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Liza popped back into the front door, surprising theot to tell you, I’ve na Why don’t you and Milo co your swimsuit for the hot tub Or…not"

Holly’s eyes narrowed to slits, and Adaot plans tonight"

Liza stepped closer to hiainst his ar" She se your mind"

Adam watched her walk off, and at the snort fro to say, say it"

"You’ve been to her place She cooks for you" Holly studied hier pissed but very serious "We didn’t exactly discuss this, but I have to ad with anyone else at theht her wrist "It was over a year ago," he told her quietly "Not too long after I first got back She had aze met his "You mean a friend with benefits"

Benefits only, no friendship, but he didn’t think clarifying this was going to help his cause "She wanted aze locked on his "And now?"

"You know I still don’t"

"And you don’t see that changing anyti caht hith of character She was going to dump him He’d known it would come to this

"And if you did?" she asked

He cupped her jaw, slid his fingers into her silky hair "You knohere I’d be if I did"

"Hue hers "I’d be in your bed every night"

She stared at hi beat Then her eyes softened and she turned her face so that her lips brushed his palo after what you want, Ada is…"

Oh shit Here it comes

"I’m not too chicken," she said "I know exactly what I want I honestly thought I could do this with you, the whole friends-with-benefits thing" She slowly shook her head, her eyes suspiciously shiny "But as it turns out, I can’t Not with you, Adam With you, I want it all"

He felt cold inside at the thought of her walking out that door and having theo back to the way it had been, with little to no contact between the, she’d becos in his life And how the hell that had happened, he hadn’t a clue He had e already, and yet there she was Just as vital to him as his family "It’s not that simple for me," he heard himself say

"Of course it is Life is as simple as you make it, Ada without doing the living part, though" SheLiza’s words "You knohere to findher walk away He stood there until he realized he was the only one in the room, with the exception of Milo, Gertie, Peanut…

And Jade

She was still on the phone, her back to him, thankfully Otherwise she’d have been on hiical portion of his brain It wasn’t as if Holly was the only woman who’d ever mattered to him

But he could adone right to the heart of the matter His heart

He looked at Gertie and Milo, both sitting obediently, waiting for a co obediently for a coround, rolled to her back, and exposed her belly for a rub Adaed her, histoo chicken to go after what you want…

Holly’s words haunted hiht him early to shove his fear deep, and he’d done just that He no longer allowed himself fear Except, apparently, when it came to her

And what the hell was it exactly that he was afraid of, anyway?

Tired of thinking, tired of hi only to be alone, Adam walked into his office--trailed by Milo, of course--and let out a frustrated breath

Dell was feet up at the desk, leaning back, helping himself to Ada in here?"

"Looking at porn I didn’t want to crash s of the chair His chair "Get up"

"Please Get up, please"

"Get the fk out of ot up Adaht He’d be happy to escort Dell out of the chair

Dell grinned "Aw, look at you, pretending to be all tough and gru earlier, I saw it Now because I’ to ask who put that rare expression of satisfaction on your face, but a betting aze off the screen and gave Ada, Milo plopped to his bed and farted audibly

"Jesus, dog," Adam said, and had to open theso they wouldn’t suffocate

"He’s handy," Dell said "You train hi back, he studied Adam "You fked it up, didn’t you?"

"I don’t want to talk about it"

Dell sighed "You had a grand old ti me fall flat on my face for Jade, remember?"

"Yeah, because you were an idiot about it"

"Well, then, don’t look in theabout this"

"Okay," Dell said agreeably "But we are Look, things have never come easy for Connellys Hell, half the time, we ged

Dell put his feet down and leaned over the desk "Look, we both know that everything that happened to us growing up was fucked-up And then things didn’t exactly get better for you, did they? But you’re good now, you’ve gone through hell to find yourself again and you’re good"

Ada about this? "So?"

"So…it see for you, from here on out," Dell said "All you have to do is let yourself enjoy it"