Chapter 11

The gang and I decided to take a small walk around the area to pick up our appetite. "So does this mean you guys are official now?" Sarah asked in a giddy way. Adam put his hand to his chin and answered "Maybe, it's really up to her. If it were up to me we'd be official for weeks now." Adam smirked just thinking about it. Janice walked up closer to me and pulled me away from the group. "Don't even think about hiding your feelings!" She spoke low so that no one else would hear her. "What are you talking about? My feelings….haha" I looked directly at Janice as I realized she reminded me of Julie. Does it count to have a mother mode when you're actually a mother? Janice looked at me with stern eyes. "You obviously care for Adam in a special way. Why not give it a try? Plus he's a good boy so I doubt you'll end up hurt." Janice smiled and slowed down the pace to rejoin the group. I know of Adam's character, it's because he's nice I'm skeptical. My ex was a nice guy too, I just need to give it time so I can see his true nature. I rejoined the group to tell them I don't want a boyfriend right now. They all gave me blank expressions. "When are you gonna open up to Adam already." Jake asked, this time I had questions for Jake myself. "When are you gonna tell me about your relationship with Julie?" I clapped back. Grace looked at me shocked that I would mention that. She knows something, I can feel it. "Didn't I tell you when you first asked…." Jake looked at the group then back to me. "Before she left for Spain." He said in a low tone. "What was that? I couldn't quite hear you through the bull shit coming out of your mouth." I joked around with him. "It's me, Julie is my girlfriend!" Grace cried out. The gang and I stood in place at this news. "Huh?" Was all I could muster at the sound of the news. "Maybe if you explain better we won't be so confused." Sarah interrupted. We reached a park and decided to sit down to recollect our thoughts. "So….I've been flirting with Julie long since the time she first left." Grace continued her backstory. "She never paid any attention to it at first. That's when I thought maybe she just wasn't into girls. But then, she called me to spend lunch with her one day. I had thought she wanted a buddy to sit with during lunch at the company. Turns out it was a date outside of the company. She told me she was bi then. She gave me hope to continue chasing her. So I did, now she's my girlfriend." Grace smiled as she finished talking. "Wait" I said, still a little confused. "Then why was she trying to get Adam's attention when he first arrived? It doesn't add up." The group started thinking. When they couldn't come up with an answer, they looked to Grace. "It-it was a cover up! She was still in the closet and people have noticed us spending a lot of time together." That made sense. It made a lot of sense. I was feeling some type of way off of the fact that Julie, my best friend, known her for over 2 years now, didn't tell me she was bi. Was this what she was hiding from me? No, that phone call mentioned a plan. "I did not think at all that I would be used as a cover. That's kinda cool." Adam smiled as he patted Grace on the head. I stared at Adam and Grace and wondered how it felt to get head patted by Adam. He just kept on patting her head. I watched closely how his hand slid gently to and fro from Grace's head. "I think she wants to be head patted too." Janice laughed causing me to break my attention. "What! Pfft-no. I was, I was just dozing-" Adam put his hand on my head and gently began patting me. It felt really nice and made me want to cuddle with him right there. I melted into his torso as he continued patting me. "Like a cat" Grace broke out. "Just like a cat." Jake smiled as the rest of the group watched as I melted. "I AM NOT!" I moved Adam's hand away from my head as I sat up. "I think she doesn't want any more love and affection, you know like a cat." Adam joked around. They all started laughing now. I felt embarrassed, I didn't think I would enjoy the head pats so much. "Should we get something to eat now?" Grace said as she stood up. "Yeah I worked up quite an appetite." Janice stood up. We walked to the nearest restaurant. It was Chilly's, there we were seated at a 6 man table. "Oh my children would love to be here. I wonder what that lazy guy plans to do with them." Janice looks down at the menu. "How old are your children?" I ask to keep the conversation rolling. "You know out of everybody here you're the first to ask." Janice looks at everyone else guilt tripping them. "We didn't want to pry too much." Adam scratched his head. "Yeah that was it alright. Sigh, anyway they're 10. I have twins, both boys." Janice smiled, I was pretty amazed at this news. "Do you have any pictures? I bet they're really cute." For some reason this fascinated me. "Wait, are we really going to ignore the fact she said sigh instead of just