Page 70 of Little Lies

“Let’s go, let’s go.” Nathan rushed her forward from behind by waving his arms and forcing her to move. She had no choice but gave Sandy one more polite smile over her shoulder.

Nathan guided her into his room and hastily shut the door. Her smile dropped and she turned to him. “What’s the rush?”

“I forgot to tell you my mom is really touchy.”

“It’s fine. I have to get used to it sometime.”

“But you don’t like it.”

“Yeah, I know,” she shrugged. “But I can excuse her since I’m practically her daughter now.”

Nathan groaned and crossed the room to his desk, where he’d laid out all his supplies neatly. “That’s exactly what I was trying to prevent. Now she’s going to get too attached to you. Pretty soon you’ll have no choice but to stay with me, angel.”

Nathan opened his notebook, unfazed by what he’d just said, but Tully was stuck in place. He said it like a joke, with that same tone he used to tease her, but for some reason, her chest was unable to differentiate what her head already knew.

He wasn’t serious. His jokes were equitable to flirting—she knew that—there just seemed to be a disconnect in her mind. His kiss at the bowling alley didnothelp.

Her ‘Love Struck Tully’ character in this act was a little hard to ignore when they weren’t acting.

Fake love-struck Tully’s heart fluttered when Nathan said things like that. Real Tully rolled her eyes and dropped her bag next to the seat Nathan set up for her by the desk. “Until we get that C up to an A, I’m not going anywhere.”

“That is what I like to hear.” He flipped open the physics notes Tully lent him and dove into Newton’s Laws of Motion.

* * *

“I need a break.” Nathan stopped her mid-sentence and stood up to stretch his arms over his head. His shirt rode up a little, exposing the lower part of his stomach over the hem of his pants.

Tully averted her eyes to the digital clock on his bedside table. “Sure.”

They’d been at it for a few minutes shy of an hour and a half. Nathan’s studying stamina impressed her. For a guy who did very little of it, he was surprisingly resilient in the face of her admittedly intense tactics.

“I’m going to the restroom. Be back in a bit,” he said and left the room, closing the door lightly behind him.

Tully leaned back in her chair and exhaled. It was nice to have a moment to herself that she could stretch her arms and get some of her own studying done. The exam next Friday had been looming over her more than other classes, requiring her to give it special attention. She was no half-asser who did just enough to pass. The thought of getting anything less than a ninety-five on that exam and risking her A status was unbearable.

She’d managed to flick to her current materials right when there was a tap on the door.

“Knock, knock. Coming in.” Sandy peeked her head in, grinning. “Oh, Tully! Where’s Nathan?”

“He went to the bathroom.”

“Well, if you kids are hungry, I have some country-fried steak waiting to be eaten. Rodger is out of town, so we have plenty extra for you. I’d love for you to join us.”

Polite denial was her first instinct. This was Nathan’srealhome, hisrealmom, with arealhome-cooked meal down in the kitchen. Tully was just a fake girlfriend.

But shewashungry, and shewasa real tutor.

And Sandy wasreallynice to her. If she chose what her real desire would be, it would be to say yes and sit down at a table and eat a nice home-cooked meal instead of driving home and eating leftovers—if there were any.

For a brief, fleeting, minuscule second, she wished it wasallreal.

“I would love that.”

Sandy perked up tall, her face brightening, “Lovely! Have Nathan come down with you when he’s finished. Be quick though, it’s going to get cold.”

She shut the door and disappeared.

Tully closed her notebook and slid it back into her bag. Her exam could wait when she had country fried steak waiting for her.

---