Page 54 of Lost Love Found

I smooth out my hair and head out of the bathroom. I turn the corner to go back to our table and catch Adam in a clearly unpleasant conversation with his mother. His blue eyes, the same ones that had been bright and dilated minutes ago are now dark and intense. His arms are flexed at his side and his shoulders are slumped as if he’s equally angry and… defeated? I feel an immediate need to go to him, but I’m suddenly unsure. No, he needs you. Even just as his friend, you should be there for him. I see Adam’s lips move and I can see that he’s saying, “Let’s not do this right now, mother.” My heart skips a beat as I step closer to him, my feet moving of their own volition. His skin is warm, his muscles taut under my fingertips as I slide my hand down his arm and intertwine my fingers with his.

“Hi, Bethany! It’s so nice to see you again.” I look up at Adam, but his eyes remain on his mom. His arm relaxes and his spine straightens, so I feel like that’s at least an improvement.

“Hi, dear. Are you having a good time? I hear River treated you to a day away yesterday. Did you have fun?” Something about her tone isn’t sitting right with me, but I’m going to go ahead and stamp down the urge to fight bitchy with bitchy.

“Yes, it was amazing. I had never done anything like that before.” I grin brightly and she struggles to force her face into a tight expression that almost resembles a smile.

“Oh, that’s nice. River, please remember to check in with the wedding planner to make sure she has your notes. I’ll see you both at the wedding in a couple of days.” She doesn’t take her eyes off Adam, and he nods once and then looks down at his feet, taking a deep breath as she walks away.

“Hey…” I step in front of him, toe to toe and link his other hand with mine. “That looked like it sucked. Wanna get outta here?” His eyes dart open and hold mine. “Sorry if I overstepped by coming over, by the way.”

He shakes his head once and his blue eyes do that thing where they dance all over my face like he’s constantly memorizing every freckle, every detail. “I’m glad you did. I need to check in with Ashley about the wedding but then we can go.”

We unlock our hands and Adam runs his hand from my lower back to my neck, where he rubs lightly as we walk over to Ashley’s table. I get the sense that the touch is comforting to him as much as it’s wonderful for me. Upon seeing us, she jumps up to greet me.

“Oh my gosh, Elaina! I can’t believe we haven’t even talked yet. Sit, sit, sit. I want to know everything about the girl who stole my favorite cousin’s heart.” I wonder if she’s always this ball of energy or if it’s just wedding jitters and excitement. Either way, I think it’s sweet.

“Ash, is everything OK for the big day? Do you need anything?” River pulls out a chair for me to sit next to his cousin and then takes the seat next to mine.

“Oh, everything’s fine. I want to talk to your beautiful girlfriend, not about wedding stuff.” She twists her face into an exaggerated scowl and proceeds to ask me all about how River and I met. She laughs with such delight when I tell her the part about him putting eye drops in for me. “Addy here’s always had a soft spot for a damsel in distress. He used to love being the prince charming to my princess when we were little.”

The fact that she calls him Addy sends a warm feeling up my sternum and I immediately fall a little in love with Ashley. “Ash, come on!” Adam’s voice is deep with mock anger and Ashley responds with a laugh. “Don’t worry, I won’t embarrass you. I’m sure Lainey already knows all about your big, mushy-softy-tender heart.” She looks at me and takes one of my hands in both of her small, warm ones. “He’s one of the good ones, L. Like the best. And the way he talks about you… well, I can tell you’re a good one, too. He deserves to be this happy.” Her eyes go all glossy and she shakes her head lightly. I feel my eyes widen, unsure of how to react so I do the only thing I can think of. I hug her. She giggles and sits upright, wiping her face.

“OK, honey. I think it’s time you get some rest. What do you say?” Ryan’s gentle voice comes from behind her as he places both hands on her shoulders.

