Taste (Sense Series Book 2) (5 page)

“I didn’t come crawling to his door. I came to him because I needed a place to stay, and I knew that he would let me stay with him. He’s always been there for me, and he always will be,” she spat.

“You’re sadly mistaken,” I said as I rose from my seat, “I see that I was right about you. Thanks for breakfast,” I said sarcastically.

“Me and Adam are more than happy to have you as a guest in our home,” she said with an evil smile.

I walked out the door and didn’t look back. I knew that if I stayed there any longer things could have gotten physical. I showered, put on some casual clothes because I wasn’t in the mood to dress up, and headed out the door to work. I fought the urge to call Adam as I waited on the train. I would have to have a serious conversation with him when we both got home from work. I wasn’t looking forward to that conversation at all.

My stomach turned, and I thought of having to talk to Adam about his precious Melanie. I’d spent most of my day thinking about him living with her. I knew that she couldn’t wait to sink her claws into him. I couldn’t get out of work fast enough because they weren’t used to me wearing jeans and everyone commented on it.

When I got to my apartment, Adam was standing in front of my door. My stomach dropped, and my palms got sweaty. 

“Hey,” he said with a look of relief, “I heard about what happened with Melanie, and I wanted to see how you were doing?

“We need to have a talk about it,” I responded as I opened my door. We entered my apartment, and I took a seat on the couch.

“Mel, told me about the misunderstanding. She felt so bad this morning that she called me around 10 a.m. She wants to apologize, but she’s afraid that you may not want to see her.”

I began to seethe on the inside; I knew that she wasn’t sorry about anything. She was just trying to cover her own ass with Adam.

“What exactly did she tell you?” I asked.

“She told me that you took some things that she said the wrong way. Particularly when she asked about our relationship, and when she said that I would always be there for her,” he said.

“She had no right to question me about the nature of our relationship, and it’s also clear to me that she wants you. She’s not over you and she wants you back. She’s used to having you wrapped around her finger,” I said.

“I’m not wrapped around her finger,” he said shortly.

“So then you’re not 
always
 there for her? You didn’t call her 6 months ago and beg for her back?”

“She told you that?”

“Where else would I have heard it? She was bragging about it this morning,” I said angrily.

“I’m sorry that things got so catty between the both of you. It’s true that she’s used to me being there for her, and she’s just a little threatened.”

“I don’t want her to stay with you anymore, “I blurted out.

“What?” He asked.

“You heard me, and this time I’m completely sober. I don’t think that it’s a good idea for you two to be living together.”

“I’ve already told you where I stood on this situation. She doesn’t have anywhere else to go.”

“No, she doesn’t want to go anywhere else,” I corrected him.

He rubbed his hand down the length of his face and gave a groan.

“I don’t want to be in the middle of you two. The bottom line is that she’s sorry for the trouble that’s she’s caused, and she wants to make it right. I would like for you to continue to be in my life, and I hope this doesn’t stop that.  I’ve had a long day and my body hurts, I’m getting ready to take a nap, and I will see you later,” he said as he stood to his feet and walked  towards my door.

“So that’s it?” I asked, “We’re not going to discuss it anymore?”

“I don’t get why I would have to have this conversation with someone that I’m not in a real relationship with. You’ve set a lot of stipulations on what we have, and I’ve put up with it. Now it’s your turn.”

I was rendered speechless, and he walked out of my door. I could admit that he had a valid point, but he had no idea how vindictive that little bitch in his apartment really was. Maybe he knew and didn’t care. She was probably one of his first loves, and maybe he was happy to have her back in his life.

Melanie was right, I’d only been dating Adam for a few months and I didn’t know him as long or as well as she did. I had the feeling that I was standing in the way of two people that may end up together anyway. My decision to wait to get into a relationship with him seemed to prove me right. He had a woman in his life that he’d been pining for, for years. She was coming to collect her prize, and I was just a consolation.

I fought the urge to grab a drink and rested my head on my arms in my lap. I didn’t want to lose Adam, and I wouldn’t jump the gun and leave him. I would just have to stick around to see how it all played out. If he chose to be with her, then I haven’t lost anything, and if he chooses me then I’ve won. 

I grabbed my phone to catch up with my friend Lizzie, it had been far too long.

****************************************************

The last two weeks have been complete hell. I thought that Adam and I could move past the Melanie problem, but we’re more apart than ever. I’ve only spent 3 nights with him, and he’s pulling away from me. When I ask him to come over he has an excuse, and he invites me to spend time with him and Melanie but I just can’t do that.

He seems to prefer her company and now that he has her, I’m needed less. I do my best to not think about what they’re doing. I feel like my worst fears about Adam have come true. He has his Melanie, and I’m not needed anymore. I swear that I have the worst luck when it comes to men. I could have been engaged to Michael and planning my wedding right now. Instead, I chose to follow my heart and not my head again.

So I was surprised when he came over and asked me to go to the mall with him. His younger sister’s birthday was a week away, and he wanted to get her a really nice gift. Adam isn’t good at choosing gifts for women. He’ll probably get her some body wash from Bath and Body Works and call it a day. That’s completely unacceptable, and I’m going to make sure that he wows her with his gift.

You can never go wrong getting a woman electronics, shoes, clothes, and purses. However, it all has to be something that we really want. I wasn’t 18 that long ago, well it’s been a while, but I have no interest in discussing that. My 30s are creeping upon me with a vengeance. Why can’t the body stop aging at 25?

