Secret Friend

“Oh my God! It’s Jill and Yuan! My best friends!”

“Honey…” Justin called gently.

She ran across her bedroom to gather her clothes in panic.

“Honey…” Justin grabbed her arms gently and gave her a kiss on the lips. “Good morning.” He smiled.

She realized she’d been panicking. She took deep breaths to calm herself.

 “I’m sorry. Good morning.” She reached up to kiss him. “It’s just that my best friends are on their way up. And they will see you and they can’t…”

“I know.” He kissed her forehead. “I’m going. I’ll see you later.”

He crossed the hall only dressed in his pants, carrying the rest of his clothes and his shoes with him. Adrienne quickly dressed before she threw herself back into bed, waiting for her friends to ring the doorbell.

After barely three minutes, Jill and Yuan arrived. She put them on her visitor’s list. Security would just send them straight up. She opened the door, pretending that she just got out of bed.

“Wake up, wake up!” Jill sang chirpily.

“What have you been up to lately, girl? Yuan asked. “You always seem tired. Before, you’re up long before the sun was. You always pester us in the morning. Now, it’s the other way around.”

“Comes with the job description. She’s Jada’s go-to girl,” Jill explained.

“So I heard. And look at this gorgeous apartment of yours!” Yuan grimaced. “Nice taste! It is so you!”

“Coffee?” Jill handed her a cup of Starbucks coffee.

She took a sip, trying to relax herself. Her heart still pounded, and she knew that she still looked flushed.

What am I thinking?

She had firmly decided that it would just be a one-night stand. And then what? Three-nights stand now? And in the second and third nights, it happened more than once?

Jill and Yuan headed for the balcony. She followed, bringing her coffee with her.

“Gorgeous view!” Yuan said.

“You had a visitor, honey?” Jill asked.

“No, why?” she asked. Immediately, alarm signals began shooting from everywhere.

Jill pointed at the two Starbucks coffee cups from the other day. She forgot to clean up her balcony. She stared at the two coffee cups on the table, and it made her remember that Justin Adams had sat there with her. It offered proof that she didn’t just dream about him.

“Oh… yeah. Troy brought some coffee for me,” she lied.

“Is he here?”

Adrienne shook her head. “The other day, he was. I just haven’t cleaned up yet.”

“So you managed to fix your problem?” Jill asked.

She shrugged. “It started out…ah…okay…and ended up right where we…started….” She sipped her coffee in between her sentences so her struggles to lie had not become too obvious. “That’s why he called last night. But it was useless.”

“Oh, sweetie! What is new? Come on!” Yuan said.

“Yeah. Perhaps we should tell Mrs. Miller that Troy is not the right guy for her second child. But what’s the point? She considered Troy the only achievement Adrienne ever had.” Jill shook her head.

“But still…honey. You already said you were tainted in their eyes. What else is there to lose? Drop that zero! There are plenty of other guys to date!” Yuan said.

“True!” Jill agreed. “Lots of guys in the office have a crush on you. They just see you as this snobby girl who thinks none of them are good enough. And they knew they were up against the likes of a future top surgeon. But honestly though, Troy is cute and all… but other than the great eyes, he’s…geeky!”

Adrienne raised her brow. Jill basically confirmed that some guys in the office thought her cute. But then she said, “Come on. I’m not the most fashionable girl at Blush, so I doubt anyone notices me like you say they do. And don’t be so hard on Troy. I’ve been with him for three years.”

“And you have gone out once a month? That makes it thirty-six times? How many times did you kiss? My God, did you ever make out at all?” Yuan asked bluntly.

“That’s it! That’s the reason why you haven’t gotten laid yet. That’s the reason why you are going to die a virgin!” Jill threw her hands up in the air.

Adrienne almost choked on her coffee. If they only knew what she’s been doing these last three nights! But she didn’t know how to tell them. Would they look at her differently? Would they judge her harshly? And would they forgive her for not telling them the very first time it happened?

She decided she couldn’t risk it. Not yet—even if they disliked Troy. And besides, who knows when she would see Justin Adams again? She never imagined she would sleep with him again after she went out of his apartment that night she lost her virginity to him. She never imagined she would spend the previous night with him either.

“Come on, Yen,” Jill pled. “Look at you! You look great. I wish I could have those long legs, that straight hair, which makes it hard to determine whether you’re a brunette or a redhead. Those dimples. You are gorgeous. But the way you dress…come on. You work for Blush. You have to be as stylish as your magazine. And those glasses you keep wearing at work… didn’t you know that they have invented contact lenses already?”

Yuan nodded. “Come on. Dress up! Let’s go to the salon. My treat! This girl needs a permanent makeover. If she can show up looking like a hot chic last night, it means she’s not hopeless. She just needs a little push.”

