?ALL THE WRONG REASONS ?
? EPISODE THREE ?
She woke up before dawn, quic-kly got dressed and took off from Justin’s ap@rtment across her own. Then, she washed her face and soa-ked in a h0t bath to clear her head.
She stared at her own b©dy. Almost every inch of it, she thought, has been t©uçhed by the city’s most wanted bachelor—Justin Adams. She couldn’t believe that she went overboard last night. She looked for fun. For oblivion. Losing her vir-ginity on a one night stand with a h0tsh0t pla-yboy is way over what she had in mind when she started out last night.
He was sound asleep when she left him this morning. She woke up and she was locked in his embr@ce. She moved inch by inch so she won’t wake him up. He moved a bit when she was out of his arms. And then she quic-kly dressed up, took her boots and marched ba-refooted across the hall.
She still felt a bit so-re. But she didn’t feel guilty at all. She didn’t feel like she didn’t have any values. She didn’t evenfeel that she cheated on Troy. She felt that none of theemotions and thri-lls that she felt with Justin last night, she felt with Troy.
It was the first time in her life that she felt alive. That she felt appreciated and adored. And when she felt the pain ofthe impact of their lovema-king, she felt his concern. It felt genuine. She felt cared for. She felt that she mattered. She remembered when pain was visible in her face, concern and guilt were in his eyes as he wiped away her tears and k!$$£d her. Now, she realized what he did. He took off the
c0md0mwhen he realized she was a vir-gin. Probably he thought, it will hurt her more. Her b©dy is not yet accustomed to S-x. He thought it will be gentler if he didn’t wear c0nd0m. Probably, he also thought she was safe. He nee-d not wear protec-tion. And when he entered her again, he was so much gentler, until it didn’t hurt at all anymore.
She felt okay when she went to be-d after the bath. And this caused her to worry. She spent the night in sin, but all that was left were memories that she knew she would not mind dwelling on for some time in the future.
She was awakened by a ring of her phone. “Hello.” She said sleepily.
“Wake up!” It was Jill.
“It’s too early!” She said grumpily.
“What time did you sleep last night?” Jill asked.
“Why?”
“Because you’re still slee-ping and it’s past twelve. You never sleep past twelve noon.”
“Well, I decided to break the habit.” She said.
“You sle-pt late last night, that’s what it is.” Jill said.
“I don’t know what time I sle-pt.” She said standing up going to her bathroom. “Hold on. I’m just going to splash some water in my face to wake myself up.”
Jill waited for five minutes as Adrienne washed her face and brushed her teeth.
“Alright. What’s up?” Adrienne asked when she finished.
“How was Gypsys?”
That was enough to wake her up. “Ah… great. Nothing different. The same as the others.”
“Did you leave early? Tell me you didn’t leave early!”
“Why?” She asked.
“Well… one of the girls I know from my neighborhood said that Justin Adams was there. And he was with some redhead. They didn’t arrive together. He approached her and then they were dancing, then they were k!ss!ngand then they left together.”
Now, her heart was pounding. How popular can Justin Adams be? She must remember not to go to Jill’s ap@rtment for two months for risk of being recognized.
“So what?”
“Well, Justin isn’t known for picking up girls at the bar. And he has a reputation of a pla-yboy, but you will never see him holding hands with a girl in public, least of all k!ssing.”
“And the point is?”
“Well… she could be special. Justin likes to keep his reputation of being single. He doesn’t go steady with any girl. He doesn’t go to public with a girl alone. And that’s what makes him more attrac-tive! Like he is ice king or something. He doesn’t pursue and he walks away easily.”
“Wow! How can an ice king be a pla-yboy? I thought
pla-yboys are supposed to be h0t!”
“Yeah, and that’s what makes him different! That’s what makes him a god! He is never known for pickup lines! But supermodels would just approach him. And last night, it seemed he broke his rules. He picked someone up!”
“Jillian, why are we talking about Justin Adams? You called me to talk about Justin Adams? Why is everyb©dy obsessed with his lovelife?”
“He doesn’t have one.” Jill reminded her.
“Alright. Why is everyb©dy obsessed about his S-x life?” She corrected herself. “So what, he sees a girl? He could have known her from the past or something. Could be an old girlfriend.” She surprised herself there. She didn’t know she could lie with so much conviction.
