A Tale Of Two Men

"She came over here last night in tears and shaking... her and Evan had a huge fight apparently so I tried to comfort her. As any best friend would do."

"See I'm already not liking this, I've heard about you methods of comfort from my cousin." He growled at me and I winced, I may have slept with Ade's cousin Esme once when she had just broken up with her boyfriend. Apparently Maddox knew about it.

"She came onto me man, I wasn't going to do anything but then she kissed me. What was I supposed to do?" I shrugged and suddenly his fist rammed into my jaw knocking my head back, he pushed me back against the wall so he could growl in my face.

"You could have said no! you could have told her to go to bed and get some sleep and then call her boyfriend, you could have not had sex with her." He punched me again, this time on my cheekbone. Pain radiated along my cheek and I felt blood trickle down my face. "Evan is good for her, after all these years of her waiting for you to get your act together she is finally happy. Leave her alone, I'm warning you Jack, I will do anything to protect my sister. Remember that." With a parting shot to my ribs he stormed out and left me to wince against the wall, my ribs were throbbing with pain and I suspected that one or more were fractured if not broken. Shit Maddox was strong. Wincing the whole way I drove myself to the ER and followed the nurses instructions to wait behind the curtain for a doctor, I had been sitting there silently for about ten minutes before the curtain was pulled back.

"You have got to be kidding me." Adrianna growled before stepping in and pulling the curtain for privacy "You better not have made up a- oh my god what happened?" She exclaimed as she saw my face.

"Your brother stopped by for a visit." I gritted out "He's a pleasant man."

"I am going to kill Maddox, I told him that I could handle it."

"You told your massively overprotective cop brother that we slept together? Did you want him to kill me?"

"I didn't say that, he asked me what was wrong and I said man trouble. Anyway that is none of your business, we are no longer friends and right now I am your doctor. What's wrong?"

"I think I broke a rib."

"Ok, we'll get you down to X-ray once I've fixed your face." She started cleaning the cut on my cheek and we sat in an awkward silence "I'm sorry, by the way, for Maddox hitting you."

"No problem, I'd go through that and a lot more if it meant that you would forgive me."

"Stop that."

"No. I cant come up with a stronger word than I'm sorry but I truly am."

"It doesn't matter, it's over. Me and you are nothing anymore." She suddenly stood and turned to the blond walking past "Hey Cassidy, could you take Mr. Macintyre down to get his X-rays done? I'm on a break."

"Sure, no problem." Cassidy smiled down at me.

"Ade please, give me a chance!" I called after as she walked away, I swear that when she walked out the door I could actually feel my heart breaking.

Chapter Five: Adrianna

That night once I made it home from work I still hadn't decided what I was going to do, did I tell Evan what had happened and hope for the best or did I forget it and make up an excuse for why me and Jack were no longer speaking? I had no idea. I still didn't have a clue when I climbed out of my bubble bath and pulled on my pyjamas, or when I poured myself a glass of wine and debated ordering Chinese for dinner. When there was a knock on my door I debated ignoring it but when Evan called out that he wanted to talk I went to open it, he looked awful, unshaven and wearing scruffy jeans and a ratty old t-shirt with bloodshot eyes.

"Hi. I know it's bad to just turn up like this but when I called you no one answered and I had to speak to you, can I come in?" He asked.

"Sure." I stepped back for him to step and closed the door after him, I folded my arms over my chest and turned to face him.

"Ade I am so sorry for what I said yesterday, if you think that not seeing Jack will help then I am willing to try it."

"Evan I-"

"Don't, Adrianna I have fallen in love with you. I have and I know it's crazy but I want you to move in with me, that way you won't have to see Jack again and you and I can carry on. Please Ade, I love you."

"Oh god..." I bit my lip as tears pooled in my eyes, Evan saw and came over to gather me in his arms. Guilt flooded me and my tears flowed in earnest, last night while he had been coming up with this and having his realisation I had been screwing another man. I was awful. "Evan I cant... I cant do this to you."

"Do what to me?"

"Last night after I left your place... I slept with someone else." I admitted, I didn't see the point in ruining his and Jack's friendship so I would be vague.

"You had sex with another man? Who?"

