Tell Me Pretty Lies

by Charleigh Rose

  My breath catches and I shove his shoulder, but he barely budges. He looks down at his shoulder with a smirk, as if he barely felt it.

  “Tell me why,” I demand. “Why do you hate me so much?” I finally spit out the question that’s plagued my thoughts for almost an entire year.

  I see the muscle beneath his jaw twitch, his nostrils flaring, and I know I’ve struck a nerve. “Because I have to.”

  “Then why do you keep coming back?” The hushed words are out of my mouth before I can stop them.

  “Because I have to.” His thumb swipes over the pulse that jumps in my neck at his admission. Maybe I’m not the only one who can’t seem to sever this connection. Maybe it’s killing him as much as it’s killing me.

  Slowly, he angles his face toward mine, his lips grazing my cheek on their way to my mouth. My eyes fall shut, heart lodged in my throat as I wait for him to make his move. I push up onto my toes the slightest bit, and that’s all it takes. His hand fists my hair and his tongue licks the seal of my lips, seeking entrance. I let him in, feeling his tongue slide against mine, and a moan slips free. He’s kissing me. After all this time, he’s kissing me, and I almost forgot how it felt. My hands find his hoodie, clenching the material in my fists to stay upright.

  Thayer’s hands wrap around my waist and he jerks me onto the hood, not breaking the kiss. He plants himself between my thighs, and I lie back onto the cool metal, yanking on the front of his sweatshirt to bring him with me. Planting my feet flat on the hood and bending my knees, I flick my tongue across his piercing, earning a growl from him. Then he’s sliding a hand down my stomach, stopping between my thighs. My head falls back onto the hood with a thud as his fingers rub me through my shorts. This is crazy. We shouldn’t be doing this, especially out in the open like this. But I’ve never been able to see reason where Thayer is concerned.

  His lips find my neck, sucking and biting as brings me closer to the edge, but in the worst timing, visions of the girl in his room cut through the fog of lust. When he pulls away and the tips of his fingers dip into the waistband of my shorts, I grab his wrist, stopping him.

  “You were with another girl the other night.” The words seem so juvenile out loud, but I’m not a homewrecker.

  Thayer laughs darkly against my neck, sending a chill down my spine. “You think this makes you my girlfriend or something?” he asks, then scrapes his teeth across my neck.

  “I hate you.” Even as I say the words, I’m arching into him, needing more.

  “Tell me another lie.” His hand flattens against my stomach and slides beneath my shorts and underwear. My grip on his wrist is loose, hardly a protest. “Tell me more pretty little lies from these pretty little lips.” His fingers part me and I gasp, squeezing his wrist, and he groans appreciatively. “This doesn’t feel like hate.”

  My knees fall open, some sick part of me getting off on his taunts, and he pushes a finger inside. It doesn’t escape me that I had a game earlier and I could use a shower. I don’t even want to know what I look like, messy hair, still in my uniform—knee pads and all—getting finger fucked on the hood of a car. Any hope of keeping my pride intact flies out the window when I urge him to speed up his movements by guiding his wrist to move faster.

  “Fuck,” Thayer groans, his free hand jerking my shorts down to give him better access. He pumps his hand faster, and I tug at the hem of his sweatshirt, wanting to feel his skin, but he stops me. I give a frustrated growl and he answers by pushing my shirt up my chest and scraping his teeth over my piercing through my white sports bra. The orgasm I don’t see coming hits me hard and fast, and I clench around his fingers, mouth falling open in a silent scream.

  When I come back down to Earth, I open my eyes to find Thayer’s attention locked onto where he slowly slides his fingers in and out of me, seeming dazed. I lick my lips that are dry from the cool air, still shuddering with aftershocks. Thayer pulls his fingers from me, giving my pussy two pats, and I flinch, still sensitive.

  “Welcome home, Shayne.”

  Shayne

  I hate Thayer Ames.

