I got out of the car right in front of the closed shop. I stared at the building, whose lights had all gone out. I came here for an important purpose that must be discussed and resolved with someone who had business with me a week ago.

And I thought that the fact that I ran away after I slept with him that day, I wouldn't see him again, but Nick's explanation made me realize that I did have to see him again. I had explained everything that happened to my best friend, and Nick was right—running away from him was not a way out. Hence, here I stood.

I held my breath as I watched him come out of his shop. He hadn't seen me yet, he was focused on locking the door of his shop, which was probably just closing.

"Adam." I called out to him. I braced myself. This had to be done. The sooner, the better. My hands were clenched on either side of my body.

Then, Adam turned around. He also found me. As his beautiful eyes looked at me, I swallowed. I couldn't lie that Adam was a handsome and attractive man. It was an unavoidable fact.

At first, Adam looked surprised when he saw me, his gesture was so obvious. There was nothing strange about it, I had come so suddenly and unexpectedly.

"Nellie."

"Hi!" I smiled faintly as I waved my hand.

Adam didn't reply. He merely looked at me more deeply. And somehow I felt even more awkward, which made me take immediate action. I moved closer to him.

"I know my arrival must have surprised you," I said, but Adam was still silent, only his gaze remained firmly fixed on me. I swallowed. "Look, there's something that needs to be straightened out here."

"Yeah, especially after you left me last Sunday." Adam finally replied, his voice as deep and somewhat heavy as I knew it. Then, he started walking. And I followed him.

I'm an actress, and I'm well aware of who I am and my position. I'm even so sure that if someone suddenly had the chance to talk to me, they would be hysterical and so happy. I don't mean to brag, but that's a fact, and it must be true. And now that I was with Adam, he didn't look at me the way people looked at me. From Adam's point of view, I was me, I was just a woman he knew. Even though I was now famous, it didn't change any of the facts when Adam looked at me. And to be honest, I'm not angry about it, I don't mind, and I don't care what Adam looks at me like. It's up to him.

"We should talk, where are you going?" I asked as I ran a little, trying to keep up with Adam's pace.

"You want us to talk here?" Adam asked, and this time he looked at me, but only for a few seconds.

"Whatever, the important thing is that we talk."

"There will be a lot of people here if anyone sees you." Adam paused, then turned and looked at me fully. "The crowd will form instantly. I thought you didn't want to be the center of attention, at least for now when we're talking."

"Yeah, that's true, but..."

"My house. We should talk there."

I couldn't argue or protest because Adam had already taken another step. I felt I had no choice but to follow him. And I thought, the reason Adam had said earlier was quite reasonable.

His house was not far from the shop he owned. It was a short distance away, so it only took a short walk to get there. Later, I stood behind him when we reached our destination. I stared at Adam's sturdy back from behind as he tried to open the door to his house.

Adam looked back. "Come in," he said to me as he pointed to the door with a gesture of his chin.

Instead of rejecting him, I nodded slowly. I stepped inside his house. Adam closed the door once we were both inside.

"Sit down, I'll go to the kitchen to get you something to drink."

"Adam." I immediately stopped him from leaving.

Adam, who had started to move away, suddenly stopped, then looked at me.

I said again. "I'm not going to linger here, you'd better sit down, we have to talk now."

Adam looked hesitant, but eventually he did what I wanted. He nodded, then chose to sit in front of me.

I looked at the handsome man, who used to be my playmate when we were kids before my parents and I moved because of my father's job. Adam and I used to get along very well. And unexpectedly, after losing contact for several years, I suddenly met him by accident in a bar, more precisely just last Sunday. Adam was alone. I was the same. We greeted each other and chatted, and beyond my expectations, I still felt comfortable talking to him last night. Maybe it's because we used to be friends, so there are many topics of conversation that we can talk about. Maybe that can be said to be one of the reasons that makes sense. Plus, we haven't seen each other in a while, so we talked about our days, experiences, and jobs.

