Cover Up (Cover #2) (8 page)

ADAM

It had been one hell of a night but unfortunately, for me it was not over. Diana sat in the living room practically hyperventilating and I was in the kitchen,
letting her
. After I slammed the door in her face, my mother’s every so sweet yet stern voice rang in my ears, scolding me for treating a woman with such little respect. I knew that I couldn’t just let her stand there; so, I reopened the door, half expecting her have already left. But, to my surprise and regret, she hadn’t.
Fuck!

When she realized that I had opened the door
, she instantly fell apart. Shrieking noises escaped her and she sobbed uncontrollably, her face in her hands, all while shaking her head.

I gestured
for her to come in and pushed down the bile in my throat, realizing that I pretty much did hate the woman. I hated her for lying to Emily. I hated her because she made me believe she was someone she wasn’t; and I hated her because a part of me, a tiny part, still cared for her.

I knew
it was cruel to let her suffer a little while longer before helping her calm down. I hated when women cried. But she
should
be crying after all the trouble she had caused. Still, her mournful wails twisted at my insides.
Why the hell did mom have to raise me to be a gentleman?

I sighed resignedly
, straightened my slouched shoulders, grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, and a brown bag from the kitchen drawer. I approached her ever so slowly, and watched her lift her head from her hands. Her eyes were red and she still struggled to breathe.

“This will help,” I informed her as I handed her the brown bag.

Hesitantly, she took the bag and placed it over her nose and mouth, breathing in and out slowly while I stood by the couch mindlessly shifting from foot to foot.

After what felt like an eternity, she removed the bag from her
face, finally able to breathe normally.

“I’m sorry for coming and falling apart at your door. I know I’m the last person you want to see – let alone comfort,” she murmured before bringing her hand to her lips and nibbling on her nail.

I couldn’t bring myself to deny her statements; doing so would only be out of formality and I was in no formal mood. We both knew the truth. Instead, I asked her something that I had wanted to ask since I first saw her at the hospital.

“Uh, when did you start biting your nails?” I asked
and took a seat on the adjacent settee.

She frowned and looked down at the
nail she was absentmindedly biting; she brought it in front of her as if she was confused. “I don’t know, honestly. I guess when you saw Emily. I used to bite my nails as a kid. Thought I had kicked the habit, but…” she trailed off and continued examining her fingers. “Guess old habits die hard,” she mumbled.

“Guess so…”

The awkwardness in the air felt thick and I wanted desperately to ask her to leave. I weighed my options, and settled for telling her that I needed to get some sleep, so we should probably call it a night. Steeling my resolve, I opened my mouth to say just that, but was cut off before getting the chance.

“I’m going to tell her everything, tomorrow,” she declared
shakily, her hands trembling in her lap. “I can’t live with this guilt anymore,” she continued before letting her head fall forward.

“So that’s your big plan!” I barked, realizing that my hands where now balled into
fists.

Diana
’s head shot up and she stared at me, confused.
Did she really think she was being noble here?

“So
, your grand plan is to waltz into Emily’s hospital room and tell her that  she has not only lost her best friend because you are a fucking liar who caused us to break up, but also that she’s lost a whole year of her life?” my voice echoed through the room before silence filled it. We stared at each other, both unable to tear our eyes away in challenge. My heart angrily pounded against my chest.

“I can’t stand there while she thinks we’re still best friends… knowing all the while what
I did to her,” she finally said after a few moments.

Of course
, it was always about Diana – what she wanted. Never mind the fact that the Emily’s doctor had strictly advised us to let Emily’s memories come back naturally.

“The hell you will! If you
feel guilty, then deal with it! You are not going to hurt Emily any more than you already have. You think telling her what happened between us changes anything? Huh?” I demanded as I moved closer to her; now so close to her that her vanilla scent flooded my nostrils, further irritating me.

Her eyes turned from complete despair to a steel
y resolve as she looked up at me. “Make up your fucking mind, Adam. One minute you’re mad because I haven’t told her everything; and then the next you’re upset because I want to. Well fuck you, Adam Owens! Just because I have feelings for you doesn’t give you the right to bully me into doing what you want, when you want!” And, with that, she drew herself up off the couch, grabbed her purse and she walked past me headed for the door, almost taking my shoulder with her.

Shocked, I stood rooted
to the, spot completely dumbfounded, as she reached for the door and wrenched it open.

“You know… You claimed to have loved me at one point.
I thought you would at least
try
to understand what I am going through. I didn’t just loose a best friend. I also lost you. Guess I’m not the only liar here,” she whispered softly, her hurt and pain evident in her trembling voice.

Unable to respond, I watched
her walk through my front door, letting it slam shut behind her. I thought I once loved her, but that was before I realized what she’d done. How could I love someone who deceived me in such a great way? I felt like I never truly knew her. The person I had fallen for was sweet and gentle. She was there for me when my world fell apart. She nursed me back from the brink of darkness, and in the midst of it, I thought I had found love.

