CHAPTER 30 #2
He kisses my forehead before skimming his lips down the bridge of my nose and across my cheekbone to the scar there.
"I have some things to do today. I'm going to take you to class and Eli will pick you up after."
I bolt upright so that I'm again sitting up and straddling Adam's hips.
"You spoke to Eli?"
"Yes. I called him this morning. He's going to pick you up and take you home. I'll meet you there later tonight."
"Why would you do that? I don't need you to take care of me.
I can take care of myself." I exclaim angrily as I attempt to crawl off of him.
He grips my thighs, keeping me in place.
His tone is flat and unaffected, as though he doesn't realize I'm white hot with rage that he is again trying to control me.
"I know you can. I'm not going to see you all day. I want to drive you to class, and I can't pick you up, so our friend Eli graciously offered his services. Apparently, Vaughn is working tonight so he's making something called Dorito Chicken that he says you and he love but Vaughn hates."
"Please excuse me while I wade through all of this bullshit that you're intent on feeding me.
The first nugget I would like to address here is that YOU are not friends with Eli.
I am. The second is, since when are you okay with me being alone with another man?
The third, how did you get Eli's number?
And finally, what are these plans of yours that will keep you occupied all day and into dinner time? "
Adam slides me off of him and goes into the bathroom.
He has a few things coming if he thinks that he can tell me what to do.
I'll be driving Frances to class today. How will I do it?
He clearly has zero compunctions about getting his way through force and I don't love being thrown over his shoulder and having my ass spanked in front of a bunch of people.
The shower turns on, and I know he'll expect me to be there soon.
Do I go? If I get into the shower with him, how will I get out without him knowing?
I won't. Leaving now is my only option, but I have a bit of a leakage situation since Adam refuses to wear a condom.
I wrap myself up in the sheet, grab some clothes and my IOU, and run to Cal's room, doing a double knock on his door.
Cal rips open the door, wearing nothing but his boxers and a furious scowl.
Hot damn, the man is fine! He's huge, but I already knew this.
It's pretty hard to miss. The thing is, he's big all over.
He's broad and bulky. This man's muscles have muscles.
I'm taking it all in when I realize that his scowl has turned into a knowing smirk.
"Can I help you, Belle?"
"Holy shit, dude. I had no idea you were hiding all that under there."
Cal chuckles.
"I suppose you're trying to get me killed since you're here in nothing but a sheet."
I hand him the IOU, and he looks at me like I killed his cat.
"Fuck."
"I just need a quick shower and a five minute head start."
"Damn it, Belle!"
I push past him because I know he's a man of his word, and he's been presented with a signed IOU.
I shower and dress quickly, then hustle back into Cal's room.
His room is huge like Adam's. Eden University is nothing if not extravagant.
Cal stands there in his near-naked glory and he is distracting!
"Can you put some damn clothes on? I need to get to the parking lot undetected."
"And just how in the hell do you propose we do that?"
"I could go out the window?"
"Let's call that plan fuck no. What else ya got?"
There's no way he's letting me go out that window and I have almost no faith in my rappelling skills anyway. So, what are my options? He's probably out of the shower by now, which means he's noticed that I'm gone.
"I'm just going to walk out. Give me my IOU back."
"What? No way. You used my shower."
I narrow my eyes at him. That IOU earns me more than a shower. It's good for one escape. We hear a loud crash out in the hall. Looking at each other warily, Cal huffs and throws his head back, handing me the IOU in an overly dramatic flourish. Using my most childish tone, I tell him, "Thank you."
Walking out of Cal's room, donning my best badass Rambo expression, I'm quivering on the inside.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?"
I keep walking like I don't hear the murder in Adam's voice.
"Don't fucking push me, Eve. Why is your hair wet? Why did you just come out of that mother fuckers' room?"
I snap and wheel around to face Adam. If looks could kill, I would be a pile of ash ,but so would he.
"Don't push you? How long do I keep doing that? Forever? Not going to happen."
Adam advances on me, closing the distance between us in two quick strides. He grabs me by the throat and around my waist.
"I won't let you leave me." He attempts to be stern, but his voice cracks.
Reaching up with both hands, I cup his face.
"I'll never leave you. I will, however, stand up for myself. You won't win every argument. If you want to constantly be at odds so that you can get your way, we're both going to be miserable. Do you want to be miserable? Do you want ME to be miserable?"
He drops his forehead to mine and simply shakes his head.
"I just want to take care of you." He whispers, and I hear the pain.
"Let's take care of each other instead. Let's be partners."
With our foreheads still together, he nods, inhaling a deep breath. I kiss him softly on the lips and I speak gently when I tell him, "I love you."
He pulls back and looks into my eyes with a question on his lips: "What if I can't stop?"
"I'll still love you," I respond without hesitation.
Again, he nods slowly without a word, looking at me as though my face holds the secret to life. Finally, he lets me go and dangles my keys beside my face. Where in the hell did he get those? I thought I had them.
"Damn it."
Adam chuckles deep in his chest. It's only now that I look past him and see that the door to his bedroom is lying on the floor of the hall. My eyes widen and I look back to Adam with a pleading question in my gaze.
"I thought you left again." Adam's face is full of shame and worry. He knows he overreacted, and he's worried about how I'll take it. He had my keys. How far could I have gotten? I'm struck by how much he's still affected by the time that I walked out on him.
"We'll stay at the apartment tonight." I kiss him on the cheek and turn on my heels, heading down the stairs. I can feel the tension leave his body while his eyes remain on me as I walk away.