Second Best -- Chapter 6
“Look, I’m sorry, okay? How many times can I say it?”
Adam sighed into the telephone receiver, rolling his eyes as he rested his head against the wall behind him. He was fifteen minutes into what was supposed to be an apology to Brad, and instead was turning into a never-ending bitch session aimed in his direction.
He did not anticipate this conversation ending well.
“There aren’t enough times,” Brad replied, his tone scathing and contemptuous. “Sorry doesn’t cut it, Adam. You know, I remember when friendship meant something to you!”
Adam raised a single eyebrow slowly, aware that the dramatic effect was wasted over the phone. “You mean… the last time I saw you? Like, three weeks ago?” he drawled.
“Exactly! Three fuckin’ weeks, Adam! And we had plans, and you just blew them off because… okay, why exactly did you blow me off again?”
“I… well… Jordan…”
“Ugh.”
Adam frowned indignantly, taking the receiver from his ear for a moment and glaring at it as if he could somehow transmit his offense over the phone lines before placing it against his ear again.
“Fucking Jordan. You’ve been with this guy for like, a month, and I’m already sick to death of hearing his name. And considering the fact that I’ve seen you all of once and talked to you twice during that time - that’s saying a lot.”
“Well, he’s my boyfriend,” Adam stated with the kind of slow deliberation one usually reserved for particularly stupid five-year-olds. “So I guess you’d better get used to it.”
“Well, I guess I won’t, since I apparently won’t be seeing you for the next however long it takes you to get tired of this one!” was Brad’s scathing retort. Before Adam could respond with a rather pointed if not eloquent epithet, Brad continued. “So what did the great and marvelous Jordan have to do with the fact that you couldn’t even bother to call and cancel your plans with your friends last night?”
The utter weakness of Adam’s excuse became painfully clear to him as he tried to formulate a satisfactory response - and failed miserably. “Well, he… um… he wanted for us to… spend some time together before… before I go into the studio, and…”
“Oh. My. God. Adam, are you seriously telling me that you didn’t show up last night because you were at home, getting fucked by your boyfriend?”
“Well… not exactly.”
“Oh, not exactly,” Brad echoed in a seething tone of pretentious sweetness. “I see. Well, in that case, can you tell your wonderful boyfriend to stop sucking your cock long enough for you to get your head out of your ass and actually consider your friends for a second? While you still have some?”
“Okay, that makes no sense whatsoever,” Adam sighed, closing his eyes and shaking his head slightly with a grimace as he tried to erase the rather convoluted, physically impossible mental images Brad’s words had conjured. “Brad… I said I’m sorry. There’s nothing else I can say. We can get together… well, I’m busy for the next two weeks, but… I can check my calendar around the fifth…”
“You know what, Adam, you selfish bitch?” Brad cut him off, clearly furious. “Don’t bother checking your calendar for the likes of insignificant cast off friends like me!”
Adam flinched slightly at the loud crash as Brad slammed his phone down and disconnected the call. He let out a slow, deep breath in resignation, trying to shrug it off and not worry about it.
Brad is such a drama queen. He’ll get over it in a day or so, and everything will be back to normal.
But some instinctive feeling told him that probably wasn’t true. He rested his forehead against the wall for a moment, raising his hands to rub his eyes as he let out a weary groan. What with his mysterious stalker still sending him threatening letters every few days, and the authorities no closer than ever to figuring out who he was, and the work on his album about to start - this was just one more stressful element that he didn’t need in his life right now.
He jumped slightly when he felt strong arms wrap around his waist from behind - then relaxed an instant later as he heard Jordan’s reassuring murmur in his ear, and felt the soft pressure of Jordan’s lips against the side of his neck.
“What’s the matter, baby?” Jordan asked between kisses, one hand rising to gently cup Adam’s throat and push his head back for better access. “You looked stressed.”
“It’s nothing,” Adam insisted, shaking his head, closing his eyes and allowing his head to fall back on Jordan’s shoulder. “I mean… I’m pretty sure it’s nothing. It’s just… Brad’s being an over-dramatic, self-absorbed bitch.”
Jordan stopped kissing Adam for the moment, resting his chin on Adam’s shoulder and holding him a little tighter as he let out a little huff of contemptuous amusement.
“Yeah, well what else is new?”
“Hey!” Adam objected, turning halfway in Jordan’s embrace so he could look him in the eye. “That’s my friend you’re talking about…”
“No,” Jordan slowly corrected, a little smirk on his lips. “That’s your friend you’re talking about. All I did was agree with you.” He paused, admitting a moment later, “Very emphatically.”
