Page 38 of Liar
I read between the lines. “You want to ask Ash out?”
“Yeah, I mean, of course I do.” Sawyer sighed again. “Travis is fine with it. I just…I fucked you over, and I know Will hates me for it. I know you do too, and I don’t blame you.” He waited a moment before saying, “If it’s not cool with you, I won’t do it. Same with Will.” That last sentence came out quite bitter.
I believed him when he said he wouldn’t do it if I wasn’t okay with it, but I knew he’d forever want to. He craved Ash just as badly as I did, as Travis and Will did, and unlike us, he wasn’t with her. He could only watch her, talk to her, never touch her. If he was lucky, he received a smile from her. A laugh. A tease, but that’s it.
“I want Ash to be happy,” I told him quietly, hearing the bathroom down the hall creak open. “I’ll talk to Will later.”
By the time Ash came back, Sawyer acted as if nothing was wrong. As if he hadn’t just asked my permission to ask her out. Did feel a little ridiculous, but seeing as how she was my girlfriend, both her and I—and everyone else involved in this strange, bizarre relationship—had to approve.
Ash moved around me, nestling beside me on the floor between Sawyer and I.
“How was the bathroom?” Sawyer asked with a smirk.
She shot him a look. “You want a play-by-play? I’ll give you one, but I don’t think you’ll like hearing the details.”
“I’ll listen to anything you tell me, as long as you whisper it in my ear in that breathy voice—”
“I do not have a breathy voice,” Ash growled out. The bickering was more like banter between her and Sawyer, and I knew it was their way of flirting. It made me a bit uncomfortable at first, but now…well, I wasn’t exactly used to it, but I was getting there.
Sawyer shot back, “I’m sure Declan can attest to it. And I don’t know why you’re denying it. I did hear you guys go at it before. I might’ve been going through withdrawals, but going through withdrawals doesn’t make me deaf.”
Heat crept to my cheeks, and I watched as Ash shot Sawyer a frown. “I’m going to kill you, Sawyer.”
“Are you? Will you at least do it while naked so I can get one look at you before I die?” He shrugged. “Just figured I’d ask, since I’m pretty sure I’m the only guy at Hillcrest who hasn’t seen you naked—”
Ash was about to lunge at him—literally lunge at him, her fingers spread as if she had claws on her hands, wanting to strangle him—but it was at that opportune moment someone rang the doorbell.
Because we kept things locked around here now, not that a lock could keep a psychopath out.
“I’ll get it,” Sawyer quipped, leaping up to avoid Ash’s outstretched hands.
As I watched Sawyer go, as Ash settled beside me, fuming, my mind flashed back. Ray, coming in here, trying to turn Ash to his side, to get her to shoot me, to test her loyalty, her love. Making me restrain myself.
I didn’t like being so helpless, and that…that had been one of the most helpless moments of my life. Well, that and when I—
Travis walked in with Sawyer, Sawyer saying, “I mean, how many times have you seen her naked? I think it’s only fair…” He stopped when they emerged into the living room, and he gave Ash a smile. “I was just catching Trav up. He thinks you should kill me while naked, too.”
“I somehow doubt he agreed to that,” Ash spoke dryly, giving them both a look before getting up and walking to Travis. She flipped Sawyer off and then did what she did next to make him jealous, I think: she wrapped an arm around Travis’s neck, pulled his lips down to hers, and gave him the hottest, hardest kiss I’d ever seen.
And then, of course, my mind went back to what we did that day in our dorm room, and my whole body heated up. I had to look away, lest I start to grow a hard-on I didn’t want either of them to see.
“I’m sorry, were you saying something?” Ash asked once she pulled off of Travis, giving Sawyer a grin. The smugness had effectively vanished from Sawyer and went into her, because the look she gave him told him she knew how easily she towered over him.
“Not cool,” Sawyer muttered unhappily, slowly moving around to the couch again, this time sprawling out on every single cushion. If someone wanted on it, they’d have to either sit on him or move him aside.
“Pouting now?” Ash asked with a mock frown as Travis disappeared into the kitchen to get something to drink. He’d already taken off his jacket.
“I can’t help it. I’m hungry.”
“I believe the correct term is hangry,” Ash said, sitting beside me. “Though usually that term refers to a woman, not a…well, not a you.”
I got out my phone, saying, “I’ll text Will and see if he’s on his way. I’m sure if you order pizza, he’ll be here when it gets here.” I wasn’t sure about that, but if it would shut Sawyer up, I was all for it.
“All right,” Sawyer said, staring at the ceiling as he proceeded to do so, “but if Will is grouchy, I’m blaming you.”
“Will is always grouchy when he’s with you,” Travis muttered, swatting aside Sawyer’s legs as he sat himself down on the couch.
It was…a strangely relaxed environment. Sawyer and Travis were getting along, Ash was beside me, making snide remarks to both of them, and I was texting Will. It actually felt like this…this could be it. This could be us. This could be how we hung out every Friday for the next few years.