"That's not important, I thought you and I were over, I thought that you would never be able to accept my feelings for Jack-"

"It was him wasn't it? You fucked Jack." He started past me for the door.

"It doesn't matter who I slept with, the point is that I am sorry and I know I made a huge mistake." I took a deep breath and steeled myself "I'm breaking up with you."

"What?" He glared at me.

"This isn't about what I didn't last night this is about me, you're right when you say that I love Jack and that I will never be fully available for another relationship while I am. So because of that I'm ending this, it isn't fair to you for us to carry on. I am so sorry for hurting you, you have to believe me." I was still crying and couldn't seem to stop, Evan was staring at me with cold distant eyes but I still felt I was doing the right thing.

"Fine, I wasn't going to stay with you anyway. Not when I know you have a penchant for fucking other men." He spat at me before storming out, once the door had slammed behind him I went and curled up on my sofa as I continued to cry. A couple hours later I had a plan formed in my head, first I rang the hospital and asked for an indefinite leave of absence under the guise of family issues, then I rang my grandmother in China and asked if I could visit her for a while and then I called the airline and booked myself on the first available flight out. I had decided that I needed a break from everything going on and where better to do it than halfway across the world, that way I would have time to think ahead and figure out what I was going to do. I packed bags of clothes and called a cab before notifying my family and a few friends of where I was going, I had a couple of hours to kill before my cab arrived so I spread out on the sofa with a coffee. About an hour before I was due to leave there was a loud knock on my door, I curiously looked through the peep hole in case it was Jack but then pulled it open with a sigh of relief when I saw Cassidy standing there.

"Hi, I need a huge favour." She said by way of greeting, I looked down at the bags by her feet and frowned.

"What's up?" I asked as I helped her in with her load.

"Hunter has moved her boyfriend in with out asking and now there is barely any room to breathe in there, could I possibly crash on your sofa?"

"You didn't get my message did you?" I grimaced.

"What message?" She suddenly saw my bags waiting by the door and frowned "Why do you have bags packed?"

"I'm going out of town for a while, I'm going to visit my Gran in China."

"For how long?"

"I'm not sure, I just need to get away for a while you know? I've told the hospital and everything is fine, if they ask my Gran is sick ok? I leave in an hour so you can stay here for as long as you want, in the bed even but please no men."

"Of course." She muttered distractedly "But why are you going to China? what's happened?"

"Me and Evan had a fight last night and I slept with Jack, then this morning I had a fight with Jack and he had a fist fight with my brother, then I broke up with Evan."

"Shit, no wonder you're running to China. I'd be doing the same."

"I know, I just need to think for a while and work out what I'm going to do about Jack and everything."

"I get it really I do, so it's ok if I stay here? I'll get your mail and keep it clean, and I won't have any parties or dates over ok?"

"That's fine, stay as long as you want."

"Shouldn't I change the sheets in your room? I mean you did sleep with Jack last night."

"Yeah, in his apartment. The bed is fine, and I changed the sheets when I got home anyway."

"Oh good."

"Could you do me a favour while I'm gone? If Jack comes over or anything do not tell him where I am."

"I won't I swear, I hope you figure things out. I really do."

"Me too."

Two months later

"Get up, now." That order was accompanied by a quick smack on my behind, I jerked upwards out of bed and rolled over to stare at my grandmother. She was a tiny woman with wrinkling skin and long white hair hanging over her shoulder in a braid, her dark eyes twinkled at me with annoyance. I had been staying at my grandmothers house in Shanghai for two months now and it had been going really well, my grandmother used to live in San Francisco with us until her husband had died five years ago and she had moved back home to China. Now she lived in an apartment by the river and owned her own herbal shop beneath, we had always got along so when I turned up here she didn't ask any questions. I suspected my grace period was over.

"Popo, why are you waking me up so early?" I groaned as I rubbed a hand over my eyes.

