In The After

2.2 ADELAIDE

I have no idea what I'm doing. None. I feel like a crazy person. I don't do these things. It's not in my nature to be even vaguely disloyal.

But.

The minute I saw him that first night after he took out Shane I felt...something. A pull. A draw. Something undeniable. I mean, sure, it could just be attraction. Pure, sexual attraction. He IS a specimen. Oh my. Seriously. It's kind of ridiculous. The hair, the eyes, the body, the sultry voice. Plus...he was a perfect stranger that placed himself between me and a fist. That's hero-worthy. And every woman wants a hero.

My friends are sick about him. Long after he left our table with a paid open tab on Thursday, they swooned over him.

"What the hell, Adelaide?" Talia gaped. "You get ALL the guys." Of course, she wasn't talking about Shane at that point. She was referring to the Adonis that kissed my hand like a gentleman and walked away.

"I don't even really know him," I'd admitted.

How wrong was it, though, that I wanted to? I mean, I am ENGAGED. I agreed to marry Shane. He was steady, we've been together almost two years. He accepted me and my circumstances.

But.

His temper.

His drinking seemed to be more frequent and his drinking equaled his temper. One begat the other. It wasn't that I was an angel. I pushed back sometimes. And I knew better-it was always better to just let him rant and let it go. He often didn't remember what he'd done when he was drunk. And when he was sober we got along fine.

But even in the beginning when it was supposed to be this bright, new thing with us, I didn't feel the things I felt under Cade's attention. Shane was a guy that traveled in the same circles as I did. We'd known each other in a broad sense in high school. We'd run into each other at parties. And two years ago New Years Eve he finally asked me out. Instead of feeling the flushed rush I felt when Cade asked me to meet him, I remember thinking simply, "why not?".

Shane is not a bad man. He's been there for me, if sometimes a bit controlling. And I found even that flattering for awhile. Wanting to know where I was and who I was with all of the time- it was nice to have someone care enough to be interested in that.

It's only since getting engaged four months ago that I've noticed a shift- from courtship to ownership. And Cade aside, if I was honest with myself, it was starting to make me uncomfortable.

The scene that Cade interrupted on South Beach wasn't the first of it's kind. It also wasn't the last.

I have to quit stoking Shane's fire. It's not good for

Tristen.

I look in my rear view mirror and smile. He's so excited to be going somewhere. Money has been a little tight so we've been doing the free entertainment circuit: beach, park, library. Today is special.

I cross the bridge from downtown Miami and feel butterflies take flight in my belly. I keep telling myself I'm doing nothing wrong. That I'm just accepting a friend's offer to hang out.

This is what I tell myself but my heart seems to think differently.

He could stand me up, of course. And I wouldn't even blame him. I glance down at my modest engagement ring with no small amount of guilt. I have no idea what Cade's doing, either.

Unless. 

Unless he feels the same inexplicable draw that I do.

Then, we may actually be in trouble.

If I were smart, I'd turn around right now and go home, throw out the $20 with his phone number, focus on the relationship I have.

I don't though. I hit my turn signal and pull into the parking lot. I am exactly on time. I see him and something in me sighs. I park, try to calm my nerves, wipe my hands on my jeans. Then I do the exact opposite of the wise thing: I get out of my car.