Chapter 7
Adam
(New Year’s Eve) Sunday
My phone started ringing noisily from the corner of my kitchen table, and I looked up from the papers I was looking at to answer it. “Max Butler” blinked across the caller ID, and I hit accept.
“Hey, man, how’s it going?”
“No complaints; what are you doing right now?”
My mind drew a blank, and I looked at my calendar to make sure I didn’t have anything planned, remembering that it was, in fact, New Year’s Eve. “Uh, nothing I guess. Why do you ask?”
“You should get your ass over here!” he insisted.
I scoffed, looking down at the papers on my desk and told him. “Yeah, I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I’ve got a ton of work to catch up on.”
“Aw, come on, man, it’s the holidays! Vanessa and I were really looking forward to seeing you.”
When he mentioned Vanessa, I sat up in my chair, intrigued. “What’s Vanessa doing there?” Not that I was one to be casting dispersions, but she didn’t seem like a party girl to me.
Max sighed on the other line and told me, “I don’t know, honestly. I mentioned that I was going out and the next thing I knew, she was climbing in the car with me. I think living with my parents is getting to her and she needed to get the hell out of Dodge and unwind.”
“That makes sense. What bar are y’all at?”
“St. Michael’s Pub.”
Glancing up at the clock on the wall, I saw that it was already nine fifteen. “Alright, tell you what. I’ll meet you there in an hour, ‘kay? Then we can rock in the New Year with style.”
Max laughed over the sound of other patrons in the background and said, “Cool, I’ll keep an eye out for you.”
We hung up, and I placed my phone on the table next to me with a tired sigh. I wouldn’t have gone, except he mentioned Vanessa. Ever since the Christmas party, I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her. Nor had I been able to stop thinking about Dad blurting out the suggestion that she move into my spare bedroom, which would have been a catastrophe if I wasn’t so completely enamored with her.
Going out drinking with the two of them would hopefully allow me to set the record straight and see what she was thinking.
I finished with the paperwork and grabbed my coat before heading out the door to hail a cab. If I was going to be out drinking, then it would definitely have to be a chauffeured event.
After having them drive me to the bar, I was glad that Max had invited me. I spotted him and Vanessa through the front window, sitting at the bar. She had her hair pulled back into a ponytail and was wearing a brown leather jacket with a pair of jeans. The two of them were laughing together and had a couple of empty glasses on the bar in front of them.
Looks like they definitely started this party without me, I chuckled to myself indulgently.
I opened the door to join them and started threading my way across the loud and rambunctious crowd. It was a safe bet almost everyone there was in some state of inebriation.
When he saw me, Max’s face lit up with recognition, and he waved me over to where they were seated. “Adam!”
I smiled, giving them both a little wave and took a seat at the bar next to them. “What’ll ya have?” the bartender asked me suddenly.
“Whatever ale you have on tap,” I responded instantly.
Max had already downed a few himself; I could tell by the way he was talking. He took a swig of the drink in his hand and said, “Glad you could finally join us. Are you up for a game of darts? A couple of my buddies from work are over there already getting shit-faced.”
Vanessa smirked, looking down at her drink, and I waved him off apologetically. “Maybe in a little bit. Let me get a few beers in me; then we can talk.”
Max just shrugged, stepping off his seat and landing on the floor. “Suit yourself. I’m gonna go show some ladies how it’s done.”
I rolled my eyes at him and glanced back just as the barkeep was hanging me a mug. “Here you go, enjoy.”
“Thank you.”
I took the lager ale and downed a few swigs. I tried to act unaware of Vanessa watching me. She looked incredible, even better than when I’d seen her at the party, if that was at all possible. Her shiny blonde hair had been pulled down into a low ponytail with some soft waves framing her face. She was just wearing a t-shirt and jeans, but even still, I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
“Sorry he dragged you into this,” she apologized, a delicate blush spreading across her cheeks.
I shrugged, easing down onto my seat next to her. “Nah, don’t worry about it. I’m glad you guys thought about me. Sometimes, I need the extra push to get me out of the house or the office in the first place. Besides, the company is much more pleasant.” I winked at her suggestively on the final statement and took another swig of the amber liquid.
She smiled, the edges of her soft pink lips turning up. “Are you always this charming, or is it something you put on just for me?”
I laughed. “Well, I like to think I am, but I think you bring it out in me. Unless I’m making you uncomfortable. If that’s the case, then I’m going to blame the alcohol.”
“No, no, it’s fine,” she chuckled.
I felt a familiar tugging in my groin when our eyes met. There was a powerful urge to reach out and brush the hair away from her face or touch her cheek. I hadn’t felt this attracted or drawn to a woman in…well…ever, which made it all the more difficult to keep myself restrained.
Her eyes darkened slightly, and I thought I might have sensed a shift in the rhythm of her breathing. Cool it, man. You gotta get in control of that.
“Have you thought about my dad’s offer?” I asked her curiously, trying to play it off with a laugh in case she didn’t want me to be serious.
Vanessa looked down into her drink. “You mean, about moving into your spare bedroom?”
“That would be the one.”
“We haven’t even seen each other since high school; I barely know you anymore, you know.”
My smiled widened. “We could always change that. I thought we were having a pretty good conversation at the Christmas party. You seem like someone I could certainly spend some time with. I understand your reservations, but I assure you that I have no intention of taking advantage of you. I just thought since you wanted to get out of your parents’ place that maybe I could help. I know my dad is the one who officially offered, but the offer stands if you’re interested.”
“Noted.” Vanessa smiled and took another sip from the mug she was holding.
