The Way Back to You
Chapter 15
"You know, I won't be upset if you decide you want Brandon to be your new best friend," Holly J said as she and Fiona sat at The Dot.
Fiona smiled and shook her head. "Sorry. You're not getting rid of me that easy."
"Damn. Brandon doesn't happen to have a cute, straight brother with his own jet, does he?"
Fiona shook her head again.
Holly J glanced toward the door then quickly turned on her stool to face the counter. "Look who it is," she mumbled.
Fiona looked over her shoulder and spotted Adam with Eli and Clare. Adam kept his head down as he followed the couple to the corner table. He sat down with his back to her.
She sighed and looked at Holly J. "What should I do?" she whispered, leaning closer to her friend.
Holly J shrugged. "You're the one who wanted to come here. You know he always comes here after school."
"Right." Both girls looked over to the three teenagers, Adam was leaning over the table slightly to talk to Eli and Clare.
"Maybe we should leave," Fiona suggested. Holly J nodded and they began gathering their things.
"Fiona?"
The voice behind them made both girls freeze. Fiona swallowed hard before she slowly turned to face her ex. "Hey, Adam," she whispered.
There was silence for a moment before he spoke again. "Can we talk?" he asked, pointing vaguely to the door.
She nodded and followed him out onto the street. He shoved his hands into his jacket pockets as he turned to look at her. "So…"
"Hi," she said.
He laughed. "Hi."
"It's been a while."
"Month and a half."
She knew the length of time she had gone without talking to him, but hearing it out loud was like a punch to her gut. "How… uh… how are you doing?"
"Good," he said simply.
She nodded. "You look good." She was surprised at how much he had physically changed.
His arms were hidden by his jacket, but the way he stood told her all she needed to know. He usually slouched, but now stood up straight, which she knew was an attempt to make himself seem slightly taller. He'd also cut his hair, it was now just slightly longer than a buzz cut.
He smiled. "You too." He took a tiny step toward her. "Why are you here?"
"I miss you."
He smiled again. "I miss you too." He looked down at the ground. "How long are you here for?"
"Holly J wants to leave Sunday morning."
"Right," he said, nodding.
"But if she catches an early flight, I can stay until Monday morning."
He nodded again.
"If I have a reason to," she added softly.
"It would be nice to… catch up."
"Do you wanna go inside and talk for a while? Maybe grab a bite to eat?" she asked. Even with her coat buttoned, she was still cold standing out on the street.
Adam looked quickly back at The Dot, relieved to see their friends weren't watching them from the windows, but he knew if they went inside they would have an audience. "Actually, how about we go to my house?"
0o-0o-0o-0o
"Do you want something to drink?" Adam asked as he and Fiona entered his house. He took off his coat and tossed it into a chair.
"Water?" she said, also taking off her jacket and tossing it on top of his.
"You got it." He went into the kitchen as she sat down on his couch. After a moment, he returned holding two bottles of vitamin water. "My mom isn't too happy that you made me like water that costs three bucks a bottle so much."
She shrugged. "You're a growing boy, you need nourishment."
He smiled and shook his head as he handed her her water and sat next to her. For a moment, he thought about how easy it would be to simply lean over and kiss her. He quickly shook the thoughts from his head.
"Something wrong?"
He shook his head again. "Are uh… are you seeing anybody?" he inquired slowly.
"Nope," she said simply. "You?"
He laughed. "No."
"Why do I feel like there's a story behind that no?" she asked knowingly.
"No story," he told her. "Just one painful date."
She nodded. "Can I ask you something?"
"Yeah. Of course."
"What happened? When… when we broke up, what went wrong?"
He sighed. "I guess I got myself all worked up over nothing. When you came here with Nate, I got so mad. Even after I found out nothing was going on I just… I knew there would be someone eventually."
"You didn't listen when I told you there won't be. Ever. Guys in New York don't even compare to you."
He nodded. "Yeah, right."
"They don't. And for more than one reason," she told him, knowing he was thinking about just how much he wasn't like other guys. "I might not have been with you physically, but my heart always was. I'm still in love with you, Adam."
He hesitated, but only for a moment, before he kissed her softly. It quickly deepened as she linked her arms around his neck, pulling him down on top of her as she laid down.
He'd forgotten how good it felt to hold her in his arms. He couldn't believe he ever let her go.
She eventually pulled away for air, but he continued trailing kisses along her forehead, cheeks and neck. "I love you," he whispered against her neck.
She moaned softly, stroking his back as he continued to kiss every exposed piece of skin he could reach. "Do… do you wanna go upstairs?"
He pulled away to look at her and caressed her cheek softly. "No," he told her, shaking his head. He turned so that she was on top of him, then pulled her down to him so that her head was resting against his shoulder as he stroked her hair. "I just wanna stay here with you."
To be continued…
AN: I just noticed this as I was writing this chapter, something big always happens in chapters that are multiples of five, starting back with All We Are. No idea why.