"You're taking me for a walk, get dressed." She prodded me in the leg with her cane before shuffling out, ten minutes later I was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt with my hair hanging loose down to the small of my back. "Good, come on." My grandmother ushered me down the narrow flight of steps and into her shop, we went out through the main door and stepped onto the busy street outside. My grandmothers shop was situated right next to the river so she lead us down to walk on the walkway, for a while we walked in silence while I observed all the tall buildings with their red wooden balconies and shutters, the ornate gold carvings on the roofs and around the doors, people were bustling about going about their business without a care in the world. I breathed deeply to inhale the scents floating around us, I could smell the river running next to us as well as the spices being sold on the stalls and the flowers being grown in the beds along the bank. My grandmother lived in a more rural area outside of the main city so it was more peaceful than being in old town Shanghai, I loved it.

"Sakura! Sakura, hold on!" Someone called after us in Chinese, my grandmother turned at the sound of her name and smiled upon seeing the handsome Chinese man jogging towards us.

"Sage, what are you doing here so early?" My grandmother replied in English as he came to a stop, the man automatically switched to English. No doubt for my benefit even though I was fluent in Chinese and Cantonese.

"Could I switch shifts so that I work tomorrow instead of tonight? My brother wants to introduce us to his girlfriend."

"Of course." My Gran smiled widely "Have you met my granddaughter Adrianna?"

"Not yet, hello it's nice to meet you. I'm Sage Liu."

"Adrianna Clarke." I shook his hand and ignored my grandmothers triumphant grin. "You work for my grandmother?"

"Yes, I help out in the store. She has talked endlessly about you, it's nice to finally put a face to all the stories."

"Thank you, I'm afraid that I've hardly heard anything about you. Our phone conversations are a little limited." I grinned at my grandmother.

"Sage dear, me and my granddaughter are going for a little walk to clear our heads could you open up and watch the store for me?"

"Of course, nice meeting you Adrianna and I hope to see more of you." He grinned and ran off, my Gran took my arm and guided me along the path.

"Sage is a good boy, about the same age as you and he would make a nice husband." She commented after a while.

"Stop meddling Gran, I'm not going to marry your shop boy."

"Ok then, you want to tell me why you came running out here with a few hours notice?"

"I told you, I came to clear my head. Get some time to relax."

"Yes and now I want the real reason, what's his name?"

"You always did know me too well." I smiled "Remember my best friend Jack? I cheated on my boyfriend Evan with him."

"Oh dear, what happened?" She knew me too well to just assume that I would cheat for the hell of it.

"I took Evan to meet the family and he overheard me talking to Maddox about my feelings for Jack, when me and Evan went back to his we got into a huge fight about it. I left and Jack found me out in my car so he took me into his apartment and made me some coffee, I was so upset and confused that I wasn't thinking straight and I kissed him. We ended up sleeping together but when I woke up... we ended up having a fight and I told him that our friendship was over."

"And you and Evan?"

"Are over." I sniffed "He came over and started saying all these things about being in love with me and me moving in with him so I wouldn't have to see Jack anymore, I couldn't lie to him anymore. He is such a nice guy and he deserves a woman that loves him completely, and that doesn't cheat with his best friend. But now things are more messed up than ever, I love Jack and now I'm free to try and date him but... I cant help remembering all his past flames. I'd be putting everything in me towards that relationship and he could get bored after a few weeks, I don't know if I'm willing to risk everything just for a quick thing."

"You and Jack have been best friends for almost a decade now and he hasn't bored of you yet, what makes you think he will if you two make a real go of it? If anything sex will make him want to stick around longer."

"Thanks for that Popo, and I know that and the sex between us is... mind blowing. But is it enough?"

"No. But the friendship you have is, ten years is a long time Adrianna, what's to say he hasn't fallen for you just like you have for him?"

"I'm scared, Popo, what if I take the risk and I end up loosing him?"

"From what you've told me you've already lost him, without the added bonus of having a few weeks of good sex."

"Popo!" I exclaimed in shock, my Gran had always spoke her mind and it was good to know that hadn't changed. She did have a point though, I frowned when she suddenly stopped and looked up at me seriously.

"You remember how I met your grandfather don't you?"

"Of course." I smiled, it used to be one of my favourite bedtime stories when I was younger. My grandfather had been a doctor with the army and he was stationed in China, he met my grandmother and apparently fell head over heels in love with her, when he asked her to go back to America with him my grandmother had panicked at the thought of leaving behind her family and the culture she had grown up in to move to a strange new world where my grandfather would be the only person she knew but had eventually decided that my grandfather was worth the risk and had married him. We all knew the story but now I was looking at it with a knew perspective.