For a whole year
, we dated. A whole fucking year and I had no idea what she had done that night. How could I ever forgive something like that?

Chapter Six

“Just because something isn't a lie does not mean that it isn't deceptive. A liar knows that he is a liar, but one who speaks mere portions of truth in order to deceive is a craftsman of destruction.”

~
Criss Jami ~

EMILY

“Do you trust me?” asked the faceless man, barely above a whisper.

“Yes…” I responded immediately, my eyes skimming down his body, coming to rest on the growing bulge in his pants.

“Do want whatever you want with me. Please… just take me!” I responded in frustration.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk Mon amour… you must be patient” he scolded.

Walking to his nightstand, he opened the drawer and pulled out a black, silk scarf. “If you trust me, stand up and turn around.”

I did as he asked.

“Good girl. Now just relax,” he whispered into my ear. His warm breath caressed my neck, causing goose bumps to run up and down my arms. He placed the silk scarf around my eyes, tying it securely behind my head.

“Now
, come up on all fours,” his voice was soft, yet commanding.

“Délicieux, ma belle. You are so beautiful,” he growled in a husky voice.

I
heard the sounds of his clothes hitting the floor just before his strong hands gripped my thighs. The tip of his erection pressed at the entrance of my mound causing me to moan softly. Pulling away, his fingers gently grazed back and forth across the wet fabric between my legs, teasing me; making me bite my lip in an attempt to withhold the groan that was desperate to escape. Quickly, he pushed my thong aside. A moment later, I felt his finger gently trailing through my soaked slit, probing my entrance, but not quite entering me. I couldn’t contain the moan that ripped from my throat. Without conscious thought, I opened my legs wider, trying to convey my need for more.

“You’re so wet for me
, mon amour.” He rasped, his voice husky with desire.

“Rise and shine lazy bones!”
Suzie said, waking me out of yet another super fucking hot, erotic dream. This was the third dream this week, and each time it seemed as if I knew what was going to happen before it did; and upon waking, I’d find my horny body craving this dream man.
That’s because all the freaky shit is already in your head, duh!

I
never saw the man’s face, but there was something about the sexy French voice that made my body respond to him, even when wide-awake. It was the weirdest thing. I felt a tad bit guilty about my French dream man, since he wasn’t Adam, but convinced myself that going a week with no sex would force anyone to fantasize.
Suzie for sure would agree with my logic.

“Why are you here so early?” I asked through squinted eyes
that tried to the brightly lit room filled with morning sun.

“Umm, don’t you remember
? You have a super important test to take today. You know your ass needs me here to hold your hand, so I don’t know why you even ask,” she teased, and smiled as she placed her bag down on the chair.

I shook my head and smiled
. I knew that my friend was worried about me, but just couldn’t bring herself to voice it aloud. Suzie was the rock in our dynamic trio and Diana was the voice of sweet, soft, reason. I, on the other hand, was the mess they happily attempted to fix, and it made me sad. I didn’t want to cause my friends to worry; but here I was, yet again, in the position to be taken care of instead of taking care of them.

“You know I love you right?” I whispered
and sat up in the unbelievably comfortable hospital bed. The memory-foam-type mattress hugged the contours of my body like a glove. It was as if I was sleeping on clouds.
Since when did hospitals provide such luxurious beds?
The same question arose each time I moved across the velvet feeling sheets.

“Yeah, yeah, I love you too,” she murmured before bending over to unlace her shoes, her hair falling over her head in a mess of curls. Carefully
, she reached over and pulled each shoe off, leaving her black and purple striped socks on. She climbed into the hospital bed with me and asked, “So…who do you want to take you?”

She lifted her head and looked me in the eyes awaiting an answer
, but I had no idea what the heck she was talking about, “Huh? What are you talking about?” I asked her.

She shifted on the bed, roll
ed onto her stomach, and supported herself on her elbows. “When I walked into your room I heard you say ‘just take me.’ At first, I thought you were awake but when I got closer, I realized you were talking in your sleep. What were you dreaming about?”

The
realization that Suzie heard me begging my French dream man to ‘take me’ made my cheeks red with embarrassment. My dreams about the mystery man were far from tame, mundane, sex. No, this man was passionate and powerful. His strong, capable hands made me weak with the slightest touch. His sculpted, smooth, yet hard chest felt unbelievable under my fingertips. When he took my body with his skilled, thick, shaft I was in heaven, and never wanted it to end as he pounded into me with hunger and desperation. It was damn near animalistic!  I couldn’t fathom the idea of actually sleeping with such a primal man; but my body, both in reality and in my dreams, seemed to respond to him in a way I had never responded to another - Adam included. I actually went to sleep early last night, hoping that I would dream of him again.
I am such a slut!