Adrienne moaned. “Come on, guys. I haven’t written the Gypsys thing yet. It has to be perfect and on Jada’s table by ten o’clock sharp tomorrow.”

“Yes. And you’re a gifted writer, you know that. It’s a piece of cake for you!” Jill said as she hauled Adrienne out of her seat and tucked her inside the bathroom.

Adrienne took a quick shower. Each minute she spent there, reminded her of Justin’s presence. It was as if he was still there with her. Touching her. Kissing her.

She decided to shake the memory out of her system.

She went to her closet and dressed in a pair of blue jeans and for once, she wore a Sabrina blouse that hugged her body to perfection.

When she exited her bedroom, Yuan and Jill started staring at her.

“Now, that’s what I’m talking about!” Jill said.

“I’m dressing up for your little game, ‘girls.’”

“Adrienne, did Troy stay here the other night?” Yuan asked.

She shook her head nervously. “No why?”

Yuan lifted a pair of shades that he found seated on her bedside table.

“Cartier?” Jill asked, reading the brand. “Wow! That sure looks like an attempt to have style.”

Adrienne carefully took the shades from them. “Give me those.”

“Justin Adams wears shades similar to these. But on him they look hot!” Jill said.

Adrienne swallowed hard. If they only knew that they actually referred to the same pair of shades.

“On Troy…hmmm…they should have marked the box, ‘For humans only.’” Yuan laughed.

“If Troy would fancy a pair of shades, he should get an Oakley. They have a model called Monster Dog!” And Jill and Yuan launched into a laughing trip about Troy.

Adrienne felt relieved that the topic shifted to Troy versus Justin. She really hated lying to her best friends.

“Come on, guys, you’ve had enough fun already,” she said.

“My God, Adrienne! Do you know how connected you are with the apartment across the corridor?” Yuan said staring at her window.

“Look! Your bedroom windows face each other. And there’s a platform that allows you to cross and enter that flat through the window!”

“Really?” Adrienne asked nonchalantly. “I didn’t notice before. Why would I want to do that?”

“You may not want to, but what if your neighbor is a killer or a rapist? It’s the worst way to lose your virginity, my dear. Some guy could just go right through your window and rape you or even murder you.”

Adrienne laughed. “My God, Jill! You should have been a novelist! That plot would make a good movie adaptation!”

But she felt guilt gnawing at her. Her neighbor had taken her virginity, all right! But he didn’t have to break in and enter. She went into his apartment, and handed her precious virtue over to him on a silver platter!

“Who lives there anyway?” Yuan asked.

Adrienne turned her back on them and swallowed hard again. “I don’t know. I don’t spy on my neighbors.”

Yuan and Jill kept looking through the window and then they shrieked! “Oh my God!”

“What?” Adrienne asked nervously. She had been jumpy since Justin left that morning.

Guilt, guilt, guilt!

“Torso! Perfect abs! Perfect body!” Yuan was drooling, looking over the window.

Adrienne squeezed in between her friends to see what Yuan and Jill had seen.

She saw a body she knew well from the past three nights. A body that not three hours ago, had been touching hers. Justin had his blinds half-open so that only his chest and abs were showing. His face remained completely hidden from them, much to Adrienne’s relief.

“Who is that?” Jill asked.

Adrienne shook her head and turned away from the window.

“I have no idea. I don’t stalk my neighbors,” she lied.

“This guy is worth stalking! God! You gotta love that body! Not the wrestle-mania type, and yet, perfect abs, tough… hard…” Yuan said dreamily.

“Guys! Just get out of there! Don’t drool in front of my window. You don’t live here! I do! I don’t want my neighbors to think I’m a complete freak!”

“Balcony, balcony!” They screamed and hurried off to the balcony.

Oh God! She should call him and tell him to stay away indoors!

Yuan and Jill lighted their cigarettes and waited for the torso guy to come out.

“What are you doing?” Adrienne hissed.

“Nothing! We just want to see his face!” Jill whispered.

Adrienne groaned. She was about to haul her friends away from the balcony when her phone rang. She ran to answer it before the machine could get it.

“Hello.”

“Hey…” a guy said on the other line.

“Who’s this?” she asked hastily.

“Me. Remember? We just spent three amazing nights together?” Justin said with a chuckle.

“How did you get my landline number?” She asked.

“I told you I was a boy scout,” he replied. “And I have photographic memory.”

Adrienne stared at her landline phone. She saw that her number was written on the bottom part of it. Justin must have seen it.

“Okay, whatever you do, stay away from your balcony!” she hissed.

“Why?”

Because my friends saw what a gorgeous body you have and now, they hope to see your face.”

He laughed. “So what if they see my face?”

“They can’t! They can’t know you live across from me.”

“I see. You’re too embarrassed of our connection, huh? You won’t let people know you know me. Or that I live next door from you.” Adrienne could swear there was pain in his voice.

