Rebound Envy (Rebound #2) (10 page)

Adam gestures me toward the seating area. "Can I get you a drink or anything?"

I shake my head, crossing my arms and remaining standing just inside the doorway. "No. You said you wanted to talk. I'd like you to just say what you want to say so I can leave. I wasn't lying when I told Jenna I have a headache." In fact, I can feel my pulse throbbing in my temples with each beat of my heart. Being here with Adam after months of dealing with him being hot and cold and rude, then last night's drunken kiss, isn't helping at all. I just want a shower and some Tylenol.

He nods, but heads for a mini fridge concealed under a cabinet by the sink. He retrieves a bottle of water and holds it out to me, his brows raised in question. I shake my head, and he opens it and drinks. Since I won't sit, he props his hip on the sink counter, surveying me while he drinks his water.

I wait, arms crossed, our eyes locked.
 

Finally, he screws the cap back on the water bottle. "I want to apologize."

"For?"

He drops his gaze, running a hand through his hair. "For the way I acted when you were with, what was it, Scott?"
 

I nod, confirming the name.
 

"Scott. I was an ass and I'm sorry."

I drop my arms, my eyes examine his face, but his expression is unreadable. "Why?"

"Why what?" He's looking at me again, surprise on his face.

I throw my arms out. "Why are you sorry? Why now? Why bother apologizing at all?"

I can see the muscles in his jaw bulge as he clenches his teeth, then he relaxes. "The last time we talked, you told me off and left before I could apologize. Then you avoided me for the last two months. I kept hoping you would come back to The Barrel Room with Jenna at some point, but you never did. I wanted to talk to you at the party last week, and since you didn't bring a date it seemed like I might be able to, but you avoided me still and seemed to have help. Did you put Brian and Jenna up to keeping me away from you?"

I step back a little, even though he hasn't moved, reacting to the naked frustration in his voice. "What? No. I wouldn't do that. Why would you even ask that?"

His golden eyes are glittering with suppressed emotion. "Because, every time I got close to being able to talk to you, one of them swooped in and pulled me away." He crosses his arms. "They were very clever, too. I didn't even realize what had happened until after the night was over and everyone was gone."

"How did you even find out I wasn't dating Scott anymore? Are you talking about me to Brian or Jenna?"

"When you didn't have a date last Friday, I asked Brian why not. He said you weren't seeing anyone, but that's all. I didn't know you'd been broken up for that long. Have you seen anyone else since then?"

"What difference does that make? That's not any of your business." I cross my arms again, eyes narrowed, chin lifted, getting more riled up the longer this conversation continues. "You've explained why you're apologizing now for something you did over two months ago. But why apologize at all?

"Because I was an asshole!" His voice has gotten louder and he's almost shouting. "Dammit, Amy. I have to explain an apology? I don't want you to hate me and I don't want you to avoid me. I want things to be good between us again."

I throw my head back and start laughing at that. A full on belly laugh. That is perhaps the most ridiculous thing he could have said. He wants things to be good between us again? When were things ever that good between us? Things were maybe good between us for about five minutes.

My laughter eventually dies away and I wipe at a stray tear that leaked out of my eye.
 

Adam's still standing with his arms crossed, that muscle in his jaw bulging again. "Care to share what's so funny?"

The occasional splutter of mirth is still bubbling out, and his question makes it hard not to just start laughing all over again. "Oh, Adam. Things have never been good between us. Why bother? But if it makes you feel better, it's fine. Apology accepted. Let's just play nice through tomorrow so we don't mess anything up for our friends, alright?"

Adam's mouth is now a thin line, and his hands are balled into fists at his sides. "Things have never been good between us? What the hell does that mean?"

My eyes widen. He's pissed off now, and I'm not really sure why. Okay, maybe I shouldn't have laughed like that, but this has all been too much. The tension between us is too much and I snapped a little. But my thoughts are running along and leaving my mouth behind. I gawp at him as he stalks toward me, my mouth opening and closing like a fish, no sounds coming out.

