Page 7 of Sinful Little Lies

Grimm. This is his house after all, so I fully anticipated him being here. What I didn’t anticipate was seeing a replica ofmehanging on his arm. Black hair, dark eyes accentuated by thick black liner, the details are there, down to the olive skin tone. I also didn’t anticipate the jealousy that shot into my chest when I saw them together, either.

Well then, I guess I’ll be ending my night early.

Heading towards the door, I look back for a split second and his eyes catch mine. My feet stop dead in their tracks and I’m unable to move or speak, completely trapped by the hold of his gaze on mine. It feels like everyone else fades away for a moment as we stare at each other. Using the entirety of my strength, I pullmy eyes from his and continue weaving through the crowd when a strong hand catches hold of my arm.

Turning around, I see those deep, rich chocolate eyes staring back at me. Eyes that I’m instantly hypnotized by. A beautifully straight smile stretches across his lips, causing dimples to form on either side of his expression. My thighs clench at the sight and I gulp, attempting to regain at least an ounce of my composure.

Damn,he is beautiful.

“Hey V, how was your summer?” He asks. His gravelly voice is like a defibrillator, shocking my heart and sending electric currents throughout my body, reviving me. “I haven’t seen you around much. I’ve been missing you.”

Did I hear that right? He misses me?

“It was alright. I’ve just been working a lot.” I respond, unsure of how much detail to provide. That wasn’t true. Leo didn’t want me working. In his words, he has the means to take care of us, so I don’t have to lift a finger. Instead, I spent the majority of time inside his apartment reading, writing, and painting.

Don’t get me wrong, I love having so much time to focus on my craft, but at what cost? The inability to be a functioning member of society? It’s not ideal, but I know Leo loves me and wants to support me. His way of going about things isn’t as gentle as your average person, but no one is perfect and if you love someone, you need to work through those bumps together.

The last year replays through my mind in an instant and a single thought it left within the blackness follows:

How many bumps and bruises do I have to withstand until I’m truly happy with him?

An awkward silence passes between Grimm and I before he speaks. “You look like you could use a distraction. We can ditchthese losers and head upstairs. We’ll get high off our asses and no one will even notice we’re gone.”

His hand is still gripping my arm as he tugs me towards the staircase. “I don’t know. What about your…friend?” I ask, trying to not be obvious, but it’s obvious I’m definitely probing.

His smile seems to grow at my words and for a moment, I wonder if my jealousy was loud and clear. “I don’t even know her name. Won’t be seeing her again.” Grimm chuckles ascending the staircase. He slides his hand to my palm and interlaces our fingers as he guides me to his room.

The ping of my phone draws my attention and when I open the message, my heart sinks.

Leo

Trip got cut short. I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon.

My buzz is starting to wear off, causing the reality of life to seep back in, so a distraction of any kind sounds perfect.

5

GRIMM

She’s here.

I haven’t seen her at a party in months. After that night in my room a while back, I hadn’t seen or heard from her much. A head nod here, a small wave there. But none of it was enough.

She is here now and I have another chance to be with her. If I didn’t already completely fuck it up and turn her off.

Now she’s got the wrong fucking idea, seeing me with my arm draped around this girl. I was only with her because I saw a resemblance to Verena, but seeing her right here in front of me, I realize I’m a fucking idiot.

No one comes close to Verena. She’s an absolute goddess. Her long, dark hair flows down her back and I can’t help but wonder what it would feel like wrapped around my fist. Her big, brown eyes bore into mine and I’d fucking kill someone, myself included, just to change the look on her face.

Our eyes clash before she looks at the girl under my arm and pulls her gaze away. What feels like hours, passes by before she moves again. Towards the front door.

Shit.

She begins to storm out of the house and I stride through the crowded living space to catch up to her. When I do, it doesn’t take long for me to convince her to come up and smoke with me.

So far, so good.

V makesherself at home on the couch we cuddled on all those months ago. My spine stiffens as I remember I haven’t touched it since she left that next morning. Afraid it would lose the blackberry scent that lingered on her skin.

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