Page 20 of Veil of Lies

“So yeah,” Avery continued, hooking her arm through mine and pulling me toward the food stations. I tried not to stiffen up at the unwanted physical contact, but she didn’t seem to notice. “I’m organizing a girls’ night tonight. Mostly people who are new here, so y’all have a chance to make friends. I’d love it if you came. Doesn’t that sound fun?”

“Err…” Frankly it sounded like a fucking nightmare, but I was loathe to offend Avery any more in case she took that as a reason to do a deep dive into who I was.

“Hey, Aves, Stella has plans with me. We are heading off-campus to catch a movie.”

I spun around in surprise to see Harley smiling at me, his hands tucked into his jeans pockets. The way his white tee-shirt sculpted his chest made my mouth water. I didn’t dare look any lower than his pecs in case it triggered a spontaneous orgasm.

“Wow, I…err…well, that’s…unexpected,” Avery stuttered, her gaze flicking between the two of us in shock. I could tell she thought Harley was way out of my league and for some reason, that irritated the fuck out of me.

“Yeah, we’ve been getting to know each other in the last week,” I said, shifting closer and slipping an arm around his waist, hoping against hope he was not going to fall about laughing just to humiliate me.

“We sure have,” Harley purred, pulling me close. His hazel eyes drank me in, glasses notwithstanding, and I had an insane urge to run my fingers through his tousled blond hair. Would it feel soft and silky? Asking for a friend.

“Well, that’s great! I’m so happy Stella is making friends!” Avery looked like she still couldn’t quite believe I’d snagged one of the hottest boys on campus but was too polite to say so. Not surprising given I was a Plain Jane in my current persona. I wouldn’t have believed it either if I was her.

“I guess I should say thanks,” I muttered out of the corner of my mouth as Avery walked off.

“Just call me your Knight in Shining Armor,” Harley chuckled. “I could tell from the expression on your face when I walked in that you needed saving.”

“Yeah, I did. That girl is relentless, and a girls’ night is the very definition of hell to me.”

He pushed me toward a table in the corner of the room, still keeping me tucked into his waist. I wanted to pull away, but the magnetic connection that kept me circling the three boys in ever-decreasing circles held firm.

There was no escape.

Chapter 19

Harley

Watching Stella was my new favorite pastime. She was like a ripe tropical flower, and I was a bee, desperate for a taste of her honeyed nectar. I paused while pouring some coffee for the two of us. Was that a rather dirty analogy? Maybe. Did I care? No.

I grabbed a plate of pastries and headed back over. She was messing with her phone and frowning. At least I think she was, it was hard to tell with the cap she had pulled down over her face and those thick glasses. I much preferred her in contacts. Did that make me a shallow asshole? Probably. Did I give a fuck? No.

“Hey, gorgeous, hope you’re hungry.”

She looked up suspiciously as I dropped down into the chair next to her, placing the plate in front of her like an offering to a queen, which she was if I was being completely honest.

“Are you bullshitting me?”

“No! Why would you say that?”

“I’m not gorgeous. That’s the kind of shit fuckboys spew from their pretty lips, in the hope they’ll get laid.”

I slid my arm around the back of her chair and leaned in, enjoying the scent of her vanilla perfume way more than I should have.

“First off, you are gorgeous. Second, you seem to have a very low opinion of me, which is grossly unfair.”

“You forget we met when you stumbled out of my neighbor’s room at 5 AM, after keeping me up half the night with the noisy sex you two were having. And no, I’m not gorgeous. You must have defective eyesight.”

OK, she had a point about the way we’d met, but I hadn’t slept with anyone since that night, as my dick was currently reminding me.

“That was the old me. I’ve turned over a new leaf since then. And I beg to disagree about your looks. I’ll admit, the green hair is, ahem, unusual, but you have pretty eyes and a lovely smile on the rare occasion you show it off.” I leaned closer, whispering in her ear. “And a very fine ass.”

I was rewarded with a pink blush and a faint curve upwards of her pouty lips, which she immediately tried to hide from me by turning away.

“OK, whatever, so you’re no longer a fuckboy. That don’t impress me much.”

“Are you channeling Shania Twain now?”

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