He's standing directly in front of me now. "I remember things being better than good between us." With that he grabs my upper arms and his mouth comes down on mine, hard and angry. His tongue sweeps into my mouth before I even realize that I've opened for him. One arm snakes around my waist, crushing my body against his, the other sliding up to cup the base of my skull. His fingers tangle in my hair, tugging lightly, angling my head for better access.

I can't help but respond to the demand in his kiss. My hands clutch his shoulders to maintain balance, trying to feel grounded while teetering on my heels and swept away by Adam.

I suppose he's right that the few times we kissed things were good between us. Better than good. He gave me a taste of his kisses like a drug dealer and got me hooked, and then took them away. The difference being that I couldn't even buy his kisses after that. I just had to suffer through the withdrawals on my own for over six months.
 

Now he's giving me that taste again. And I know I'll be hooked, and there's no methadone to help overcome this addiction. My eyes fly open and my sense of self preservation kicks in. I force my hands from his shoulders to his chest and push.
 

Adam breaks off the kiss, his eyes darkened with a combination of anger and lust.
 

He's still crushing my body against his. I try to push him back further, but he won't budge. "What are you doing?"

"If you have to ask, I'm obviously not doing something right." With that, he crushes my lips to his again, his tongue demanding entrance. The hand around my waist travels down to cup my ass, gripping and pulling me tighter against him, grinding his pelvis into me. I can feel his erection against my lower belly. Instead of pushing him away like I know I should, I'm clinging to him once again, relishing the feel of him against me. Surrendering to the command of his touch.
 

This. This is what I wanted six months ago. This is what I've been craving. Why now, though? What's changed?

My errant thoughts are silenced when Adam pivots us around and backs me up until my legs hit the bed. His hands leave me and our momentum carries me backward. I sit heavily, breaking the kiss. My hands reach for him almost without my conscious direction. He leans forward and kisses me again, nipping at my lower lip before pushing me down so I'm lying back on the bed, propped on my elbows.

His hands glide down my legs until they reach my feet, pulling off my shoes and tossing them to the side and out of the way. He kneels at my feet, his hands traveling back up my legs, pushing my dress up and out of the way, his mouth trailing kisses in the wake of his hands.

He pauses when his fingers reach the edge of my thong, tracing the edge. "A red thong. That's so hot." He sounds like he's talking to himself more than to me. He hooks his fingers in the waistband and pulls it down. His fingers trace the folds of my pussy. "Fuck me. You're bare."
 

I suck in a breath at the feeling of his fingers against my skin. I'm suddenly glad that I decided to go for the full Brazilian when I went for the spa day with Jenna and Cate earlier this week.

He's pushing my thighs up and back, so my knees are bent and my feet are flat on the edge of the bed. He places a kiss on my inner thigh, and the heat of his mouth so close to my sex sends ripples of goosebumps across my skin. "I've been wanting to taste you almost since the day we met." He's whispering, his voice low and husky, and I wonder if he realizes he's saying that out loud.

With one last kiss on the skin of my thigh, he holds me open with his fingers, and his tongue, hot and wet, makes contact. He slides it up the length of me, tasting me, relishing in my softness and my responses. He's watching me, his eyes dark and glittering.
 

He takes his time, but soon he's into a rhythm that's sending me higher and higher. Lick, circle, suck, flick. Again and again until I'm bucking against him and his hands are holding my hips down so I couldn't get away even if I wanted to. The next time he sucks my clit into his mouth and flicks his tongue across it, I arch and begin shuddering convulsively.
 

He's gone.
 

I open my eyes, and before I can voice my protest, he surges over me, his mouth on mine, impaling me in one swift stroke. I moan into his mouth. He's thrusting, setting a punishing pace, the zipper of his pants rasping against my thighs.
 

He thrusts hard, once, twice, and again, stilling deep inside me, shuddering with his orgasm. After a moment he kisses me deeply before pulling out and heading into the bathroom to dispose of the condom I now see that he's wearing.

