Always Adam

Chapter 45

It's several days later when Pam and Gary are out on a date night and the four of us are outside playing cards against humanity that past relationships come up. I'm not even sure how it comes up. It has something to do with one of the cards Justin had. "That skank was never good enough for you. You treated her like a fucking princess, and she treated you like shit," Jenna says. Justin looks at Jenna. The hurt apparent. "It still hurts Jenna. Can you show some compassion?" he says. I sit looking back and for the between the two. "She's a cheating whore. She was probably cheating on you the entire time you were together." Justin tosses his cards on the table stands fast knocking his chair over. I watch as he goes inside clearly upset.

Brett stands and picks up the chair. "That was harsh," he says to Jenna. The two of them begin to bicker. I get up and go inside to look for Justin. I find him in his room. His door is open and he's sitting on his bed. His head against the back of the headboard. "Hey," I say remaining outside the doorway not wanting to invade his privacy. He motions me in and pats the bed next to him. I climb on the bed and sit next to him. "She can be such a bitch sometimes," he says. "Bad break up," I ask him. "You can say that. She cheated on me with my best friend." "Ouch," I say reaching out to take his hand. When his fingers close around mine, I say, "I had a bad break up to."

"I'll tell you about mine if you tell me about yours," he says. I lean into him resting my head on his shoulder. I tell him about Adam and Nikki. How he left me for months with no contact. How when he finally came back to me it was because she didn't remember him. "Shit Carly. Your story is way more fucked up than mine. I started dating Veronica our sophomore year and that was it for me. When I went off to college, she said she could do the long distance relationship. I believed her. I was faithful. Kyle was my best friend since grade school. I guess they were hanging out a lot while I was at school. The worst part is instead of just telling me, they were going behind my back."

He pauses. "I came home a couple days early for Christmas and figured I'd just surprise them both. When I couldn't reach Veronica, I drove over to Kyle's house figuring we could hang out until she called me back. I knocked on his apartment door and when he didn't answer I went in. I knew he was there because his car was there. I called out and when he didn't answer I made my way to his bedroom. When I opened the door, I could see he was having sex with someone, so I quickly closed it. I went out to his kitchen and got myself a beer. I decided to call to Veronica again. When the phone rang, I could hear it ringing in Kyle's house. I followed the ring and found her phone and purse sitting beside the recliner chair in his living room."

"Shit Justin." I gave his hand a squeeze. "And that's how I found out. Nothing like losing your best friend and girlfriend in the same day." "It was shitty day. I left Veronica a voicemail that wasn't very nice. I basically called her whore, so I don't know why it pisses me off when Jenna says it. I then called Kyle's phone and told him I hope she's worth ruining our friendship over. I left his house and haven't talked to either of them since." "People suck. Funny things is, deep down I know I still love Adam," I say. He laughs. "I get it. I still love that cheating whore," he says with a laugh then adds. "Aren't we a pair." I look over at him and say, "I think we're exactly what each other needs right now."

That was the first night I slept with Justin. And I do mean sleep. Nothing happened. We just fell asleep in his bed. It would be about a week later I would learn a little more about Justin. Something that would make my thoughts of sleeping with Justin more of a reality. It was date night for Pam and Gary again. This time we were playing a drinking game. Someone would ask a question and the other three had to answer it truthfully. If they didn't want to answer it, they had to take a drink. We were well into a lot of liquor consumption before an hour had even passed. Jenna asked the question "How many people have you had sex with." Her eyes pinned on Brett. "Dude just tell her how many," Justin says. I've learned this is not a topic Brett will discuss with her. Brett does a shot avoiding the question. "It can't be that many," Justin says. "You mean you don't even know," I ask him. He shakes his head no. "He refuses to divulge that information." "It's private," Brett says.

Jenna flips him off and turns to Justin. "Your turn bro." He hesitates and glances at me. "I'm not afraid of my number," I say. "How many have you slept with Carly," he asks. I look at him and say "One. Only Adam." Relief crosses his face. "One. Only Veronica," he says. Both Jenna and Brett laugh. "Seriously you two. Just take the shot," he says. "I'm completely serious Brett. I only slept with Adam." He looks at me as though I'm speaking a foreign language. "You're serious," he says. "I am. I hadn't dated before Adam. Long story for another day. After Adam I dated but couldn't bring myself to take that step with anyone." "That's so sad and kind of romantic," Jenna says giving me a pouty face.

