Page 93 of For the Cameras

Adam smiled softly. “Eggplant is the worst.”

“I know,” I said. “The point is that I did so many things I regret. I reallyhavefound myself, since deciding to stay out of relationships. When I got in them, I was always inevitably told that I was too much, or too intense. And I’m done with that.Donewith it.”

A tightness was forming in my throat.

There was a reason I didn’t like talking about this stuff, and why I always kept everything light. It fucking hurt to think of all the guys who had rejected me. Or all the guys that I’d changed myself for, only to get nothing in return.

But I also couldn’t do a damn thing without thinking of Adam.

Couldn’t see the constellations in the night sky without thinking of him, and how much he liked them. Couldn’t imagine life without his sweet text messages. Couldn’t remember what it was like before he had come into my world, making everything feel a little more special.

Adam’s hand hovered over my thigh for a moment, and then he set it down. He squeezed my leg, a comforting feeling that I hadn’t even known I wanted.

“I think that’s a good thing,” Adam finally said, gently running his palm along me. “And it sounds like you actually needed that time and space.”

“I really did.”

“And it also sounds like you really have found yourself,” he said. “As much as any person can. You’re one of the mostconfident people I’ve ever met. I sure as hell can’t see you eating eggplant for anyone now, or ever making your hair different just because they are rude about it.”

I puffed out a bitter laugh. “Fuck, no. Never again.”

He ran his palm down my leg until he reached my open hand, and he laced his fingers through mine, squeezing my hand as he looked in my eye again.

“And that’s why I’d love to try being your boyfriend, if you’d have me.”

My heart lurched again. “Adam, I just told you why that’s not a good idea.”

“Bullshit,” he said, but the look on his face was still kind and calm.

I tipped my head back, sighing as I looked up at the ceiling for a moment. “You don’t know the real me.”

“Pretty sure I do.”

“There are so many ways that I’mtoo much.”

My shields were up again, in full force.

“Not for me,” he said. “Not that I’ve ever seen. In fact, I want a whole lot more of you.”

I shook my head. “You don’t know… how annoying I am on road trips, for example.”

I glanced at him again and he gave me a look of doubt.

“Let me guess,” he said. “You probably want a lot of sugary snacks to start off the trip. You probably talk a lot at first, in a really cute way, noticing all sorts of sights on the road and cars driving by. Then you might demand to put on 80s pop music until you fall asleep in the passenger seat, and then you lightly snore, which you’re embarrassed about?”

I felt like I’d just been hit with a water balloon. “Okay, maybe you actually can accurately predict how I act on a road trip. How the hell did you know about what type of music I’d put on?”

“Trivia night,” Adam said. “Remember? You knew the title of that Madonna album so fast.”

I ignored the stirring of affection deep inside me when he remembered that.

“I do not snore,” I said.

“I’ve slept next to you more than once, now,” Adam says. “You don’t snore, you just… breathe a little louder sometimes.”

“Oh, God,” I said. “This is why. This is why I don’t let people sleep over—”

“And it’s really, really cute.”

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