16. Adam

16

ADAM

I hesitated, my hand hovering over River’s bedroom door.

After my breakdown last night, I’d slept like a baby. When my alarm clock went off this morning, I couldn’t move.

Going to work and pretending I wasn’t going through a huge life crisis was more than I could handle today. So, I messaged my brothers and told them I needed the day.

They agreed without question, which meant our mom had likely told them I’d gone to Victoria’s place to get my stuff yesterday and they knew I needed the space to process.

If only they knew how much I needed to process.

But after staring at the ceiling of River’s spare room for ten minutes, I had an idea. A quick call to West and I had more than a plan.

I opened River’s door and flung myself at him.

“Fucking fuck,” he cried under my weight. “You used to be lighter.”

“I used to be a lot of things.” I dug my fingers into his ribs, which was a ticklish area for him. He squirmed under me, which was when I felt his morning wood. Of course my confused and deranged dick had to react.

Fuck. Bad idea.

I moved quickly off him and stole his pillow, covering his head with it.

“You can’t just walk into people’s rooms like this. What if I was jerking off?” His voice was muffled under the pillow.

“You weren’t because I didn’t hear you moan my name.”

“Asshole.”

He managed to grab the pillow and push it off him. It ended up between us, so I pulled it over my lap, hoping by the time I told him about my plan, I wouldn’t have an awkward walk out of the room.

“Hey, let’s play hooky today. Just you and me,” I said.

“It’s my day off,” he chuckled.

“Fine. I’ll play hooky then.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“Get dressed, and you’ll soon find out.”

I flung the pillow back at him and ran out of his bedroom.

By the time River came out, dressed and ready to go, I had myself and my dick under control.

The bell above the door to Margo’s Ice Cream Parlor jingled as we stepped inside, the familiar scents of vanilla, sugar, and coffee wrapping around us.

When Margo opened, she hired our agency to help her with the launch. The campaign went viral, and Margo became a staple in Cliffborough.

Initially, she only offered her homemade ice cream but had since started opening earlier and offering breakfast. Emery was completely obsessed, as seen in his social media feed, which was practically an homage to Margo’s ice cream, Lex, and their pets Gordon the gecko and Goldie the fish.

“Taking the day off, huh?” River teased as we picked a table by the window. His light-green eyes seemed brighter in the morning sunshine, almost aquamarine. How had I never noticed that? “What’s the occasion?”

“Missed this,” I admitted as I picked up the menu, gesturing between us.

The server appeared, her cheery demeanor adding to the morning’s charm.

“Good morning, gentlemen. What can I get for you today?” she asked.

“Can I have Margo’s special stack?” I asked.

“Bacon and ice cream?”

“Absolutely.”

She smiled. “How about you, sir?” she asked River.

He shook his head, a smile curling up his lips. “Hell, why not? I’ll have the same.”

“Six months working here and it’s still my favorite,” she said. “Would you like coffee?”

“Yes, please,” we said at the same time.

When she left, River leaned forward on the table.

“So, are you going to let me in on this crazy plan you have?”

I snorted. “I didn’t say it was crazy.”

“You woke me up by jumping on me.”

“That’s fair. I don’t want to reveal too much. Just go with the flow.”

He raised a brow.

“You’re becoming pretty good at that,” he said.

“At what?”

“Going with the flow. Being knocked down and then standing and dusting yourself off like nothing happened.”

I looked at the world outside the window. A few people ran on the pavement by the river. There were a few mothers with strollers and old ladies walking arm in arm as they talked.

“What’s the point in staying down? Taking you and my brothers on my pseudo-honeymoon was the best decision I could have made at the time. If I stay home feeling sorry for myself, what am I telling the universe? That I’m just the stuff in those boxes? Nah. It’s time to find out who Adam Spencer is.”

As I said that, the server came with our order. Pancakes piled high, strips of crispy bacon peeking out from under a generous scoop of ice cream, and plenty of coffee to wash it all down.

“And right now, I’m going to be the Adam who can eat a breakfast bigger than my head, just like we used to do when we were cramming for finals and having one good meal a day.”

River held up his fist, so I bumped it. We didn’t need any more words.

We fell into a rhythm of conversation as we polished off our breakfast fueled by the best coffee. We talked about everything and nothing, just like the old times.

“Feels like it’s been ages since we’ve done this,” River said.

“Too long,” I agreed. “And it’s mostly my fault. I know I wasn’t as available when I was with Victoria. To be honest, it all seems like a different lifetime, like I was a different person.”

“You don’t have to apologize. When you’re in a relationship, the other person takes priority. It’s normal to want to stay in or go out with them.”

I cut a chunk of syrupy pancake with my fork and brought it to my mouth, moaning over the perfect flavor and texture.

When I looked up, River’s gaze was on my mouth. When his eyes met mine, I looked away quickly.

“It’s not that I didn’t want to go out with you or my brothers,” I continued. “It sounds like such a ridiculous excuse now, but Victoria wanted us to hang out together at home, and she traveled so much as it was that I also craved those moments with her.”

“Like I said?—”

“I also craved moments with you, but I didn’t know how to make it happen without Victoria going off the rails,” I interrupted because I needed him to know it. “I still don’t understand why she disliked you. Did something happen between you two?”

“Sort of. After you guys became serious, there was one time we went out to Tanner’s and got drunk. You crashed at my place afterward. The next time I met her, she made it clear she thought I was a bad influence.”

“I didn’t know that. I’m so sorry, River.”

He shrugged. “In a perfect world, our best friends will find a partner we can be friends with too. The world isn’t perfect.”

The clink of cutlery against our empty plates marked the end of breakfast. I wiped my mouth with a napkin as I caught River’s gaze.