“Nope. He never had a girlfriend! That’s the point.”
She heard her doorbell ring. She opened the door without asking who it was. Surprise of all surprises. The man of the hour himself is at her doorstep.
What does he want now?!
He was about to open his mouth to say something when she cut him off.
“Shut up!” She told him, and his eyebrows sh0t up in his Juliet Oakleys.
“What?” Jill asked.
“I mean… let’s not talk about him. I’ll go take a bath or something and I’ll call you back later.” And she hung up without waiting for Jill’s answer.
She faced Justin, who looked amused. He held out a cu-p of Starbucks coffee in his hand.
“For the hangover?” He asked, smiling.
She opened the door wi-der without saying a word and turned her back on him. He followed her inside and closed the door behind him.
He placed the coffee on her table.
”Thanks.” She said.
“No sweat.” He said. “You didn’t give me a chance to make you one this morning.”
She turned red. She was now very sober and was reminded of everything that happened between them last night.
“Yeah… last night… It was… it never should have
happened.” She stammered.
He didn’t say anything. He just stared at her with his crystal blue eyes, quizzing her… and for reasons she couldn’t un-derstand, drowning her.
After a while, he said, “But it did happen, honey.”
“Yes. And I hope we can just forget about it. Like we don’t know each other.”
“But we do know each other now.” He said. “inti-mately, I might add.”
“Yes, damn it!” She was really irritated now. She doesn’t nee-d this. She doesn’t want this. Sure, she would feel very insulted if she met him in the hall or the elevator, especially if he had another woman in his arms, which is most likely to happen. It would be much better and much more comfortable pretending she doesn’t know him than exchanging hi’s and how are you’s with him.
“But I was not myself last night. I nee-ded an outlet or something. I nee-ded to explore. You were there! And I was drun!kmore than half the time… and it… it got completely out of hand…”
He smiled. “I knew that.”
She waited for him to say something more. But he just stood there. An eyebrow sh0t up.
“Damn it, say something!” She said.
He smiled. “Alright. You’re cute. And you’re cuter when you get mad.”
She took a de-ep breath. “What do you want,Justin?”
He shrugged. “Actually, I’m not sure.” He admitted.
Then he walked a step closer. She walked a step back, her heart pounding in her che-st. He looked so divine in his black jeans and leather jacket. His hair still looked we-t, which means he went to Starbuck straight from the shower.
He kept walking towards her and she kept backing down, until she hit the wall of her living room and Justin pinned her between it and his b©dy. She stared at him squarely.
He tilted her chin up and she almost panicked when his face descended towards hers. He k!$$£d her. Once. Softly. Then his arms went around her w@!st and he de-epened the k!ss. Her knees went soft and she felt her nerves come to life. She doesn’t nee-d that coffee he brou-ght. She was alre-ady awake with his k!sses. No, not just his k!sses. The idea of sleep evaded her the minute she opened the door and found him in front of her. She wra-pped her arms
around him and she k!$$£d him back. For a minute, she was almost lost.
He leaned his forehead against hers, his eyes closed and he took a de-ep breath. Then he looked back at her. His face no more than four inches away from hers.
Hisl-ips were curved into a half-smile. She bit her lowerl-ip, and then she started smiling. He was smiling too. A real smile, which showed her that he has perfect set of teeth and dimples at each side of hisl-ips. He looked more charming and more handsome this close than he did whenever she saw him around her building submitting his works for the blus-h. He pinched her gently in the nose.
“You better take that coffee of yours.” He said.
She nodded. She started to move towards the table. But both his hands were on the wall beside both her ears, caging her.
“Hey, you said coffee.” She said.
He raised his brows. Then he gave her a quic-k sma-ck before getting out of the way.
He took his own coffee.
She drank her coffee and took out a pack of cigarette. She went to her balcony. He followed.
They sat there quietly for minutes.
When she looked at him, she saw that he was looking at her direction.
“What?” She asked.
He shook his head. “Nothing.”
“I can tell you were staring at me. Like you were sizing me up or something. What?”
He shrugged. “What’s the deal with you?”
“What deal?”
