Page 38 of You're All I Need

Not at all.

I like it.

I like him.

Chapter Eleven

Caden

“How’d it go today?” I ask Jack after Adrienne left for the day.

“Really well. I wasn’t kidding at lunch when I said she had it under control already,” my friend replies as he leans back in his office chair, hands on the back of his head like he’s kicking back and relaxing.

“Good. That’s what we wanted. Someone to help cover the admin officey stuff.”

“Officey stuff,” he says with a snort.

“You know I’m not any help with it, so I’m happy you’re getting help where you need it.”

“You help in other ways,” he says, giving me a small, knowing smile.

“Yeah, but I’m shit at the office side. My brain just doesn’t brain when it comes to papers and numbers.”

“ADHD is a bitch, my friend,” he says.

Ain’t that the truth. My oldest pal knows all about my struggles with ADHD through school. It wasn’t just the concentration I struggled with, but the sitting still and focusing part was quite difficult too. It wasn’t as bad in high school, but even now, well into adulthood, my mind still races as thoughts get jumbled and mixed up. Basketball had been a huge release for me, and a great way to exert that pent-up energy I always seemed to have an abundance of.

I can feel his eyes on me once more. “What’s up?”

He sighs. “Are you sure going to the wedding is a good idea?”

He sounds like a broken record, but I don’t fault him for it. He’s my oldest, closest friend. No one knows what I went through with Dawn and Tyler like Jack. He was the one who dragged me from my own home before I either destroyed it or killed someone in a fit of rage. He’s also the one who nursed my hangover for the next few days while I dealt with the fallout of my failed relationship and the betrayal entwined around us like thorny vines. “No, but I won’t back out. I promised Gram.”

“I get that, but that woman and her future husband did a number on you.”

My brain flashes back to the moment my entire life unraveled. I had no warning, no ability to prepare. The floor just fell out from below me, leveling my world in a matter of seconds. “They can’t touch me now.”

He continues to watch me, as if he’s trying to gauge whether or not to believe me. Truth is, I’m not sure I’d believe me either. The scars on my heart are deeper than the Grand Canyon and just as durable. I’ll carry them forever, a reminder of the pain that comes with love.

“Listen, I get you’re worried. Do I want to go? Fuck no. I’d rather stay home, maybe invite a beautiful woman over to keep me company.”Why does my mind instantly draw Adrienne in that particular scenario?“I promise it’ll be fine. I’ll go to their wedding, sit in the back, drink their free liquor, and then head home before the Chicken Dance.”

His eyebrows shoot toward the sky. “With Adrienne.”

The corner of my mouth curls up before I can stop it. “With Adrienne.”

He opens his mouth and shuts it, as if reconsidering his words. Finally, after a couple of long, tense seconds, he speaks again, “Be careful, Caden. She’s important to Stevie, which makes her important to me. Not to mention the fact she now works for us. Don’t shit where you eat, man.”

“That’s a nasty analogy.”

“It fits.”

“It’s all good, Jack. Promise. Whatever happens with Adrienne and me, well, we have an…understanding. It’s just casual.”

“If you say so,” he mutters, his face full of skepticism.

I do. I choose what affects me, and Dawn, Tyler, and their whole wedding madness isn’t on the list. Neither is Adrienne. We’re just having fun. And I don’t blame Jack for not really understanding. Between his marriage to Mya and dating Stevie, he didn’t spend any time with women, despite my constant encouragement. Sure, he might have snuck in a date or two here and there, but he was a dad first and foremost, even when he didn’t have his kids. Jack doesn’t know the meaning of casual sex, and that’s okay. It’s my thing, not his.

“So, tell me, oh wise one, when are you going to make an honest woman out of Stevie?”

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