“Hmm… That’s weird. I don’t remember dreaming about anything…,” I lied. There was no way I was going to tell Suzie about my fantasy Frenchman. It was bad enough
that my subconscious was cheating on the man I loved and hoped to one day marry, but giving voice to the desires I felt for the dream man was embarrassing. Not to mention that Suzie, being the freak that she was, would never let me forget it.

Suzie didn’t seem to believe me. Her eyebrows went up in suspicion as she lowered the rest of her body down
on the hospital bed, her arms resting underneath her head. “Sure sounded interesting…,” she began with a grin. “It sounded like quite a dream…Thank goodness it was me who walked in and not Adam,” she teased and giggled.

Mortified that my dream had slipped into my reality, I
clenched my eyes shut, and knew that my face was red in horror.
God, had she heard me moaning too? How fucking embarrassing!

“Come on…you have to tell me. You rather owe it to me
, since this whole accident has left a girl with no time for any shagging. I swear I am going to combust at any moment. Not to mention you left me hanging to be the buffer between two, very fine, unattainable, specimens for a week,” she teased with a mischievous grin.

Two?

“Good morning Ms. Roberts, how are you feeling today?” Dr. Avery asked as she walked in. I felt Suzie stiffen besides me, but I couldn’t understand why.

“I … I’m feeling ok I guess, just a little restless,” I admitted.
Mr. Frenchman hasn’t let me get one full night’s rest with all his kinky, hot, passionate, love.

I blushed to myself and looked away from the doctor
’s stare.

“Have you remembered any other details from the accident?” she asked, yet again. For the
past two days, she had asked me the exact same question.
Was there something I was missing?

I remembered climbing into my car, Adam on the passenger side and that’s it. “No, nothing else... May I ask why you’ve insisted on asking me that?” I asked, lifting my head to meet her gaze. Since the moment I woke up from this
God awful coma, everything had just felt off. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but it just seemed that everyone was keeping something from me – the doctor included.

She sighed and stepped aside, revealing another woman behind her. “Well actually that is what we are here to discuss with you Ms. Roberts.”

I didn’t like the sound of that, but I was happy that I was finally going to be getting some answers. Suzie squeezed my hand in an attempt to reassure me.

“I love you
, girlie,” she whispered before sitting up to face the doctors with me.

ADAM

Dana’s parting words were still ringing in my head two days later, which made sleep nearly impossible. Each time I tried to put myself in her shoes I came up empty. My mind replayed the moment I stumbled upon the truth, cringing as I recalled the moment my heart broke again – twice in one year’s time.

Diana had spent the night at my house, and I had just awakened to the smell of her vanilla
scented hair against my nose. She lay across my chest, peacefully asleep, and completely spent from the night before. The memories of the night before caused me to grin as I slowly slid from beneath her body, not wanting to wake her.

She was stunning, especially
asleep without her makeup and her hair tossed about. I grabbed for my boxers, which I tossed on the floor the night before, and stared at the woman I loved. Today was going to be the first day of the rest of my life, I thought to myself.

I barely thought I would live much less love
again, after my breakup with Emily. The emptiness I felt when she suddenly broke it off nearly took my life. I was crushed that Emily accused me of cheating on her. While I desperately wanted to fight for us, I couldn’t. I had trusted Emily with everything; and the fact that she couldn’t, or wouldn’t, trust me the same broke my heart. Diana, being the sweet angel that she was, never left my side. There were nights when I barely spoke a word, and yet she just… stayed. She sat with me, comforted me when the tears came. At first, I held them off, not wanting to further embarrass myself. After a while, I let the tears come. Diana pulled me into her arms, lay my head on her chest, and she soothed my pain away.

I
never really noticed when I had gotten better. It just happened. One day I was so depressed that I couldn’t climb out of bed, and the next I was laughing with Diana. She became my safe haven.

It was a Saturday morning and I didn’t have to go to work until later that evening.
I decided to fix my girl some breakfast and made my way to the kitchen. It was time to put my cooking skills to use. I wanted to make her favorite breakfast, so I grabbed the eggs and Spinach from her fridge.

It hadn’t taken long before she awoke, the smell of coffee luring her into the kitchen in nothing but her boy short panties and bra, her
plump, sexy ass barely contained in the thin fabric.

“Something smells good,” she yawned as she sat on the island stool to my right.

“Thought I would make my girl some breakfast,” I grinned and turned to face her, noticing her lack of clothes and instantly becoming hard beneath my constrictive boxers. ‘Damn, she’s beautiful!’ I thought to myself.

I willed
my eyes to break away from her sexy toned curvy body, and focused on the task at hand; knowing that soon, we’d be back in the bedroom and I would be buried balls deep inside of her again.

The table was already set and everything was in place. We both sat down and began our meal, making small talk about
our plans for the weekend. Anxiety coursed through me as I waited for her to discover my surprise. When she finished her coffee, and spinach omelet, she did what she had always done after finishing a meal. She reached for her crisp, white, table napkin to dab her mouth.