Page 50 of Sinful Little Lies

I wrap my arm around her shoulder and we walk to her house making small talk and cracking jokes. One thing that surprised me about Verena is how fucking goofy she is. I thought I was a jokester, she’s a goddamn clown. Sometimes the most outlandish shit comes out of her mouth, and it’s even better when she’s stoned. It’s perfect.

She’s perfect and she’s perfect for me.

My heart flutters once again at my reality and I don’t think there will ever be a moment in time where I’m not absolutely smitten by her. Cupid didn’t just shoot the arrow, he dug that thing deep into my chest, piercing my heart and staking Verena’s claim.

I have no problem with that at all. I belong to her just as she belongs to me.

Back at the house,I get Flame ready for a walk and Verena rolls up a joint. We walk around campus and watch as students dispersed, leaving in cars or on foot to the campus bus stop. Verena doesn’t usually go home for holidays. She said her relationship with her parents isn’t the best and the rest of her family is in Puerto Rico. But since she never had the job she told me she was working due to Leo’s dictatorship, she didn’t have any money saved up to go and see her family. Staying at Blackwood was her only option.

My reasoning was plain and simple. I couldn’t stand to be around Greer for more than an hour at most and even that was pushing it. To my knowledge, he still lives at home and I never wanted to subject myself to that for three days let alone three weeks. It was easier to stay away and I was never really alone.

Emmett and Eli aren’t running back home to their fucked up families either. It’s all super complicated for us.

Verena and I finish the joint before walking back to her place. Verena showers extends the invitation to me. I follow her into the bathroom and help her undress, placing kisses along her body from top to bottom. Her skin pebbles under my touch and she melts into my arms.

I lick a trail up her skin from her shoulder to her earlobe and bite gently. She gasps and throws her head back onto my chest. I tangle my fingers in her hair and tighten my grip a smidge. The sweetest moan slips from her mouth and I bring my lips down tohers. Kissing her feels like my every wish and want in this world has been granted. I want to worship her body every single day until I die. But even the afterlife won’t keep us apart. I’ll make sure of it.

“How do you feel about me wearing your blood around my neck?” I whisper in her ear. If she couldn’t feel the pounding of my heart against her back, I’d be genuinely surprised. Her body stiffens against mine and I’m nervous I said the wrong thing, or brought it up too soon.

Verena turns around to face me and presses her hands against my chest. Her eyes lock with mine and my heart can’t handle how fucking beautiful she is. The water runs down her back, soaking her dark hair. Her usual siren eyes compliment her cutthroat attitude but right now her bare face resembles that of an angel and those big brown orbs shine with innocence. The most breathtaking smile forms across her lips and she nods her head, “I’d like that very much.”

The raging organ in my chest settles to a steady beat once again, relieved that she said yes.

Afterthoroughlycleaning Verena with my tongue and then with soap and water, we hop out of the shower and into bed. Verena’s wearing my shirt, I’m in boxers, and we’re snuggled under her blankets with Flame lying comfortably at our feet.

Verena starts up a horror movie but turns to face me, “How long have you had Flame?” she asks, reaching over to grab Flame by the belly and moves her closer to us.

I smile thinking about that fateful day. “I found her right after graduation. One night, I was driving home from work and it was really foggy. I saw something moving on the side of the road and thought it was a wild animal that needed help. After slowing down, our eyes locked and I opened my passenger door. She hopped in without a peep and curled her body into a ball, staring at me the entire drive home. She’s been with me ever since.”

Flame’s tail pops up and begins to wag as if she knows I’m recounting our first moments. “A few months later, I took her on a walk and ran into her previous owner. The family had a young daughter and they were celebrating her birthday with a party in full-swing in their backyard. A bear had come through the yard and this brave little girl got lost chasing it out and away from the party. I’m telling you, she’s a warrior through and through, like you.” I wink and squeeze Verena’s fingers with one hand, while rubbing Flame with my other.

“They didn’t ask to bring her back home?” She questions, her eyes widening at the prospect of anyone leaving Flame behind.

“Not really, no. Flame wasn’t her name, but it’s my name for her. They called her Junebug.” I respond and when Verena hears the name, she bursts into laughter.

“I can totally see it, but I think lame suits her perfectly.” She raises her voice an octave and bends down closer to Flame, “Can I call you Junebug?” Flame responds by licking her nose and Verena giggles.

“DId you grow up with any pets?” I ask, eager to know more about her. Dying to knoweverythingabout her.

She nods but her smile fades. “None growing up, but in my senior year of high school my great-grandmother passed away. She had a beautiful white pitbull named Mística. Her husband wouldn’t let the dog in the house and she didn’t have a dog bed, so she slept on a birdbath in their backyard. When she died, her husband didn’t want the dog or the house or anything she had left behind.”

I blow out a breath at the bullet that dog dodged by someone like Verena having her on her radar. “So you took her in?” I ask, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Yeah. I begged my parents and promised they wouldn’t have to lift a finger for her. In Puerto Rico, it’s common for owners to let their dogs out beyond the gate. They become strays andface so much hunger and cruelty. I didn’t want that for her and I knew my great-grandmother wouldn’t have wanted that for her either. It’s inhumane.”

Sighing, she continues, “I couldn’t bring her with me to Blackwood because they only allowed service animals at the time, and my parents held me to my promise of them not doing a single thing for her. I brought her to a nearby shelter. I told her I’d visit her as much as I could, but then I started dating Leo and he made that impossible.” A tear forms in her eye and slides down her cheek. I catch it with my thumb and stroke her face. “I haven’t seen her in so long and I don’t even know if she’s still there. I just hope wherever she is, she’s happy and healthy.”

My heart sinks and I realize at that moment, my plans for this semester break are changing. “Maybe we can find her? Bring her home? I’m sure Flame would love to have a friend. I’m so thankful you offered to house her here. One less reason to go to my dad’s.”

“Does your dad know about your feud with Greer?” She changes the topic, tears still lining her eyes.

I shrug, “Yes and no. He knows about the small things. Greer used to pull pranks on me almost everyday. One day it’d be pantsing me at school, the next it’d be leaving a plate of peanut butter right outside my door first thing in the morning. I can’t tell how many times I’ve had to wash peanut butter off of my feet at seven in the morning.” I chuckle and pull her into me so her head rests on my chest.

“But as we got older, the pranks became a bit more ruthless. Greer cut the breaks on my first car and it almost ended with me driving off of a cliff nearby my dad’s place. The night of my high school graduation, I got a text from my mom, but in reality it was Greer posing as her. I hadn’t seen or heard from my mom in years and I had tried to reach her for months prior to my graduation to give her an invite. It was all I wanted from her. Toshow up. To prove to me that I wasn’t easy to forget about. I was her first born, afterall. So when I got a text from her saying she changed her number and was ecstatic to see me walk across the stage, I was beyond fucking happy. Long story short, she didn’t come because Greer was fucking with me.” My tone sharpens at the end of my recountment.

Verena tilts her head to look at me, “You never told your dad?” I shake my head no but don’t say a word. “Why?”

Blowing out a breath, I toss my head back, “I don’t know. Seemed like more trouble than I cared to be involved in. I thought keeping my head down and staying out of his way was enough, but clearly it wasn’t and still isn’t. But all I have there is a room with a cold bed. Flame was my last tie. I love my dad, but his house isn’t somewhere I’m welcome and that’s okay. I can love him out in the open.” I end with a laugh.

---