“Let’s take a walk by the river,” he suggested.

“It’s like you know my master plan for today. Let’s grab the check.”

We crossed the road to the Riverwalk, walking side by side.

I reached into my pocket, pulling out my old iPod, scratched and worn from years of use. I offered one earbud to River.

As the first notes of one of our songs passed my eardrums, I closed my eyes for a second and breathed in the morning air. I let the music transport me back to those carefree college days when the future was a distant concern and our only worry was scoring the next hookup and passing exams.

When the first chords of the next song played, we both stopped and looked at each other, grinning. Europe’s “The Final Countdown” had been the song that always brought a smile to our faces. The infectious cadence had brought us out of many funks. We couldn’t not sing along.

People walking past stared at us with a smile. Even our out-of-tune performance was enough to make the world a better place. When the song ended, we were doubled over laughing, our voices hoarse from the strain.

“Fuck, I needed that,” River said.

“Yeah, that was fun. Are you ready for the next stage of our hooky day?” I asked.

“Again. I’m not playing hooky. You are.”

“Details.” I shrugged.

We crossed the bridge and headed back toward the car.

“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” he asked.

“We’re going to the Star Finders Foundation.”

River stopped abruptly.

“Why?”

“They need help.”

“They always need help. Why today?”

What was going on? River was always ready to spend time at the foundation helping out. Why was he being weird today?

“Well, we have time today. Unless you have other plans. I mean, you didn’t mention anything.”

“No…I don’t have plans. It’s just…never mind. Let’s go.”

He resumed walking, so I had to take a couple of quick steps to catch up.

“What’s up? I can call West and cancel if you want.”

“West?”

“Yeah, he’s there all day today. Drew is working, which you should know because he works for you.”

“Oh. Um…okay. Sorry, that was probably a little weird.”

I chuckled. “If you agree you’re playing hooky with me today, I’ll let it slide.”

River laughed and put his arm over my shoulder. “Fine. I’m playing hooky. Even though it’s my day off,” he muttered under his breath.

“Come on. We don’t want to be late.”

The old hospital building was on the edge of the city, which was convenient because it was closer to where so many of the kids Drew and West wanted to help lived.

Several cars and bikes were in the parking lot, and the door to the old emergency room waiting area was open.

West was behind the glass, surrounded by paperwork.

“Is this where we come for emergencies?” I joked.

West raised his head and smiled. “Fuck no. But if you want to break your back painting a few rooms and get paid in bad coffee, you’re in the right place.”

“I guess we’re in the right place,” I said.

“Painting rooms?” River whispered next to me.

“Yup.”

West handed us a couple of paint coveralls and pointed to the first room in the hallway. A couple of cans of paint and rollers were in the middle of the room. All the furniture had been removed and West had told me the floors would all be stripped and redone so we didn’t have to worry about making a mess.

“Ready to make this place even brighter?” I asked, handing River a roller.

“How about a little competition?” he asked, dipping it into the tray of sky-blue paint.

“You’re on. I take these two walls, and you take those two? We meet in the middle.”

We high-fived and got to it.

Working side by side, our movements fell into a familiar rhythm, the swish of brushes and rollers the only noise in the room, other than the voices in the distance from other volunteers working in different areas of the building. Occasionally, I caught River’s eye, and something unspoken passed between us.

“Look at you two, synchronized painters,” West remarked with a chuckle, breaking our trance as he stuck his head through the door. “Could’ve made a career out of this.”

“Missed our calling,” I quipped back.

“Keep up the good work. There’s a few more rooms, and I intend on milking every second of your time here.”

River laughed. “You got it, boss.”

By the time we stepped back to admire our work, the room was filled with light and color.

“Looks great, doesn’t it?” River asked.

“More than great,”

“Thanks for today, Adam.”

“Anytime.” I couldn’t help but tease River about the streak of paint on his cheek. “You’re supposed to be painting walls, River, not your face.”

He chuckled, wiping at his cheek with the back of his hand, only managing to smear the paint further. “It’s a new fashion statement,” he said, flashing a grin that crinkled the corners of his eyes.

“Remember when you tried to dye your hair blue to impress Jake What’s-His-Name?” I asked.

“Let’s not,” he said with a playful grimace. “I ended up looking like a Smurf for weeks.”

“Hey, he did say it was unforgettable,” I pointed out, remembering how we’d laughed until our sides hurt when River showed up at my house, his hair a vibrant disaster.

“Unforgettable is one word for it.” I paused, brush in mid-air, as a particular memory surfaced. “Do you remember the pact we made? That no matter where we ended up, we’d always find our way back to each other?”

“Of course,” River said. “Like gravity. No matter what happened, we’d gravitate back.”

“Seems like gravity’s done its job.” My voice was barely a whisper as I realized we had drifted closer.

I swallowed dry as my eyes gravitated toward River’s lips. When my gaze met his, I saw it because I recognized it. Attraction. Want.

I’m demisexual. I remembered the exact words he’d spoken that evening on the beach. I can’t feel attraction to someone unless there’s an emotional bond first. A real connection.

Today had been a day for us to reconnect as friends and build on the time we’d spent together in Hawaii, but it had also driven us closer. If I’d had any doubt River could feel attraction for me, his eyes were loud and clear.

His lips were parted, and when his tongue wet his lips, I released a quiet moan.

“River,” I whispered.

“Hey, guys,” West said before entering the room. We jumped back like we’d been electrocuted. I didn’t dare make eye contact with River. “Well done here. This looks great. If you’re up for doing another room, that would be great.”

“Yeah, sure,” River said, picking up the bucket with paint and the brushes and leaving the room.