Chapter3

I barely heard the rest of the concert. His gaze seemed to burn against my side. I kept touching my lips, where I could almost still feel him. I'd even let my tongue slip into the kiss. The thought made my face burn.

We left the venue together. Neither of us mentioned our clumsy first kiss. After he started the car, Adrian leaned across me to fasten my seat belt. His faint woody scent filled the space between us; for a second, I forgot to breathe.

Then he caught my hand and pressed it to his lips. His mouth was warm and soft. I swallowed.

“Nora Morgan. That was my first kiss. Now you have to make an honest man out of me.”

My mind stalled. He looked like that and had never been kissed? My gaze strayed lower. Maybe the rest of him didn't quite measure up.

Adrian noticed. He shifted in his seat. “Don't worry. Everything's in working order. I'm fully qualified for the position of the other man.”

The windows shut out the noise of the crowd. The car was so quiet I could hear our breathing. His hopeful expression told me he meant it. Hearing a man so serious speak so shamelessly made me flush.

I nearly told him the truth. “Actually, Miles and I are—”

His warm hand closed around the back of my neck and pulled me forward. He kissed me again, slow and deep this time, and didn’t let go for a long while. I ended up against his chest, struggling for breath while he stroked my back and laughed under his breath.

He leaned close to my ear, half pleading and half demanding. “I want your heart as well as the rest of you. Okay? Nora, don't mention him when you're with me. I get jealous. It hurts.”

Dating Adrian showed me how sincere he was. He told me where he was going without being asked, planned our outings in advance, and took care of the little details. With him, I could eat, have fun, and let someone else do the worrying for once. He always seemed to know when I needed cheering up.

Being happy made me reckless, and it also made me nervous. The truth about Miles was a ticking time bomb. A forbidden affair might be exciting while Adrian still believed it was one, but what would happen when he learned I'd let him believe it? Would he doubt I ever loved him? Now I was the one losing sleep.

I'd tried to come clean. Every time I said Miles's name, Adrian looked so hurt that I couldn't finish. Once, posing as a stranger on the forum, I asked: “If your girlfriend lied to you, would you forgive her?”

“Of course,” he wrote. “I'd cut that man to pieces and throw him into the sea for the fish.”

Adrian moved into an apartment across the street from campus and wanted to spend every spare moment with me.

“People in relationships need a little distance sometimes,” I ventured.

He sat on the balcony with a cigarette and looked miserable. “Do you miss him?”

I tried another approach. “A man ought to have some restraint. The chest chain and little leather whip are lovely, but you’re killing my GPA.”

He lifted his shirt and showed me his chest. “Is it too small? Or have you gotten tired of it?”

We might as well have been speaking different languages. All I could do was let his looks distract me from the anxiety.

Three months slipped by, and we were still happy together. Adrian suggested taking me to meet his parents. So the other man wanted to make it official now? There was always another move behind that composed face.

I lifted my chin, ready to tell him everything, but one look at him made me hesitate. I couldn't bear to lose him. It took another hour of cuddling before I finally got him to leave. I turned and saw Miles staring at me, his mouth wide open.

“You... and him?”

He gave me such a long lecture his mouth went dry. I bought us two iced coffees, and we sat on the curb sipping them until he'd calmed down enough to ask, “How long has this been going on?”

“A little over three months.”

He nearly choked on his coffee, looking utterly defeated. “My best friend is a prize-winning orchid, and you’re the goat that ate it.”

Me? A goat? That was my uncle for you. I smiled and slid my own coffee over to him.

“Whatever you say, Uncle Miles. So how do I get out of this?”

He waved a hand, suddenly solemn. “Adrian was raised very strictly. He's a blank slate when it comes to relationships, and he hates lies more than anything. If you're going to lose him and all his money when he finds out, enjoy what you can now. Sleep with him. You'll have a good story to tell when you're old.”