Out of My Element by Taryn Plendl

was only going out
with Adam again because I felt like I owed it to him after being so distracted
the last time. After my encounter with Nick just now, I had a feeling that it
would be another distracted evening.
    Fortunately, we were doing a quick
dinner and a movie, so at least I would have a couple hours where I didn’t have
to talk or think in the theater.
    “Hey.” Adam was waiting for me in
the lobby of our building.
    “Wow, Chelsea! You look great!” He
hugged me before taking my hand and walking me outside to his car. “You
hungry?” he asked as he opened my door.
    “Yes, I am.” I smiled. I had been
pushing myself with my running the last two days. I was up to an easy ten
miles, mostly as a stress reliever. It kept me out of the apartment until after
Nick left, and it allowed me to stay on my training schedule.
    Adam took me to a little Mexican
restaurant. It had been ages since I’d had Mexican food, and it was one of my
favorites. The décor was authentic and rustic. There was a traveling mariachi
band playing music and singing for the tables. It was an upbeat atmosphere,
exactly what I needed right now.
    “So, how long have you and Nick lived
together?” Adam asked around a chip.
    I took a long drink of my
margarita. “Not long. There was a fire in my apartment building, so I needed a
place to stay.”
    “Hmm. How does that work?” he
asked.
    “What do you mean?” I raised my
eyebrows at him, not liking the insinuation behind his question.
    “Well, are you and Nick just
roommates, or more?” His question hit me straight in the gut. That was exactly
what Nick said we were the other night, when he’d brought his blonde “flavor of
the week” home.
    “Yes, we’re just roommates.” I
smiled, desperate to change the subject. “When is your next game?”
    “Tomorrow. Can you make it?” He
grinned.
    “Um, I don’t think so. I have some
things I need to get done.” I smiled back, just as our food finally showed up.
We both ate in silence.
    The evening seemed to drag on, and
for the life of me, I couldn’t begin to tell you what the movie was even about.
I spent half of it trying to redirect Adam’s wandering hands. I swear, if he
placed his hand on my upper thigh one more time, I was going to scream. It felt
wrong—dirty. I didn’t want him.
    Adam drove me home and parked the
car. He walked around to my door and opened it. I was prepared to give him a
small kiss and end the date, but after his increasingly eager advances, he
apparently had other ideas.
    Before I could protest, Adam
grabbed me and pressed me solidly up against the car. He covered my mouth with
his, pressing his tongue into my mouth, moving it and slobbering all over me. I
could feel his growing erection against my stomach, and it made me extremely
uncomfortable. The second Adam pulled back slightly I turned my head. “Wait,
Adam.” I gasped.
    “Come on Chelsea, I know you want
this,” he groaned.
    I pushed him back. “No, Adam, I
really don’t. I don’t think this is going to work out.”
    “What do you mean?” he snapped.
    “Um, I don’t think we are very
compatible.” I stepped away from the car, putting some distance between us.
    “What the hell, Chelsea?” He looked
pissed, and people were giving us looks as they passed by. “You spent the whole
fucking night giving me your coy little smiles, playing hard to get by pushing
my hands away, fluttering your eyelashes and smiling, and now you pull this
bullshit?”
    “Excuse me?” I crossed my arms
across my chest and glared back at him. “I don’t play games, Adam. If you
thought I was playing hard to get, you misread me.” I shook my head and
laughed. “Shit, Nick was right.” I said under my breath. What an ass!
    He glared at me. “Yeah, you’re
right. You weren’t really my type anyway, but I thought I’d give it a chance,
regardless. I didn’t realize you were such a tease. See you later, Chelsea.” I
watched him climb into his car and drive