The Fifth Lesson (The Bay Boys #2) (25 page)

Adam had kissed her.
 
He’d touched her body intimately.
 
He’d tasted her and brought her exquisite release.
 
They’d slept together.
 
He’d seen her paintings.
 
She’d seen
his
paintings.
 
They knew things about each other that they hadn’t shared with others.

So why was he acting like he didn’t know her?
 
Why was he ignoring her, when he’d looked at her with blatant affection only a few nights before?

Used
.

No.
 
Adam was different.
 
He wouldn’t do this to her.
 
Christie knew they weren’t together.
 
They’d made no commitment to each other, but she felt
connected
with him in a way she’d never felt with anyone else before.
 
She wanted to smile every time she saw him, wanted to kiss him whenever that familiar mischievous glint lit his eyes, wanted to cuddle him whenever he was adorable.

Shit.

I’m falling in love with him.

Christie stared down at the wood table.
 
She traced the water droplets running down the sides of her cider glass, hearing her friends laugh at a joke Luke was spouting off.
 
But she didn’t feel like laughing at all.

It was clear to her.

She was falling in love with Adam Thorton.
 
And instead of jumping up and down and rejoicing, she was miserable.

He was only a few feet away.
 
But he wouldn’t meet her eyes.

Used
.

He felt farther away than he ever had before.

She drained the last of her cider, struggling to swallow the amber liquid when she felt her throat start to tighten.
 
She needed a bathroom break to pull herself together.

Christie stood abruptly from the table.
 
Only then did Adam’s eyes flash towards her for a brief moment before they slid away.

“Bathroom,” she murmured in explanation to Olivia and Kate, who also glanced her way.

“Want us to come?” Kate asked, her brow furrowed in an expression of concern.
 
Damn.
 
Was she that obviously upset?

“No, I’m fine,” she replied, forcing a smile.
 
She’d always been able to give convincing ones, so she was pleased when Kate nodded.

She exited the booth on her side and strolled towards the back of the bar, her pace swift.
 
Once she was safely locked inside the ladies’ restroom, she leaned her hands on the counter and caught her breath.

Glancing at her reflection, she realized she
did
look quite sad.
 
No wonder Kate had questioned her.
 
Sighing, she used the bathroom and then tidied herself up.
 
She reapplied some blush and touched up her lip gloss.

Maybe she was just overreacting.
 
Maybe she was approaching that time of the month.
 
Was she reading too much into this?
 
Creating problems where there were none?

She’d just have to find out.
 
Adam had to talk to her at some point tonight, so she’d ask him then why he was acting so weird.

And as she was walking out of the restroom, feeling more composed, she saw her chance.
 
Adam was at the bar, alone, ordering a pitcher of beer for their table.
 
She watched him pull out his black leather wallet as he laughed at something the bartender said.

Realizing this was her opportunity, she waltzed up to him and touched his arm to get his attention.

Adam swiveled his head to regard her and then he immediately glanced over his shoulder at the booth their friends were sitting at.
 
It took her a moment to realize he was checking to make sure none of them were watching.

Ouch.

“Hey,” he greeted softly with a short nod.

“Hey?” she repeated incredulously.
 
“What the hell, Adam?”
 
He blinked in response and then turned his head to watch the bartender filling his pitcher with a dark ale.
 
For some reason, that made her even angrier.
 
“Look at me,” she snapped.

Golden eyes clashed with icy blue.

Why was he being like this?
 
With a sinking feeling in her stomach, she realized something had changed between them.
 
He hadn’t acted this detached and cold since he’d overheard her conversation at Olivia and Alex’s barbecue.

“Are you okay?” she asked, trying to calm down.
 
Maybe he’d just had a bad day at work.
 
Although a part of her whispered that he’d seemed cheerful enough with their friends.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he told her.
 
The bartender took that moment to deliver the pitcher.
 
Adam reached for it, but Christie caught his hand.
 
She needed to talk to him, to figure out what was wrong.
 
She couldn’t do that when they were surrounded by their friends.

“Why are you acting like this then?
 
You’ve been ignoring me all night.”
 
In the back of her mind, Christie realized with horror that her words were bordering on whiny, but panic was rising.
 
“Do you not want our friends to know about what we’ve been doing?
 
I haven’t told Olivia, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Adam shook his head, “It’s not that.”

Which meant he was angry about something.

“What then?” she asked with more urgency.
 
“Did I upset you?”
 
She couldn’t, for the life of her, think of what would make him angry with her.
 
She
had
cried all over him on Tuesday night, but he’d seemed fine with it.
 
He’d comforted her…and then held her as they slept.

Adam fidgeted and Christie could sense his rising frustration.
 
“No.
 
You didn’t.
 
I just think…” he trailed off.

“What?”

“I’ve been thinking that tonight I should get a little hands-on experience.”

“
What
?”
 
Her mind was reeling, trying to make sense of his words.
 
Hands-on experience, as in…sex?
 
With her?
 
Or hands-on experience, as in…

He answered her question.
 
“I’ve been thinking that I should practice approaching women tonight.
 
Get comfortable going up to strangers.
 
And since you’re here…well, you can guide me through it.
 
And that way, we don’t have to do our lesson on Sunday.”

His words would’ve been amusing if they hadn’t devastated her so much.

She suddenly felt sick.
 