Adam’s expression relented, a smile forming on his lips as he let out a sigh. “We just… had a little fight about… me not showing up last night.” He shrugged, trying for careless. “He’ll get over it.”
“Well, if he doesn’t,” Jordan pointed out, his expression serious as he raised a hand to gently trace down Adam’s cheek, “then he’s not worth it, babe. Seriously. If you want my opinion…” He took a deep breath, visibly hesitating before letting out his opinion in a rush. “… he’s a selfish, gold-digging little attention whore who’ll only end up dragging you down by association.”
“Jordan!” Adam stared at him, aghast, as he turned the rest of the way around to face Jordan fully.
“I mean it, Adam,” Jordan insisted, holding his gaze unflinchingly. “When it comes to friends, you can do a whole lot better than that.”
Adam’s eyes narrowed, his head tilting slightly as he studied Jordan’s expression. A slow, incredulous smile began to form on his face. “And… this… sudden hostility toward my friend might not have anything at all to do with the fact that he was once… a lot more than a friend… might it?”
“Not a bit, Adam,” Jordan replied without hesitation. “I’m just looking out for your best interests.”
He was quiet for a moment, looking away, suddenly self-conscious under Adam’s scrutiny. Finally he rolled his eyes and moved in closer to Adam, his hands at Adam’s waist pushing him gently back against the wall.
“Okay,” he confessed, his voice low and slightly suggestive as he shifted in closer, his lips mere inches from Adam’s. “Okay, maybe it’s… a little bit that. I know you two were… were very close for a long time, and… face it, baby.”
He met Adam’s eyes again, his gaze darkened with desire as he raised the backs of his fingers to stroke across Adam’s throat again, smiling his approval when Adam closed his eyes and tilted his head back, willingly losing himself in the sensation of Jordan’s touch. Jordan kissed him softly before pulling back to complete his statement, his voice hoarse with arousal.
“A guy’d have to be crazy not to be a little jealous when he’s got the most amazing, sexy guy on the planet to come home to every night. I just… I can’t stand the thought of ever losing you… and especially not to someone who doesn’t deserve you.”
Adam opened his eyes with a bit of an effort, giving Jordan an affectionate, reassuring smile before raising a hand to pull him down for another kiss.
“You won’t,” he promised, looking into Jordan’s eyes intently, willing him to see how much he meant those words. “I’m yours, Jordan. Always.”
*******************************
The next two weeks flew by, and when they had passed - Adam’s album was still not finished. He was busy and rushed and utterly exhausted all the time; and Jordan’s rising discontent during that time did nothing to ease the situation.
Jordan’s prediction that they would see little of each other during that time was partially true. Due to the situation with the stalker, Jordan accompanied Adam everywhere as his bodyguard, so they were together almost all of the time; yet they rarely had any time to themselves. By the time they got home in the evenings after Adam’s long hours recording, Adam was usually so exhausted that he just wanted to go to sleep.
Jordan usually had other plans, and with a little convincing, Adam usually went along with them - which only made him more exhausted than ever the following day.
Brad didn’t call back, and neither did his other friends or his family; and Adam didn’t have the time to call them. By the time he got home it was usually too late to call his mom or brother, and he felt uneasy about calling Brad and the others after the incident a couple of weeks earlier. The more time that passed since the last time they had spoken, the more awkward Adam felt about it.
He was beginning to feel more and more isolated, and his mood began to spiral downward until he was just desperate to get finished with the recording so he could get on with his life and have a little time to himself again.
The day after his last studio session - one month after their fight on the phone - Brad finally called.
“Don’t speak,” he commanded by way of greeting. “I don’t want to hear your excuses about how you’ve been too busy making the album that’s going to change music as we know it to return a fuckin’ phone call or five. Why do you think I’m calling today - on the day when you tweeted that your recording’s finally finished?”
Adam couldn’t help but smile, though he was confused by the comment about returning phone calls. As far as he knew, there had been no calls to return. He opened his mouth to ask about it, but Brad was already talking again.
“I said don’t speak,” he stated in a tone of regal authority, and Adam wondered whether he’d heard him draw in a breath, or simply knew Adam well enough to know instinctively when he’d be about to break in. “This is your chance to redeem yourself, bitch. We’re having a party in your honor, and if you don’t show up, we’ll know it’s because your head really is too big to fit through the door. Either that, or it’s too far up Jordan’s ass for you to even hear me right now. Either way - not attractive, love. Be there, ‘kay?”