Thank God he remembered that.

I sit up, pushing my dress back down. Looking around, I spot my shoes. I can't find my thong. I have maybe a few seconds before Adam comes back out of the bathroom. Overcome by the urge to flee after what just happened, I grab my shoes and run on tiptoe to the door. I don't even wait for it to close fully before I'm almost running for the stairs, shoes still in hand.

I have no idea what that was or why it happened. All I know is that I have to get away.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The next morning goes without a hitch. The pounding in my head from yesterday is gone, replaced by a vague sick feeling after what went down with Adam last night. I resolutely push those feelings aside. Today is Jenna's day, and I'll be damned if my drama with the best man does anything to ruin it for her.

Our choreographed pageantry of readying the bride and getting ourselves ready is flawless. We have to be at the chapel early enough to get in most of the photos before the guests begin to arrive. Brian and Jenna are determined not to see each other ahead of time, so we have to be creative in keeping her and Brian apart during the photos before the ceremony in the small space of the chapel and its surrounding grounds.
 

Jenna is radiant in a cream strapless gown with an A-line skirt. The bodice has subtle beading that shimmers when she moves, trailing off where the bodice meets the skirt. Cate and I both look nice in halter style chiffon dresses in a dark purple. Our bouquets are a combination of white and purple calla lilies. The effect is simple and elegant against the rustic chapel.
 

Brian, Adam, and Connor look dashing in their black tuxes with black vests and long ties. I studiously avoid looking at Adam while I walk up the aisle, and focus on Brian's face when Jenna enters the chapel.
 

Brian looks as radiant as Jenna. They have eyes only for each other as Jenna's father escorts her down the aisle. The love on their faces is evident for everyone to see. I sigh inwardly, hoping someone will look at me that way someday.
 

The ceremony is simple and sweet, and everyone cheers at the end when Brian dips Jenna to kiss her. They walk back down the aisle laughing.
 

The smile on my face falters when I look at Adam before putting my hand on his arm. He has the polite face on that he's so good at, but he's not bothering to hide the anger glittering in his eyes. I force the corners of my mouth back up while we make our way along the blessedly short aisle at a faster pace than the processional.
 

As soon as we're out of the chapel, we break apart, Adam moving to congratulate Brian while I chat with Jenna and Cate. We all stand out of the way off to one side while the minister announces that the reception will be back at the Mountain View Resort. The guests make their way out, congratulating Jenna and Brian as they walk past. We'll be taking a few more photos of the entire bridal party and the families together before we head to the reception.

Adam avoids contact with me as much as possible, only shooting me dark looks on occasion. For my part, I avoid him as much as possible as well.
 

Jenna seems to have caught on that things are less than stellar between Adam and me. She shot me a questioning look after one awkward moment while the photographer was posing the bridal party and Adam refused to get my attention while I was talking to someone else off to the side closest to him. I managed to brush it off, and Jenna was distracted enough at the time not to make anything more of it. But it seems that Adam's giving me the silent treatment.
 

The rest of the photos go smoothly, and after a little over an hour we're on our way to the reception. I'm determined to have fun and enjoy myself and not let Adam's broody silence get me down.

With it being Brian's wedding, the open bar is stocked with the best wine selections from The Barrel Room and top shelf liquor procured through their various contacts.
 

Since the wedding was in the early afternoon, the reception is just cake and light hors d'oeuvres along with the open bar. Jenna and Brian cut the cake not too long after we arrive, since the guests have already been there eating and drinking for an hour at that point. Brian pretends like he's going to smash the cake in Jenna's face, but at the last minute lets her take a dainty bite, and then kisses the remaining frosting off her lips. It's sweet and funny and charming, just like their whole relationship.

I'm so happy that this day has finally come for Jenna, and now we're all living it up on the dance floor. The DJ is spinning a wide range of music, from slow romantic ballads, to house style dance mixes.
 

When Brian and Jenna decide it's time to leave, we bust out the party poppers and have all the guests shoot streamers into the air around them as they run for the door.