Her cider churned uncomfortably in her stomach as jealousy ripped through her.
 
It was so intense her whole body ached and she struggled to draw breath.
 
She couldn’t even imagine the look on her face right now.

The man she realized she’d been falling in love with wanted her to guide him on how to approach other women.

God, she was the
biggest
fool on the planet.

Christie swallowed past a large lump in her throat and croaked, for clarification, “You want to pick up women tonight?”
 
Her voice was so quiet that she was surprised he’d heard her, since the bar was almost full.

“No, not pick them up.
 
Just approach them.”

She didn’t think there was a difference, although the rational part of her brain told her there was.
 
Even so, both options were equally horrendous.

Tell him
, her mind urged
.
 
Just tell him you have feelings for him.
 
Beg him not to do this.

But she couldn’t form a single word.
 
Shock had turned her mute.

“Christie?”

His voice made her body jerk.
 
“Right,” she breathed.
 
“Um, well, just go up to them.
 
There’s no secret.
 
Just…”
 
The words stuck in her throat as bile rose.
 
“J-just introduce yourself, say something like ‘I noticed you and had to come over, blah blah blah,’ maybe compliment her, offer to buy her a drink.
 
Simple.”

Jesus.
 
Every word felt like she was stabbing herself.
 
But she couldn’t seem to stop.
 
She glanced around the dark bar, her heart beating in her throat.
 
She spotted a lot of women.
 
And, unfortunately, there were a lot of attractive women.
 
Apparently, this place was pretty popular.
 
Why had she ever wanted to come here again?
 
Because she liked the
atmosphere
?

She spotted a pretty, shy looking brunette that looked just like Adam’s type…quiet, serene, a good girl.
 
She was out with another woman, who looked as though she was on the prowl for a man.
 
And, luckily for Adam, her girlfriend approached a big, burly man on the other side of the bar, leaving the brunette alone at their table.

Even though she didn’t want to do it, she pointed her out to Adam.
 
“She looks nice,” Christie mumbled and then she bit her lip hard, as though to stop herself from saying more.
 
She tasted blood a moment later.

Adam followed her subtle head tilt to the corner of the bar and noticed the woman.
 
He looked back at her, but Christie averted her eyes.
 
It hurt to look at him now.

He was hesitating, so she whispered, “Go.
 
Just go, Adam.”

He gave her a short nod, not even looking the least bit nervous.
 
“Bring this back to the table, will you?” he asked, pointing to the pitcher.
 
And then he pushed away from the bar and crossed the room, heading directly for the brunette.

Sudden tears pricked the backs of her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.
 
Her breath came out in short sobs and all she could think was,
What the hell just happened?

Earlier today, she’d been so excited to see him.
 
Now, it felt like the rug had been pulled out from under her feet.
 
She was beyond stunned.
 
And she was so fucking hurt, it was unbelievable.

Because she was a masochist, Christie watched Adam greet the brunette.
 
Watched her smile shyly up at him as she tucked a curl behind her ear.
 
Adam was handsome…he could have any woman he wanted, he just didn’t realize it yet.

The brunette certainly realized it though.
 
Just as Christie had.

She turned from them when Adam grabbed the seat vacated by her friend.
 
He was making himself cozy and
that
was something Christie couldn’t watch.

She snagged the pitcher forcefully and the contents sloshed against the sides, running over.
 
She didn’t care that her hand was now covered in beer.
 
All she wanted to do was leave.

Christie returned to the table without further incident.
 
Olivia studied her and then glanced at Adam, across the bar.
 
She had the strangest feeling that her best friend knew exactly what had gone down, but she didn’t say anything.

Slamming the pitcher onto the table, she announced, “Courtesy of Adam.”

And then she rounded the table and slipped back into her seat.
 
As much as she wanted to leave, she’d already been a bad friend this week.

The table was momentarily quiet, as though each person sensed her volatile mood.
 
But Caleb remedied that by loudly grabbing a glass and pouring his beer.
 
Luke and Kate followed suit, finishing off the pitcher, since Alex and Olivia already had their drinks.

For the next half hour, Christie was in her own special sort of hell.
 
Adam and the brunette seemed to be hitting it off.
 
Every time Adam made her laugh, Christie wanted to claw her eyes out.

She’d also had to endure a good ten minutes of Alex and Luke talking about the balls Adam had suddenly grown and how hot ‘the chick’ he was talking to was, which earned Luke a shoulder punch from Kate.
 
And her personal favorite, courtesy of a now-sore armed Luke:
“Looks like he won’t be a thirty-year-old virgin after all.”

Needless to say, her mood was officially soured for the rest of the night.
 
Not even Olivia could draw her out of the jealous misery she’d cocoonned herself in.
 
And eventually, her friend just let her have some space.
 
But it didn’t stop Livy from holding Christie’s hand under the table, as though she sensed the hurt and pain brewing within.
 
It made her want to burst out crying.

These were the moments when Christie was reminded of how wonderful her best friend was.

But after a certain point, Christie decided she needed alcohol.

“I’m going for a refill,” she explained when she pulled away from Olivia.
 
Christie quickly made her way to the bar.
 
Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw Adam’s head turn towards her, but she didn’t want to make eye contact with him, even on the off chance that he
was
looking at her.

“Tequila shot first please,” she told the bartender.
 
“And then I’ll take a screwdriver.”