The cab ride to the Water Tower Mall was so damned awkward. I was used to our interactions being effortless, and we never had to force conversations between us. He and I could talk about any and everything.  We sat in the back of the cab looking out of opposite windows and stealing glances at each other when we thought that the other wasn’t looking. I wanted to know what was going through his head. Did he miss me at all?

“So what made you ask me to go with you? Melanie wasn’t available?”

“I wanted to do this with you,” he said quietly.

I inwardly shook my head. I decided not to press the issue further, and decided that Melanie must have not been available. I made the personal decision to cut ties with him after our shopping trip. I couldn’t sit around and play second fiddle to Melanie forever. I deserved to be first in someone’s life and I wasn’t going to be a part of his ridiculous love triangle.

We walked from store to store and finally settled on a Michael Kors purse. It was beautiful, and Adam didn’t care for it, but I convinced him that his sister would love it. I mean can we trust a man that wears flannel every day to make sound fashion decisions?

As we walked through the mall to exit I saw Melanie with 3 other women at a makeup counter. I didn’t tell Adam that I saw her because I didn’t want to speak to her or see her face. A few seconds later Adam spotted her and suggested that we go over to say hello. I begrudgingly followed him towards her. When she looked up at us, a startled expression was on her face.

“Hey!” She said with fake enthusiasm.

“Hey Mel, I didn’t know that you were coming to the mall. Are you stalking me?” Adam said with a smirk.

“Oh Puhlease,” she grinned.

I stood a few feet away and shifted uncomfortably, I wanted to get these introductions over and head home.

“Who is your friend?” One of her friends said.

“He’s a really good friend of mine,’ Melanie responded with a little edge to her voice.

“Wait, is this Adam?” Another girl said excitedly.

“Yes I’m Adam,” he responded.

“Now that everyone has met each other, we ladies need to finish shopping. See you later,” she said as she kissed him on the cheek and then shot me a dirty look.

“Not so fast,” one of her friends laughed, “I have a score to settle with Mr. Adam.”

“Oh yeah?” He asked in amusement.

“Yeah, you stole our roommate,” she said, “We came home one day, and she was moving out. We didn’t even get a warning,” she pouted.

My mouth dropped open in disbelief. Was this really happening?  I waited to see if Adam was going to catch on to what she’d said. His easy smile turned into a look of utter confusion.

“You all were her roommates? As in the roommates that put her out?”

Her friend’s faces began to echo Adam’s, “Put her out? We would never put our bestie out.”

“Adam, I can explain,” Melanie said.

“Don’t bother, because it’s quite clear what happened. Get your stuff out of my apartment, You have until tomorrow,” he said.

He turned on his heels and walked towards the door. I tried to keep up with him, but his pace was too fast, and I lost him in the crowd on Michigan Avenue. I walked up and down the street trying to find him, but it was clear that he was gone. I understood why he stormed out, but I couldn’t understand why he left me. Calling him didn’t work because it went straight to voicemail.

I hailed the nearest free cab and went home. My mind raced with thoughts of everything that had just happened. Melanie was a little sneak, and I couldn’t say that it completely surprised me. The whole time she was scheming to get Adam back within her grasp. I felt a twinge of self-satisfaction because I was right about her the entire time. I felt a little bad for Adam because he trusted her, even though she’s proven to him that she has no reason to be trusted. He was naïve, and he wanted to believe the best about everyone.

Against my better judgment, I knocked on his door when I got to his apartment. He opened the door wide and walked to his couch and sat down.

“Hey, you left me,” I said.

“I know, sorry about that.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked. 

“What is there to talk about?” he said.

“About what happened at the mall, I know that it’s bothering you.”

“Everything is bothering me. I’m so tired of all of it. I seem to attract the same kind of woman over and over again. When will I ever learn?” He said.

“Are you referring to me too?” I asked.

“Well aren’t you? You string me along, and take what you want, while giving me nothing in return.”

A surge of rage went through me. I was honest with him about my feelings the entire time and taking things slow didn’t mean that I was using him. It was his choice to decide if he wanted to date me or not. He said that he could deal with it, and he was an adult, he had the right to walk away whenever he saw fit.

“You’re clearly speaking out of anger, so I’m not going to even justify that with a real response.”

“Typical,” he murmured.

“What does that supposed to mean?” I asked.

“It means that, you’re never going to really make a decision about me. It’s always going to be this way. You’re no better than Melanie,” he said.

“It’s best that leave, before we both say things that we regret.”

“It’s time for you to make a decision. Either we’re together, or we’re not. No more unofficial relationships. You can’t have it both ways anymore.”

“The only reason you’re giving me this ultimatum right now is because you found out that Melanie is a liar. You don’t really want me. I’m the person that you want to settle for. You’ve been just fine without me for the last two weeks,” I spat.

“That’s a load of bull and you know it. I’ve wanted you before she ever returned.”

“So you’re telling me that you didn’t think of taking her back over the last couple of weeks.”

His silence gave me the answer that I needed.

“See, just admit it,” I said.

“Yes, I did think of taking her back. It was difficult being here with her, and having her want me. She wanted to actually be with me, with a title and everything. She wouldn’t have been afraid of letting people know that we were together. But the fact is that, I didn’t take her back. I didn’t do it because I didn’t want her anymore, I wanted you.”

“It’s not fair for you to want me to make this kind of decision right now.”

“It may not be fair, but this is where I stand. Either it’s all or nothing, I can’t accept anything else.”

I stood there shaking with anger and disappointment. I didn’t want us to end, but I didn’t feel like he was being fair. I felt like I was being manipulated much in the same way that he claimed.