Page 97 of Devious Gambit

Lise snorted. “Where did you hear that?”

There were only two tables in the entire restaurant that were occupied, so we spoke freely.

“The KV Times’ online version,” she answered.

Lise and I quickly searched for the article on our phones to find a short piece stating that Mrs. Sweeney received a message from her son the day after Liam Greene’s death, confessing to his death. She withheld the information from police, however, when Adam’s sister found it recently, she immediately informed police. Investigations are ongoing.

“I see they still haven’t found his body,” Lise stated, suddenly backtracking, “I mean, since they found his car in the lake.”

“He could be anywhere by now,” Gretta added. “Mexico. Canada. Who knows?”

“That’s it then,” Lise announced, wiping her hands clean of it all. “Sweeney faked his own death to kill Greene, then ran off. Case closed.”

“I wonder why Sweeney would kill Liam Greene?” Gretta asked hypothetically.

I turned away from Gretta so she couldn’t read my astonished expression. My jaw seemed to be frozen in a state of shock openness and I’m certain my brow was furrowed in deep worry lines.

“It’s better than an innocent being accused of the crime,” Lise whispered out of earshot of Gretta.

“I guess.”

“Look who’s here!” Lise exclaimed, stretching her arms into the air, suddenly in a fabulous mood. Tris and Hayden were at the entrance shaking snow off their boots. Hayden had returned from Christmas in Detroit with color in his cheeks and a cute smile, directed at me.

“How about we go out tonight, the four of us,” she suggested. “Like a double date.”

I felt my cheeks burn red as I glanced at Hayden who seemed to like that idea. “What about Gretta?” I asked.

“I’m not hanging out in public with a bunch of freshmen,” she hissed jokingly.

“We won’t be freshmen forever,” I argued.

“You two go,” Gretta stated, since she was the manager on the shifts the boss didn’t work. “I’ll finish up, since it’s been so slow.”

We treaded through the thick snow, arm and arm, until we got to Hayden’s new old car, which was a gift from his mom in Detroit. We piled inside, Lise and I in the back seat and the boys in the front.

“Pardon my crassness,” Lise whispered in my ear, “but there’s a saying that you’d never find in your poetry books that says, ‘the fastest way to get over someone is to get under someone else.’ Here’s your chance.”

I was suddenly transported to a moment in the past with Mr. Ed, lying on top of me, his gorgeous face coming down on me as I lay nestled in the pillow. I immediately brushed that image aside and focused on Hayden’s blond curls and broad shoulders, his thin framed glasses only added to his charisma.

Three hours later, I found myself in bed with Hayden as he started peeling my clothes off. I was a little tipsy and he was quite a bit drunk and I thought, why the heck not?

Mr. Ed was far away where he belonged and Hayden was close. It made sense. This made sense. Except, it didn’t feel right.

I stiffened when he started stripping my bra down, kissing me everywhere. He sensed my hesitation and paused. “You’ve done this before, right?” he asked softly.

I nodded.

“With the jock?”

I really wished he hadn’t brought him up. “Yes. With the jock.” I pawed at his clothes to keep going, so he did. But it didn’t work. I just wasn’t into it. I didn’t want to disappoint Hayden, so I pretended by sighing and moaning, but it was completely fake. I really hoped Mr. Ed’s hands and big cock hadn’t destroyed me for good.

He stole my virginity and he stole my heart and I had nothing left to give.

The sex reminded me of when Mr. Ed took my virginity, the intercourse wasn’t particularly enjoyable, but Mr. Ed made up for it by going down on me. With Hayden, I faked my orgasm so it would end. I liked Hayden a lot. I liked his body and his mind, but I didn’t like being intimate with him. Maybe it’ll get better with practice. Or maybe I’d been friends with him for too long.

Hayden stayed the night in my bed and we had sex again the next morning. Again, he was the only one who enjoyed it while I merely faked my way through it.

I wondered, as Hayden was taking a shower, how many women around the world had to fake it every day. I bet millions. It just felt unfair to do it to someone I liked and respected so much. Perhaps, I was over-thinking it. Perhaps it was just hormones combined with inexperience. Perhaps I was comparing him to the only other man I’d ever had sex with. That’s the problem. I had to stop comparing his style and touch to Mr. Ed.

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