He shrugged again. “You said you were looking for an outlet last night. For what?”
“Nothing. I just didn’t want to live by the rules for once in my life.”
“Rules of?”
“My parents. The whole mundane values they taught me the rest of my life… Like everyone expects me to be goody-two-shoes… and yet I still wasn’t good enough. So I thought, who cares? scre-w up for one night. Well… I wasn’t literally thinking scre-w!”
He laughed. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t planning to scre-w someone when I approached you. I knew you and you looked different last night… yeah sort of not what anyone would expect you to look like and behave. I c@m£ alone for a drink. I realized you were alone too… So… I just want to introduce myself to my next-door neighbor.”
She laughed. “And you knew her too well now!” She said sarcastically.
He shrugged. “Not at all. I believe girls like you have layers in your personality. And you don’t see that too often nowadays.”
“Girls like me have secret identities hidden in our closets. You met my alter-ego last night, by the way.”
He laughed. “I have a feeling you want to forget what happened to us last night.”
She stared at him seriously. “You’re not exactly a nob©dy you know. Honestly, you’re the last guy I expect to be involved in a one night stand with.
He raised an eyebrow. “So that’s what it is. One night stand.”
She looked down on her f!ngersnervously. “Yeah… I guess so. It was not supposed to happen. But it did. I got caught up in the moment and my curiousity made me go overboard. I’m the last person you would want on your list anyway.”
“My list?” He asked, quite surprised.
She stared at him. His face is devoid of any emotion.
“You know… the long line of girls wanting a piece of you. I didn’t want any of that. It just happened. It was a mistake. Cross me out of the list of girls who expect you to return their calls.”
He laughed. “I guess you know my reputation more than you know me.” He said.
“I don’t know you at all.” She said squarely.
He nodded. “You know me more inti-mately now.”
She turned red. He laughed.
“And you can get to know me on a personal level. For all it’s worth, I hope we can be friends.”
She shook her head. “No. I don’t move in your circles. It would be so ha-rd to keep that friendsh!pgoing. Plus, you live in a world where everything you do almost make it to the newspapers or gossip columns. You’re one of Manhattan’s most sought-after. It would be very ha-rd to be friends with you. I don’t want to be named. I don’t want
my girlfriends to be asking about what’s happening in your life. I’m not interested in that.”
He laughed. “b©yfri£nd?”
“What?” She asked.
“I’m thinking you have a b©yfri£nd.” He said.
She stared back at him. So he really is a smart as-s! Harvard straight A’s. It seems that p@rt wasn’t a rumor.
“What made you say that?” She asked.
He shrugged. “Nob©dy trashes down an offer for friendsh!pif it won’t cause havoc to something monumental in their lives.”
She stared out at the line of buildings that make up her wonderful New York view.
“How long have you been with this guy?” He asked.
“Three years.”
He almost choked on his coffee.
“I know. How did I manage to lose my vir-ginity just last night? And not to him?”
“I didn’t ask the question. You did.” He said.
She stared at him. “I asked it so I wouldn’t have to say the answer out loud.”
“Your call.” He said coolly. But if she could see his crystal blue eyes beneath those pair of Oakleys, she knew they were dancing with laughter.
“$h!t!” She said.
“What?”
“What is wrong with me? I don’t even feel guilty about it!”
He shrugged. “You don’t love him. Maybe you’re keeping him because it seemed like you were taking the righteous path.”
She stared at him. “One more psychoan-alyzing, you’re out of here, mister!”
He laughed. “Come on, get dressed. Let’s go have lunch.”
“What? Why?”
He shrugged. “I’m asking you to go to lunch with me. And why not? That answers both your questions?”
“Where?” She asked again.
He smiled, and she saw again how de-ep the dimples beside the corners of hisl-ips were. “Somewhere no one knows both of us. Since you don’t want people to know we know each other.”
“Great idea! It’s easy for me. I can eat at Burger King and no one would notice. But it’s kinda ha-rd for you.”
He raised a brow. “Who do you think I am? br@d Pitt?”
She laughed. She stood up and went to her room.
She realized that she has just accepted his offer for lunch without protest. With questions, yes. But not protests.