As we started to unwind, she and I began goofing off and throwing peanuts at each other. One of them landed in her hair and got stuck. We both had just enough alcohol in us that we laughed hysterically.
“Here, let me get that for you,” I offered. As my fingers reached out to pluck it from her blonde tresses, they accidentally rubbed along the skin of her collarbone. I lingered for half a second, grazing the creamy skin, and she let out a tiny gasp.
When she looked up at me again, our eyes connected and it felt like the entire world slipped away. It was all I could do to keep myself from leaning in and pressing my mouth to hers. But I did. Somehow. And we went back to pretending the moment hadn’t happened and joking around as we had been doing before.
Max had finished up his game of darts and moved on to pool. Vanessa and I both watched him from a distance.
The clock struck midnight, and a cheer erupted from the crowd around us. Vanessa and I both looked at one another nervously and chuckled. When her eyes met mine, a blush flushed her cheeks. It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
Just as everyone in the bar began singing “Auld Lang Syne,” it was as though she and I were trapped in our own perfect little bubble. I stepped toward her and instinctively threaded my hand behind her neck then leaned down to kiss her gently on the lips. She leaned forward to reciprocate and pressed her lips softly against mine.
For the moment, it felt like the world was spinning. I wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or my attraction to this woman, but I could say with certainty no alcohol had ever given me such a sensation. When she pulled away, I smiled, hoping I hadn’t ruined everything with one kiss.
“Happy New Year,” I breathed out huskily.
Vanessa chuckled softly and bit the edge of her bottom lip. “Happy New Year.”
With the noise of the crowd and party going on around us, I really wanted to get the hell out of there. If I was being honest, I wanted to go back to my place, and I wanted Vanessa to come with me. I wanted her all to myself.
Be a man and ask her, I thought to myself stubbornly.
I looked around the bar, then back at her, and felt my confidence rise knowing there was only one way to know if she was interested. “Do you want to get out of here?”
Vanessa looked surprised at first, and her jaw fell open slightly.
“I don’t mean that as a come on,” I assured her instantly. “It’s just that, this place is just getting a little crazy,” I halfway yelled so she could hear me. “Besides, I could show you my place, and if you’re interested, it might help you make a decision about that roommate offer.”
After I explained my weak-ass reasoning, she nodded and started toward the coat room. I followed her, waving goodbye to some of the other guests while they drunkenly rambled on with one another. We each grabbed our coats and looked back so Max would at least know we were leaving. He gave me the thumbs up when he saw us.
I opened the door for her when we stepped out onto the parking lot and hailed a cab. Thankfully, there were so many parked outside looking forward to the New Year’s rush that we didn’t have to wait for one.
I slid in next to her in the backseat, then reached over and loosed some of her hair out from underneath her coat.
“Where to?” the driver asked us in a thick, Chicago accent.
I gave him the address and turned to Vanessa who was looking out the window. “The snow is so beautiful,” she muttered. “I know we grew up with it, but after living in Florida for so long, I guess I forgot how beautiful it is.”
So are you, I thought. But I didn’t want to be too cheesy, so I kept it to myself.
The driver carefully pulled out of his parking space and drove toward my building. When we arrived, I paid him the amount in full with an additional tip and thanked him for the ride before joining Vanessa on the sidewalk.
“So, this is where you live?” she asked looking up at the massive building.
I hummed in acknowledgment while pulling out my keys. “It isn’t much, but it’s in a good location, and I fell in love with the floorplan,” I explained as I pushed the code on the front door to get in. The elevator ride up was thankfully quick as I gave her the overview of what the location offered. Before I knew it, we were standing in front of my door.
Vanessa smiled. “Well, what are you waiting for?”
The lock clicked after I jiggled with the handle and the door swung open. “Welcome to Chez Adam.”
She followed me inside, looking around curiously at my furniture and all the open space I had yet to decorate. “Wow, this is pretty nice,” she complimented.
The warm, seductive waves of alcohol finally began to fully hit my system. Vanessa was standing in my apartment, and I watched her remove her coat, wanting nothing more than to help her remove everything else. It took me a moment before I realized I was staring.
She looked back at me and smiled as she hung it on the rack near the door, but there was something different in her eyes. “What are you looking at?”
“You,” I told her honestly. “I think you’re beautiful.”
Her eyes widened playfully at the admission. “Really?”
I exhaled nervously and took a step toward her before saying, “Yes. If you want to know the truth, I want to rip your clothes off and take you right here and now.”
Pretty soon she was standing right in front of me, and I could smell the subtle hint of vanilla in her perfume. Vanessa wet her lips with her tongue and pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. It was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen.
She looked up at me with barely restrained longing. “Maybe you should.”
After the words had left her mouth, I pulled her toward me with a growl. My lips came down on hers passionately. Her body pressed against me caused my skin to erupt with electric tingles.
I wanted her. Now.
She reached down and unzipped the front of my pants, and I quickly discarded them before coming back to kiss her on the lips. Vanessa reached down to grip the hem of her shirt and lifted it overhead to reveal the subtle curves of her bosom underneath.
I stared at her in awe before I finished removing mine, as well, and she came toward me once again. My hands immediately went to the clasp of her jeans, made quick work of undoing them, and yanked them down until she was standing in front of me wearing nothing but her panties.
Oh, sweet Jesus. What have I gotten myself into? I pressed my mouth to hers again.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” she asked me breathlessly.
I groaned against her mouth between intermittent kisses, completely intoxicated by the taste and feel of her skin against mine. “Probably not, but I don’t care.”
She giggled slightly as I picked her up, throwing her back onto the couch. Game time.