  At least that’s what I tell myself every time my thoughts drift back to him and how he left me on the hood of his car with my shorts still around my thighs. Reaching an entirely unprecedented level of asshole, he walked away, got into his car, started the engine, and held my forgotten backpack from his window, dangling it from two fingers, while he waited for me to pull myself together. I pulled my shorts back into place and peeled myself—along with my dignity—off the hood before storming into the house without a backwards glance.

  Just when I think he’s finally showing me a glimpse of something real, he has to ruin it by being an asshole. And I’m the idiot who fell for it. Again.

  To make matters worse, I still don’t know what I’m going to tell my mom about my car. If it was one tire, I could make up some story about getting a flat or running over a nail or something. But four of them sliced open at the wall? There’s no denying that it was intentional, and that will lead to her worrying about me and how I’m…reacclimating.

  Not to mention the financial burden. I can’t even begin to accurately guess how much it will cost to replace four tires. Eight-hundred bucks? A thousand? She won’t talk money with me—says that’s not a kid’s business to worry about finances—but I know we’re struggling. Grey is going to one of the best colleges in the country, and it’s not like he has a scholarship. Living in Sawyer Point isn’t exactly cheap either.

  “All right, ladies,” Coach calls out, bringing me out of my thoughts. “That’s it for today. Once again, good job last night. Let’s carry that same energy through the season. Enjoy your day off tomorrow, then we have a game against Mountain View on Thursday.”

  I throw my ball into the bin, and when I turn around, I see Holden sitting on the bleachers on the other side of the gym. What the hell is he doing here? Has he been there this whole time? I roll my eyes when I notice Taylor spot him at the same time, a flirty grin spreading over her face as she saunters toward him. He stands, walking toward her.

  “Hey, sexy,” she says coyly, once she’s a few feet away.

  Holden notices her, seemingly for the first time, and barely acknowledges her with a flick of his chin before he walks right past her. Taylor’s face is beet-red with what I’m sure is a mixture of anger and embarrassment. The only thing worse than rejection for a girl like that is public rejection. Because her little friends, along with the entire team, just witnessed the whole thing.

  “Hey, baby sister.”

  “For the last time—” I say, glaring at him.

  “Yeah, yeah, you’re not my sister. The sound of it just gets me hot, what can I say?” He takes my bag, then puts a hand on the small of my back as we walk through the gym.

  “What the hell are you doing?” I whisper.

  “Thayer said you’d need a ride.”

  I snort. How gallant. “Not from you.”

  “I thought we were past this,” he says, sounding bored.

  “You don’t even realize what you just did, do you?”

  “What?” His eyebrows pull together, genuinely confused, and I shake my head, amused at how oblivious he can be.

  “As if I wasn’t already on her shit list, that just made me an even bigger target.”

  “Who, Taylor?” he asks, glancing behind us to see her standing there, seething. “Fuck her. She’s not my girlfriend. We fucked like two times.”

  Wow. These Ames boys sure know how to treat a girl. Not that it’s news to me. Holden has never had an exclusive relationship in all the time that I’ve known him.

  “Okay, first of all, gross. Second of all, it doesn’t matter. She thinks I’m what’s standing in her way.”

  “And you care because?”

  I stop to look at him. I…I don’t know. Why do I care? It’s not like I’m afraid of her. I just prefer to avoid her if I can help it. “I don’t care. It seems to be her mission in life to make my life hell, so I’d
rather not hand her the ammunition.” And she slept with your brother on the night of the funeral. Not that I can really fault her for it. It’s not like she knew about Thayer and me. Still, Taylor has always been a mean girl through and through.

  “I’ll fix it,” he promises.

  “No—”

  “I’ll fix it,” he cuts me off, his voice firmer this time, then he takes my hand in his. “Come on.”

  Reluctantly, I drop it, even though I know his idea of fixing it will no doubt make it worse. It’s like when the nerdy kid’s mom calls the school to tell them they’re being picked on, and they only end up getting it ten times worse. That’s just how bullies operate.

  Once we’re outside, I stop dead in my tracks, noticing my car is gone. Valen picked me up for school this morning, and it was still parked when we got there.

