A Wild Ride (Jessica Brodie Diaries #3)(17)

“Jess,” Lump whined, obviously worried Adam didn’t actually want to, and she would look a fool.

Adam heard the tone. His body turned to her fully, the rest of the room dropping away. “You are more than merely pretty, Betz,” he said quietly, bringing his hand to her face slowly, then behind her head as he brought his body closer to her.

Her chin lifted, willing herself to hide her anticipation and desire, but failing miserably. Adam saw it, making him hesitate long enough for his grin to morph into a soft smile, before he leant the rest of the way, meeting her lips with his.

The contact unleashed something animalistic in Lump; she sprung to action. Her hands slid up his chest to his face, increasing the fervency of the kiss. She brought her body closer, willing his strong arms to hold her tighter. He complied eagerly, hugging her tight, his tongue entering her mouth.

I smiled at Elaine, a happiness in my heart I couldn’t put into words.

After another few seconds the scene was interrupted with a manly throat clear. William had had enough.

Lump, apparently regaining her body, pushed Adam away harshly. Her face was beat red.

“Sorry,” she said in a hushed voice, backing up against the door. “Got a little carried away on that one. Apologize to your girlfriend, Adam.”

“Broke up.” Adam’s eyes were dazed with wonder as they looked down on her, not wanting space.

His body was suddenly pushed into the kitchen, his spot taken over by a grinning William. He grabbed for Lump, intending to kiss her or put her in a head-lock—we never found out, because twenty-odd years of muscle memory kicked in and Lump punched him in the kidney, used his momentum to spin his body around, and had him staggering into the kitchen before he knew what the heck was going on.

William clutched the island and his gut at the same time.

“Sorry,” he wheezed, doubled over. “Forgot you tend to do that when surprised.”

“Oh my God, Willie! I’m so sorry—I just reacted! I didn’t mean to!” She was rubbing his back and looking up at me for help.

I couldn’t help at all—I was too busy laughing hysterically.

“That’ll learn ya, Davies! I’ll sick my—the woman on ya!” Adam laughed.

Elaine was looking at us all with wide eyes. “What just happened?”

I explained about Lump’s background, who was still worriedly rubbing William’s back to make it better. William straightened up with a grin. Fast as lightning, and faster than Lump, he grabbed her and put her in a headlock, giving her a nuggie. Lump then twisted and turned to escape, laughing all the while.

Finally William stopped, straightened up a red faced Lump, and planted a big wet kiss on her cheek. “Merry Christmas, Lumpy!” He laughed and walked toward me.

“You had me going, Jess!” Adam pointed an accusatory finger at me. “You really did. I should have known, teamed with that one!” The finger switched to Elaine. “But you seemed so genuine. I was trying to remember if I killed someone or something!”

Lump’s eyes were glued to Adam’s face, seeing him for the first time with a different lens. She roved over his body, noticing each detail, before landing on his face again, entranced.

Adam noticed, then caught her gaze and held it. His eyes told her plainly that she was what he wanted. What he’d always wanted.

She caught the message, and nodded once. That was it. A simple nod.

Adam’s eyes went soft, his heart spilling over. If we weren’t in the room, I had no doubt he would cross that space and whisk her up into his arms. Instead, he smiled a promise for later, and went back to the conversation, catching me watching the two of them.

I smirked at him, my turn to be all-knowing, and sidled closer to William.

It was New Year’s eve and we found ourselves at a recently opened club with all the usual characters. There had been nothing exciting in the Lump/Adam front. They looked at each other often, Lump admitting that she couldn’t get that Christmas kiss out of her head, but neither was making the longer term move. When the four of us got together we had the best time ever, everyone laughing and having fun. There were always a few pauses for Lump and Adam to stare into each other’s eyes, but the moment would pass and the conversation resumed.

All the guys in our party, most of which were single, went in together to rent the VIP room for the night. William and I were huddled in the corner, enjoying some sober time alone before everything went berserk. We were kissing and petting each other, cuddled up and talking nonsense.

“It’ll happen tonight,” William said, interrupting a lengthy kiss.

“What will?”

“Adam will make his move tonight.”

“Oh my God, how do you know?”

“Adam is a patient man, more patient than the rest of us, but every man has his breaking point.”

“Why hasn’t he made the move before now?”

“I don’t know for sure, but he said a couple days ago that Lump was as ‘frusteratin’ as a stubborn mule.’”

“Yeah, she’s pretty laid back.”

“Lump is pretty laid back?”

“When it comes to making decisions and sticking to ‘em, yeah. She kinda just tries all the options until one is nailed down, often by someone else.”

William shook his head. “I’m glad birds of a feather don’t stick that closely together.”