Love and Lies (4 page)

CHAPTER
SIX

Whistling mindlessly an out of tune version of the
Gilligan's Island
theme song, I made my way through the herd of students. I cringed as soon as I realized what song I'd butchered. Away from home for a little over a year, and I still hummed or whistled the theme songs when I zoned out.

Music filtered down the hall, drowning out my horrible rendition,
and my grimace transformed into a wide smile. Alec and I had a standing date on Monday to meet Logan after band practice.

W
hen I overheard one of the guys ask about me, I stopped short of the sofa inside the rehearsal room. I threw a nervous glance over my shoulder, relieved to see Alec hadn't shown yet. His big mouth definitely would have blown my cover. I leaned in, my head tilted toward the door to hear what they were talking about.

“
Hey, man, have you talked to Carissa lately?” I recognized Monty’s, the lead bassist, voice. Chords rang through the room, signaling Logan's tuning.

“
Yeah, why?” Logan answered.

“
Check this out, I just overheard that new guy, Eric, talking about her on the phone. He said something about getting money from them. Some kind of report. Like, where she'd been and what she was doing last week.”

“
And?” Logan replied.

I turned my head and angled my body
in an attempt to see Logan's reaction. He looked up from his guitar slowly, his expression bland, as though Monty had said something no more exciting than the fact that he liked peanut butter and banana sandwiches. I wasn't sure what to make of Logan's nonchalance. This was a big deal, and he hardly reacted. Who would Eric be talking to about me? Why would he be telling anyone what I’d been up to for the last week? The idea that Mom’s call from the first day had something to do with Eric’s arrival resurfaced. Dang it. I did not want there to be a correlation. Since our first date, we’d spent more time alone. Turned out the guy was a real charmer.

“Nothing really. I just figured you'd want to know. Maybe say something to her about it.”

“Yeah, you're right. It’s not really our business though, and you don’t know who he was talking to
, do you?”

Logan
was right—no one knew who Eric was talking to. It could have been one of his friends. Maybe Monty heard wrong and Eric was talking about the time we’d spent together, not giving a rundown of my weekly activities. There was probably a lot I didn't know. I squeezed my eyes shut, forcing myself to believe Monty had heard wrong.

“
Nah,” Monty answered Logan. “I just thought it was odd that he would talk about everything she’s been doing. I mean, who keeps tabs on a person that like? The guy knew every detail.”

That sent chills down my back. I didn’t think Eric was the possessive sort, but then again we hadn’t been together
that
long. Monty had a point, why would someone pay such close attention without a reason? I didn’t know what to do—focus on figuring things out, or give Eric the benefit of the doubt. For now, I’d go with trust.

“
I don’t know, man,” Logan replied. “Not really something for us to worry about though. Carissa’s a big girl. She can take care of herself. Let's warm up.” Logan propped his guitar on a stool and took hold of the mic.

Logan’s confidence felt good. No one had ever expressed their belief that I could take care of myself.
But just as my shoulders relaxed and the weight on my chest lifted, I caught Monty rolling his eyes.

“
What do you see in her? Besides a pretty face, of course.”

“You wouldn't understand.” Logan dismissed him with a nod of his head and turned to the the group.
“
Okay, let's try that again,” he prompted the rest of the band.

I jumped, my heart raced
at the feel of warm fingers brushing the exposed skin on my shoulders. Jerking around, ready to punch the jerk who scared me, I looked into Alec’s grinning face.

“
Eavesdropping are we?”

“
Nope.” I gave him a quick hug before turning back around and making my presence known.

“
You going to finish your story about date night?” Alec asked.

I felt my cheeks warm. Between classes I
’d told him about Eric’s and my latest date a couple of nights before, but we hadn't had time to talk about how it ended. Eric and I still hadn’t shared our first kiss, and Alec wouldn’t stop bugging me.

T
he sultry sound of Logan's voice hit my ears, reminding me where we were. I looked around and shook my head. “Not here.”

“
Okay. Later then.”

*
* * *

“
Nice job,” I praised from the couch when Logan and his guys finished the set.

Logan raked his
gaze down my body, and for the first time, it felt awkward. I wasn't sure if I wanted to cover myself or flaunt my assets. Every girl liked to be looked at, but we were friends. Logan was more of a brother to me than a potential boyfriend. Not to mention, I was dating someone now. Another friend of the group. Wasn’t there an unwritten rule somewhere about that?