"We all have to take risks sometimes, if we don't we would never have anything worth fighting for. I loved your grandfather more than anything so I took the plunge, all you have to decide is whether your Jack is worth the risk?"

"I don't know Gran, I cant decide from here. I think I need to go back." I sighed, being in China made me feel separate from everything going on back home and to make a proper decision I needed to be there to asses all my options.

"I thought you might say that." She announced with a grin as she pulled an envelope from her pocket, when I looked at it I say that it was a boarding pass for a flight to San Francisco for this afternoon. "Your bags are already packed and I have called a cab to take you to the airport."

"How did you know?" I frowned.

"Because it's what I would do, and you have always been my favourite granddaughter." She cupped by cheek in her palm "Now go and tell that boy you love him."

Chapter Six: Jack

"My god you're pathetic." My sister muttered as she looked at me, I was laid in bed staring at the ceiling contemplating what to do next. It had been two months since my fight with Ade and I hadn't seen her since, I had called her and gone up to her apartment to bang on her door but she was nowhere to be seen. It looked like she was sticking to her promise that we were done, I had however seen Evan. Two days after my night with Ade I went to the site we were working on and ran into Evan, by way of greeting he had punched me repeatedly in the face and ribs and yelled that I was a girlfriend stealing son of a bitch. He then quit his job and I hadn't heard from him since, after finishing the job I shuffled home and redoubled my efforts to find Adrianna.

"Fuck off Ronnie." I muttered, she of course ignored me and pulled the covers off me.

"Look at the state of you, no wonder she doesn't want to see you. You look like a hobo." She muttered with disgust and I ran a hand over the beard growing on my jaw, I hadn't shaved in about a month so I knew I looked rough. I glanced up at my sister and examined the changes in her, her dark hair was pulled up in a ponytail and my nephew Christian clung to her leg with wide eyes.

"Go away sis, I'm not in the mood for a heart to heart."

"When was the last time you showered? Never mind, tell me what the fuck is up with you."

"Fuck!" Christian shouted.

"That's a bad word, don't say it again." She admonished absently "Jack, is this about Adrianna?"

"What makes you think that?"

"Oh I don't know, she's the only woman who had lasted more than a week around you and yet we haven't seen or heard about her for months. What happened?"

"I love her, I realised that I am in love with her. And then what happened? My friend beat me too it and I had to sit by and watch while he got to do all the things with her that I should be doing." I laughed harshly "Then when they had a fight I took advantage and slept with her, only that didn't help and in fact that's the reason she told me that she never wants to see me again. I finally realised that she is the woman I am meant to spend the rest of my life with and I lost her, so excuse me for not considering showering a priority."

"Well aren't you just the worlds most annoyingly slow person?" She scowled at me "Of course you're in love with Adrianna, you two were like a married couple without the sex! You did everything together. You wonder why you never had a remotely serious relationship? It's because you have been in love with Ade and yet because she didn't fit your image of what you thought was the woman you wanted you decided to be friends instead, we could all see that she wanted you and yet you ignored that and went around screwing any big breasted bimbo that you came across. So know that you've realised it do you hunt her down and make her see that you're serious this time? Do you not stop until you have her? No. You lounge in bed and decide to rock the homeless look. You are pathetic!" She suddenly pulled open my door and revealed my older brother Jordan and my brother in law Marcus. "It's time for the pity party to end, guys get him." She ordered and I suddenly found myself being picked up by the two men and carried into my bathroom, they dumped me in the bathtub and turned the shower on me. I yelped and the shock of the cold water hitting my skin but they apparently didn't care, my brother squeezed shower gel onto me while Marcus sprayed me with the now warm water.

"Stop! Ahh! I can wash myself." I yelled over the noise.

"Apparently not, boys, finish him and I'll meet you in the living room." Ronnie strode out with her two year old son perched on her hip, the guys finished attacking me with the shower and allowed me to dry and dress myself before bullying me out to the living room where my sister forced me to eat some toast and drink about a gallon of coffee. "Right, now I am going to wait here while you go to mom and get grans ring. Then you're going to find Adrianna, I suggest you go upstairs first to see if she's there and then try every place she could possibly be until you find her."