“And it’s not even really winter yet.” Joey flashed him a smile, and Adam lifted his arm and drew her into his chest.
“Maybe we can just sit in the dark and tell each other secrets,” he murmured.
“Secrets?” Joey kept her voice low too. “I don’t think I have too many of those.”
“I’ve got a few.”
She snuggled closer. “Go on, then, if you’re so keen to spill secrets in the dark.”
Adam stroked one hand down the length of her hair. “I don’t know how to truly relax.”
“Not a secret,” she said.
“If you let me be your boyfriend, this’ll be the first relationship I’ve had in six years.”
“You alluded to that already.”
Adam exhaled heavily on purpose. “You don’t like any of my secrets. Tell me one of your own.”
“I—I feel like a loser,” Joey said. “I can’t seem to do anything for more than a year or so.”
“That doesn’t make you a loser,” Adam said. “And you’ve been living and working here for about a year, haven’t you?”
“A little longer,” she said. “I’ve been thinking about getting my own place.”
“Is that a secret?”
“Yes.” Joey squeezed his hand. “It’s scary for me to live alone—and I haven’t told anyone that I’ve been saving so I can get my own place.”
“I love living alone.” Adam chuckled. “I mean, it’s better than roommates, but mine were never my grandparents.” He leaned down and took a deep breath of her hair. “I won’t tell anyone, okay? Your secrets are safe with me.”
“Tell me another one of yours,” she whispered.
Adam’s heart throbbed at him, and the words piled up in his throat. “I think…I think I need to go back to church, but I don’t even know where to start.”
Joey lifted her head off his chest, and his eyes had adjusted to the dimmer light well enough for him to see her. “I can help you with that.”
“Yeah? You go?”
“Yes,” she said. “Almost every week, with Grams and Gramps.” She grinned at him, her teeth practically gleaming in the available light. “They’ll be thrilled to have you sit with us.”
Adam chuckled and shook his head. “I don’t think I’m ready for that, but I’d love it if you could text me the address of the church where you go.”
“I can do that.” She reached up and swept her fingers through his hair.
“Here’s another secret,” he whispered. “I desperately want to kiss you again.”
“Then do it.” This time, Joey didn’t let her eyes drift closed, and Adam held her gaze for one, two, three breaths, his need and desire for her blowing up with every moment.
Then he let his eyes fall closed as he moved to touch his lips to hers. The entire world tilted for the second time that evening, and Adam was totally here for the ride.