After a moment's hesitation
, he ran the back of his hand over his mouth to hide a grin. I couldn't help but laugh—brother or not, it was cute.

Alec held out his hand, palm up, and mouthed,
“Pay up.”

I shook my head. We had a standing
bet whether or not Logan would make a pass when we were together. I intended to argue that looking at me wasn't verbal, and his come-on had to be verbal, but Logan's eyes caught mine, and I hesitated.

“
Thanks. It's a new one.” He pointed his thumb over his shoulder at Monty. “Dipshit back here wrote it. I think it's a little sappy.”

“
I think it's sweet,” Alec crooned.

I put my arm around him and rested my head on his shoulder. Alec was a good guy. He and Logan were friends, but the only time they hung out was when I was around. Logan said
Alec creeped him out a little bit, too touchy-feely.

“
Me too. Play it again,” I said.

After practice
, Logan left with Alec and I. “Why don't you come to the show?” he asked us both.

“
I can't. Eric and I have a date. Maybe next time. You were great today.” I blew a kiss in his direction as I walked away.

The call from Mom and my eavesdropping session weighed on my mind.
I turned to Alec. “You would tell me if there was something Mom and Dad were keeping from me, but you knew about, right?”

“
Baby girl, of course I would. You know I don't talk to them though. Your parents hate me, and I wouldn’t have anything to say to them anyway. Why do you ask?”

“
No reason, it was something...never mind.” It wasn't that I doubted Alec. I knew he'd tell me, and I knew he didn't talk to them. For so long, he'd been the only friend I had to talk with; he was always my go-to guy. He despised my parents almost as much as I did, and he didn't know the worst of my problems with them.

CHAPTER
SEVEN

“
What movie did you pick out?” I asked as I walked into Eric’s.

The studio apartment was the
smallest I’d ever seen. It had a total of two rooms and an alcove for the kitchen. From left to right as I stood in front of the door, sat his kitchen, makeshift living area, and bed. His oversized bed took up half the right wall of the room. The kitchen consisted of a four-by-four tiled area. It was just big enough for a mini-fridge, sink, and one row of cabinets above the sink. His desk—which was actually a card table—and his chair were squeezed into a space along the back wall between the bed and kitchen. In the middle of the room, a small love seat sat in front of a fifty-four inch, flat-screen TV that he’d mounted on the front wall. You could watch TV from anywhere: the kitchen, bed, or love seat.

“
The Watchmen
.” Eric patted the couch in invitation. Two weeks of dating, and I was hooked. We were together every chance we got.

“Let's play twenty questions. What's your favorite color?” I asked as I settled on the couch and propped my legs on his lap.

“
Black.” Eric grabbed my feet to take off my shoes while the previews started.

“
Oh, come on, you can come up with a color better than black. It's so...black.”

He laughed.
“I'm surprised you don't know my favorite color already. I know how well you pay attention to details.” He rubbed my feet, and I was putty in his hands.

“
You know, I might know your favorite color if you talked about yourself more. For all I know, it could be pink.”

“
Pink. Seriously?”

I batted my eyelashes
. “You're a dancer, isn't pink every dancer's favorite color?”

“
You know you're going to pay for that, right?” One hand grasped my toes and held my foot still so he could tickle me by running the tip of his finger up the middle. When I tried to pull away he shook his head and did it again. “That's just the beginning. But if you haven't noticed, I have nothing pink in my possession, not even a shade of pink. In my opinion pink and any variation should be wiped from the color pallet.”

“
Alec would disagree.”

“
Yes he would, but there are a lot of things he and I don't agree on.”

“I'm still waiting.” I wiggled my feet, still held in his grip.

“
My favorite color is...” He tapped his chin as if in deep thought. “Yellow, but not yellow like the sun. Yellow like a sunflower. Bold, but not bright, with just a hint of brown in the mixture.”

“
Impressive. I didn't realize you had the words to describe a color like that. No offense.”

“
I never took you for a troublemaker. You may surprise me, yet.” He winked.

“
Who, me? Troublemaker, never.” I let my voice crack and tilted my head. “I don't even know why you would say that.”