“God, Justin, this isn’t a time for an argument! I’m inside my closet and I’m whispering! And I’m mad right now!”

He chuckled. “Okay. Stay away from the balcony it is.”

She sighed. “You left your shades here.”

“That’s fine. I can get them later. I have a spare.”

Later? Was he planning to see her again? 

            “Why did you call by the way?”

He paused for a while and then he said, “Forget it.”

“Justin. What is it?”

“Dinner tomorrow night?” he asked quickly.

She sighed.

“Justin… I thought this was just a one night thing,” she said softly.

He sighed. “Three nights thing. And now, I’m asking you out for dinner.”

“I have a boyfriend. I shouldn’t be seeing anyone...”

“You aren’t. We’re secret friends remember?” And there was a trace of laughter in his voice.

She took a deep breath. “Friends don’t do what we did the last three nights.”

“So I’m a friend who allows you to fool around once in a while behind your other friends’ and your boyfriend’s back.”

Adrienne heard Jill calling her. “God, I have to go. Just send me a text. The time and place.” She hung up quickly as soon as she heard footsteps coming her way.

“What are you doing?” Jill asked behind her.

She shook her head. “Nothing. Just trying to find a phone number for my sister. I thought I placed my dentist’s calling card in one of my bags here. So, how was the torso hunting?”

Jill shook her head.

“He didn’t come out. He just disappeared.”

“Come on, let’s go!” Yuan said. “Let’s just hope that his face justifies the body he has!”

Adrienne bit her lip. You have no idea! 

They took a trip to the salon, and Adrienne got a haircut. The stylist layered her hair, which turned out perfect since it highlighted the red strands of her hair. Afterwards, all three went shopping.

Adrienne beamed as she tried on some clothes. Instead of the conventional pants she wore to work, she decided to try on some more clothes that would accent her curves and highlight the colors of her hair.

In the back of her mind, there was Justin Adams. And every time she thought about him, she would smile. Even if only to herself. She didn’t know why he haunted her so much. If all the girls he’d been with felt like this, then half of Manhattan must be heartbroken by now!

The thought scared her. She wanted him out of her mind. Otherwise, she believed he would disappoint and hurt her. He was far too charming and far too dangerous.

Her phone rang.

“Hello,” she answered.

“I’ll pick you up at your apartment tomorrow. Say sevenish?” Justin asked from his end of the connection.

“I normally work late,” she replied.

“Okay. Then I’ll pick you up at your office.”

“No! Wait!” She almost wailed. Jill turned towards her and raised a brow. She walked away slowly so Jill wouldn’t hear her.

“You can’t do that,” she began. “Seven-thirty, my place.”

“All right. I’ll see you then.”

“Justin…”

“Yes?”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Doing what?”

“Can’t you just drop me? Like what you normally would do?” she asked.

He didn’t answer.

“Justin… Are you still there?”

“Yeah. I’m here.”

“You are making my life complicated.” She began giggling desperately.

“Well, maybe we’ve been following the same paths for all our lives. And it’s time for a change.”

“I thought you’ve been living this life all along.”

“My reputation precedes me,” he said quietly.

She sighed. “What do you want?”

“Nothing,” he responded. Then he took a deep breath. “Well, maybe…just you.”

Her heart skipped a bit. She knew that she was being handled by a professional in the game of flirting and heart-breaking. And she’s scared that she’s close to falling deeper and deeper into his realm.

“All right. Seven-thirty tomorrow then.”

“Okay. Take care. If you need a ride or anything at all… you know my number,” he added.

She smiled. She thought that was actually sweet. “I’ll remember that. Bye.”

She remained smiling when she hung up.

“Who was that? Troy I suppose?” Yuan asked.

She didn’t answer because she thought she might scream if she opened her mouth.

“Boy! This is new! Troy? Making you smile like that? Is he on the brink of proposing—that you go to bed?” Jill asked with a sarcastic tone.

Adrienne raised an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Your relationship with Troy is completely extraordinary… extraordinarily boring!” Yuan said.

“And it has never made me smile like this before?”

They nodded. “So the tides could be changing. Probably, someone in med school gave him a Viagra!”  Yuan started laughing.

She shook her head. Yet she still smiled like a teenager.

I never smiled like this with Troy ever?

Truly Justin Adams had turned her world upside down.

The three headed to Starbucks for coffee.

“I still cannot believe that you didn’t see Justin Adams at Gypsys. I mean the place is not really a labyrinth. You can stand by the bar and you will see everybody in there. And you can’t miss Justin Adams!” Yuan said.

“Well, maybe I did see him, but I just didn’t care,” Adrienne said.

“Why wouldn’t you care?” Jill asked.

“There are other cute guys in New York too. Why must you obsess over just one?” Adrienne countered. She didn’t really want to talk about Justin much. Because now, she had something to hide and feel guilty about.

