My brows rose. “My dad won’t like it.” I paused. “And I don’t want to leave.”
I actually adored where I was living.
Even more, Adam was here.
Which, if I had to admit, was the main reason I didn’t want to leave.
I liked him. A lot.
And the last few days, when he hadn’t stopped by or called—I really needed to give him my number—I’d been really out of sorts.
“They have field offices in Longview,” he said. “And some in Uncertain, Texas.”
I grinned. “How about we set something up. Let me talk to them. See what I would need to be doing. Hours, things like that. Then I’ll talk to my dad. I’m not going to do something like the FBI without telling him first.”
There was a line that I knew I couldn’t cross when it came to him. He’d take a lot of shit and deal with the consequences, but starting a job with the FBI wasn’t going to be one of those things I made him deal with.
I had to choose my battles.
“I’ll let you know a time and place,” he said as he looked up.
I did, too, spotting Adam filling the doorway talking to the bouncer that had led Tomi away tonight.
“Get on out of here,” he ordered. “And get something to eat!”
That yelled part reached Adam’s ears as I walked up to him with a pep in my step.
“You’re hungry?” he asked, reaching for my hand.
I took it, finding that I loved the way it felt like his hand was enveloping mine.
“I don’t know if you remember or not,” I said. “But I have type 1 diabetes. My blood sugar is an asshole, or maybe that’s my pancreas. Whatever. It’s quite low and I need something to eat rather quick.”
Adam looked down at me with concern. “I don’t actually know that I connected the dots. I just thought you were a prissy girl who didn’t like to eat the food that was provided.”
I rolled my eyes. “I have to be super careful about what I eat. I can control some of it with diet and exercise. I have to have insulin but overall, I’m quite healthy. I’m lucky really.”
He poked me in the belly. “Is that why you have abs?”
I laughed, feeling those abs contract.
“I started out as a gymnast when I was younger. Moved on to all the sports in high school. Found CrossFit when I was getting my first degree. Now, I do a combination of trail running, CrossFit when I can afford the classes, and using the school’s gym. Though, that’s going to be gone for me now. I’ll have to find some other place to get my workouts in,” I rambled.
He led me to his truck. “I’ll drop you back off at your car after I get you something to eat.”
I looked at my car. “It can stay the night. I’ll come back for it in the morning.”
My meaning was more than clear.
I could tell that he understood it, too, based solely on the heated look he gave me as he closed the door.
“Do you have to work tomorrow?” I asked the moment he got into the truck. “And why are you in the truck? Where’s your bike?”
“My dad has it,” he answered as he started the truck up. “It needed a few things tuned up, and I just don’t have the time. He took it this afternoon to get them done.”
I nodded. “Do you have to work tomorrow?”
He shook his head and started for the exit. “What do you want to eat? How fast do you have to eat it? I’m not sure IHOP is actually fast.”
I looked at my watch.
“Can we go to a different place that serves breakfast? Like Whataburger? I can get a taquito there,” I suggested.
He swung out of the parking lot and headed in that direction. “That actually sounds halfway decent. I haven’t been able to eat much since the Taco Hell incident. Something easy like that sounds good.”
We pulled into the driveway of the Whataburger a few minutes later, and instead of going inside, I directed him to the drive-through.
“Since you don’t have to work,” I said after he ordered. “I have something I want you to do with me.”
He didn’t argue, and since there was no one in line at this time of the night, I didn’t have to answer any of his questions until after he already had our food.
“Where are we going?” Adam asked after he handed me the food.
I was already pulling out a taquito and biting into it when he asked. It was only after I finished off the first taquito and moved to the second that I answered.
“I want you to take me somewhere.” I paused to chew. “Turn right here. Then a left.”
He did, following my directions to a T.
After I finished off the second breakfast burrito, I moved on to my water, washing it all down before moving to the third.
He watched me out of the corner of his eye, his mouth tipping up.
“I always thought you were a picky eater,” he told me. “I couldn’t understand why you never ate anything.” He paused. “And, just sayin’, but you look nothing like you used to. I mean, the curls and the long black hair is the same, possibly the eyes but I never got close enough to you to really look at those, but the rest? You’re completely different.”
“Not picky, no.” I grinned. “And I did a lot of growing up. Not to mention I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. It took me a while to stabilize all of that with diet and exercise, but once I did, things started slimming down. Like my ass and face.”
He snorted. “I don’t remember you being anything other than small.” He looked at me. “Always so small.”
I shrugged, then pointed to the next road he needed to turn down while chugging my water.
He took the turn, then realized where we were going. Mostly because the road dead-ended into my dad’s business.
“You want to fly?” I asked curiously.
He looked at me like a kid in the fuckin’ candy store. “Fuck yes.”
We pulled into the driveway seconds later, and I got out.
“Your dad doesn’t care?” he asked.
“No,” I answered. “I actually did call and ask him, though. In case you were wondering. He said it was fine. But I think that he knows. Or suspects something.”
There was a long silence as he met me around the front of the truck.
“Your brother knows,” he said cryptically.
My brows rose. “Yeah?”
“Yeah,” he confirmed. “He came by tonight, told me in no uncertain terms that no matter how much he liked me, he liked you more.”
I rolled my eyes. “The thing with being the baby, and I mean, baby-baby of the family? It means that all of my family is older than me. My sister and brothers? They’re all old enough to be my dad. Hell, I’m younger than some of their kids. Which means, instead of getting a brother that’ll shoot the shit with me? I got another dad. They always know best. And, no matter how much I’d love to be independent, they’re always going to be there trying to rule my life. And protect it.”