“I guess we'll see about that. It's not wise to taunt a bear. They do bite, unlike you.”

There was a devilish feel in the way Eric's lip crooked and
his eyes lowered. My spine tingled with anticipation.

“
What happened with your mom? You said she left you, how old were you? What about your dad?” I asked.

“
She left about six years ago.” Eric averted his eyes and a thick silence filled the room.

After a few minutes of neither of us talking
, I knew we wouldn't say any more about his parents.

“
Favorite food?”

“
You were serious about twenty questions, weren't you? You know, you could have asked any of these things before.”

He returned to my foot massage. I noticed the way his arms flexed when his fingers curled over my toes. I thought about how it
good it felt when he held me close to his chest, protective, but not too much.

“Yep, could have, but didn't. It's more fun this way. I like knowing things no one else does. Are you going to answer?”

“Hmm. My favorite food is whatever sounds good at the moment. I’m a growing boy and all that.” Eric moved his massage from my feet up to my calves.

Smart ass.
“When’s your birthday?”

“
March twenty-third. Yours?”

“October first. I’ll be nineteen this year. Hint hint.” I winked. I loved my birthday, it was my favorite day of the year.

“Subtle.”

I shrugged. “You wouldn’t like me if I were any other way. One more question.”

“Not until I ask you one.”

I crossed my arms over my chest.
“Okay.”

“
What's with you and Logan?”

His question caught me off-guard
, and I jerked my feet out of his lap. “Why would you ask that? Better yet, why would you think there was something with me and Logan?”

He gently pulled my feet back to his lap.
“I didn't mean anything by it. I just wondered. I've seen the way he goes all mushy when you walk into a room.”

“He does not.”

“
Yeah, he does. But considering you didn't know it, I'm guessing you're clueless to how he feels.”

“
I'm not clueless, I know he flirts. That doesn't mean he goes googly-eyed with me.” I tore my gaze from Eric and focused on the TV. Logan liked me, everyone knew that.

The middle of my foot tingled with energy
, and I whipped my head back to Eric. “Stop that.”

“
Does it tickle?”

“
You know it does. Stop.” I tried to be stern, but failed. Laughter broke through my lips.

“
Oh, no, no stopping. It makes me happy to hear you laugh. Did you know when you smile it causes your dimple to show up?” Eric shifted to lean closer to me before his hand brushed my cheek. “Right here.” His hand swept down my cheek and around my jaw. He cupped my chin and caressed my lip with his thumb. “And your smile lights up a room.”

I froze
. Heat rushed to the spot where his touch left a lingering sizzle. “Um...I'm hungry.” I lowered my feet to the floor and went to the kitchen to find something to snack on. In my fantasies I wanted this, but in reality...well, it scared me to feel this good with Eric.

I stared at the cabinet. There wasn't much to choose from. Eric only ate health food.
But after a little rummaging, I discovered a hidden bag of Cheetos. Perfect comfort food. I tucked them under my arm and went back to the couch. Eric rewound the movie, so he could watch what he'd missed while we talked, and I pushed myself under his arm to cuddle up next to him.

I'd just opened the bag of chips when he reached around me to take it. I smacked his hand.
“Oh, no you don't. These are mine.”

“
Crazy, little girl. Those are mine. You got them out of my kitchen.”

“
Oh, I didn't tell you already? What's yours is mine, and what's mine is mine. So, these...” I shoved some Cheetos in my mouth. “Are mine,” I said around a mouth full of chips and wiggled my cheesy fingers in his face before licking them one by one, slowly savoring the flavor.

“
This means war.”

With one hand, Eric grabbed the hand I clutched the bag with, while his other went to my waist, brushing against a slice of exposed skin. I squirmed and coughed, choking on the chips still in my mouth. He pulled back long enough for me to swallow and catch my breath. When he moved off the couch, he took the bag with him.

W
hen I no longer had him for support, I fell to the side. Eric stood next to the couch stuffing a handful of Cheetos in his mouth. He shoved so many in, his cheeks puffed out like a squirrel hoarding nuts.

With my elbow on the arm of the couch and my head propped in my hand, I watched Eric stand in front of me with a mouthful of Cheetos, one hand o
n his hip, the other out toward me, palm up. He crooked a finger in my direction and motioned me over. I lay back on the couch looking at the ceiling.

