The Truth in Lies (The Truth in Lies Saga) (16 page)

All of the sudden, my back was pressed against the refrigerator, and Drew’s body was pressed against mine.  Our chests met with heavy breaths, and his eyes bore into mine with fire ignited inside them.  Laughter ceased between us.  
 

Smoldering, his blue eyes darkened to an intense smoky gray.  I couldn’t move, having every available limb of my body pinned between him and the cold refrigerator door.  Every inch of my body exploded in desire for this man.  The simple way he licked his lips, as his eyes washed over me, or the fact that I could feel his heart
rapidly beating.  Or was that my heart?  The way our bodies were positioned, I honestly couldn’t tell whose heart was beating, but I knew I could feel it.

His breath washed over me like sweet honey.  With a soft thud, my head fell back against the refrigerator door.  The heat of his warm body enveloped me, sending my soul into flames.  Everything inside me ached for him, down to my very core.  I needed him, wanted him, and for a moment in time, I didn’t care if he wasn’t meant to be mine. 

“Mickie,” his voice was thick as he spoke.

Mere inches from my face, his lips drew closer to mine.  My fingers wiggled at my sides.  I wanted to touch him, but he had me pinned so I couldn’t. 

Which turned out to be a good thing, for once again, it was apparent I was throwing myself at him.  The smoky gray from his eyes disappeared like smoke from a chimney.  His usually tan skin paled and turned almost a greenish color, as he released me from my bounds.

He took several steps back, staring at me, without uttering a single word.  Without thinking, I hugged my arms around my chest, losing the comics in the process. 

Ashamed at the thoughts that had run through my head, tears began to swim behind my eyes.  Drew kept shaking his head in disbelief.  His mouth opened and popped back closed with a clank of his teeth.  For a second, I pulled my hand away from my chest to reach for him, only to pull it back. 

Once again, I had caused him pain, and the thought alone was killing me.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. 

Drew dipped down and picked the paper up from the floor.  “I can’t keep doing this,” he growled. 

The feeling of despair washed over me as I took in his agonized state.  He bounced back to his feet and growled in anger.

“I’m sorry, Mickie.
 I shouldn’t...I...I need to go.” 

My bottom lip trembled in response to the unshed tears.

“Tell Olivia I’ll call her later, please,” he whispered, placing the comics on the counter behind him.

“Of course.”  I looked down, humiliated by the fact that I had once again thrown myself at him.

“I’ll see you later,” he said, his words garbled by his haste. 

In the space of a heartbeat, he kissed my cheek
, and then walked out of the room.

The house was deathly quiet, as I stumbled into my bedroom. I sat down on the edge of the bed, and began to cry.
 I hated myself for what I had done.  Drew was one of the nicest men I had ever met, and I tried to kiss him…
again
.

I couldn’t bear seeing that look in his eyes.  His friendship was too important to me, and I was willing to do anything I could to salvage it.  There had to be a way for me to control my desires.  The only question was
how.

“What do you think about this one, McKenzie?” Jared asked, pointing to the slick page of an apartment guide he’d picked up on his way to the condo.  We sat on the floor, in the middle of Olivia’s living room, pouring over the guide as if it were the Bible.  “It’s close to the beach, and not too far away from the school.”

“Ugh.  Close to the beach is code for out of my price range,” I grumbled, as I hovered over the page he was pointing out. 

A week had passed since my incident with Drew.  At first, things felt rather strained between us.  Later that afternoon, Drew called Olivia just as he promised, but I didn’t hear from him at all.  Not that I expected too.  After what I had done, I would’ve been astonished if he ever spoke to me again.  The silence continued through Monday morning when I didn’t receive my good morning text.  That led me into a miserable Monday.  Nothing seemed to go right.

But by Monday night, everything turned around.  Drew showed up at the condo with hot wings and sodas, as if nothing had happened.  I tried to apologize once again, but he hushed me.  He refused to even address what had nearly happened in the kitchen, and I wasn’t about to push the envelope. 

So, life resumed to normal.  I started to receive my daily text messages from Drew.  He came over nearly every night to hang with Olivia and me, but when nine o’clock rolled around, Drew was out the door.  He always had a valid excuse as to why he couldn’t stay, but I knew the truth.  His nightly exodus only made me more determined to move. 

When I told Jared about what had transpired between me and Drew, and about my plans to move, he became all too eager to help me find a place.  I had seen Jared angry before, but after telling him about my near-miss with Drew, he was livid.  What seemed to anger him the most was the fact that I had taken on the full blame for the situation. 

“How about this one?” Jared asked.

I read over the amenities.  “That one looks good.  Let’s add it to the list.”

Jared jotted down the name on the list we had developed while I scanned through the next listing.

“This is so ridiculous,” Olivia grumbled.  She had made herself comfortable on the couch with her feet propped right in front of Jared and me.  Her goal was to annoy us as much as possible, and she was succeeding.  From the moment I told her I was moving out, to the time Drew informed her that he was going to help me find a place, Olivia had almost been unbearable to handle.  She had been dead set against me moving out, and I couldn’t understand why.

