Page 19 of Loving the Liar

“Chris.”

A delicate smile pulls at his lips, and he hands me back my phone. Our fingers touch when I grab it, and I could swear he electrifies me.

“Are you running away from me? I’m not sure I love that.” The deep timber of his voice is graced with a tint of mockery.

I fucking hate it.

I cock an eyebrow at him, feeling some strength finally coming back. Crossing my arms over my chest to give me a semblance of protection, I look up at him, unimpressed.

“Of course I’m running away from you. The ex I hate just showed up to my class. I need a minute to process that I’m going to be seeing a lot more assholes than I anticipated this year.”

He shakes his head, chuckling, as if I’m some cute puppy yapping at his feet.

“Not a lot more. Just me.”

I lean forward, making sure he’s catching my words. “You count for about four assholes.”

“What about Matias? Kissing you in front of the whole of SFU when you told him you didn’t want to be official? How many assholes does he account for?”

“You know what? At best, you’re way too interested in a college that isn’t yours. At worst, you’re a guy stalking your ex. Either way, you’re not my problem.”

His eyebrows pull together, not liking what I just said.

“If I may correct your perspective,” he says in a low voice. “That’s my college now. And the ex? She’s mine too. So I don’t see any problem in knowing what I know.”

He’s not even touching me, but the sentence alone keeps me from moving. Like he’s got a hand around my waist and is keeping me tightly against him. He’s not. I could walk away. I don’t.

“Chris.” My voice is strained as I attempt to talk myself out of this. “You broke us up. Five years ago. You have a girlfriend.”

The second I mention Megan, his on-and-off girlfriend since he started college, I watch him tense.

“What do you want from me?” I huff.

He licks his lips and, for a second, I think he’s going to say something crazy.

His eyes say I want you back.

The heat of his body as he inches closer tells me I’ll do anything for you to be mine again.

And the way the fingers of his hand twitch says name it and it’s done.

But his words are different.

“The printout Reeves gave you in class is a case transcript. He wants you all to write a detailed essay explaining why it went to criminal court rather than civil court. That’s the homework you didn’t write down. It’ll count toward class selection in two weeks, along with the summer essay.”

Taking a step toward me, he puts his hands in the pockets of his brown pants, making sure he doesn’t touch me. He stands straight, not leaning closer, his eyes looking above my head and past me.

It doesn’t matter where he looks, whether he touches me or not. My body is already on fire from feeling his heat so close. From smelling his warm, reassuring scent. How can someone I know to be so controlling have such a comforting effect on me?

His voice is low and tempting when he says, “No need to go to his office now. We fully studied that case in my first year of law school. If you need any help, just call.”

And then he steps back, turning his back to me.

He’s almost gone by the time I catch my breath.

“Why are you here?”

He looks over his shoulder, his face suddenly falling with a sadness I don’t understand.

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