| |
Thirty minutes later, I walked downstairs with my hair still wet. I was wearing my favorite blue long sleeve shirt. It was form fitting and made my eyes pop, and I did not choose it because I wanted Adam to see me looking good, thank you very much.
Adam was sitting next to Dani at the island, laughing at something she’d said. His eyes landed on me and sparkled when they did.
Or maybe that was my imagination.
“I don’t suppose anyone wants to come to church with us,” Mom said as she grabbed her purse. “I’m more than happy to wait for you to get ready.”
“Mom, how many homophobic sermons has that place given?” Dani said.
“They might give some not so great lessons, but there are a lot of wonderful messages to hear there,” Mom sniffed. “You can’t let a little bad sour the entire experience.”
“It’s okay, Mom,” I said, jumping in. I could sense an argument brewing as Dani bristled at my mom’s words. “We have plans to show Adam around town today.”
“Yeah, we can show him the sad track where we had to do all our middle school marathons,” Dani said. “Oh! And the bridge where all the kids would go to drink and f-”
“We’re going to head out then,” Dad said, cutting Dani off. He placed his hand in the small of Mom’s back and began steering her towards the door. “We’ll see you after.”
And with that, my parents left.
“Perfect, now that they’ve left,” Dani leaned towards Adam and narrowed her eyes. “What are your intentions with my brother?”
Adam’s cheeks flushed as she caught him off guard. “I- I’m not sure what you mean by that.”
“Why do you like him?” Dani pressed. “He’s basically a hot mess. And you’re straight up hot. So what’s the draw?”
I was about to step in and save Adam, but then he started talking and I hesitated.
“Eli’s kind, he remembers everyone’s birthdays in the building - even the receptionist - and he always has a card or flowers for them. He’s super smart. Usually the smartest one in the room, even though he never makes you feel dumb.” Adam looked me in the eye as he continued.
“He’ll always frame any mistakes you’ve made as something he’s done wrong a million times so you don’t feel too bad. He’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever met, and his attention to detail is crazy. I don’t know what I would do without him, honestly,” I felt my face growing warmer the longer Adam went on. I couldn’t really believe he was saying these things in front of me. “He’s selfless - always the one to volunteer to do the cleanup or the setup for anything. He even recycles.”
I stared at Adam, a bit confused. How much attention did he pay to me?
“Also,” Adam smiled. “Your brother’s kind of hot.”
“Adam, she knows we’re not really together,” I said as quickly as I could with my ears burning. I knew he’d been playing the part with that last bit, but the reaction it stirred in me was very real.
Adam blinked. “You know?” he said to Dani. His voice sounded so betrayed I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Obviously,” Dani said with a grin. “I just wanted to see how committed you were to the whole thing.” She got to her feet, patting Adam on the shoulder. “Good answers by the way.” She laughed to herself and walked upstairs.
Adam looked at me. “I hate her,” he said. “I mean, I love her, but I hate her.”
“That’s Dani for you,” I said. “You should get ready. I wasn’t kidding about showing you around town. Even if you did see most of it already.” Then; “You really think I’m hot.”
“Don’t get a big head,” Adam said. “I was trying to sell it.”
Adam got up as well, following Dani upstairs. I watched him go, waiting until he vanished from sight to loosen my composure. My head was pounding in my chest so loudly that I thought it was about to burst right out.
I leaned over the counter, grabbing it with both hands and let out a sigh.
He’d gotten a little too into his role, and his answers were everything I’d ever dreamed a guy would say about me. I’d always had the idea that my love life would somehow mirror the dramatic moments in my favorite rom-coms. The man would come find me at the last moment before I was about to leave for good - I’d probably be sitting in traffic on a bridge or something - and he’d say words just like what Adam had been saying.
Kind. Selfless. Intelligent. Driven. Was that really how Adam saw me? Or was it all part of the charade?
And then there was whatever that had been upstairs in the room. Who did that sort of thing to someone they weren’t interested in?
It’s all fake, I thought, gritting my teeth. Until we get back to Seattle, every word, every action, Adam says or does is fake.
It would just be easier on me to keep thinking that way. And then maybe once we got back to Seattle...
Nope, not going to even allow myself to entertain the thought of him continuing this after we got back. It was getting harder and harder to remind myself that we were friends and that I didn’t like him like that. Not anymore.
I looked up, catching my reflection in the mirror across the room. My face was flushed, but otherwise there was no outward indicator of my internal battle. I just had to keep it that way.
