🌸 ALL THE WRONG REASONS 🌸
🌹 EPISODE ELEVEN 🌹
When Adrienne woke up, she found that Justin had gone
from the room. She went to the bathroom to freshen up.
Justin walked in just as she was putting on her boots.
“Hey, where have you been?”
“Having a chat with the pilot,” he replied.
“Can you fly a plane?” she asked.
He grinned. “I have a license. I don’t think they give it
out to just anyb©dy.”
She smiled. “Justin Adams, the pilot. What else don’t I
know about you?”
She stood up and wra-pped her arms around his n£¢k.
He leaned forward and k!$$£d herl-ips. “A lot. But that’s why
you’re going on a weekend d@t£ with me, right? So I can
show you what I’m like when I’m…unrestrained.”
Adrienne laughed. “Nice choice of word.”
As soon as they landed, a limousine took them to a
local mall. Adrienne turned on her phone and immediately,
it kept ringing, indicating text messages and voicemails.
Jill: Trying your phone. It’s off. Where are you?
Yuan: Hey, where are you? Coffee this afternoon?
She sÂŁnt them a text message telling them that she
had to fly to Boston to see her parents. Hopefully, they
wouldn’t ask her to elaborate. She did that once in a while
anyway.
While at the mall, in broad daylight, Justin pu-ll-ed her
to him and put an arm around her shoulder. She felt a k!ss
at the t©p of her head.
She got herself some sweaters, p@n-ts, un-derwear,
gloves and a thick coat. Just enough for the next three days.
When she brou-ght her stuff to the counter, Justin was quic-k
to hand over his Infinite credit card.
She glared at him in protest. “No, Justin. It’s my stuff!”
He grinned at her. “And it’s my treat. I don’t let a
woman want for anything on our d@t£.”
“But this is not a d@t£! This is…shopping!”
“The whole weekend is a d@t£, honey,” he argued.
“And besides, I didn’t give you a chance to pack some
clothes. I owe you on this.”
The cashier swiped Justin’s card.
She stared up at him. “Thank you,” she said in defeat.
Justin smiled and leaned forward to k!ssher. “You’re
welcome, hon.”
They decided to explore the local shops, all the while
holding hands and frequently k!ssing. Adrienne felt free. She
didn’t care about the people around them, or what they
would say or think. All she cared about was the man beside
her, whose arms wra-pped around her, whosel-ips k!$$ÂŁd her.
And for the first time in her life, she felt what it was
really like to have a b©yfri£nd…to be in a real relationsh!p.
They checked in to a h0tel, which seemed quite
remote. And Adrienne couldn’t help teasing Justin.
“What?”
“You said you didn’t want to hide. And yet this h0tel is
really more than a little bit remote,” she said, giggling.
He laughed. “Trust me. I have my reasons.”
She raised a brow at him.
“Patience, Miss Miller. It just might turn out to be a
plea-sant surprise if…nature agrees with me.”
She smiled brightly. “Now, I’m curious!”
After checking in, Adrienne immediately sÂŁnt her
clothes for laundry. Express service returned them all back
to her within an hour.
They enjoyed a candlelight dinner in one of the fine
dining restaurants in the h0tel.
“Where’s your plane?”
“On its way back to Chicago,” he answered. “One of
my cousins might nee-d it. Or maybe my Father. He flies to
our different br@nches once in a while.”
“Are you working for him now?”
He shook his head. “No.” He fell silent for a while.
Does he have a rift with his parents? Is this why he
becomes quiet every time I mention them?
“So, what else don’t I know about you?” she asked,
trying to make his mood lighter. “Any brothers or sisters?”
He gave her one ha-rd look and then he replied. “I
have a twin. I mean, I had a twin.”
This almost shocked Adrienne.
“Identical?”
He nodded.
She thought that the world could ba-rely handle one
Justin Adams, just imagine two.
“What happened?”
He shrugged. “I was eight minutes older than him. I
lived. He didn’t.”
Adrienne reached for his hand and gave it a squee-ze.
“It would have been a blast,” she said quietly. “I’m sure you
would have had a better relationsh!pthan Kim and me.
We…never really jived. She hated me. I knew it even if she
didn’t want to admit it.”
“I wondered what it would be like if Jeffrey lived. I
always wanted a brother.”