One thing I knew for sure, I wasn’t about to mention Drew helping me again.  She practically bit both of our heads off because of his willingness to help me leave.  Besides, after what I’d done to him, I didn’t want him to feel obligated to help me; but more importantly, I didn’t want to make him feel uncomfortable by being alone with me. 

“Liv, please,” I muttered, pointing to another location for Jared to write down.

“Humph.”  Olivia crossed her arms over her chest, pouting like a petulant child.  “I don’t see why you have to move out.  You act like we’re going at it like rabbits or something,” Olivia chided. 

“You know that’s not true,” I rebutted.  “I told you why I’m doing this.”

“Which is bullshit, and you know it,” she snarled.

“Look here, Olivia,” Jared jumped in.  I pressed my hand to his chest, silently requesting him to let me handle this.

Jared settled back on the balls of his toes, glaring at Olivia, ready to attack at a moment’s notice.  I pulled myself to my knees, and peered over her bare feet.  “Liv, I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for me, but I need to do this for myself.  I can’t keep leaning on those that I love.  It’s not fair to you or Drew for me to constantly be around.  You need your space and privacy, and so do I.”

Olivia rolled her eyes, causing them flutter.  “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” she huffed. 

“Can you act any more childish?” Jared asked, hate coloring his tone.  “I swear I have students that have more maturity in their baby fingers than you have throughout-”

Olivia dropped her feet to the floor, effectively cutting Jared off.   She leaned forward, stopping short of being face to face with him.  “Fuck you, Jared.  Why don’t you own up to being in love with her, and ask her to move in with you.  That’s what you really want, isn’t it?”

“You wouldn’t know love if it bit you in the ass, you coldhearted bitch!” Jared hollered.

I pushed myself between them, raising my hands in defense.  “Would you two please stop this?  Liv, I’m moving out.  That’s final.  Jared, Liv is and will always be
my best friend, so either chill out or go.  I won’t have you two killing each other on my account.”

Jared rolled back onto his knees, crossing his arms over his chest.  “Sorry, McKenzie.  I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

“Whatever,” Olivia muttered, returning to her sulking position.

“Thank you,” I responded, picking up the ink pen.  “Now, Jared, what do you think about this one?”

Jared and I poured over the apartment guide, ignoring Olivia’s bouncing feet in front of us.

A knock at the door stopped her incessant movements.  She jumped up off the couch, and ran to the mirror to check her reflection.  “Damn it.  He’s early,” she muttered.

Jared eyed me, curiosity danced in his eyes.  “Drew,” I mouthed to him.  His full lips pursed, and he nodded his head.  Olivia disappeared into the foyer.

Leaning into me, Jared whispered, “I don’t care what the ice queen says, you’re doing the right thing.  She’s afraid if you leave, lover boy won’t be inclined to come over as often.”

“That’s not true,” I retorted.  A sly smile spread over his lips.  I pushed him away, laughing.  “So, today it’s Ice Queen?” I snorted.

“Yeah, seemed like the perfect name for her.  I’m waiting for her to make it always winter, never Christmas.”

I fell backwards onto the floor laughing, my shirt rising in the process.  “Oh my God, that’s awful.”

“What’s so funny?” Drew interrupted.  My laughter ceased, and my heart skipped a beat.  He was dressed in black slacks with a pale blue polo shirt that brought out the rich color in his eyes. His tongue darted out over his lips as he took in the sight of me and Jared on the floor.

Olivia hung off his arm.  A smile was plastered on her face, but her body language told me it was time for me and Jared to get the hell out of dodge.

I sat up and adjusted my t-shirt to cover my stomach.  “Oh, um, Jared and I were making jokes about the apartments we’re going to look at today,” I said. 

Drew’s already dark expression turned into a menacing scowl.  “Today?  You’re going apartment hunting today?”

I gulped hard, adding a slight nod.  Chills ran up my spine.  I expected the vein in his forehead to explode at any given moment. 

“Yeah, and we better get a move on it,” Jared added, offering me his hand to help me from the floor. 

The twitch of Drew’s lips and the subtle flare of his nose informed me that he was fighting his temper.  “I thought we had plans to do that, Mickie?”  His voice was low and strained.

“I knew you were busy,” I replied in a soft whisper. 

Something about the way he looked at me made me want to plead for his forgiveness.  His body was stiff, his breathing was heavy, and his eyes were focused on me.  “I’m never too busy for you, McKenzie.  I told you I had places in mind,” Drew scolded me.

My already dry throat became unbearable at the sound of my name falling from Drew’s cold lips.  Anger rolled off of him.  “Liv said you two had plans today, and I didn’t want to–” 

Drew raised his hand to silence me.  “Excuse me?  Our only plans were to hang out with you today.  Had I known you were intending to do this, I would’ve come prepared,” he snarled. 

