Life, Love & A Little Coffee

Chapter Eighteen: Something Wicked This Way Comes

"You won't get in trouble for being here, will you?" Ada didn't want Tom to risk his career or reputation for her any more than he already had.

"I've had a shitty day, Ada. Being around you makes me calm and I need some calm before I go fucking nuts." His tone was even, but there was obvious frustration deep within. Or maybe not so deep after all. She noticed his hand move to rub at the back of his neck and slipped her arms around him in an embrace.

Maybe it was inappropriate, but she could tell by the slow exhale of his breath how much he needed it. It was her job to center Tom, to remind him of the man he was rather than the angry version the series of events had brought out in him. It was so easy to be bitter about what was happening in his life and she didn't want him to turn into a bitter man.

"I'm happy you're here."

She felt his arms around her give a light squeeze. "Me too."

"And I'm sorry your day was so shitty," she said after lifting her head to look up at him. She noticed his anger dissolving, his eyes losing the gloom behind them.

Tom let out a soft laugh. "It's getting better." Tom let her go. "Now get your ass inside."

Ada nodded and let her arms fall from his body. She was reluctant to go inside, but as she observed him from the window, Ada noticed he took the cold in stride, seeming about as affected by it as he was the night she went to his apartment.

It wasn't until she began watching him in secret that she noticed the difference in his appearance. At school she saw him clean cut; loose pressed shirt, dress pants or fitted jeans and a blazer. When he wasn't there, he wore shirts about a size too large and his ascot cap. But tonight he wore a Rolling Stones t-shirt that fit him just right, which was going to be a distraction, but wasn't entirely peculiar. What was peculiar was his hat and glasses were nowhere to be seen.

It was disappointing to leave the window, but if she'd stayed and watched him for any longer, well... she knew her luck. So Ada preheated the oven and began filling all the pots with water just as Peter came trotting down the steps with a flashlight in each hand. She hadn't noticed the kitchen table full of candles until he'd set the flashlights down in the pile.

"Tom's here," he said happily.

It please Ada how much her little brother seemed to like Tom. They'd only met a few times, yet Peter appeared to adore him. It was no simple thing considering he wasn't a big fan of most adults or authority.

"I saw."

"Is he spending the night?"

That hadn't occurred to Ada until then, but she wouldn't be surprised if he did. "I don't know. I guess that depends on the storm."

"Would he spend the night in your room or in Stevie's room?"

Saliva caught in Ada's throat, causing her to break out into a series of coughs. "Why would he spend the night in my room?"

Peter's eyes narrowed on her and he scratched at his temple. "Aren't you guys dating?"

Ada shook her head, dumbfounded. "Why would you think we're dating?"

"I dunno. Just the way you talk to each other and look at each other," he answered with a shrug.

She had to admit there were times when they appeared to have a closer relationship than they did. She also had to admit there was an attraction on her end. But many people found Tom to be attractive. Even her own mother called him good looking. So Ada had no problem owning up to that one, seeing as she'd spilled the beans about that to Tom himself.

The front door to the house opened and a few moments later Ada heard the tumble of firewood hitting the floor. "We're not dating and Tom won't be spending the night in my room," Ada insisted one final time.

"Where am I not spending the night?" Tom yelled from the living room.

She hadn't yelled it, and the living room was hardly close enough to the kitchen to be easily overheard. But with Ada's luck, she shouldn't have been surprised that he overheard her anyhow.

The oven beeped and Ada went over to the fridge, opened it and grabbed the leftover casserole from the night before and popped it in the oven.

Tom had overheard just about every embarrassing thing Ada had ever said about him. Anything slightly sexual she'd said about him or something said to her about him, and Tom seemed to just magically appear right on time.

So sure, her cheeks blushed. It was tempting to crawl into the oven with the casserole. But at this point it happened so frequently that she'd given up trying to explain it or run from it. So when Tom came in to the kitchen, Ada turned to face him. "My brother thinks you and I are dating."

Tom looked back and forth between the two of them. He didn't look embarrassed or amused. He didn't look like he knew how to feel about it. "Oh yeah?"

Ada nodded, unsure of how else to respond.

His attention went to Peter, and he crossed his arms. "I care for your sister, more than I care about most things in my life these days. But we aren't dating."

"Then why do you guys act like you're dating?" Peter countered. He wasn't so much as slightly embarrassed for being called out on his question. Instead, he was defending his reasoning as if he was on the debate team. "Even my Nonni says that you guys are too close."

Ada walked over to the smaller dining table in the kitchen and dropped into the chair. She'd defended her relationship with Tom too many times to count and denied anything more was there. She was sure Tom had done the same, but she needed a break and wanted to see how he went about it.

Tom didn't appear to know how to reply either. He seemed to just assume that Peter would have accepted a simple 'no' and moved on. But Peter wasn't budging, and Tom didn't have much experience arguing with an eleven-year-old.

He took a seat on the stool at the kitchen island and shifted around for a moment, planning his move. His eyes traveled to Ada, who gave him a sympathetic gaze.

"Okay," Tom said, turning his attention back to Peter. "Tell me how we act like we're dating. Do we kiss?"

Though they all knew the answer to that one, Peter shook his head. "No. But sometimes you look like you're going to, or look like you want to."

Tom's gaze shot to the floor and he let out a nervous chuckle and kicked the kitchen floor with his sneaker a few times. "I feel like the more I try to defend myself, the worse it's gonna get for me."

"Please tell me you haven't shared this theory with our parents," Ada asked from the table.

"Seriously? Dad would kill him."

"Yes," Tom interjected, pointing at Peter. "Yes, he would."

"Peter," Ada said as she ran her fingers through her hair, "why don't you go look for that CD player that takes batteries. I think mom might have it in one of the hall closets."

Peter looked victorious as he scampered off.

Tom just shook his head. "I could have won that one."

"Oh, I'm sure," Ada said with a smile. "I noticed you were trying to take it easy on him."

He lifted himself back off the stool. "So, I'm gonna go bring in more firewood before it gets hit with rain and becomes useless."

"And I'm going to set the table and make some coffee so you don't shrivel up into nothingness," Ada said as she too left her seat and went over to check on the casserole which she already knew needed about fifteen more minutes. "I was going to get a cooler going-"

"Beer," Tom shouted as he left the room. "Lots and lots of beer."