Adrienne smiled. “I did, too. But all I got was a sister
who I share nothing with…except for a DNA.”
“Do you look like your Dad?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Kim is a spitting image of our Mom.
Blonde hair, blue eyes. Dad has dark hair and brown eyes.
Yeah, I did look like him in a way.”
“What about cousins? Sometimes a cousin is good
enough to take the place of a sibling.”
Adrienne shook her head. “I never met any of them. It
was always just Kim and me.”
“I have a lot of cousins,” Justin replied. “Three guys,
and one girl. We all sort of lived in the same house, except
for one who lives in Italy. My parents have a hvge house in
Chicago. Like ten be-drooms. Each of my cousins has a room
there. It’s always a full, loud house. Sure, they have their
own homes. But they seem to love living there more.”
Adrienne smiled. “You’re really lucky. When it c@m£ to
family, you hit the jackpot!”
Justin seemed thoughtful for a moment. Then he said,
“Well, someday, your mother will change her mind about
you. She will see what a beautiful, wonderful and smart
daughter she has. And she will learn to love you as much as
she loves your sister.”
Adrienne bit her l!pto keep from crying. “I sure hope
you’re right.”
They retired to their room at around ten at night.
When Adrienne got re-ady for be-d, she found Justin in the
balcony. He stretched out in one of the loungers with layers
of blankets on t©p of him.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
He smiled at her. “My surprise. Come.” He pu-ll-ed her
to lie down with him. She leaned on his b©dy and then he
wra-pped the layers of blankets around them.
She was still tired from the trip. She rested her head
on Justin’s shoulder and closed her eyes for a moment.
After a few minutes, she heard him say, “Open your
eyes, beautiful.”
When she did, she didn’t expect the sight before her.
The sky was suddenly covered in a curtain of multi-colored
lights over the mountains.
“Oh my God!” she g@sped.
The sight before her was more than spectacular. Tears
welled up in her eyes. She had always dreamed about
seeing the Northern Lights. And the sight had just become
more surreal because she was wra-pped in the arms of a man as equally magnificent as the dancing of blue, green,
yellow and red lights before her.
“Do you like it?” Justin asked.
She stared up at him and smiled. “I love it,” she
whispered. “Thank you, Justin.” She leaned forward and
k!$$ÂŁd hisl-ips.
They l@ythere quietly, warm beneath the sheets.
Adrienne felt warmer, wra-pped in Justin’s b©dy heat. But
moreover, the warmth c@mÂŁ from de-ep inside her as she
realized she had just fallen more in love with New York City’s
most wanted bachelor.
***
When Adrienne woke up the next morning, she found
herself snuggled against Justin. She stared up at Justin’s
handsome face and smiled. She didn’t know how long this
thing they had would last, but she knew she would have no
regrets. She had never felt more alive or free until the day
she met him.
He never failed to make her feel adored…cared about.
He made her feel, for the first time in her life, that her
thoughts and feelings actually mattered. And that she didn’t
have to be afraid, or to care about what others think about
her. For that, she would always feel grateful towards him.
He opened his eyes and stared at her lazily.
“Morning.”
She smiled wildly. “Morning.” She leaned forward and
k!$$ÂŁd him.
In a minute, he got on t©p of her, k!ss!ngher urgently,
pas-sionately. Adrienne realized that they hadn’t made love
in two days. And somehow, it never seemed to bother her.
Their relationsh!phad turned to a different page. They still
had this fire, this pas-sion that tended to consume her every
time, and yet, they shared a bond built on friendsh!p, trust,
and comfort. And that’s wonderful, too.
After breakfast, she asked him what his plans were.
“Do you know how to ski?”
When she was in high school, back when she was still
rebellious, she used to sneak behind her parents back to go
on ski trips. She told them she was going to the beach
house of one of her friends for the weekend. But when they
thought she bathed in the sun, she was actually rolling on
the snow. They didn’t really care much about her to ask her
why she didn’t have a tan when she got back home.
“I’m not a pro, but I can balance myself on a pair of
skis.”
The thought of skiing again excited her. They took a
trip down to a nearby ski mountain. Justin brou-ght his own
gear and he bought Adrienne new ones for herself.