“Justin is not your classic playboy. He seems… the smuggest of them all! He acts like he got more class than any other playboy!” Jill said.

“What?” Adrienne asked. “Playboys have class now?”

“Look at his profile!” Yuan looked like he’s starting to drool. “He’s only twenty-seven. He’s the heir of Adams Industries. He’s got Harvard degrees. He graduated with distinction. Although, he has a rebellious personality, he’s got no drugs and no gambling in his profile. He refused to work for his father. Instead he made millions of his own on the stock market. His hobby—Photography. Never had any girl attached to his name. He’s straight. He just didn’t have any steady relationship. He’s clean. He’s highly sought-after. He doesn’t pursue. He’s a mystery. And would you look at that gorgeous thing? He is absolutely divine!”

“Divine?” Adrienne practically scoffed. “Have you even seen how he really looks? Doesn’t he have like a pair of shades on or something all the time?”

“Yeah…so smug!” Yuan giggled. “But still, the whole package. Him with the shades. He is absolutely gorgeous! That black hair that keeps falling over his forehead. I would take that, even if he was cross-eyed!”

“I wonder what his eye color is,” Jill pondered.

“Crystal blue,” Adrienne thought out loud. The moment she realized what she just said, she turned red. She took a gulp of her coffee, hoping to hide the redness of her face.

“What?” Jill stared at her curiously.

“Well…I…ah…think it would be nice if his eyes were blue,” she said.

“Yeah, like a black-haired Ken doll!” Yuan agreed.

Just then, a group of guys sat at the table next to them.

“Don’t look now, but it’s the man of the hour!” Yuan whispered and took a sip of his coffee.

Adrienne and Jill looked at the same time, and, indeed, they saw Justin with two of his friends.

“I just said ‘don’t look!’” Yuan hissed at them crossly.

Justin wore jeans, a black leather jacket and another pair of pitch dark shades over his eyes. She looked away, pretending she didn’t see him.

What is he doing here? How can my life be entangled with his like this?!

“Oh my God!” Jill hissed.

“Come on, guys. Time to change the topic. I’m fed up with this,” Adrienne said.

“Honey…we always talk about hot bachelors, and this guy is our favorite,” Jill whispered. “You didn’t seem to hate the topic before.”

“Well, it’s getting old!” Adrienne hissed back. “There are other cute guys around.”

Her phone rang. She answered it, relieved to be distracted.

“Hi,” Justin said.

She looked at his direction. He didn’t seem like he was looking at her behind those shades of his.

“Um…excuse me?” she asked nonchalantly.

“I just wanna say hi. I didn’t want you to think I was a snob or something.” His lips curved into a crooked smile.

“O-kay. Bye now.”

“Bye.” This time, he smiled widely.

She swore she couldn’t control her blush. Jill and Yuan eyed her curiously.

“Cousin of mine. Reminded me to pick up a book that was nice. Well…where were we?” She asked.

“Still there, still with hotshot, himself,” Jill replied.

“I wonder who he picked up at the bar the other day.” Yuan mused.

Adrienne sat quietly while Yuan and Jill discussed other boys, more often, focused on Justin. She became lost in her own thoughts. But she couldn’t help feeling self-conscious. She didn’t know if Justin was watching her. With those pitch black shades, it was impossible to tell what he was looking at.

After a while, Justin and his friends stood up and left.

She received a text message after a minute.

Justin: See you. I’ll be with these guys. It’s poker night tonight.

She replied: Okay. You didn’t have to tell me that.

Justin: But I did… and by the way, you look stunning in your new hairstyle. I couldn’t take my eyes off you.

She knew she was blushing when she replied: Liar.

Justin: Nope. I’m bad at lying. Do you know you chew on your straw when you pretend to be interested in a conversation with your friends?

Her: What?

Justin: And you bite your lower lip when you’re nervous. You look so cute.

Her: You were watching me!

Justin: Of course. What else would I be looking at?

Damn! This is guy is a pro at making hearts flutter.

She didn’t reply. She wondered how she could take it all back. She met him, been with him, and now, she couldn’t seem to escape him.

She didn’t even know if she really wanted to get away from him. He had a reputation, certainly. But she couldn’t help noticing that he was rather sweet. Maybe he’s right. It’s time to take a different path. For all it’s worth, she can pursue her alter-ego. Explore that different side of herself with him. Have fun behind the back of the old boring Adrienne.

She smiled to herself. As long as she kept her heart intact, he couldn’t damage her, right? It might even do her more good than bad to play this game.

It wouldn’t matter what Troy thought of her. She need not die of insecurity because her parents and boyfriend all thought she could never measure up to Kimberly.

She could have fun on her own. This time, she would find her real self. She would unleash her spirit and discover if Jill and Yuan were right. Maybe she could become a much more beautiful creature by being who she really was.