Adam’s smile widened and he closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying his friend’s unique way of looking at things that had seemed so frustrating and annoying to him just a couple of weeks earlier. Suddenly, his exhaustion seemed to lift from him, and the prospect of a party with all of his friends sounded like exactly what he needed.
Unfortunately, Jordan had other ideas.
“I don’t know, baby.” His disappointment was clear in his voice. “I sort of had plans for our own celebration tonight. I made reservations and everything.”
“Well, can’t we reschedule? Do it another night?” Adam suggested, sidling up to his boyfriend and wrapping his arms loosely around his neck. “Brad’s planned this whole party, and all my friends are gonna be there, and…”
Adam’s voice trailed off as his mind registered the way Jordan had tensed at the mention of Brad. He sighed, lowering his arms and rolling his eyes as he turned away slightly.
“Jordan, come on. We’re just friends. It’s no big deal.”
“That’s easy to say. It looks like a big deal from where I stand.”
“Well it’s not!” Adam insisted, growing frustrated. “Jordan, I love you, but I see you every day, at least a little. It’s been a month since I’ve seen them! I need to get out for a little while, you know?”
“I get that,” Jordan conceded softly, but there was a stubborn determination in his expression when Adam turned to face him. “I’d just rather it wasn’t with Brad.”
Irritated and defensive for his friend, Adam finally lost it a little. “Well, that’s not your decision, is it, Jordan?” he snapped. “It’s mine, and I’m going.”
He headed up the stairs to their bedroom to get ready - but Jordan followed him. The argument continued while Adam chose an outfit and did his makeup, escalating with the obvious certainty that he was going to do this, regardless of what his boyfriend thought about it. It was the first real fight they’d had - and it was a big one. Adam was relieved when he was finally ready and hurried down the stairs toward the door.
“Wait a minute!” Jordan snapped, catching up with him and grabbing his arm to spin him around. “Adam, slow down!”
“Get your hands off me!” Adam protested, indignant as he pulled his arm free of Jordan’s grasp. “Do you seriously think you can stop me?”
“No, I’m going with you,” Jordan explained, sounding tired and frustrated. “At least you’ll be safe…”
Adam gave him a look that suggested he was possibly the least intelligent person on the planet. “I’ll be constantly in the company of about a hundred people who have made me the focus of their evening,” he reminded Jordan with a slow, patronizing nod. “I’m pretty sure I’ll be just fine.”
“I still want to go with you…”
“Well, I don’t want you to!” Adam exploded, throwing up his hands in frustration. “Really, I think it’s a good idea if we don’t spend the evening together tonight. Blow off a little steam, whatever. No offense, but I just kind of… don’t want to bring this…” He waved his hands in a vague gesture to indicate the entire confrontation. “… to my party.”
He spun on his heel and headed for the door.
“You can’t go alone, Adam, it’s not safe. I won’t let you.”
Adam froze in his tracks, his eyes widening in disbelief. After a moment he slowly turned to face his boyfriend, his eyes narrowed dangerously. His voice was soft but carried a warning edge.
“You won’t what, now?”
“Adam, that stalker’s out there somewhere, and I won’t let you go alone…”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought you said.” Adam nodded slowly with a derisive, disbelieving smile, deliberately ignoring the part about the stalker and turning again to head for the door and the car that was waiting for him outside. “Bye, Jordan. Have a nice night.”
Jordan followed him as he walked to the car, opening the door and getting inside. Once inside, he immediately pressed the lock button, shutting Jordan out. Visibly fuming, Jordan walked around to the driver’s window and motioned for him to put it down. Eyeing Adam warily, easily picking up on the tension between them, the driver only put the window down an inch or two to listen to what Jordan had to say.
“Adam, if you insist on leaving me here like this, I’ll just follow you there…” Jordan addressed Adam first, still trying to reason with him.
“No, you won’t.” Adam smiled sweetly. “Because I haven’t told you where it is and by the time you get to your car we’ll be gone.”
Jordan turned his focus to the driver, trying again. “This is a security issue, he cannot go without security to this event…”
“Manny,” Adam interrupted, reaching up to put a hand on his driver’s shoulder, drawing his gaze back to him. His smile was warm and genuine, his tone sweet, but there was a hard glint in his eyes that was all business. “Who signs your paychecks?”
Manny gave Adam a little smirk of amusement as he rolled his window back up and started the engine. A moment later the car pulled out of the driveway, leaving Jordan staring dumbly after it in helpless frustration.
TBC...