Page 9 of Don't Lie to Me

I nodded, but stayed silent, afraid my voice would show how much it hurt to hear. I knew Jack enough to know that once he made up his mind, he never went back on his decision. If he thought kissing me was a mistake, nothing I could say would change his mind.

I bent down to pick up the keys that dropped on the floor during our kiss and slowly raised my eyes to his when I stood back up.

“Thanks for the ride home,” I said solemnly. Turning my back to him, I put the key in the door. Just as I heard the familiar click of the door unlocking, Jack’s large hand covered mine.

“Tell me you’re okay with this. I don’t want this to make your job uncomfortable Emma.” I blinked my eyes tightly together; feeling like a cold drink of water was just splashed all over me. Of course he’d be concerned about work right now. I suddenly felt incredibly stupid for even thinking he was interested in me.

I looked back to him, only to be shocked to see a look of sadness fill his features. “It’s fine, Jack. I’ll see you Monday.”

He nodded once. “Just like normal?”

I blinked, his words shocking me even though I shouldn’t have been surprised. Slowly, as I processed what he said, I pursed my lips together. I wanted to either yell at him or smack him, but knew nothing would change what had just happened in the hall. “Like normal,” I replied and then opened the door without another word.

I made it inside the apartment and shut my door before sinking to the floor, resting my head against the wall. There wasn’t going to be anything normal at all about showing up to work on Monday and I knew it. I had just had a taste of Jack, something I had wanted for years. And it would be my last.

THREE

I moaned in pain when the shrill beeping of my alarm clock woke me up first thing on Sunday morning. My head felt like it was going to explode and even though I had brushed my teeth severely before crashing into bed the night before, my mouth felt like I had slept with a handful of cotton balls in it. I needed water desperately. And ibuprofen. And coffee. Definitely coffee.

Slowly getting up, I dressed in the pair of yoga pants I wished I could have stayed home and worn the night before and made my way to the kitchen for some much needed hangover relief. The delicious smell of coffee permeated the air and I smiled, knowing Macy was already awake.

I had cringed the night before when I saw her huddled up on my couch sleeping peacefully underneath a quilt my mom had made me for my high school graduation. It was old and tattered after years of use, and Macy’s small body barely fit under it, but she was sleeping so deeply I didn’t want to wake her up to send her home. I also didn’t wake her up because I wasn’t nearly ready to explain why I was getting home so late from my date with Dean.

I smiled just thinking about him, doing whatever I could to avoid thinking of the clusterfuck that had occurred between Jack and me. I also knew, as I hit the kitchen and saw Macy look at me expectantly, that my time of avoidance was now up. I couldn’t hide it from her either. Years of trying to hide things from Macy had taught me that she always knew when I was lying. I completely sucked at it.

“So….” She started with a wiggling of her eyebrows. “I take it you charmed the pants off Dean, after all. How was he?”

I snorted and teasingly pushed her out of my way on my way to the coffee pot. She should know better than to try to get any form of conversation out of me before my first hit of caffeine.

She grew more aggravated by the moment as I slowly, poured my coffee, walked to my chair, pulled it out, and sat down, making the entire process take five times longer than normal. It was only then that I took the first, long, lingering sip of coffee. Macy was a half second away from exploding in frustration as I tortured her with my slowness. I bit back a smile when she slammed her hand on my kitchen table.

She narrowed her chocolate brown eyes at me. “You have two seconds to start talking before I call Dean and get the story from him.”

I chuckled. Dean would have no idea why I was out so late.

“Dean and I decided after dinner that we felt more like brother and sister than anything more.”

Her face fell in shock. “Seriously? He was perfect for you.”

I shrugged and took another sip of the coffee letting it warm me and wake me up at the same time. “There was no chemistry and we both knew it.”

“That was a really long dinner for you guys to not have any chemistry.”

I exhaled slowly, wanting to prolong the moment where I told her the truth but desperately wanting to run from it. I set my coffee cup down and pinched the bridge of my nose with my thumb and finger. I wanted to erase the part that happened after dinner with Dean and just completely forget I had run into Jack at all. I didn’t want the reminder of how horrible the night had ended, and how I felt like a fool when I had closed the door to my apartment. I looked over at the door, wanting to erase everything but knowing I couldn’t, before looking back at the irritated little squirt sitting across from me.

Her fingers impatiently tapped the top of my table.

“We ran into Jack as we were leaving dinner and he invited me for a drink.”

She was a stuttering, fumbling mess when she finally found her voice. “You…Jack…drinks?”

I laughed softly and did the best I could to dismiss the thoughts I knew were running rampant in her mind. She knew what kind of torch I carried for him. I tried to hide my embarrassment from her, knowing if she looked too closely she could probably still see how swollen my lips were from the scorching kiss he gave me when he plastered me up against the hallway wall.

“It was just a few drinks, no big deal.”

She didn’t believe me. I didn’t realize I was actually touching my lips until she gasped and stared at me like she’d just solved the global warming crisis. Pure exaltation filled her face as she started wagging her fingers at me. “You kissed him!”

I cringed and looked at Logan’s door, hoping her loudness wouldn’t wake him up. I knew he was too young, but the last thing I ever wanted him hearing about was his mom’s sexual escapades….not that there’d been any recently to share.

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