Page 72 of Lie for a Lie

I must have moaned because I can feel Seth kissing my forehead gently. I open my eyes and realize we are alone in the tent, and Seth is turned on by whatever sounds I have made.

Registering him lifting my shirt takes me a minute, and I feed into it. I need some sort of release. I pull off my hoodie as he pulls off everything else. He is inside me before I realize it, and I rock my hips. I have to bite my stitches to fight the urge to moan Graham’s name.

I kiss Seth and pour every bit of my frustration into it. I bite his lip hard, and he pulls away, startled and stilling. His lip is bleeding slightly, and I stare at him in disappointment. He pulls out of me before pulling his pants back on.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Nothing.”

I hiss as he begins to climb out of the bed.

“You never kiss me like that.”

I let out a scoff, and he lingers another moment. I decide I am over this morning already. Over this place and, most of all, over him.

“What was the deal with you and Katherine last night?”

“I could ask you the same thing, Paige.”

I can feel myself grind my teeth as Seth doesn’t seem interested in any further conversation and storming off out of the tent. I lay back down in the tent and try calming my racing head.

“I need a giant cup of coffee.”

I groan because I feel like shit and miss Graham. I hate myself for it a little bit and whine before flopping myself back down on the air mattress.

Once Bre and Chris return to camp with all their equipment, like doe-eyed lovesick teenagers, I am officially ready to go home. As much as I have enjoyed this little trip, I have some stuff to process away from both Graham and Seth.

I grab my stuff, not bothering to talk to anyone, as the boys finish packing up the camp. Katherine is sitting in the boat, and I let out an annoyed sigh. She looks up from whatever she has in her lap and fakes a smile. I return it with my fake smile that causes her to laugh.

Even though the swelling has gone down on my lip, I know it’s a deep shade of purple and hurts like hell. She pats the seat beside her, and I plop down in defeat. I can now see the magazine she was flipping through, and I nod towards it.

“Any good gossip?” I pull my hat out of my bag and pull my long ponytail through the back. I adjust my sunglasses and can see a smirk on Katherine’s face before she answers.

“In the magazine, no. But it has been interesting here,” she says, nodding towards the boys.

Chris is cornered, and Bre heads towards us. After a few moments, she lets out a sigh before closing the magazine. I just nod because I’m not sure what to say.

“Look, I know we have a weird dynamic, but despite what it may seem like, I do love Graham, and we aren’t together. Haven’t been for a long time. My mom is sick, and living with him makes things easier dealing with that. We aren’t in love, and since meeting you, he has expressed more interest in separating permanently. It has been eating at him, and honestly, I am happy he has found someone I think may feel the same way back.”

I still don’t say anything, but Katherine has all my attention, and guilt is eating at me.

“Seth sees it too. He won’t admit it because he, for some reason, thinks he has a chance with you.”

The disappointment in Katherine’s tone is hard to miss.

“Why are you telling me this?” I ask, trying not to sound offended.

Katherine lets out a small laugh.

“I have been very shut off for a long time, and your presence has made me realize I need to work some shit out.”

I attempt to hide my surprise but failed miserably. Katherine just rolls her eyes.

“What happened between you and Graham?” I ask to under stand why she is so willing to let him go.

Katherine seems to study me for a moment before sighing.

“I’m not his person. Never was. We both wanted love so bad that I think we made up our own form of it and outgrew it.”

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