Adam sat at the kitchen table, patting Molly. I held my head high, threw the shirt at him, picked up my bag and strode past him. "Come on, before your stupid phone rings." Adam saluted and tapped me on the butt. I narrowed my eyes at him.

We turned onto my street, and his phone rang. Adam made a face. "I'm sorry, honey." He pulled up in front of my block of units. "Croe." I waited as he listened, then said. "Okay."

Molly whimpered. He put his hand on her nose and said, "Where?"

She whimpered again. Adam grumbled, "It's a dog." Once more, he listened.

"How the fuck would I know. I'm outside someone's house and there's a fuckin' dog over the fence." Adam held his finger to his lips. "I don't have time for this shit! Fuck off!" He hung up, let out a breath and leaned his head against the rear window. "I'm sorry. Can you keep Molly here for a bit?"

I bit my lip. I'm going to get hurt again. What kind of idiot am I?

Adam put his hand on my face. "I won't be long. I promise. Thirty minutes max. I can't take her with me."

I nodded but didn't say anything.

He leant across and kissed me on the cheek. "Thirty minutes. Will that give you enough time to get ready?"

I nodded again and fake-smiled, gutted because of his stupid phone.

It didn't take me long to change and throw a hat and a couple of towels into a bag with a water bottle and sunscreen. I clicked the kettle and searched for a movie on the TV. Someone knocked on the door. Molly barked. Adam had been gone for twenty minutes. I assumed it was Percy. I opened the door. Adam stood with a big bunch of flowers, a large box of chocolates and a huge smile.

I frowned and laughed at the same time. "You said thirty minutes."

He grinned. "I lied. Found what I needed around the corner."

"What about your phone call?"

Adam hooked his forearms under my armpits, holding onto the flowers and chocolates, lifted me, and closed the door with his foot. "I told them to fuck off," he said. "You heard me."

I wrapped my arms around his neck. "So, you left me with Molly to get the flowers, not because of the phone call."

He placed me on the bed, crawled on top of me, resting his weight on his elbows holding the flowers and chocolates, then kissed me before he answered, "You told me I had to buy you these. I didn't want Molly to jump over them in the car." Adam cocked his head and grinned. "So?"

I grinned, kissed him and murmured, "You did good. I love them but, I love more that you told them to fuck off."

Adam let go of the gifts and rolled us over so I was on top of him. He kissed me. I loved the way he held onto the back of my head and pushed his tongue inside my mouth. Adam drew his lips away, then kissed me again. I almost broke my resolve. I pushed away. If he touched me, it would be the end of me.

"We need to go, and you have to stop doing that." He sighed, then rubbed his hands over his face as I picked up the flowers and chocolates. I couldn't help but smile as I turned away from him. The truth was, I was enjoying saying no to him. In a way, I was punishing him.

I put the flowers in some water and the chocolates in the fridge, then grabbed my bag. "Okay, let's go."

Adam forced himself to stand. "Are we going to swim?"

"Yeah, I got a towel for you and Molly."

"What are you going to wear?" he asked as he shoved his hands into the back pockets of his shorts.

"My swimmers." I giggled. "What do you think I'm going to wear?"

Adam cocked his head and grinned. "Are they full piece, or bikini?"

I laughed again. "Bikini, what difference does it make?"

He pulled his hand from his pockets, sat on the bed again and looked at me. "I can't go if you're wearing bikinis. I don't think I can go even if you wear a full piece."

"Adam?" I huffed.

He lay back on the bed, groaning. "Jasmine...I've missed you so much. You can't do this to me...please...if you love me."

His keys hung out of his shorts pocket. I stood between his legs. "I'll do you a deal. If you don't touch me, I'll make you feel better." I leant forward and slid my hands along his legs then took hold of his penis through his shorts. Adam took a sharp intake of breath and then went to pull me on top of him. I jerked back. "No. You're not to touch me."

"Honey...you honestly can't expect me to do that."

I cocked my head and held out his keys. "You know what? I smirked. "I don't have time for this shit. Molly and I are going to the beach. I'll see you when I get back." I called Molly to follow me. She barked and ran down the stairs in front of me.

As I got in the driver's side, Adam sidled across the parking lot. He opened my door and nudged his head. "Move over, I'm driving."

I grinned and climbed over Molly so she was between us.

Adam cocked his head. "You're being a bitch on purpose, aren't you?"

I grinned. "Yeah...I am, and I can't tell you how good it feels to be making the rules."

Adam stopped near the fish and chip shop and beamed at me. "So, what do you want, boss lady?"

I'd half climbed out of the car before I answered him, "A piece of crumbed fish and some chips. Did you bring Molly's lead?"

"Yeah, behind the seat," he said.

I grabbed it and clipped it to her collar. "I'm going to walk her to the end of the beach. How about you meet me there?"

Molly yipped a few times as if to say hurry up. She jumped from the cab and wrapped her lead around my legs. I nearly fell over.

There were a group of men and women around my age watching. They laughed as I struggled to free myself.

Adam grabbed me around the waist and laughed, "Silly woman." He unwound the lead, planted a kiss on my mouth and grinned as he handed it back to me.

One girl said, "He's hot."

Adam raised his eyebrows, then whispered, "See. I'm hot and you should be aching for me."

I pinched his cheek. "She was talking about the dog. She thinks Molly's a boy."

"Ha, ha, you are so funny, aren't you?" he said, grinning as he walked to the door of the shop.

The girls craned their necks to gawk at him. This was the first time I had ever taken notice of how other women reacted towards him. It didn't make me feel good. Having to deal with my jealousy over Gillian was bad enough. As I walked with Molly along the beach, I realised this was only the second time Adam and I had been in public together, and that's why I hadn't noticed other women looking at him before. I guessed they did it all the time, and I wondered if he was even aware.

So far, so good. Flowers, chocolates and a day at the beach.

Have you had a dog wrap it's lead around your legs?

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