“So, what’s going on with Clare and Ryder?” Jared asked as he helped himself to more green beans. “I’m not sure I was following everything that went down.”
“You mean Clare and her diet cokeheads?”
“No… well, yeah, I wanna know who she was partying with. But she said something about Ryder pulling a Cobain?”
Adam sighed. “Ryder’s mental health has always been in a state of flux,” he said carefully. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”
“She does this on purpose?”
“I don’t know much,” Adam said and reached for his wine. “She’s been in the hospital a few times for overdoses. Once it was pills and vodka. Clare called that her Monroe episode.”
“Christ. She really is a bitch.”
“She was the one who took yellow roses to Ryder’s hospital room every weekend until she got out of the psych ward.”
“I don’t get it,” Jared admitted.
“Me either. Clare has some theory that it’s a cry for attention. Ryder is the ignored kid in her family. Dylan is her fucking twin and he skipped a grade, so he’s at college already, despite being born ten minutes after her. And Tyler has a lot of special needs, so their parents spend a lot of time with him. She’s sort of left out.”
“So she, what, resorts to suicide attempts?”
“I don’t think she actually wants to kill herself,” Adam said. “She just wants someone to notice her.”
“That’s so sad.”
“Watch,” Adam said knowingly. “She’ll be out of the hospital soon and everyone is going to make a massive fuss of her. At school, at home, everywhere. I’m not saying she doesn’t deserve that or anything, but it’ll happen. She needs it, I guess.”
“What happens if—"
“Don’t,” Adam said sharply. “We’ve all done the what-if game. She’ll go back into therapy after this whether she likes it or not. Clare will make sure of it.”
“She could have died.”
“I know,” Adam said.
“Does Clare really not care?”
“I have absolutely no idea what Clare thinks. She was at a UDub party on Saturday night, before you ask. Playing with the big boys.”
“That woman is a walking contradiction.”
“The key word there was ‘woman,’” Adam said, smiling over the top of his glass.
“Amen to that.”
When the last scrap of sauce had been scraped up with a crust of bread, Adam leaned back in his chair and rubbed his stomach. “So good,” he murmured.
“Much better than McDonalds,” Jared agreed, pleased when Adam grinned without reservation.
“Told you,” he said lightly.
“Are you going to get me a McFlurry from the drive-through on the way home?”
“No fucking way.” Adam laughed.
When Sophie brought the check over, Adam snatched it away before Jared had time to look at it.
“We can split it,” Jared said, suddenly feeling awkward. Just because he wasn’t prepared to drop a grand on designer clothes for one party didn’t mean he couldn’t afford to pay for dinner.
Adam shook his head. “I’ve got it,” he said. “My choice, I’ll pay.”
“That makes this a date, you know,” Jared said. He was angling for a reaction and got one. Adam flustered, then visibly steeled himself.
“If you like,” he said with a shrug of enforced nonchalance.
Jared ducked his head and grinned.
In Adam’s car Jared took control of the stereo and tuned it to The End, one of his favorites, and cranked his seat back so he could kick his shoes off and put his feet up on the dash. Adam didn’t bitch at all, and Jared watched him as much as he could get away with as the city melted into suburbs, then through dark streets, and over the Deception Pass Bridge to take them home.
“Stay at my place tonight,” Adam said, the touch of arrogance in his voice oddly charming. He looked over as they hit the island, then shifted his gaze back to the road.
“I need clean clothes,” Jared replied.
“So we’ll swing by your place, pick up clothes, then come back to mine.”
“You could always stay at my place.”
Adam rolled his eyes. “Come on, Jared. We have a routine. Don’t be a dick.”
Jared was always planning on saying yes. He just didn’t want to miss the opportunity to yank at Adam, see how far he could push things. Hadley’s car was parked haphazardly when they pulled up out front along with a few others, bumper to bumper, and Jared sighed, slumping back in his seat before opening the door.
“You don’t have to come in with me,” he said, surprised when Adam followed him out of the car.
Adam shrugged. “I don’t mind. Plus, I want to see your room.”
With his hands full of bags, Jared led the way up to the house. He didn’t bother to knock, already hearing the noise from a crowd of thirty-somethings partying it up like they were twenty-one.
“We’ll make this quick,” he muttered, swinging all his bags into one hand and grabbing Adam’s with the other.
There wasn’t any chance for them to slip by unnoticed, though. As they crossed the hallway, Hadley slipped out of the kitchen with a bottle of wine in each hand.
“Jared!” she exclaimed, swaying on her bare feet, apparently a little drunk. “Sorry I missed your call earlier. Got your message though. Eating out with Adam.”
Jared felt the blush rise in his cheeks, even though she didn’t mean anything sexual. Adam raised a hand in greeting.
“Hey, Ms Saunders,” he said.
“Fuck me, Adam. Call me Hadley. Sheesh.”
Adam laughed and dropped his hand. When he wanted to, the polite, charming, well-raised young man shone through his epic asshole exterior. “I invited Jared to stay over at my place tonight. I hope you don’t mind.”
“No, not at all. You guys seem to spend a lot of time together these days….”
This time there definitely was implication in her words. Jared blushed harder, feeling his ears heat.
“We’re friends, Hadley. You know that. And I
