“Shit,” Adam raised his gaze, “I think my phone died.”

  “Hi, I’m Stella,” she suddenly interfered, offering her hand to Logan, who seemed confused to see her there.

  “Yeah, hi. Logan,” he shook her hand quickly, but the look on his face told Adam that something was up.

  “You OK?” Adam asked him.

  “Yeah, just… we’ll talk to you later,” Logan waved awkwardly, then disappeared somewhere in the crowd.

  “Come, sit down,” Stella pulled Adam down next to her, but her hand remained on his elbow, as if it was stuck there.

  Adam felt that there was something Logan wasn’t telling him. He noticed the strange look on Logan’s face when Stella introduced herself. But, what did he have in common with Stella? Adam wondered.

  At every touch down, Stella would shout ecstatically, like a true fan should. But, whenever the opposing team scored, she turned back into the cursing sailor. It was almost comical to watch. The whole thing was just painful, and Adam sneaked a few eager glances at his watch, to see how long this torture would last.

  When it was finally finished, they walked over to the parking lot and he offered to take her back home, even though it was only 6pm. He was actually hoping to drop her off and then go home, and try and contact Blair or Logan from his laptop, to see if they would be up for a meet up. The night was still young, as they say.

  “I was actually hoping we could go somewhere and have dinner,” she blinked her eyelashes a little too hard, making it appear as if she had something stuck in her eye.

  “Yeah, about that,” he scratched the back of his head, “you saw that my phone died, and I have to see what my friend wanted,” he told her, knowing it was a flimsy excuse but he sucked at lying, especially if he had to do it on the spot.

  “But, I thought this was going to be a real date,” she continued, like a deserted puppy.

  “It was just friends, catching up, watching the game together,” he explained, “I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression.”

  “Did I do anything?” she wondered, and Adam thought he saw the twinkle of a tear in her eye, which made him feel like the bad guy.

  “No, you didn’t do anything, really…”

  “It’s because I have kids, right?” she wouldn’t allow him to say one word. “But, it’s not my fault my ex left me to take care of them…”

  “Stella, Stella…” Adam spoke calmly, his hands now resting on her shoulders. “It’s nothing you did. I swear. I’m…”

  “Seeing someone, right?” she interrupted him. “I knew it. I just knew it. I hoped you were single, but, of course, how could anyone as wonderful as you be single for a long time, or even a short time…” she kept on rambling, as she usually did.

  “No, I’m not really seeing anyone,” he told her, simply because there was no label on what was happening with Blair and Logan, so it was best to keep it out of the limelight. “It’s something else. I’m…”

  “Just not interested, right?” she interrupted him yet again, and Adam had to laugh, because it was so annoying, but she seemed so desperate that he just couldn’t be upset with her. “That was my other suspicion. I know I’m not much to look at. I’m nothing to look at, really. But, I was hoping that maybe, you’d see past my physical appearance…”

  “Stella…” his hands were still on her shoulders, and he had to shake her a little to stop her from talking forever like this. “It’s not that either. I’ve known you for years. Sure, we haven’t been the best of friends, but I know you’re a good, kind-hearted person, and anyone would be lucky to have you,” he told her, in an effort to be nice. “Now, what I was trying to tell was that I’m…”

  “Did you really mean all that?” she interrupted him for the third time, and Adam was now on the verge of telling her to go to Hell, and just leave him alone. Sometimes, she was too much, and right now, he was too eager to go home and talk to either Blair or Logan.

  “I did,” he nodded, hoping that would end this conversation, and she’d finally get into his car.

  “Then, I do have a chance with you?”

  “Stella, I…”

  “No, shhh…” she pressed her index finger onto his lips, and he instinctively took a step back. “Just let me be hopeful. Even if nothing happens, this hope is going to make me happy, at least for a little while.”

  He wanted to tell her that all of that wasn’t really healthy, and that she should always accept the truth as it was, and not demand an alternative which suits her better, but he really wanted to get home and open that laptop. Besides, he was feeling increasingly sorry for her, so he figured, there couldn’t be much more harm than it would have been now, if he had told her the truth.

  “Well, if that would make you happy,” he shrugged his shoulders, unlocking his car and opening the door.

  “It would,” she confirmed, with a blissful smile on her face.

  For a brief second, she was almost beautiful. That’s what happiness does to people. It makes them shine from within, and that was exactly what was happening to Stella at that moment. She went to the other side, and immediately got in the car.

  Chapter 10

  Adam, Blair and Logan were sitting at a cozy restaurant having dinner. It was early in the evening, so the place was packed, but nobody was paying any special attention to them, and they were all enjoying it. The trio didn’t manage to get together on Saturday, as Blair was busy with try outs, but they did manage to go out on Sunday evening for a special dinner.