And of course, Adam already knows that there are many people who know me now. At the bar, he even mentioned watching me when I appeared on television at his house. I was so happy that Adam even brought up the crazy things we used to do. I still remembered it clearly, and I thought it was Adam who had forgotten, but apparently not. The memories were still neatly stored in his brain's memory.

I like Adam. It's hard not to like a guy like him. But don't get me wrong, I only liked Adam as my friend. Not once did I think of or look at him as anything more than a friend. Adam is Adam. And he was my friend. But last Sunday was a disaster.

Yes, the meeting between me and Adam was a disaster for me. I was happy to meet and talk to him, but I shouldn't have gone any further, I should have known the rules, I should have known where to stop, and I should have realized that I was talking to Adam. He was my friend. More precisely, a friend from when I was a kid. Instead, I stepped into a forbidden area.

Me and Adam kissed. That's what happened. Unfortunately, it wasn't him who started it, but me. Yes, me! I suddenly moved my face forward and grabbed his lips. Adam was shocked, and I was shocked too. We even looked at each other for a while after that. Then, we both kissed again. Because at that time, that's what we wanted. Again, I went first, but Adam didn't resist, and I think that's what he wanted.

Then, to cut a long story short, Adam and I slept together. We were passionate and reached the peak together. Maybe I was drunk. Maybe Adam was, too. Add to that the fact that Adam was a really handsome guy, cool, and had a nice muscular body. How could I resist such temptation?

Then, as always, regret would come later. That's what happened to me when I woke up the next day. I really regretted that I shouldn't have slept with Adam. It was a mistake that I didn't think I should have made. That's why I ran away before Adam could wake up.

At first, I was determined not to see Adam again. Perhaps that was actually the best choice. But, as I said earlier, I told Nick about it, and he was right—I shouldn't have run away. Nick said I was a coward for not facing my problems. He told me I should have gone to Adam. And that's exactly what I did. The man was already sitting in front of me.

Incidentally, at the bar where we met at that time, Adam had given me the address of his shop. That's why I had no trouble finding it and dropping by.

That's what happened. I hope you can understand my explanation just now. Nick was absolutely right, if I wanted everything to be clear and over, I had to meet with Adam to unravel and resolve our issues. Sleeping together was a problem. It wasn't what I expected at all, and we weren't even lovers. I think having sex with him is a bit weird and ambiguous. It wasn't supposed to be like this.

Is it normal and okay for old friends who haven't seen each other for a long time to suddenly kiss and sleep together when they just met after decades of separation?

Yeah, you don't need to answer that. I already know the answer.

"I honestly don't know where to start." I said it honestly. "It's a bit complicated."

"Do you want me to help you?" Adam volunteered.

I didn't know what to answer, so I chose to nod.

The look in Adam's eyes when he looked at me was getting serious. While I returned his gaze, I also waited solemnly for his answer.

"It's simple, Nellie. It started when you left me at that hotel. Everything can be explained from there, and the aftermath can be drawn to a conclusion. From there, we can draw a common thread together."

"I..." I swallowed. It was very difficult to say. My tongue suddenly felt very stiff. I looked down, trying to concentrate more. "I feel that something is wrong with me." I shook my head. "Sorry, with us, to be more precise."

"Why?"

"Because we can't do it, Adam. It's you. It should be—" I wet my lips, which were suddenly as dry as the desert. "Everything was wrong, our meeting was wrong, the time and place were wrong. It's a huge mistake."

I saw Adam shaking his head. He continued to stare at me with his wide eyes. "I don't understand what you're trying to explain to me. What do you mean?"

"You already know."

"I don't understand."

"Because you don't understand it any further. Listen to what I just said. You're not that stupid."

Adam purses his lips as soon as my words are finished. I'm sure he was now thinking, pondering my words. His serious face was now downcast. Meanwhile, I couldn't take my eyes off his handsome face.

"You kissed me, I accepted, we went to the hotel, and you slept with me."

I snapped my fingers. "That's exactly where the problem lies, Adam. Right there. That's the center."

Adam was gaping. "Really? Are you kidding me?"