All eyes turn to Justin. "What. I've only ever dated Veronica. I was always faithful. I haven't dated since we broke up." Brett shakes his head. "You both need to get laid." Jenna stands and says, "I'm going to change and then going in the hot tub." She gives Brett a look and he quickly stands to follow her. I look over at Justin and laugh. He shakes his head. "I'm so glad you offered up your number before me. I would have never had the nerve to admit mine." I look at him and ask why. "There's nothing wrong with your number Justin. You were with Veronica a long time. I would hope you wouldn't run out and start screwing every girl in sight after breaking up with her." "I guess I just don't think like most guys. I don't want to mess around with easy chicks. If a girl is willing to sleep with me without really knowing me then I can only imagine how many other guys she's done that with."

"You're a good guy Justin. I was fortunate with the guys I dated after Adam. None of them pressured me for sex or flipped out when I wouldn't. I wanted to, but I was still so hung up on Adam." "I can relate. So, tell me how Adam became your first. Wait never mind. That's probably too personal." "It's fine," I say as I start my story. When I finished, he says "And you're still friends with Mike?" I laugh. "Yes, but it took some time for me to rebuild the trust. He's proven to be a good friend." We talk for another hour before we both decide to head to bed. I send a group text to Ava, Nat and Mike while lying in bed. I'm filling them in on the last few days. Nat sends me a text outside of the group. Justin sounds like a good one night stand or fuck buddy. I read Nat's text and smile. I've been considering it. Nat texts back almost immediately. Seriously? OMG Carly I am so proud of you. Nat and I text privately for a bit and then we all say goodnight.

I spend two days at work taking notes in meetings. Talk about boring. I'm learning a lot, but the constant discussions and note taking is exhausting to me. I'm beyond happy my work days are over for the week. The next morning, I walk into a conversation between Jenna and Justin. Brett is sitting silent. "Jenna I'm not going. You know they're going to be there. Why would I put myself through that?" I take a seat at the table next to Justin. "What's going on," I ask. "Justin's friend Austin is having a party this weekend and Justin is refusing to go because the whore and traitor might be there," Jenna says. I look over at Brett. He shrugs. "We all have the same friends Justin. It's not fair that you lose Veronica, Tyler and all our friends because of them. Fuck them. You need to go and show them you don't give a shit about them and their relationship." Justin runs his hands through his sleep hair and groans.

Brett fills his bowl with more cereal and says, "We'll be there with you." He shakes his head. "It's a long drive if things go bad. I don't know." A form starts to plan in my mind. "What if I pretend to be your new girlfriend. That might make it easier and more comfortable for you." Jenna squeals. "That's a great idea. Not only will it look like you're over her and don't give a shit about them, but it'll make Veronica's head blow. Carly is so much hotter than her. She's going to be green with envy. This is going to be awesome." It takes the entire day for Jenna to convince Justin to go to Austin's party. The drive to Tucson is almost two hours. Brett made reservations for us at a hotel so we could spend the night rather than attempting to drive home after the party.

Friday evening Brett and Jenna decide to go to dinner and take in a movie. Justin and I decide to stay home. We were both comfortable with each other, but we haven't kissed. Our plan was to spend the evening in his room getting a little more comfortable with each other. We ate dinner with Gary and Pam, then said we were going to watch a movie in Justin's room. If they thought it was odd, neither said anything. We both lay on Justin's bed while he flips through the guide looking for a movie. He settles on the fast and the furious. He moves closer to me and I cuddle into him. "This alright," he asks. I nod yes. After some time, his hand seeks out mine and we hold hands. Halfway through the movie his other hand starts caressing my arm. I look up at him and his head dips down. His lips touch mine. Its soft and hesitant at first. When I respond he deepens the kiss. We kiss for several minutes before he pulls away. He clears his throat and says, "I don't think we'll have any trouble pulling it off." I smile. "I agree. That went really well." We watch the rest of the movie and I head to room after it's over.