Page 41 of Truck Off

I’m not asking. I know the truth and there’s nothing he can say that will change that.

He steps closer to me, effectively pinning me against my car. He lifts his hands and cups my cheek. My brain is screaming at me to push him away, but my body betrays me. Every ounce of my being wants him close.

Everything happens so fast, and his lips are against mine before it registers what he’s doing. And just like after our date, I melt into him. I’m powerless to pull away, even though I know I should. I want his lips and his hands and his touch.

His tongue darts out and licks the seam of my mouth, and my lips part. He’s soft and gentle and yet demanding of what he wants. And I let him take it.

When our tongues tangle, my legs wobble and my body goes limp. I’ve kissed plenty of men in my life and no one has ever made me feel like this. This is not normal.

But this is also not Christian. That realization is enough to finally give my brain the strength to take back control of my body. I press my hands against Chase’s chest and push hard.

He stumbles back, looking just as surprised as me from that kiss. He feels exactly what I feel, and that pisses me off even more. I don’t want to feel anything where Chase Mutter is concerned.

“I told you to never lie to me!” I yell, not caring that we have an audience. Clara and the others are standing just outside the door, watching us.

“I didn’t lie. Not really.”

“I’d say tricking me into going out with you instead of your twin is the very definition of a lie.”

“I didn’t lie!” He yells. “I just didn’t correct you when you called me Christian. I never once said that I was him.”

“You are not getting off on a fucking technicality. That’s still a lie, Chase.” I say his name with so much venom that he stumbles back. “How could you do this?”

“How could I?” He has the audacity to look mad, and that only feeds my anger more. “Fuck, Lina. How could I not, is more like it? When I asked you out, I thought you knew it was me. Me!” He pokes himself in the chest. “I was on top of the world with that answer. I’ve wanted to ask you out for so long, and for the first time since I’ve known you, you showed a fucking interest. In me. And then you called me Christian. Talk about a slap in the face.”

“You should have corrected me.”

“Yeah, I should have. Not going to deny that I made the wrong decision. But then what? Would you have canceled?”

“I guess you’ll never know.”

He sighs and runs his hands through his hair. “I was going to tell you.”

“When?” I cross my arms over my chest like that’s somehow going to protect me from his closeness.

“I don’t know. I hadn’t quite worked that out yet.”

“Well now it doesn’t matter.” I reach for my door handle to leave, but he stops me.

“Lina, please.” He pleads. “Don’t walk away from this. There’s something between us. I know you feel it. Don’t you want to see where this could go?”

“I did. Now I want you to leave me alone and never speak to me again.”

“I’m sorry. I made a mistake.” The hurt in his eyes causes my throat to tighten. No man has ever looked at me like that. It’s almost enough to deflate my anger, but not quite.

“Yep, you sure did. And now we’ll never know what could have been. From this moment forward, you and I are enemies.”

I don’t give him a chance to say anything else. I hop in my car, and thank fuck, she starts on the first try. I drive off, but like a fool, I look back.

He shoves his hands in his hair and tugs at the ends like he’s frustrated. I even think he curses as he watches me drive away.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone look so dejected in all my life. But right now, I can’t bring myself to care. Chase Mutter committed the worst possible crime against me.

He lied.

Chapter 10

It’s all fun and games until it’s not

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