The Man Who Saved Me

Chapter 8

Shonali did what any coward would do, and she would frankly admit to being a coward at the moment. She took more shifts at the boring work that paid for her utilities, and spent more time working on the bikes that she was supposed to get back to shipshape.

So if Adam didn’t call her much, it was fine. She was busy, too.

Malia and Carlos watched her work like a maniac with a sort of bemusement that soon turned into concern.

It had been two weeks since the date, and they knew that Adam had called.

Despite all that had been said about his busy schedule and so on and so forth, he had called at least four times.

Shonali had blanked him.

She had convinced herself that she was being sensible. If he’d really wanted to see her again, he would’ve come and seen her. He knew that she spent her evenings working on the bikes. He knew that she worked her shifts during the day. He knew everything about her, thought Shonali, a bit resentfully, because he had put her back together again.

As she walked back home, because she hadn’t felt up to taking Leonidas, she could almost hear her tattoo calling her a damn liar. She couldn’t even weather a simple storm anymore, or so it felt like, and she didn’t think she could really come up with a rebuttal to that.

So she let the tattoo on her shoulder blade mock her, and got to work on the old Harley that she was restoring.

It would be fabulous advertising if she could do it. The client had been to a few big name establishments and hadn’t been able to get it done. The rich old man wanted to be a biker now that he had made his fortune, and Shonali was going to convince him to spend some of that fortune on that bike, because boy, she deserved it.

She deserved to be shown off.

She was just about to get to work when there was a knock at the door.

“We’re closed,” she called out through the intercom that Carlos had insisted they get installed.

“I know. It’s me.”

Shonali nearly dropped the wrench on her foot. Thankfully, she got a better grip on it just in time.

“Adam?”

Damn, her voice sounded like a squeaky little cartoon mouse’s.

“Yes. Let me in, Shonali.”

She actually considered not letting him in before telling herself not to be such a damn coward and shrugging.

She was doing the adult, sensible thing, right?

She walked to the door, absently wiping her hands on a rag, and paused.

She wasn’t looking her best. She looked like a real grease monkey, which she supposed she was, at the end of the day.

Maybe she should just quit the barista gig. It wasn’t like she really needed it anymore. She didn’t live luxuriously, and they were getting real clients now.

She knew that Carlos had other investments, too. Carlos had told her that she could afford to take more money from their business.

It wouldn’t break them.

Shrugging off the oil and grease that was probably all over her, she opened the door.

“Adam,” she said, smiling brightly in greeting.

“Shonali, why haven’t you been answering my calls?”

Obviously, the man was in such a hurry that he couldn’t even bother with pleasantries.

“Why don’t you come in?” invited Shonali.

Adam strode in and kicked the door shut, a dangerous light in his eyes.

“Why didn’t you call me?”

Shonali shrugged.

“Want a beer? It’s after hours, I can have a beer now even if I’m working. Not like I’m going for a ride now.”

Adam looked like he was about to brush off the offer, but seemed to change his mind.

“Sure, why not,” said Adam, raking his fingers through his hair almost viciously.

He managed to wait until they were both sitting down before he asked again.

“Shonali. Why didn’t you call me? Why have you been avoiding me?”

Shonali shrugged.

“Well, you have a very busy life. I can be a bit of a high maintenance girl. It just seemed all around better if we cooled things down a bit. Things got a bit too intense a bit too fast, don’t you think?”

Adam opened his mouth and closed it again firmly.

He looked like he was waging some kind of internal battle.

“Do you think intense and fast cannot also be right?”

Shonali was taken aback.

She had honestly thought that he would be happy to just leave things be. He hadn’t wanted anything after that first night.

He hadn’t called then.

“It could. I don’t know. But it didn’t seem to me that you’re looking for a relationship, Adam. Looked to me like you’re pretty wrapped up in your work and that’s what you really need to be happy. I need more than that, though. I don’t want to sleep around right now. Anyway, that would be all complicated. I have feelings for you – I’ve built you up as a hero for a long time. I can’t help that. That’s a lot of baggage. I thought it would just be best if we didn’t get too involved.”

But he kept moving closer.

“I think we’re pretty involved right now, Shonali. Don’t you think so?”

Shonali nearly trembled before stiffening her spine and straightening her shoulders.

“A bit too involved. Tell me, honestly, Adam. Do you really have the time to spare to hang out with me, and get to know me? To let me get to know you? Can you really let me into your life?”

Adam shrugged and turned away.

“It’s not like I’m proposing marriage, Shonali. I’m just suggesting that we go out a few times. Don’t you go out with people occasionally to get to know them better, simply because you like their company?”

Shonali wanted to tell him no, she didn’t, because she had had a bad experience the last time she’d tried something like that. She had ended up with Fred.

That had been a bad experience in every sense of the world, and she was still trying to find her way back from it.

She had told him about it. Why did he not understand?

“I’m not asking you to stay with me forever, Shonali. I’m just saying that I like you. I’d like to go out with you, spend time with you. When I’m with you, I don’t feel like… Well, I don’t feel like I’m less. I can just be me. So if you don’t want to see me again, just tell me so. I’ll leave you alone. I’m not a stalker.”

Shonali looked at him steadily and felt her defenses crumbling.

How could she tell him that she didn’t want to see him again because she had fallen in love with him? He hadn’t asked for that. She hadn’t, either.

But it had happened, and it was her problem, not his.

When he was there, right in front of her, all she wanted was to be in his arms, and hear him laugh as his heart beat faster and he kissed her, until they both forgot everything but each other.

It was a stupid thing to do. It would not end well. She knew it.

But she smiled.

“I guess I haven’t handled this particularly well. How about if I make it up to you by taking you out for dinner tonight?”

Adam looked a little surprised at the about turn she had done, but he grinned. He looked relieved, too. He didn’t seem about to question a good thing.

He definitely believed that it was a good thing. She could see that, too.