“It’s temporary. Can we just rent for me?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Nope. Who knows? You might
want to keep doing this. Consider this another treat. And
besides, if you change your mind and decide not to breakup
with that as-s-hole b©yfri£ndof yours at all, I want something
in your ap@rtment to remind you…that you deserve better
than him.”
She stared up at him. “Justin…”
He silenced her with a k!ss. “I know. No pressure. Do it
when you’re most re-ady. I can wait.”
Justin helped her put on her new ski boots, helmet and
goggles. They headed to a beginner’s slope to get her
accustomed to skiing again, as it had been a long time since
she did this. Pretty soon, she was getting the hang of it
again. As they ventured into more challenging terrain,
Adrienne felt her blood pumping into her system, and she
screamed to her heart’s delight.
Justin always stayed close, ma-king sure she was safe
and he would reach her soon enough in case she tumbled or
struggled.
When they c@mÂŁ close to the station, Adrienne felt
tired but extremely happy. She fell to her knees, causing Justin to ski fas-ter to get to her. He reached her side the
very first second.
He bent down. “Are you okay?”
She let go of her ski poles and then gr@bbÂŁd a handful
of ice on her hands and threw it at Justin. He was caught
unaware. She got out of her skis in a minute, standing up on
her feet, and tried getting away from him, scooping another
handful of snow.
“You’re dead!” he said, unfastening his skis.
Adrienne balled the snow on her hands and then
directed a perfect aim at Justin. It hit him on the shoulder.
She skrie-ked when she saw him coming for her. She turned
around and tried to run away but he was agile, fast even
though he was wra-pped in layers of clothing and wearing a
heavy pair of ski boots.
He caught her by the w@!st and lifted her off the
ground. She struggled to free herself. She couldn’t help
skrie-king and laughing. Justin put her down and spun her
around. He lifted her googles off her face and also took his
off. He smiled at the rosy color on her face. Slowly, he
leaned forward and gave her a k!sson thel-ips.
They de-epened the k!ss. Then suddenly they heard a
c@m£ra cl!çk!ng behind them.
They pu-ll-ed away from each other and looked at the
person who just interrupted their moment.
Adrienne saw a very good-looking guy with sparkling
blue eyes, a shade almost similar to Justin’s. His blond hair
was peeking out from un-der his helmet.
“This is a sight you don’t see every day,” the guy
tea-sed, seeming to be taunting them…p@rticularly Justin.
“Actually, it’s a sight you don’t see ever!”
“What are you doing here?” Justin asked in an
annoyed tone.
The guy lifted the snowboard he held with his right
arm.
“This is why the plane was unavailable yesterday? We
were going to the same place, and you didn’t want to share,
Just?” His eyes danced and he obviously succeeded in
nee-dling Justin. Then his eyes went to Adrienne. He studied
her quic-kly and then he smiled. “Of course, now, I
un-derstand why.”
“Go away, Gian!” Justin said to the guy.
“You’re not even going to introduce us?” The guy
feigned a shocked look on his face, enjoying Justin’s
irritation.
Justin sighed. “Adrienne, Gian. Gian, Adrienne.” Then
he turned to Gian. “Now, can you…evaporate?”
The guy didn’t back down at all. He took a step
towards them. He looked at Adrienne. “Sorry. My cousin has
better manners than that. Don’t get turned off.”
“Cousin?” Adrienne echoed, peering up at Justin.
“Now I’m thinking…how unfortunate, right?” Justin
said, rolling his eyes.
Adrienne finally smiled. She extended her gloved hand
to Gian and he shook it, although ba-rely because his gloves
were much thicker than hers.
Gian smiled at her. “I can see why he doesn’t go home
frequently anymore. I can’t see what you see in him,
though.”
“Nah! He’s a great guy…if he chooses to be,”
Adrienne tea-sed.
Justin pu-ll-ed her closer to his side, and then he turned
to Gian, “Now, can you leave us in peace?”
Gian took a step back. “Aww! I was hoping to show
Adrienne my impressive moves on the board.”
“Not gonna happen.” Justin raised a brow at him.
“What’s the matter, Justin? Afraid of some
competition?”
Justin narrowed his eyes. “Remind me again who
taught you how not to fall on your as-s in a halfpipe?”
“That’s what I’m talking about!” the guy jeered.
“Come on, big cuz. Show your girl what you got.”
