Only Love (6 page)

He nodded.

“Yours?” I inquired.

He seemed pleased I asked. “Good. Same old same old. Just got in not too long ago.”

I frowned. “You were working this late after going in so early?”

He paused, but then spoke again, sharing more with me than was required, seeing as how we were basically still strangers. “No, actually. I went to a meeting when I got off,” he admitted freely. “Alcoholics Anonymous.”

Unsure of what to say, I opened my mouth and then shut it again. Seeing me stammer, Adam gave a short laugh.

“I’m sorry, I—”

“No need to apologize,” he assured me. “I’m sober and proud of it. Four years now.”

I was no stranger to what addiction could do to a person or how hard they could be to get over. While my mother’s vices were heroin and men, I still had an idea of what a feat Adam’s sobriety must’ve been.

“Wow,” I said, smiling a bit. “That’s impressive.” And it really was.

One corner of his mouth lifted. “Thank you, but it’s honestly an ongoing battle. I just try to take it one day at a time.”

I nodded, inwardly admiring his strength, feeling like I didn’t know him well enough to speak on the topic any further. He did another visual sweep of the alley, and I remembered he was technically still on duty.

“Well, I left Gabby inside with Rissa, so I should be getting back inside,” I announced, already taking a step toward the door.

“Hang on a sec,” Adam said, luring my attention back to him.

“Yeah?”

He walked closer, undoing the distance I’d put between us and then some. We were maybe a couple feet apart and I could now see his blue eyes clearly when the moonlight struck them, causing me to pause. His broad shoulders and those solid arms of his made me feel so many things all at the same time. Safe. Conflicted. Curious. Warm—well my face at least.

“I was thinking. I owe you for breakfast this morning.” Somehow, his confidence never slipped away, but he seemed unsure when he continued. “We should go out to breakfast tomorrow,” he suggested.

My mouth opened again, but words never came out.

I think he mistook my speechlessness for something it wasn’t, prompting him to further explain. “I mean, it doesn’t just have to be you and me. Gabby and Rissa are welcome to come, too. My treat.”

My heart palpitated inside my chest. I wasn’t sure if this was because it’d been so long since a guy had asked for some of my time or if it was just because of
him.
Either way, my cheeks became warm and I felt like a teenager. Biting the side of my lip, I gave Adam’s offer some thought.

“I actually have something going on in the morning,” which was kind of true. I had some reading I needed to get done for school. “Sorry,” I added quietly.

Adam nodded. “No, don’t apologize. It’s fine. I understand.”

I gave a tight smile and again tried to retreat to the building. His presence was almost overwhelming, leaving me to feel like I’d do or say something I shouldn’t. So when he called out a counter offer, I felt my heart leap in my chest.

“What about dinner then?” he asked, honestly impressing me with his persistence. Most men would’ve been done with me after I turned down the first request.

With my back to Adam, I smiled to myself.

“It won’t be anything fancy,” he explained. “I committed to volunteering for a community outreach event at a church downtown. We do it a couple times a year. First we serve a hot meal to the homeless and then we get to stay and eat when it ends. The kids can still come.”

His offer struck a chord with me, and not just because he’d now asked to take me out twice, but because he was doing something for someone other than himself. Something completely selfless. This information made his kind act the night before seem like such behavior was actually the norm, as opposed to being a solitary event, for him. Gabby’s declaration that Adam was different was now stuck in my head. Maybe he
was
a good person. A good
man
.

I looked down at my shoes instead of turning around to look at him. “When?”

It sounded like he was pleased when he answered, “Tomorrow at six.”

I definitely wasn’t out of excuses I could’ve used to turn him down, but I found myself not wanting to give one anymore. I
wanted
to go with him. Wanted
to spend time with him.

“We’ll be ready by 5:30,” I answered. When I glanced back at him over my shoulder, my assumption was confirmed; he
was
smiling.

“Good. I’ll be down to get you guys then.”

Gabby watched, sprawled out on my bed with her feet dangling off the edge, while I tore through my closet looking for something to wear. I knew tonight wasn’t about looking good. My focus should’ve solely been on the people we’d be feeding; however, the fact that I’d already tried on three different outfits made it clear I was concerned with being cute as well as comfortable.

“Wear that shirt with the one strap—the blue and gold striped one,” Gabby suggested, staring at the ceiling.

I shot her a look in the mirror’s reflection. “I did mention this event was taking place at a church, didn’t I? I’m not walking in there with all that skin showing.”

Gabby shrugged.

“What about this?” I asked, holding up a black button-down shirt with three-quarter length sleeves. “With jeans?” I asked.

She made a face. “I guess. Seems kind of plain, but it’ll do.”

I released a breath and gave up, deciding this was where my search was ending. Besides, I only had ten minutes before Adam would be at my door.

“I can’t believe you’re not coming with me,” I said from the closet where I changed out of Gabby’s line of sight.

“What do you mean? I told you I have a paper to write for English. But you two have fun without me,” she teased. “Me and Rissa have an evening of SpongeBob and Shakespeare ahead of us.”

I shook my head at her less than subtle attempt to make this outing with Adam more than it was. I mean sure, I was giving my attire a little too much thought, but that didn’t mean anything. Adam said himself this wouldn’t be anything fancy.

A firm yet gentle knock at the door sent my heart to racing. I slipped into a pair of gray flats and checked my hair.

“Ok, remember there’s dinner in the fridge for you and Rissa when you guys get hungry.”

Gabby got up from my bed and coaxed me toward the door with both her hands pressed against my back. “I know, I know. Just go and have fun. I got this,” she asserted, causing me to chuckle as I approached the door.