sighing?" Jake laughed causing the whole group to laugh with him. "My husband is like that. I must've picked it up from him." Janice handed me her phone with pictures of her sons. "One is named Chris and the other….Goku." We stop laughing for a moment of silence. Adam was the first to break the silence with abrupt laughter. "Yeah, yeah. I didn't want to but that anime geek was pretty adamant about it." Janice joined in the laughter just a bit. Her sons looked beautiful, they have nice fades on their light brown hair and slim figures. "Well for certain Chris and pfft Goku are gonna be lady killers when they grow up." I handed Grace the phone so she can see. "Thank you Lizzy." Janice carefully watched as her phone was being passed around the group. "Wow, they'd turn men." Sarah said while handing Janice her phone back. "Thanks guys." Janice's smile widened. The waitress finally came to us. "What can I get y'all today." She was a bit rude with her tone but we ignored it. "Can we just order our drinks first. We need more time." Jake answered for the group. "Sure….what'll it be?" She clicked her pen and held out her notepad. "Um….okay, I would like to have a sprite." Jake was trying his best not to be rude to the waitress. "I'll have the Shirley Temple." Sarah called out. "Me too," Janice followed after. "I'll have a Coke." Grace said "The Frozen Cherry Limeade for me." Adam smiled at her. "Water for me, could you put a lemon on the side please." I finally ordered. "Okay lemme read back the order, Sprite, 2 Shirley Temples, a Coke, Frozen Cherry Limeade, and a water." The waitress looked at me with judging eyes. "With lemon on the side. Be sure not to forget." I stared at her back. "Right, with lemon on the side….I'll be back with your drinks." She left Just as quickly as she arrived. "Is it just me or was she a bit rude?" Jake said as he looked down at the menu. "She was, but mind your manners. She and her co-workers are handling our food." Janice started looking for something that looked appetizing. "I wonder if the place is on yelp." I said scrolling through my phone. "Guys, we don't have to stay here, you know that right?" Adam leaned in reminding us that we can leave. "That's right, why should we put up with that waitress. Let's leave and give her a most gracious compliment to her manager." Sarah smiled as she was getting ready to leave. "I like the way you think, partner." Jake stood up and stretched out his elbow for Sarah to grab. "I guess that's why we work well together brother." Sarah laughed a bit. The rest of us stood up and followed their lead. "They're like Bonnie and Clyde….without the romance." Adam whispered to me. "Yeah, but that's what makes them fun to be around. It's refreshing really." I giggled feeling more at ease. "You got that right sistah." Janice joined our conversation. I was feeling grateful to have met everyone. Thinking back, I guess I have Julie to thank for that. Adam took my hand and spun me around. I let myself get lost in the moment. Then he leaned in and kissed me on my cheek. "But we're the real Bonnie and Clyde of the group." He whispered in my ear. I blushed and tried to escape his grasp. "Things like that is, what made me fall for the man who named my child Goku." Janice cut in and walked in front of us. "Come on Grace, let them be cute in the back." Was Janice jealous? Grace picked up the pace to meet Janice's pace. "I was thinking Monkey D Luffy." Adam joked around. "What! Never." I laughed with him. Jake and Sarah left a rather concerning compliment for that poor waitress. While the rest of us waited outside. "That'll show her." Sarah giggled as she walked out. "Hahaha, She will definitely be in trouble." Jake walked out proud of his accomplishment. "Have we created a monster by letting them do that?" Grace kept a smile plastered to her face. "I think we did." Janice said through her teeth. "I guess we're a force to be reckoned with." Adam waved at them letting them know we were all waiting. "Let's go," I said, pulling on Adam's arm. We started walking when Sarah and Jake caught up to us. "What did you guys say to the manager?" Grace asked as we all started paying close attention. "Oh nothing much, just that she really upset our mother and father." Jake said as he laughed a bit. "I thought we agreed to never talk about that again!" I snapped at him. "Yeah the manager didn't believe it. Then I started crying, saying how you were living with your rapist and he got you pregnant when you were very young. And how the rude waitress made you cry." Sarah joined in the laughter. "Wow that's dark." Janice looked concerned, "very dark." Adam said. "Well, it's not all lies." Grace interrupted. The group paused their walking to look at Grace. "What? She was living with her rapist and he did get her pregnant." Grace is a little dumb to reading the room. "Ahem, you know now that I think about it, she's right. Hahaha, You guys really used my back