She sli-pped into her white Capri cargo p@n-ts, and a white mini T-shi-t. She tied her hair in a pony tail. No nee-d to put anything on her face. She doesn’t nee-d to impress Justin Adams. She alre-ady sle-pt with him! And she wasn’t planning to sleep with him again. In fact she doesn’t have any idea why she is going to lunch with him when she should have seen the last of him when she left his ap@rtment this morning.
When she got out of the be-droom, she knew he was staring at her behind his shades.
“What?” She asked.
He just shrugged, and then leaned forward and gave her a gentle sma-ck on thel-ips.
On the elevator, he took her hand in his. Her heart
pounded at the t©uçh of his skin. What is it with this guy that makes her feel like she’s being electrocuted. This couldn’t be from the tequila anymore. She never felt this way with Troy. Not even when he k!sses her goodnight.
When they got to the ground floor, she pu-ll-ed her hand away from his grip. He looked at her.
“Bad idea. You: Celebrity. Me: Supposedly spoken for.” She said.
He smiled. “Alright. Miss Miller.” He held out his hand and motioned for her to go out of the lift first when the door opened. “After you, Miss Miller.” He said, his voice full of laughter.
She raised a brow at him squarely, and to her surprise he mouthed, “You’re a fox!” Which made her blus-h even more.
He led her to his Red Ferrari.
“Great! Maniac tint!”
“Good for your plan, right?” He said and he opened thedoor for her and she hopped inside quic-kly.
He took her for a drive. They chatted more about
themselves on the way. Somehow, she was able to relax in her seat, not having a care where he is taking her.
“How long have you been with blus-h?” He asked.
“Almost like forever. It’s my first job.” She replied.
“I heard you were good.”
She shrugged. “I’m getting a bit bored sometimes you know. I nee-ded more action. More thoughts, more opinions. And here, I do more events features.”
“Judging by the way your colleagues talk about you, it seems you’ll be destined for more soon.”
“I can’t believe Justin Adams engage in gossips.” She rolled her eyes.
He chuckled. “No. I have ears. Guys in your office talk about you a lot, you know.”
She looked out the window. “Probably because I was the most boring girl in blus-h. Smart but boring.”
He looked at her and then he turned to look back on the road.
“No. Try, smart, snob and undeniably gorgeous.” He said.
She almost laughed. “Don’t think so, Mister. The smart p@rt is p@rtly flattering. The snob p@rt is probably true. The undeniably gorgeous p@rt is undeniably a lie.”
He chuckled. “No. Clearly, you are mistaken. You should think more of yourself. The undeniably gorgeous p@rt is undeniably true. Take it from the guy who approached you at a bar, ended up spending a wonderful night with you,and made amazing love to you.”
She stared at him. She knew she turned so red, she could be turning violet alre-ady.
“Must you always bring that up?”
He looked over at her for a moment and then he shrugged.
“I’m sorry. I forgot. You wanted to forget last night. Buthmmm… the woman I made love to last night was confident… and foxy. I wonder if she’s just slee-ping there somewhere inside you.”
“I tied her up so she could never come out in the open again.”
“Hmmm… it’s a pity. She’s a fox.” He said.
She didn’t say anything. She didn’t know what to feel Flattered? Because Justin Adams is saying that she’sgorgeous. Embarras-sed? Because he knows that he was able to unleash a spirit within her that she didn’t even know existed. Scared? Because she knows his reputation and she suspects that she is currently tangled in his web and she was his latest prey.
After lunch, he took her hand in his and led her to a small shopping center. She stared at him in alarm.
“Outside New York. We don’t nee-d to pretend we don’t know each other here.” He said with a raised brow.
She rolled her eyes but did not pu-ll her hand away. They went around, holding hands, asking each other questions about themselves, like where they grew up, what courses they took in college.
“Wanna watch a movie?” He asked.
She shrugged. “Alright. I’m not too busy. Plus, you have the car. And I don’t even know how to get home.”
He chuckled and led her to the movie house. He bought popcorn and soda.
In the middle of the film, Justin reached out for her hand and held it in his.
There was a time that he brou-ght it to hisl-ips and k!$$£d it.
