It Never Rains (But It Pours)

A Day In The Life, Part 2

Adam had spent the entire weekend happily bonding with Blake. The two had hung out in their motel room, playing cards, playing guitar, and watching bad television while Adam perused the paper and made calls, trying to find them a decent place to stay. Unfortunately, the only place that seemed reasonable required a five hundred dollar deposit that Adam didn't have. The problem was that his current funds would be depleted by Tuesday, but Adam wouldn't get paid until Friday. When his alarm went off Monday morning, Adam had to face the uncomfortable reality that he and Blake might very well end up spending time in a homeless shelter after tonight, hoping that the apartment wouldn't be rented out from under them before Adam got paid Friday.

Adam spent ten minutes reminding Blake again and again to keep the door locked and not let anyone in who wasn't Adam or Pharrell. Blake was sitting sadly on his bed watching him as Adam left. Walking away was one of the hardest things Adam had ever done. He couldn't keep doing this to Blake. He had to think of something, some way he could avoid constantly leaving Blake locked alone in a cheap hotel room.

Then he got to work, spotted Christina watching him with a smile on her face, and realized that he had more immediate problems. "How long are you going to let this go on, buddy?" Pharrell asked him. Obviously, his friend had also noticed Christina's look.

Adam poured himself some coffee and took his time adding creamer to avoid answering. "What do you want me to do, Pharrell?" he asked finally. "We've been through this."

"How the hell do you even get it up when you can't stand her?"

"I have an excellent imagination." Adam sipped the coffee, hoping the caffeine would help his headache. Sometimes it did. But right now, Adam doubted it. His headache, which had been blessedly absent all weekend, was back with a vengeance. "Change the subject please?"

"Fine," Pharrell sighed. "How's John Doe?"

"Actually, I've been calling him Blake. Blake Shelton."

Pharrell stared at him. "You named him like a pet?"

"Don't be an ass. Who wants to be called John Doe? Blake is happy, and the name seems to suit him." Adam told Pharrell a bit about their weekend as they headed to their cubicles. Just talking about spending time with Blake lifted Adam's spirits.

"So now we know a few things about him," Pharrell mused. "He's got a great memory, he can play guitar, and he can fight. Interesting combination, although I cannot figure out what it adds up to. Does he remember anything at all about what he used to do?"

"Not much," Adam said. He hadn't wanted to tell Pharrell about Blake being a male escort. Pharrell had an open mind, but he was a family man. Adam wanted the only two friends he had to like each other, and that meant Pharrell had to get to know Blake before he found out about the big man's former occupation.

"Well, bring him over to my place for dinner tonight," Pharrell invited. "Jenny and the kids miss you, and I'm sure they'd love to meet, what did you call him, Blaine?"

"Blake," Adam corrected. "I'd love to come to your place tonight, Pharrell, thanks a million!"

"Hey, no problem."

After that, Adam lost himself in his work. But before he knew it, he heard Christina's voice on the overhead pager. "Adam Levine, please report to my office? Adam Levine, please report to my office."

Adam groaned and rubbed at his temples. Words did not describe how badly he didn't want to do this. But there was nothing to be done for it. He got up without a word and headed to her office.