She lets out a long, wistful sigh. “Yeah… OK. Elaina, you’re coming to the bachelorette party tomorrow night. Don’t deny a bride her one wedding wish!” She winks at me, and I can’t help but smile and nod at her. “It was so good to meet you, Lainey.” She hugs me tightly, then repeats the move on Adam. “Goodnight, Addy.” She whispers something to him I can’t hear, and he grins, cheeks blushing a little. Ryan scoops her up in a gentle embrace before they walk away all wrapped up in one another. Gosh, they sure are sweet.

“I think I love her,” I say to no one as I sit back down, but I hear Adam chuckle behind me as he turns and pulls my chair toward him so my knees are in between his.

“She has that effect on people. Kind of like someone else I know.” He smiles at me, and his baby blues sparkle again, which makes me so thankful we didn’t leave after that ugly situation with his mom. I’m glad he got his sparkle back.

I can’t hide the giddiness in my voice when I talk about Ashley. “She calls you Addy! And she called me Lainey. And did you see her and Ryan? They’re so cute, it makes my insides all warm and gooey!” I clasp my hands together and rest my chin on them watching as Adam’s chest shakes with a laugh.

“She’s never been OK calling me River. And she’s heard me call you L or Lainey for weeks now.” He’s talked about me that much? His hands come to rest on my hips so I lower mine to his forearms. “Ryan is a great guy. I’m really happy for them.” He looks off behind me to where they just were and smiles. I sit forward and kiss him because I just can’t NOT kiss him. He makes it impossible. I feel his grip tighten on my hips, his forearms flexing. We both seem to pull away at the same time. The tension from earlier is like a fog around us, heavy, thick, and difficult to move through now. We sit with our foreheads together for a few seconds before he lets out a breath. “We should get going, too.”

I nod, and stand, linking his fingers with mine. We walk in companionable silence to our room, but I hear him sigh a total of three times before we get there. His brows are furrowed like he’s trying to work through something, so I give him the space to do that.

When we walk in and the door clicks shut, I tug his hand, willing him to turn towards me. I kick off my shoes and then trace his jaw with my fingers, traveling to his temples.

“What’s going on in here?” I tap gently twice with my index finger and rake my fingers through his hair. He shakes his head twice and lets out a huffed breath. “Is it anything I can help with?” My fingers continue softly scratching and massaging his scalp and he relaxes some more. His head shakes again and when his eyes meet mine, I believe him. “Would you tell me if I could?”

He swallows and his gaze softens as he nods his response.

“Promise? And I’m going to need your words for this one.” I smile at him, hoping he understands I just want to be sure he’s OK without pressuring him to talk.

“I promise.” He leans down and kisses my shoulder.

“Thank you.” My grip around his neck tightens and I hold his face down close to mine, my nose brushing his earlobe. My other hand splays up his abdomen to his hard chest and I feel him tense everywhere I touch.

“Tell me what you want, Elaina.” I swallow as the air rushes out of my lungs, his request taking me by surprise.

“I…I want…” I swallow again. I know exactly what I want, but not how to ask for it. And I don’t want to push his limits.

“You can tell me, Lainey. You can ask for anything and it’s yours.” He runs his hands up my bare back and fists his hand in my hair, gently tugging my bun loose, causing my pulse to quicken. I can tell he notices because he licks the very spot on my neck.

“I want to finish what we started earlier. Please.” My shockingly steady hands start to move to unbutton his shirt from top to bottom, eyes darting up to meet his again. “I want to feel your skin on mine.” I pull the bottom of his shirt out of his pants and continue. “What do you want, Adam?” My hands slide up his chest to his shoulders and down his arms, forcing his shirt down to the floor. When my hands reach for his belt, he doesn’t stop me and once his pants and socks are tossed aside I steer him toward the sofa.

“I want to hear all the little noises you make when I touch you.” His hands slip under the hem of my dress, fingers slipping under the lace covering my ass. “I want to know what your nipples taste like on my tongue.” He presses his hardness into me and I whimper, needing more. “I want to know exactly how wet you are for me under these lacy panties.” I squeeze my thighs together and he gives my ass a final squeeze and moves his hands to my waist.

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