Disclaimer: As usual, all characters are the property of The Young & The Restless.
"Coffee", pt. 2
Doubt was a heavy cloud that converged on her the moment Adrian left. What had she been thinking? What was she doing? Her lips curved into a wry smile. Thinking back to what Adrian had said to her, she had to agree that the "doing" had very little to do with thinking, and everything with feeling. And her feelings had led her here.
Never, in a million years, would she have thought she would be in this situation. But then she'd never known anyone like Adrian Korbel before. Who knew it was possible to be so annoyed and enamored with a person, all at the same time? It probably explained why she couldn't decide wheather to slap him or push him up against a wall. Anyone judging things would look at the situation and call it a case of lust, pure and simple.
Simple - hah! There wasn't anything simple about the man. Or her feelings for him. Her heart was like a kalediscope, a tumble of emotions suggesting a pattern, but of what she couldn't say...yet. And it was driving her mad!
Sighing, she had to admit that if Adrian was complicated, she wasn't exactly the poster child for simplicity either. She wasn't even sure who she was from moment to moment, and her relationship with him and J.T. only made it worse. The thing was, J.T., even her best friend, they all saw her a certain way, her identity a never changing portrait in their minds. When she thought about it, she felt her chest tighten and the walls close in on her.
But then she saw herself through Adrian's eyes, and it was like someone finally cleaning a dirty window...his vision of her was unobstructed and honest. While the thought of being seen for the person you were might alarm some, it gave her a sense of incredible liberation. Made her feel free. She was a woman, and with Adrian, she didn't have to hide her desires, or be ashamed of wanting certain things.
His unequivocal acceptance somehow made it easier for her to accept herself.
Not only was he an authority on art, but apparently a locksmith as well, because he was unlocking things inside her with ease. Hidden things, in her mind, her being...her very soul. It wasn't something she thought she could make Lily or her father understand.
Throwing open doors within her heart with the ease of a long-lived resident.
Nothing was denied his access.
Adrian, he was an arrogant ass sometimes, it was true, with an ego the size of the Sistine Chapel. And he made her so crazy!Testing her limits like one might fine wine; with relish and a knowing satisfaction. But she also had come to know another side, one that made her just as crazy, but in entirely new and fascinating ways. He could be charming and sweet, and there was this...quiet charisma that pulled relentlessly at her. That and those bedroom eyes of his; they were the moon and she the ocean, helplessly caught within their path.
It was her selfish hope that she'd never break free.
As a smile lit across her face, she settled back into bed, wrapping the silk sheets around her, remembering the feel of Adrian's arms. When he came back into the room, he handed her a cup and saucer. Looking at him, dark locks tousled and wearing only a satisfied smile, Collen quite agreed that coffee was a perfect start to a relationship.