She stared at him. His features were illuminated by the lights from the screen. He looked just as her friends describe-d him. Divine. He didn’t have his shades on. She could see his long eyelashes and perfect straight nose.
He looked at her and their eyes met. He smiled boyishly. And then leaned forward and k!$$£d her gently on thel-ips. He re-leased her hand, raised his arm and put it around her shoulders. She rested her head on his shoulder.
After the movie, she was feeling br@nd new emotions. Shedoesn’t exactly un-derstand what is coming her way. She didn’t ask for it. Least of all, she didn’t ask for Justin Adams to barge into her life and… take her to the movies and hold her in the middle of the film. Something Troy would never
do. He firmly believes that movie houses are not meant for cudd-ling.
He led her to another restaurant where they had dinner.
She must have fallen asleep on the way home. But she remembered that before she drifted off, Justin reached out and held her hand in his.
They were still holding hands when he woke her up with bu-tterfly k!sses on her cheek. When she opened her eyes, she was staring at his blue eyes.
“We’re home, Princess.” He said softly. And leaned
forward and k!$$£d her pas-sionately this time.
After the k!ss, she was left breathless. He went out of the car and opened the door open for her. She realized that they were in his parking slot.
He put an arm around her as he led her to the elevator. She was too giddy to protest. Inside the elevator, he put his arms around her w@!st and again took her in a drugging k!ss. The lift st©pped at the third floor where they immediately stayed on opposite corners, as if they didn’t know each other. An old couple got in.
She counted almost an eternity before the old couple got out of the lift on the fifth floor. As soon as the doorsclosed, they met each other at the center, pu-lling each other, finding each other’sl-ips, locking each other in an embr@ce. She felt de-sire starting to take over her s-en-ses once again.
They half-ran to her room. As soon as the door closed behind them, they began undressing each other. Their clothes piling up on the floor leaving a trail to the be-droom.When the back of her knees hit the edge of her be-d, all that was left on her was her white thongs.
He undid her. Everything she said about what happened between them being a mistake that should not happen again…she realized was a lie. A product of the real Adrienne Miller who wouldn’t do anything to disappoint her mother and her b©yfri£nd. He drugged her with his k!sses. He intoxicated her with every t©uçh. Until her mind was blank except for one word that she kept saying in
her m0@n s of plea-sure—Justin.
She didn’t know how long it took. All she knew was that it left her s-en-seless. When they finished, they cu-mddled in the dark. They talked more about each other. Learned about each other. Adrienne realized she was having her first pillow talk. She giggled softly.
“Why?” Justin asked looking down at her.
She snuggled closer to him. “Nothing. I just realized that I am… having a pillow talk for the first time in my life.”
He chuckled. “And how do you find it?”
She shrugged. “Not bad. I feel like I’ve known you all my life.”
He laughed. Then he said to her, “Your b©yfri£ndmust be blind or mad… or… impotent.”
She stared at him curiously. “Why do you say that?”
He shrugged. “You’re a beautiful woman. I just couldn’t un-derstand why he didn’t get you to be-d. Is he g@y?”
She shook her head. “We just don’t see each other often, I guess. And he’s… probably as conservative as my mother. We don’t even k!ssin the cinemas.”
“Really? I wouldn’t be able to resist k!ss!ngyou somewhere dark.”
“Well, he’s like that. Plus he doesn’t live in New York. It has been more a long distance relationsh!p.” And he didn’t make me feel the things you made me feel, She wanted to add, but she decided against it. Justin Adams probably knows that he is a cut above the rest of the male species.
“Well, unfortunately for him, he just lost the chance to be able to steal your innocence from you.” He said tea-singly.
“You didn’t steal it.” She argued. “I gave it to you.”
“And I thank you, cherie. I will never forget that.” Then his face descended and k!$$£d her thor0ûghly.
She prepared for a bath and he joined her. It was the most s-en-sual bath she had ever had in her entire life. It was the first one she shared with a guy. And even up to that moment, she couldn’t believe that she was sharing it with Justin Adams.
After the bath, they towel-dried themselves and he led her immediately to be-d where he finished what he started in the bathroom.
By midnight, she was exhausted. She sle-pt with her head rested on his shoulders and his arms wra-pped around her. She was having the sweetest of dreams indeed.
Tb