  “This was a great idea,” Blair told Adam.

  “Well, it’s my fault really that we couldn’t arrange it sooner.”

  “Why?” Logan asked, “your phone died. How is that your fault?”

  “I should have got a new one sooner?” Adam replied, asking at the same time, and the three men laughed. “In any case, here’s to all three of us just hanging out.”

  He raised his glass of wine, and the other two men joined in. Significant glances were being exchanged, then all three took a sip of their red wine.

  “This is a great vintage,” Blair licked his lips a little, feeling the remnants of the wine. “Logan told me he saw you at the game with ...Stella?” he paused a little before he said her name.

  “Yeah. Why?” Adam wondered, cutting his beefsteak into small pieces.

  He was surprised to hear Blair start talking about her so suddenly. He had no idea why talking about her was important under these circumstances. She was the last person Adam wanted to talk about right now.

  Blair looked at Logan, then back at Adam. There it was. That look again, the same one that Logan had when he saw them at the game.

  “Is someone gonna tell me what’s going on or do you guys enjoy to keep me in the dark til the very last moment?” Adam asked, with a smile on his face, hoping it was nothing he should be worried about.

  “Well, I gave Stella your phone number,” Blair told him, “when she called about the reunion. She asked for yours in specific.”

  “Where did you get my number?” Adam wondered.

  “I know some of your clients, but that’s besides the point now,” Blair explained. “The thing about Stella is that you should be careful.”

  “Careful?” Adam had no idea what this conversation was about or where it was going. “Why?”

  “You know she liked you back in high school, right?” Blair asked, while Logan was only listening to the whole thing.

  “I suspected, yeah.”

  “She was always jealous of me, because you used to spend so much time with me.”

  “I didn’t know that,” Adam admitted.

  “Well, she didn’t tell me specifically, but you could tell something was off, and that was the only explanation.”

  “OK, so what does Stella’s silly, high school crush have to do with us now?” Adam asked.

  “I think she’s still in love with you,” Blair told him. “Actually, she might even think she loves you.”

  “I doubt she loves me, but yeah, I think she’s a little infatuated,” Adam revealed. “That much was obvious when I was about to drive her home on Saturday.”

  “I’m telling you, just be careful. You need to end it, before it even starts, otherwise we could all end up on her revenge list.”

  “Why?” Adam repeated.

  “Shit, where do I start?” Blair glanced at Logan for support, and Logan covered Blair’s hand resting on the table, with his. It was just a moment, but it was enough support to allow Blair to continue with what he knew. “I have a gut feeling that deep down, she still hates me. Because of you.”

  “Because of me?”

  “Yes, because of our ...friendship, back in high school.”

  “Why do you care now?” Adam asked. “We’re not in high school anymore.”

  “But, her dad is the main sponsor for the team,” Blair told him what Adam remembered almost that very same moment. “He could get me transferred or off the team, if he wanted to. That is, if she wanted to.”

  Adam understood now why Blair was so reluctant to talk about any specifics regarding their relationship. Things seemed to make sense now that Blair revealed everything, and somehow, Adam knew that all this was true. Stella appeared so suddenly in his life, and yet, she was completely unwilling to let him go. The memory of their parking lot conversation now sent shivers down his spine.

  “Tell him about the husband,” Logan suddenly added, and Blair ‘s eyes shone with something resembling fear.

  “The husband?” Adam repeated, “I thought he left her.”

  “In a way, he did,” Blair continued. “He died.”

  “Died?” Adam kept repeating what he was hearing, unable to fully digest these news. “I wonder why she’d lie about that.”

  “Because he died under suspicious circumstances,” Blair explained. “She and the kids were visiting some friends, when their house burned down. Her husband was in it. By the time the firemen were there, he already died of carbon monoxide poisoning. After the police report, some things just didn’t add up. She was questioned by the police several times, especially seeing that he had life insurance payable to her in case of his death.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I mean, I know as much as anyone else reading the papers. But, you know as well as I do, where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Sorry about the pun,” Blair smiled awkwardly. “They say she spent a month at a hospital, psychiatric ward, because she was apparently so distraught by the death of her husband. Some said she faked it, to get the extra pity vote.”

  Adam remembered Stella’s transformation at the game. Mild and sweet Stella became the enraged green monster in a blink of an eye. Then, equally fast, she was back to her usual self.

  “But, this is all hear-say,” Adam waved his hand dismissively. “This could all be just a huge coincidence.”

  “Sure, but it doesn’t hurt to be careful.”