***
WE DROVE THROUGH TOWN for about an hour before we’d run out of places to show Adam. The drive had lasted thirty minutes longer than I had thought it would, but it was also nicer than I’d expected. The main street of town had been decorated for Christmas in preparation for the parade that would be happening later that week. The sky was overcast and so the Christmas lights lit up the street poles, their glow reflecting in the green and red tinsel that intertwined with them. A couple of lone snow flurries fluttered down from the clouds, but it wasn’t anything serious.
Still,after an hour of driving around town, by the end we were scrapping our brains for talking points.
“And that house used to be the haunted house the town would put on every year,” Dani said at what would probably be our final stop. It was an old maroon house with part of the roof caved in.
“That was before a storm nearly destroyed it,” I added.
“One year Eli got so scared he tripped running out of the place and cracked his head open,” Dani said with a laugh.
Adam raised an eyebrow at me, his eyes flickering up to the scar above my right eyebrow.
“Yeah, that’s where it happened,” I said, pointing to it. “But Dani also conveniently leaves out the fact that I was being chased by a guy with a chainsaw.”
“You were also the only one who ran,” Dani teased, and we all laughed.
“That’s the town,” I said as Dani put the car into drive and we pulled away from the creepy house. “Hope it wasn’t too exciting for you.”
“It’s nice,” Adam said, looking out the window as people went about their business on the streets. “I never had a permanent home growing up,so I like that you have a place with so many memories tied to it.”
“Speaking of memories,” Dani said, flipping on the blinker. “For lunch we’re eating at the finest Mexican restaurant that Kalispell has to offer.”
***
LOS COMALES WAS THE only Mexican restaurant in Kalispell. The business had been started by a cute Hispanic couple that had moved up from Texas sometime in the late nineties. They’d run it by themselves until it grew too popular. Now it was one of the largest businesses in town. You couldn’t open a brochure for a school play or sporting event without seeing their logo plastered all over it as the restaurant was one of the biggest donors for everything.
“Not even exaggerating,” Adam said as he shoveled rice and beans into his face. “I’d make the drive just to eat here again.”
“Looks like you’ve got a date for every family gathering forever,” Dani said, taking a sip of her water. “You know, at least until you both actually find someone to date.”
I stuck my tongue out at my sister and she kicked my shin under the table.
“Oops,” she said.
Someone’s phone buzzed and we all looked at the stack of them on the table.
“It’s probably just Mom making sure we aren’t dead in a ditch,” I said, reaching for the phone. But I had no new notifications.
Adam picked up his own phone and swallowed hard at whatever was on the screen. “It’s me,” he said. The furrow in his eyebrow told me I probably didn’t want to know what he was looking at.
“Is it work?” My mind jumped to the worst possible scenario.
Adam shook his head and then showed me the screen.
“Sabrina,” I read the name. “Wait as in Sabrina Sabrina?”
Adam nodded, uncharacteristically quiet.
“I thought things ended badly with her,” I said blankly, setting down my fork. Suddenly I’d lost my appetite.
“They did. Worse than most,” Adam said darkly. His phone vibrated again. “Shit, she’s calling me.”
“Can’t you ignore her?”
Adam gave me a worried look. “I mean, I could,” he said.
“Nevermind, take it,” I said, surprised at the amount of jealousy that had just flared in my chest.
He got up and walked out the building without saying another word. I was about to stop him, to tell him not to forget his coat, but then I came to my senses. Let him freeze.
“Who’s Sabrina?” Dani asked. She was looking down at the food as if she weren’t deeply interested, but I knew she was dying to know the details.
“She’s like the ex for him,” I said, stabbing at my enchilada a bit too aggressively, sending rice flying off the side of the plate. “They dated for almost two years, and then she dumped him. Said that the relationship felt stagnant or something.”
“I see,” Dani said, face impassive.
“I’m not sure he ever got over her,” I said, trying to keep the creeping despair from sounding in my voice. “I knew they talked every now and then, but...” I shrugged.
We were silent for a long, drawn out moment. During which my heart hammered in my chest, aching inexplicably with each lopsided beat. The sounds of people’s chatter mingled with the noise of cutlery on glass plates and the occasional cough, it was all becoming too much.
“Just to be clear,” Dani said, snapping me back to reality. “Your relationship is completely fake and only to make our family angry.”
“What else could it be?” I demanded.
“Hey don’t be snippy,” Dani said. “I’m trying to make sure my big brother isn’t playing stupid games with his heart.”
“Your big brother’s heart is fine,” I lied. “I know what my standing with Adam is. No stupid games here.”
“Okay, just checking,” Dani still looked too skeptical for my taste, but I decided I didn’t need to press the issue. “Remember, I’m here.”
“I know,” I went back to eating my food. It was all mechanical. I didn’t taste a bite.