story to make it look like you're my children." I broke the awkwardness so that they wouldn't feel bad. "Well, at least the daddy is a better person." Adam followed my lead. We walked to PizzaHut only because I had told them I wanted pizza now. It was a bit of a walk but in the end it was worth it. We laughed through the day and at night Adam drove us to the night bar near my house. "Adam, you're the father of the group so watch yourself. Don't drink too much." Grace reminded him. "Actually, Janice being a mom would not want to go home flat face drunk and Lizzy here doesn't drink much anyway….so I can drink past my limit without worry." Adam corrected Grace. Grace looked at me then to Janice. We both shrugged our shoulders letting her know he was right. "Oh my bad, I had forgotten for a moment. Lizzy….why is it that you don't drink too much?" Grace pulled all her attention to me. "No reason, just don't" although I started to trust the group I'm still skeptical of them all. Especially Grace. She is the one in the group who's most skeptical. We walk into the night bar."Hey Joe." Adam cried out "Oh bother, you again." Bartender Adam looked at us then went back to work. "Who's this, new member?" He asked as he wiped the counter. "I-I'm Grace, It's nice to meet you Joe." We all laughed cuz we knew his real name. "Great, But my name is Adam. It's the weird guy who's also named Adam's fault that people call me Joe now." "Oh come on, there can only be one Adam in this area." Adam smiled as he sat at the bar. We all sat down too. "Good then leave." Bartender Adam clapped back. We laughed again. "I'm terribly sorry, I didn't- I thought that- ugh I'm sorry." Grace became very shy. "You still looking for that fake girlfriend?" Janice asked. Oh I see I wasn't the only customer he had asked. "Nope, deadline passed. My mother got mad and then had me study the name and face of this rich successful woman. By the way you guys aren't gonna believe who it is." My heart sank, could it be someone we all know….me? "Do tell." Sarah smiled as she pointed to a drink on the wall. "Well for starters I had asked her to be my fake girlfriend, her name's Elizabeth Stone." Bartender Adam looked at me convinced he'd seen it all. I had a feeling it would be me. "Tell your mom, she's already taken." Adam broke out. "I did, and to an intern." Bartender Adam poured some vodka in a cup and mixed it with a soft drink. He then handed it to Sarah. "Wait, to get on that list is no small feat. What do your parents do?" I asked as I pointed to the Hennessy on the wall. "They're government officials like judges and police officers. Nothing special just slaves to the government." One by one we took our order as we discussed why Bartender Adam's parents were indeed special. "Well, now I know you're on the list." I said defeated at the news. "Well now I know I don't have to worry about going on a blind date. Do me a favor, keep me on the list. My mother had to pull a couple of strings just to get me on it. And if she finds out that you have a boyfriend, she's gonna try to get other chicks to date me." He laughed a bit being 100% serious. "Alright, that seems simple enough." I laughed awkwardly. "Um….are you forgetting that I'm here?" Adam broke into our conversation. "How could I when you won't let go of me." I held up my hand that was locked in Adam's hand for a while. "Don't you think I would want the list to not be there?" Adam let go of my hand. "Relax, I owe him at least that." I told him while giving him a look that screamed back off. "Fine, But that's all it gets to be. A list." Adam was putting his first boundary on me. I liked it but didn't want it. "What if it becomes more than a list?" I questioned Adam. The group stopped their own conversation to listen. "Then I guess I would get a list of my own then. Have it become more than a list." Adam was becoming angrier as he spoke. "Go on and do that. We aren't even official, or did you forget. Next thing I know, you're trying to climb in my bed saying you're my husband." "Whoa sorry marriage never came across my mind. But even if it did, wouldn't you out of everyone want something stable." I can't believe he went there. "Damn Adam, you never know how to back off. You may be cute, but there's a reason you're still single. Clingy ass bitch." "Maybe I wouldn't have to be so clingy if you were honest with yourself. It's always me making the move to get closer to you. And for what? Do you want me to or do you just want the attention? Cause you sure as hell never stopped me." I stood up "You know what, I wanted to get to know you as a friend first. But letting you be more than that would be suffocating. I can see that now. Bye guys have a good night. And Adam, if you can't wait for me to completely open up to you. Maybe you're not as good a guy as you say you are." I stormed out of the night bar and walked home. I was distraught, there I go again. Pushing people away.