Over the Phone

Chapter Four

Chloe went home almost immediately, her desire to take a walk forgotten. She could still feel Adam's lips on her skin and it kept a smile on her face. She knew she shouldn't be, but she felt nearly giddy. Adam liked her enough that he'd kissed her… even though he was dating Beck. She groaned out loud as she climbed the stairs to her apartment.

Beck is going to kill me!

The phone rang just as Chloe went into her bedroom. Curiosity getting the better of her, she left the door open to hear who it was.

"Oh hey, Adam," she heard Beck purr. Her voice was so syrupy that Chloe thought she was in danger of a sugar high just hearing it.

"No, sorry, Chloe just left," she lied. Chloe rolled her eyes and went to her computer. She stuffed her ear buds into her ears and turned the music up really loud, hoping to drown out Beck and her lying to her boyfriend. After a few minutes of random googling, there was the tell tale ding in her ear and orange flashing box on the task bar that told her she had a new IM. She clicked it, but didn't recognize the name.

Who is green-benedict17?

Hey Chlo. It was Adam!

How did you get my screen name?! There was a pause, then the 'your friend is typing' dialog appeared.

I asked your manager at work... :) She could almost hear the laughter behind that smiley. She smiled; she felt like she should be mad at him for being so nosey, but she just couldn't manage it.

Shirley has a big mouth.

Yeah, but she thinks I'm cute- said so when she gave me your email address. She laughed out loud at that. Shirley was about 50 years old, plump; a pretty woman who didn't realize she was 50 years old. She was a flirt and a sweetheart, but apparently not much on confidentiality...

I bet she does; Shirley thinks everyone's cute. She smiled and waited for a response.

You trying to say I'm not cute?!

How should I know, Mr. Duck-&-Cover...?

Touché. And with that her cell phone buzzed. Looking at her caller ID, she didn't recognize the number, but knew immediately who it was.

"Don't tell me- you talked Shirley into giving you my cell phone number too..." Adam laughed.

"I wanted to talk to you, and you didn't want me to call you anymore. So I got your email address from Shirley. She gave me your phone number of her own free will."

"And yet you called me..." Chloe said, wondering how it made it better for him to call her cell phone.

"What Beck doesn't know won't hurt her.' She sighed, feeling a tiny bit hurt that he felt that way.

"Adam, you can't go behind her back like that... it's dishonest." Adam was silent for a minute while he thought about what Chloe had just said.

How was I going behind Beck's back to talk to Chl- oh. It hit him like a ton of bricks; Chloe thought he was dating Beck. He wasn’t sure how she come to the conclusion that he was Beck's boyfriend; hadn’t he made it clear he wasn't with anyone?

No wonder she kept telling me not to call her back, but sounding so happy every time I did. Adam could have taken the time and explained it to her right then, but he wanted so bad to see her face when he talked to her. In that minute, he didn't even care that she'd see him… that was only partially true; he definitely cared, but he had to see her. If he kept hiding from her, he knew she was going to stop talking to him all together. If she was going to stop talking to him anyway, he’d like there to be a good reason for it. He felt like he could trust her enough to let her see... Adam liked the way she made him feel; the kiss he’d pressed to her collarbone still burned on his lips even now.