Page 44 of Not That Complicated

“Adam,” Liam complained. “Come on.”

“Dibs,” Adam said to Liam. His eyes were steady on mine.

“You can’t call dibs on a grown man,” Liam said.

“Can. Did.”

“You can’t call dibs on me,” I said with dignity, “because of your boyfriend.”

“I don’t have a boyfriend,” Adam said.

“Then who was the buff guy from the coffee shop you were soul-gazing with?”

He tilted his head, eyes intense on mine. “A friend.” He ran his thumb along the edge of my jaw. My lips parted.

“Adam, hands off my date.” Liam was starting to sound pissed off, and less like his depraved younger cousin was amusing him.

It might have something to do with the way I was staring up at Adam, transfixed. And the way he was staring back.

Very slowly, I moved his hand, squeezing his wrist. “Stop being rude,” I said. To him and to myself. My voice sounded weird. Almost vulnerable.

“Fine.” Adam’s face shuttered and he stepped back. “Enjoy your evening.” As he stalked past Liam, he ducked down and said, “I’m telling Grandma you’re dating again. She’ll be thrilled. You’ll have to bring Ray to family dinner.”

Liam blanched. “Don’t you fucking dare. Or I’ll tell her you tried to sleep with me.”

Adam paused. “You wouldn’t.”

“Keep inserting yourself into my love life and I will.”

“Mutual destruction?”

“Agreed.”

Adam lifted his chin and went to join the group of young cool people standing by the bar, leaving me and Liam sitting in ringing silence.

“This is going well,” I said, and fidgeted with my wine glass. “Yes?”

Liam sighed. “You and Adam?”

“It’s complicated.”

“Didn’t look all that complicated from where I’m sitting. What it looked like was foreplay. It also didn’t look like it was over.”

“What? No, it’s not over. It can’t be over, we never...we’re not together. We never even hooked up!” Almost. But nobody had an orgasm.

Okay, I did, but Adam had stormed off by then. It didn’t count.

“He seems to know you pretty well.”

I snorted.

“He knows that you’re demanding. That you get yourself worked up.”

“I am not demanding, for starters. I am very easy-going and extremely laidback.”

His face remained blank.

Right. I was talking to a man trained in detecting lies.

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