After the Cheating and Thrill-Seeking

Kevin followed close behind, throwing an arm over Lacey's shoulder in that casual, buddy-buddy way.Only then did Adrian notice the hickeys scattered across Lacey's neck. He sank back onto the couch, dazed, hit by a hollow ache.But her friends were feeling cheeky, grilling Lacey in Portuguese for all the dirty details.Maybe it was guilt, but Lacey instinctively shoved Kevin's hand away and glanced at Adrian. She walked over and sat down next to him."Hey, why so jumpy? He doesn't understand Portuguese. If it were English or French, then you'd have something to worry about.""No way he'd understand. Right, ladies? Ha ha!""You guys are awful—piling on Adrian like that."Hearing her friends' reassurance, Lacey finally relaxed.She smiled and gave Adrian a quick peck on the lips. "Adrian, don't mind us, okay? We all grew up in the same town, so we always slip into Portuguese at these get-togethers. It's just a habit."Behind his calm mask, he clenched his fists. What they didn'

Lacey couldn't wait to slip away. Watching her hurried figure disappear, a bitter ache filled Adrian's chest.He followed close behind and hid beside a large tree, where he witnessed Lacey and Kevin rolling around on the grass with his own eyes.Lacey pulled out a sexy nightgown. Kevin insisted on putting it on her himself.The two of them giggled shamelessly, then began doing things too explicit to describe.Lacey kept kissing Kevin passionately, complaining that the grass scratched her skin.Kevin laughed and bit her ear. "Everyone has to try something for the first time. Isn't this thrill amazing?""You're so bad!""Haha, that fool has no idea what we're doing behind his back. He's still standing guard for us, completely clueless.""You're terrible. Absolutely terrible. Making me go along with such an outrageous request. If Adrian finds out, you're dead meat.""Oh please. You wouldn't dare hurt me. If anything happened to this, you'd lose your happiness."Adrian stood froz

The moment the words left Adrian's friend's mouth, Lacey's eyes flew wide with terror. She stared at the old ID card in his hand as if it were a bomb about to go off inside her head."Th-this can't be," she stammered, laughing and panicking all at once as she grilled Adrian's friend.Kevin stood there just as stunned, his face a mask of disbelief as he gaped at the document."Today's not April Fools' Day. Don't mess around like that.""A joke? Not at all. It's the truth. Here, let me say something in Portuguese for you."When his friend started talking to Lacey and the others in Portuguese, the color drained from Lacey's face. She opened her mouth, but no words came out."See? Now you believe me. What a coincidence. I wouldn't have known we were from the same hometown if I hadn't seen the return address on your package."Adrian really should have told you. I refuse to believe you don't speak Portuguese with your parents on the phone."Those last words landed like a heavy club,

Adrian had never experienced this kind of happiness with Lacey.What did she ever do besides lie to him? She nearly drove him to the point of not trusting women at all. But Gina was different. She came from a good family, had an excellent education, and could have anything she wanted. Yet here she was, tripping over herself for him — pining after him for so long with nothing to show for it.She didn't have to do this. The men lining up for her were countless."What are you thinking about? Come eat.""I know you love Italian food, so I made you a whole table of it."Looking at the feast before him, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't moved.Just then, Lacey called.Gina answered."Adrian, where did you go? Why did you sell the house? You got me kicked out. I have nowhere to go now, so I'm staying at Kevin's place.""Lacey, Adrian broke up with you. That means you're nothing to each other. The house is his. He can do whatever he wants with it. And honestly, I'm impressed by your