  “Dammit!”

  “What’s the problem?” Holden frowns.

  “My car got towed.”

  He shrugs, probably not understanding why I’m upset. And why would he? Money isn’t an issue for him. But all I can think is how that’s going to be another hundred or two added to the list of expenses.

  Holden unlocks the doors, and I climb into the passenger seat. The song “Drowning” starts blasting when he starts the car, but he quickly turns it off. We both sit there in silence for a beat, and I know we’re both thinking about Danny.

  “I miss him, too,” I admit, feeling weird talking about Danny out loud. He’s been the elephant in the room ever since I got back, but maybe it’s time we start talking about him. Maybe this is how they—how we—heal.

  Holden clenches his jaw, throwing the car into drive. Okay, so maybe he’s not there yet.

  “Have you heard anything from the police?” I ask, deciding a subject change is probably for the best.

  He visibly relaxes. “Not shit.”

  “That’s good. What were you doing there, anyway?”

  One hand on the wheel, he glances over at me, a grim expression on his face. “Blowing off some steam.”

  I narrow my eyes at him, not following.

  “Can I trust you?”

  I snort out a bitter laugh. “Can you trust me? I’m not the one who’s done anything to have you questioning my loyalty.”

  “I’m not fucking around,” he says, his voice holding an unusually serious tone. “No one can know. Not my dad, not your mom. No one.”

  I nod, apprehension swirling in my stomach.

  “Something’s off, Shayne.” His hand tightens around the steering wheel. “Someone knows something, and they’re covering it up.”

  I shake my head, confused. “But why would anyone want to do that?”

  “That’s what we’re going to find out.”

  I rack my brain for answers. None of it makes sense. The car slows, and I look out the window, noticing we’re close to my house. “Hey, pull over,” I say, unbuckling.

  “What, here?”

  “Yeah. I’ll walk the rest of the way.”

  “It’s dark.”

  I raise my eyebrows. “And? My driveway is right there,” I say, gesturing to the gravel path that leads to my house. “My mom is home and I’m stalling.” I need all the extra time I can get to figure out how the hell to explain my tire situation. Plus, I’d rather not answer questions about why Thayer was in my room a couple weeks ago, and now Holden’s dropping me off. She’s been a little intense lately.

  “Thanks for the ride.” I jump down from the car and swing my bag over my shoulder. The chilly night air has me rubbing my arms as I make my way up to the house. Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s any getting out of telling my mom the truth. I’ll just have to convince her that it was random. That I’m not the target. Everything is fine. I’m fine.

  I stop short when I notice my car. In my driveway. With four brand new tires. As if nothing ever happened.

  “What the hell?” I circle the car, giving it a quick once-over. How did she already take care of it? I wonder if the school called her. Or, more likely, the towing company. Bracing myself for the third degree, I walk up the porch and open the front door. I follow the rustling sound coming from the kitchen and find my mom standing at the counter with a plethora of takeout boxes.

  “Just in time,” she says, reaching for some plates from the cabinet above her head. “I ordered Chinese. Figured you’d have a late night.” She scoops some noodles onto a plate. “How was the game last night? I’m sorry I couldn’t make it.”

  I stand there watching her load my plate up with the chicken and vegetables, waiting for her to mention the car.

  She rounds the counter, setting the plate down in front of me before pulling me in for a hug. “What, you didn’t miss your mom?” she asks when I don’t return her hug right away.

  “Sorry,” I say, snapping out of it and wrapping my arms around her. “Long day. I’m out of it.”

  She pulls back, assessing. “Why didn’t you drive today?”

  “Hmm?” I look up at her. “Oh, I rode with Valen.”

  She nods, not questioning the lie, then goes to make a plate for herself. A thought occurs to me, and I bend down, fishing my keys out of the front pocket of my backpack. But they’re not there. Unzipping the main compartment, I tip it over, dumping out all the contents. No keys.

  What the hell? I know they were in here. I threw them in after locking my car up when Ashley gave me a ride. I stand abruptly, speed walking toward the front door.