  “Of course,” Adam assured them both, “I was gonna end it after the game, but she wouldn’t let me, until I agreed to some twisted version of how things are.”

  “Just end it,” Blair urged him. “And make sure she knows it has nothing to do with me. If she finds out, she can and probably will make my life a living Hell, with some help from daddy dearest.”

  “OK, I’ll end it. No worries,” Adam nodded.

  Chapter 11

  A few days later, Adam was on the verge of considering to change his phone number, the one he’d had for years. The same one which would be so much hassle to change. But, he had no idea what else to do at this point. The previous day, Stella appeared at his place, ringing his doorbell as if that was the most usual thing in the world, and totally expected of her.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked her, standing at the doorway, without the slightest intention of inviting her in.

  “You haven’t been returning my calls,” she told him, standing there like a little school girl who knew she’d been caught doing something she wasn’t supposed to do. Adam didn’t find it endearing at all.

  “I tried telling you at the parking lot, Stella. I tried telling you the same thing over the phone a few days ago, and I’ve repeated it in messages several times. I don’t know how else to tell you that this…” he gestured around with his hands in empty air, “us… whatever you think is happening, isn’t happening.”

  He knew he sounded a little rough, but he was way past his last patience point with her, and he knew that sometimes, you just had to be more assertive to get your point across. Stella needed to be told like this. There was simply no other way than to be the bad guy.

  “We went out on a date, you can’t deny the attraction that exists between us, Adam,” she loved saying his name, that much was obvious from the way she worded it.

  “There is no attraction,” he corrected her.

  He hated having this conversation in the hallway of his apartment complex, where any nosy neighbor can hear what’s going on, but he was damned if he was going to let this woman into his home.

  “You’re wrong,” she shook her head, “I know you. I know you better than you know yourself, and we belong together,” she kept on talking, as if she was in a trance, and nothing Adam told her even reached her. She just kept repeating the same thing over and over again, like a broken record, unable to listen to reason.

  “Do you hear yourself?” Adam was in disbelief. “No, I’m done. Please leave me alone. Don’t call me. Don’t reach out. Please, Stella,” he tried to be as kind to her as possible, but it was getting increasingly difficult.

  “You don’t know what you’re saying,” she kept shaking her head, with an almost psychotic smile on her face, “I’ll give you some time, then we’ll talk again.”

  “No, we won’t talk ag…”

  But, she wasn’t listening to him. She had already turned around, and was walking down the stairs, her heels clicking and reverberating throughout the hallway, like a hollow reminder that this was far from over.

  Adam closed his doors, and buried his face in his hands, in annoyance. Things were getting really out of hand, and if all those things Blair mentioned were true, then Stella really wasn’t someone you should mess with.

  A few days later, this encounter was still haunting him. Initially, he thought it would be easy to get rid of her. People usually understood when you told them no. He wondered if he should have told her about him being gay, but he then remembered what Blair told him earlier. If Stella found out about this, she’d connect the dots. She’d realize that something must be going on between the two men, and that might create problems for Blair. That was the last thing Adam wanted.

  He cursed his luck for making this so complicated. All he ever wanted, ever since high school, was for Blair to like him in a romantic way, and for them to be together. Adam thought that wouldn’t be possible, not in a million years. Now somehow, the Universe aligned so that Adam felt like the luckiest man alive, but of course, dreams can never be obtained without overcoming obstacles. Stella seemed to be a difficult and very persistent one.

  That evening, a few days after his unpleasant talk with Stella took place, Adam was lounging on his sofa in the living room, reading his book, when he heard the doorbell. He glanced at his watch. It was past 8pm. He had no idea who it could be at this time. Stephanie usually called before dropping by, and he hadn’t spoken to either Blair or Logan since the day before yesterday. Adam wanted to tell Blair about his chat with Stella, and Logan happened to be there, so they all discussed it shortly, not wishing to dwell too much on something that unpleasant. All they could hope for was that she wouldn’t make good on her threat.

  He sighed, dropping his book onto the cushions, then got up to open the door, neglecting to look through the keyhole. As soon as he opened the door, the sight surprised him.

  “What are you guys doing here?” he smiled, immediately moving to the side to let Blair and Logan inside.

  “We figured you might need a little cheering up after that God awful episode with that loonie,” Logan raised his right hand to reveal a bottle of wine.

  “You read my mind,” Adam grinned locking the door.

  “You OK?” Blair approached him and gently caressed his cheek.

  “I am now,” Adam replied, “and she’s the last thing I want to talk about right now.”

  He went to the kitchen, and brought three glasses, putting them on the little coffee table in the middle of the room.

  “Did we interrupt your pleasant evening at home?” Logan picked up Adam’s book.

 

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