Page 72 of Loving the Liar

“Seriously?” I step in. But Wren is already standing up, huffing as if Peach is a piece of work, not Achilles.

“Not your woman.” She takes a step back. “I will punch you, Wren,” she hisses.

Yeah, I don’t think that matters. He’s already grabbing her by the back of the neck, dragging her out of the room. Neither me nor Alex interrupts them because we know Peach doesn’t want us to. We stay out of everything that includes Wren. I think she’s too confused herself for us to get involved.

“You three are straight-up assholes,” I announce through gritted teeth.

“One of you is already getting taught a lesson,” Chris purrs. “Do you want to be next?”

“You—”

“Okay, can we take it down a notch, please?” Alex finally says, her tone calming me down with just a few words. “We’re all friends here. There’s no need to act that way toward each other.” She pauses, to give us all a second, then softly adds, “Hi, Chris. It’s nice to have you back in Stoneview.”

She says Stoneview despite currently being in Silver Falls because we’re all Stoneview kids, and that’s just how we refer to our base.

He politely returns her sentiment, asking about her, but his gaze won’t leave me.

Unable to take the whiskey swirling in his mischievous eyes, I look down at my shorts, my eyes fixating on where my skin itches. I’m dying to dig my nails in the flesh. I want to scratch so badly I feel my nerves tingling.

When I get out of my own thoughts, I look up to the rest of the group. And while Alex and Achilles are now sitting on the same sofa, talking about the Xi Ep party tonight, I find Chris still staring at me. And once Wren and Peach come back, sharing a sofa too, I’m the only one left standing. They’ve got everything needed to make margaritas, and Peach slides to the floor between Wren’s legs, starting to cut some limes.

“Whatever, Els. The assholes aren’t going anywhere.” She blows on a strand of red hair that’s escaped her ponytail. “Just take a seat and get drunk.”

I look around the room, knowing I don’t have much of a choice as to where I should sit.

“I’m only going to sit next to you because it’s the last option,” I tell Chris. “Don’t get any ideas.”

He pinches his lips, clearly stopping himself from smiling. “I would never.”

I wish I could say I feel awkward as I sit down on the sofa and he wraps an arm around my waist to pull me closer to him. But I don’t. No, all I feel are butterflies erupting in my stomach as I keep my eyes on Peach’s hands while she pours alcohol in a shaker.

I startle when Chris murmurs in my ear. “Feel free to follow Peach’s example and kneel between my legs, Sweets.”

“Fuck you,” I whisper-hiss.

His soft laugh tickles my neck, making me shiver with pleasure. Sweet orange and cedar wood surrounds me, and I almost feel dizzy from it. “Don’t say fuck you to me. And if you don’t want to kneel here, that’s okay. I can always make you at the temple.”

A band tightens around my lower belly, and I squirm on the soft cushion. I seriously need to stop my body from reacting to him. I’m just not sure how to do that.

Thankfully, I have a best friend who catches our exchange, and her annoyed voice brings me back to reality.

“Ella Marjorie Baker, you better not be sleeping with your ex.”

That’s a good wake-up call. I try to push Chris’s hand away, but he doesn’t let me. Of course he doesn’t. That gigantic hand tightens its grip on my side, making me feel like he could crush me as he delicately pulls me closer. It’s always slow and steady when an anaconda swallows you.

“At least she’s sleeping with someone,” Wren mocks, pulling at Peach’s ponytail from behind. “How’s celibacy?”

“Unwanted celibacy,” she snaps. “I don’t know why everyone’s put me on some sort of blacklist.” Looking over her shoulder, she narrows her eyes at him. “But don’t you worry, I’ll get to the bottom of it.” She mixes everything in the shaker. “Maybe at the Xi Ep party tonight. Who’s ready to pregame?”

I throw my head back, the mention of our sorority already stressing me out.

“I should probably avoid parties until the cheer team stops trying to rally everyone against me.”

“So, you’re never partying again?” Alex chuckles.

“I’m still part of the team, and I’ll make it stop,” Peach interjects. “Who cares about the mean cheerleaders when you have such a nice one by your side?”

“You’re the only one who defended me. Fuck, if you hadn’t texted me about the new group chat they created to vote me out, I would have showed up to practice and been humiliated in front of everyone. I don’t want to see those bitches.”

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