Olivia tugged on his arm, trying to lead him to the couch, but he wouldn’t budge.  Anger began to swell up inside me.  How dare he treat me in this manner?  I lifted myself to my knees and leaned forward on the coffee table, staring him in the eye.

“Look,
Andrew
, it was no secret that I planned on finding a place of my own.  Even Liv knew I was planning on doing this today.  I can’t very well do this during the week, so I have no other options,” I argued.

I caught a glimpse of Jared from the corner of my eye.  His fists were balled on his lap and his knuckles were turning a deathly shade of white.  Jared and Drew wore the same shocked expression.  Neither of them expected me to explode like that.  Of course, neither did I.  In a flash, Drew focused his anger on Olivia.  “You knew she was doing this, and yet you neglected to tell me?  What were you thinking?”

Olivia, never being one to back down from a fight, released Drew’s arm and turned to him with her fists planted on her hips.  “I’ll tell you what I was thinking.  I thought Kenz and Jared had things under control, which left a day wide open for me to spend time with
you
.  That’s what I was thinking.”

Drew extended himself to his full height, cupping his hands behind his back.  A professional stance that I was sure he took on a daily basis in the courtroom.  “It appears that you were mistaken, Olivia.”  Drew pushed his way past Olivia.  Standing like a statue, she remained still, watching as he sat down on the floor between Jared and me.  He reached for the list we had complied and examined our selections.

He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth a couple of times.  “This won’t do,” he said, as he took the pen from Jared’s hand.  He scratched through the name on the list.  “This one is a good one, but what the hell were you thinking with this one?”  He scribbled through another name.

Jared glanced around Drew at me.  “What the hell?” he mouthed to me, pointing at Drew.  I shrugged my shoulders un
sure what to do.  Drew was over-reacting.  Neanderthal was hard at work today, and I wasn’t sure why.

Furious, Olivia threw herself onto the sofa.  She crossed her arms like a petulant child, as she watched Drew looking through our selections.

“Drew, I think McKenzie and I have this under control.  You should really spend the day with your
girlfriend
,” Jared emphasized.

“By the looks of this horrific list, you don’t have anything under control,” Drew snapped.  “Olivia and I will join you.”

“No, we won’t.  There’s no way I’m spending my Saturday apartment hunting with them,” Olivia protested.

Drew’s eyes darted up to her.  His jaw set in a straight line.  “You can stay here if you like, but I’m going.” 

“Andy, that’s not necessary.  Jared and I have this under control.  You stay here with Liv,” I countered.

Olivia’s eyes cut, her thin nose flared in fury.  “Yeah,
Andy
, listen to her,” she snapped. 

Drew ignored Olivia’s snide comment.  He had a one-track
mind and her childishness didn’t make the list.  “I’m going and that’s final.”  He hopped up and dusted off his slacks.  “I think this’ll be a good start, but I have a few more in mind.  I’ll call Holly and have her retrieve my list from my computer.  It shouldn’t take her long at all.”

Quick as a flash, Drew’s cell phone appeared in his hand.  He dialed a number and strode into the kitchen.

Fumes poured from Olivia’s ears.  “Fix this,” she hissed at me.

“I hate to say this, but Ol
ivia’s right.  He doesn’t need to go,” Jared argued.

“What am I supposed to do?” I demanded.  “You see how he is.”

“This is why I told him to come over after I called.”

“Because you knew he would react this way?” Jared inquired.

Olivia clamped her mouth shut, ignoring Jared’s question.

“Look, I’ll tell him he can’t go,” I sighed, defeated. 

“And you think telling me I can’t do something will stop me?” The sound of Drew’s voice startled me.  I fell backward, landing against his legs.

“Really, Drew, you need to enjoy your day with Liv,” I reiterated, pulling myself back up to my knees.

Drew knelt down beside me.  I opened my mouth to argue with him, but his large hand pressed against my lips.  “Don’t try to argue with me, Mickie.  Remember, I make my living arguing, and I’m not accustomed to losing.  Just do as I say.”

His fingers slid across my lips, tugging my bottom lip as his hand disappeared from my mouth.  Sparks of heat ignited within me and I could only pray the amount of heat I felt in my face wasn’t also reflected there.

Drew lifted to his feet in a gracious stance and offered me his hand. I eyed him askance.  He produced a lopsided grin, easing some of the anxiety.  I took his hand, allowing him to lift me off the floor.  “You coming, Jared, or am I taking her like we originally planned?” he asked. 

Jared bounced off the floor.  “I promised McKenzie I’d help, and I
plan on doing just that,” he growled.

The vein in Drew’s forehead had disappeared and the soft crinkles around his eyes had returned to their rightful place.  All was peaceful again…well, almost.  Olivia remained on the sofa, seething.  Drew cocked his head and asked, “Are you certain you don’t want to join us?”

“Positive,” Olivia maintained.

Drew shrugged.  “Have it your way.  We’ll be back later.”