“
Come and get it,” he teased.

I had no intention of jumping up after him. If I got up and ran, he won. I wanted to win.
“No, I'll wait.”

Eric looked defeated. His shoulders slumped, his head hung low. I grinned at him. Like a snake, I slid off the couch and eased onto the table in front
it before jumping toward him. He was faster than I expected, because he caught me in midair. I wrapped my legs around his waist and pulled the bag from between us. He held me up, his arms around my waist, hands cupping my butt.

“
You crushed them,” I whined, a fake frown working my lips downward.

“
Ha. You crushed them, not me. “ Eric walked backward around the table to the side of the couch then dumped me over the arm. I bounced when I hit the cushions, but Eric was on top of me before I had a chance to move. The feel of his body on mine made me squeak.

“
Now, you really did crush them.” I wiggled the bag out from between us and set it on the table before returning back to Eric.

Eric laughed a deep throaty laugh. His hands were on either side of my head, holding me there. It wasn't uncomfortable. In fact, it was too comfortable. But I didn't shy away. I wrapped my hands around his neck and pulled him down. His hair smelled like fresh rain. I started kissing him slowly. There was no hesitation in my kiss or in his response. Too soon though,
he pulled away.

“
What's wrong?” I brushed my fingers across Eric's lips.

“
Absolutely nothing.” He reached over my head for the remote and paused the movie. Typical male. “Now, where were we?”

“
Umm, right here. I think,” I whispered, and our lips touched again. I wrapped my leg around him, pulling him closer. He deepened the kiss, his chest molding against mine. The heat raged through my veins.

Eric pulled back slowly, but didn't stop. He enveloped me with soft, barely-there kisses
, starting at my chin and working his way up my jaw line to just below my ear. I moaned as he made his way back down my neck. His five o'clock shadow brushed roughly against my skin, covering my arms in goose bumps. I ran my nails down his shirt, digging in slightly, then clutched the hem and raised it as I went up his back. Eric ducked his head, barely breaking our connection while I tugged the T-shirt over his head. His tongue flicked across my collarbone. My head went fuzzy, and I gasped for air.

I shivered as he trailed kisses across my bare skin. He chuckled and ran his hand down my side. I arched my back, pushing my chest into his as he drummed his fingers along my ribs. Eric wrapped his arms around me
, keeping us close together, and I kissed him hard then slid my tongue through his lips and around his mouth. He lifted us both off the couch before taking the requisite three steps needed to make it to the bed and sat me down.

Our first kiss had quickly
turned into something so much more. I stared at his bare chest, ran my hands over each line marking the muscles in his abs. An eight-pack for sure; the muscles twitched as I grazed my fingernail over his smooth skin.

He lifted my shirt over my head, forcing me away from the treasure of his body.

“I want to touch you,” I begged when he held my wrists at my side, not allowing me to reach for him again.

“In time. Right now, I’m going to kiss you.”

Well, that would work too. I waited for him to lean forward and take my lips with his. But he didn’t. Instead, he lowered his lips to my breast, kissing along the edge of my bra on one side, while his fingers slipped beneath the material on the other and found their way to my nipple. I arched into his touch. “Oh, good lord.”

Eric rubbed the pad of his thumb over my nipple at the same time he took the other one between his teeth.

“Do that again. Now.”

The vibration of his laugh against my breast made me push up into him again. I wasn’t going to make it to the good part if he didn’t do something quick. I pushed myself up and
crab-walked backward to the middle of the bed. Eric stalked me on hands and knees, his eyes full of lust, his gaze full of promise. He stopped at my feet and sat back on his heels.

“We need to get these pants off you. While I do that, lose the bra. As much as I want to see you displayed on my bed with that sexy lace number on, I want full access even more.”

I laughed and did as he asked. In no time at all, he had my jeans unbuttoned and pulled them off. The devil used his teeth to pull my panties off. He gripped my ankles, one in each hand, and spread them apart then lay down between my legs.

“What about the rest of your clothes
? I’m not going to be the only naked one here.”

“Oh, yes you
are. Tonight is all about you, princess.”

I rolled my eyes. “Princess, huh?”

“Of course. I’d say queen, but I don’t think we’re at that point in our relationship. Not yet, but we will be.”