Adrienne actually sm-irked. She wanted to see Justin
on a snowboard. She was curious and she felt sure Justin
would be pretty good at everything he did.
“That would be interesting!” she announced.
Justin turned to her. “Really? You’re listening to this
guy?”
She laughed. “It’s not like I pres£nt any sort of
challenge to you on the slopes. Have fun. I’ll watch.”
Justin shook his head. He turned to Gian. “Just so you
know, it’s rude to interrupt someb©dy’s d@t£.”
“Just so you know, it’s not good to antagonize family
when one of them runs into you while you’re on a d@t£,”
Gian responded evenly.
“One more word and I’m kicking you out of my
house!”
Gian backed down, his eyes dancing as he pressed his
li-ps together.
“See you on the pipe in fifteen minutes,” Justin said,
then he pu-ll-ed Adrienne with him.
Adrienne turned to Gian. “Good luck!”
“Oh, he’s the one who’s going to nee-d it, sugar!” Gian
then walked away.
“Unbelievably annoying!” Justin gro-an ed.
Adrienne smiled up at him. “So…you seem close.”
“Sometimes, I think… too close! You know like one of
those annoying little brothers?” Although he was gro-an ing,
Adrienne didn’t miss the affection that was disguised in his
voice.
Then she remembered that he took a picture of them
while they were k!ssing.
“He…took a snapsh0t.” She sounded a little worried.
“Don’t worry about it. The most he’ll do with it, is
blackmail me into borrowing one of my cars for a week to
impress one of the girls he’s d@t!ng.”
Half an hour later, Adrienne stood in one of the
viewing decks overlooking the snowboarding halfpipes.
Justin had arrived there with Gian.
She watched proudly as Justin took off from one side
and went to the other side hanging mid-air for a few
seconds. Then c@m£ Gian’s turn. He looked like he knew
what he was doing, too.
Then both of them showed off their freestyle moves,
somersaulting, spinning three hundred sixty degrees in the
air. Adrienne took out her phone to take a video of Justin. He
was amazing. He could totally go into one of those X-Games
competitions. Gian seemed extremely good, too. But in the
end, Adrienne un-derstood exactly what Justin said. He had
taught Gian those moves. He remained the better one on a
snowboard.
When they finished, Adrienne met them at the station,
smiling wi-dely.
“So, did I totally kick his as-s out there?” Gian asked
her.
She laughed. “You were magnificent!” she said. Justin
raised a brow at her. She smiled at him. “But he still owned
you!”
Justin laughed proudly and pu-ll-ed her into a hvg.
“You’re saying that because you’re d@t!nghim,” Gian
complained.
“Yeah. And he owns the transportation that got me
here. So you can see that my hands are tied.” She win-ked at
him.
Gian laughed. “Yeah. He owns the plane that got both
of us here, so let’s give it to the guy.”
“You two are unbelievable,” Justin gro-an ed. Then he
added, “Come on. Coffee’s on me.”
Gian turned out to be actually funny and sweet.
Adrienne learned that he was only twenty-two and still in
college. He had a twin. Adrienne guessed that twins ran in
Justin’s family.
That night, when they got back to the h0tel, Adrienne
showed Justin her video. He watched it happily.
“You’re really, really good,” she told him. “Do you do
that a lot?”
“Whenever I have the time. I usually go snowboarding
with my cousins at least once a month.”
“It looked dangerous.”
“It is. If you don’t know what you’re doing.” He
grinned.
“Smug!” She rolled her eyes.
They made love again that night. Slowly, pas-sionately.
Here in this place, she felt like she belonged to Justin. He
belonged to her. Here, in their own little world, where no one
can st©p them and nothing holds them back.
Justin never told her how he really felt about her but
what right did she have to demand that? She couldn’t ask
him to commit to her, when she can’t commit to him in the
first place. He was single…and she was the one who was
supposedly spoken for.
As Adrienne rested her head against Justin’s shoulder,
she looked throu-gh the glas-s windows and watched the
Northern Lights. She realized there that she didn’t know if
he felt the same way about her, but she never would until
she risked everything she had. Troy. Her mother’s respect.
Her friends. She might end up losing them all. But all this
freedom to love and be loved by Justin…had become
something absolutely worth risking everything for.
.
Tbc