  “Where are you going?”

  “I forgot something in my car,” I throw over my shoulder. I jerk the door open, running down the porch and to my car. Pulling on the handle, I find it unlocked, my keys sitting in the driver’s seat. My brain is about to short circuit wondering who’s fucking with me now, waiting for the punch line, when something dangling from the rearview mirror catches my attention.

  The key from the barn. Thayer. I unhook the key from the mirror, feeling the cold, rusted metal in my palm. He did this? Why? Why would he go out of his way to help me? And why return the key? If sending mixed signals were an Olympic sport, he would be a gold medalist.

  Maybe it’s a trick. Maybe it means nothing at all. But I can’t help wondering if this is the old Thayer coming back to me little by little.

  Shayne

  “I can’t believe I’m here of my own free will,” I say, bringing the red plastic cup of beer to my lips. Valen and I already had some drinks while we got ready at my house, and I realize I’m not as uncomfortable as I thought I’d be. Holden begged us to come by tonight, and I’ve actually started to let my guard down with him a little bit. I said no at first, but then Valen talked me into it because Liam canceled his visit this weekend, and she wanted a distraction.

  “Is it weird being back?” Valen asks, scanning the crowd of people. The house is bursting at the seams, and somehow, that makes me feel better. Everyone’s too preoccupied with getting trashed and finding someone to hook up with, making it easier for me to blend. “I mean, since you used to live here?”

  Nodding, I lick the excess beer from my lips. “Yep,” I say, the word popping from my mouth. I spot Holden coming our way from the other room, making his way through the throng of drunk people. I think everyone in town between the ages of seventeen and twenty-five is here. That’s nothing new, though. With the Ames boys all being different ages, their parties have always been a mix of both high school and college. But they’re usually more selective of who and how many people they let in. This…this is on another level.

  “Well, look who didn’t puss out!” Holden yells, holding out his arms. When he bends his knees and wraps his arms around my waist, I let out a surprised squeal, holding my beer out as he spins me around.

  “Holden, my butt!”

  He sets me down and tugs my dress back down from where it rode up, and I slap his hands away.

  “Damn, Shayne,” he remarks, looking me up and down, taking in my houndstooth print mini dress with spaghetti straps. It’s a little too short and a
little too tight, but I paired it with black Converse instead of heels to make it more casual.

  “Shut up,” I say, rolling my eyes, but the tips of my ears smolder under his attention. “Stop looking at me like that.”

  I spend most days in spandex shorts and baggy t-shirts with volleyball, and I felt like getting dressed for once. So sue me. I won’t lie and say that the possibility of seeing Thayer here didn’t factor into my decision, which is all kinds of messed up, considering how we left things. Or rather, how he left me. Near naked. On top of his car.

  “Thayer’s gonna love this,” he says, snapping me out of my thoughts.

  “What?” I snap, taken aback. No one knows about us, so the off-handed comment catches me off guard along with the news that Thayer is here somewhere. I wasn’t sure he would be with the disappearing act he likes to pull.

  “Nothing.” He turns to Valen, greeting her with the flick of his chin. “’Sup, Valentina?”

  She gives him a bratty smile, hating that he used her full name. “Not much, Holden Cock.”

  “Always so pleasant.” Holden laughs, scraping his teeth over his bottom lip. “But if you want to hold my cock, all you have to do is say the word.”

  Valen shakes her head, but a smile pulls at her lips.

  “Come on, let’s go see what’s up out back.”

  Holden grabs my hand, pulling me through the crowd, and Valen follows, latching onto my shoulder. Holden stops in the kitchen to grab another cup, and we refill ours. Drinks in hand, we head out back where clusters of people are grouped off in various parts of the yard. To the left, an obnoxiously loud game of beer pong takes place, and to the right, tucked into the corner, sits a fire pit with only a few people. Christian, Baker, Taylor, Alexis, and Aiden. Christian and Baker exchange a look that I don’t care to decode, and the girls look annoyed that female competition is encroaching on their territory.