Before I could open it, I had to take a deep breath.

The first thing I expected to notice when I opened the door were Adam’s piercing eyes, because they were almost my favorite thing about his physical makeup. And they were the first thing, but then my eyes drifted lower—to his uniform. He smiled at the sight of me, making my cheeks go hot again, but I quickly let my gaze fall on his dark blues again. Badge and all
.

Behind me, Gabby snorted a short laugh, probably knowing already how uncomfortable I was, and then she disappeared in my bedroom, where I assumed she’d be on the computer until Rissa woke up.

“You look great,” Adam said instead of greeting me with a ‘hello’ like I would’ve expected. I only grinned a little, still trying to figure out where the miscommunication came in. I mean, did he really have to wear this?

I swallowed hard, forced a smile, and then stepped out into the hallway. I turned my back on Adam to lock the deadbolt, grateful that I could let the horror show on my face for a moment without him seeing.

“What about the girls?” he asked. “I thought they were coming too?”

When I faced him, his eyes found mine quickly. “Uh… they were. Gabby has a paper to write for school, though. So since she had to stay behind, she volunteered to keep Rissa at home with her.” As soon as I finished speaking, the uniform again distracted me. Unable to keep quiet any longer, I decided to ask Adam what was up. “So, you’re um… you’re wearing
that
? To serve the homeless?” I tried to sound as nonchalant as possible. When I met Adam’s gaze again, he seemed unsure of what to make of my question, and I hoped I hadn’t offended him.

“Well, I won’t actually be
serving
, per se. I’ll mostly be there to make sure things don’t get out of hand. A couple of the other officers volunteer, too, so we’ll all be in uniform.”

I said nothing, just started walking toward the steps, wishing I’d known how this evening was supposed to go before I said yes. From the way things sounded, I’d be with a bunch of strangers while Adam and his comrades manned the doors.

“It bothers you, doesn’t it?” he asked, catching me off guard. “The uniform? I noticed you seemed kind of startled when I was wearing it yesterday.”

I hated that he’d called me out on the carpet. I didn’t want my answer to hurt his feelings. But now I had to come up with a response that wouldn’t offend him.

Seeing as how he could already tell I was feeling awkward, I decided to be honest.
Nice
, but honest nonetheless. “It’s just that the police haven’t exactly been knights in shining armor around here,” I replied. “It isn’t you
directly
. It’s just that—”

“It makes you uncomfortable being with me when I have to wear it,” he interrupted, saying more than I was planning to reveal, but still it was the truth.

When I didn’t confirm or deny, that was all the answer he needed.

We descended the stairs in silence, and I began to have second thoughts. Maybe I should’ve just told him I changed my mind.

Passing by the front entrance, instead heading toward the back, I breathed a sigh of relief. There were sure to be fewer people hanging around back there, meaning fewer people would witness me leaving the building with the
‘resident snitch’.
While I was starting to see Adam in a new light, I was pretty sure no one else’s view of him had changed.

Adam held the door so I could pass in front of him and my shoulder brushed against his solid chest, piquing my interest. In my head, I saw a set of firm pecs, maybe cloaked in soft, dark hairs like his arms, leading down to rippling, godlike abs. Already, his t-shirts had revealed those arms of his, but the rest of it was left to my imagination. However, when I found myself trying to visualize it, I pushed the thoughts out of my mind as we made our way down the sidewalk. We neared Adam’s dark blue BMW, an older model that looked new because he’d kept it up, and the last image slipped away when he spoke.

“So, there’s something I didn’t mention yesterday when I invited you and it didn’t dawn on me until the middle of the night last night I should’ve,” Adam cut into my thoughts.

He had another surprise? On top of the uniform?
I braced myself.

Something amused him as he readied himself to reveal this new information. “I won’t be serving with you, but um, my
moms
will.”

I looked in Adam’s direction as he opened the passenger-side door for me. I plopped down in the seat and stared up at him. “Wait, I’m meeting your mom? I mean moms?
Mom
?” I amended, trailing off because I was unsure whether or not I’d heard him correctly.

He chuckled while I stammered. “Moms. Well, my mother and her partner, Joan. They’ve been together for more than twenty years, though, so yeah. They’re
both
Mom to me.”

I swallowed hard. Not that this news was an issue. It just took me by surprise. Not only would there be
one
mom to meet and not make a fool of myself in front of, there’d be two. “Okay,” I said casually, trying to hide the fact that I was kind of nervous about working so closely with his parents. When I gave Adam a reassuring smile, he closed the door and went around to the driver’s side.

We left the parking lot of our building and headed down Mt. Elliott toward downtown. I looked at the sights of our neighborhood as we passed. I glanced at Adam and decided to find out a little more about him.

“You from the city?” I asked, cocking my head when genuine curiosity set in. If I had to guess, he was from the suburbs.

“Troy,” he answered, confirming my suspicion.

I nodded. “That’s the only place you’ve lived other than here?”

“Yup. All my life until now.”

I turned to look out my window, wondering how his life led him to my neighborhood of all places. “So it’s safe to say you pissed somebody off pretty bad to get stuck with this assignment—stuck in our building.”

The corner of Adam’s mouth lifted. “Believe it or not, I volunteered. The precinct is testing a new project out and I volunteered as a beta. There are about seven other cops spread out across the city, all doing pretty much the same thing I’m doing.”

I turned to look at him and smiled. “Babysitting?” I asked coyly.

He laughed again. “Is that really how everyone feels?” he asked, hanging a right at the corner.

I shrugged my shoulders. “Mostly. I mean, that
is
basically what you do, isn’t it? Walk the building, waiting for somebody to step out of line?”