Page 5 of The Lies Always Told

“Sorry about that. All that water went right through me,” I tell Nellie, flashing her a casual smile.

“Cut the bullshit, Gus. It’s fine. Our friends are having fun, and you and I are stuck I guess.”

“You can also go and have fun. I can watch the goofs to make sure they don’t fuck up.” The truth is, I trust them more than I trust myself when it comes to girls. We all might be promiscuous, but we’re not assholes, at least not completely. They won’t do anything without consent, and neither will I.

“Nah, I’m more interested in why you’re here than anything else. Plus, I hate this song.” She shrugs, and this is the first time I notice she’s not moving to the beat. The whole song and half I watched her earlier, she was moving to the beat effortlessly. Her body language was music in itself, matching the rhythm as if she and the song were one, but not this one. She’s perfectly still.

“I can tell.” Fuck, Gus. You couldn’t stop yourself huh?

“You can tell what?” Nellie’s eyes snap to mine, and I swear, I can see them darken as she waits for my reply. I swallow hard, trying not to think of all the ways I can make them even darker.Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

“You weren’t dancing like you were before, so I assume this song doesn’t speak to you.”

“Oh yeah? What were the other songs telling me, since you seem to know so much about me?” she replies with a smirk, not dropping my gaze.

“That’s a secret I’ll never tell.” I wink at her andnotice the waiter walking up with my drink. I grab it and place it on the table.

“That’s three that I’ve seen in what? Ten minutes? Are you going to be fine, or am I going to have to drag your ass out of here and call you an Uber?”

“This?” I hold my drink up and laugh loudly at the assumption. It’s not the first time I’ve gotten a comment on how much I drink or how well I can hold my liquor, but that’s just it: I don’t drink anymore. “Just tonic water and lime. It’s hot as fuck, so I’m trying to stay hydrated. I don’t drink.”

“Oh, sorry. I just assumed. Does it matter to you if I drink?” She truly seems concerned, worried, which makes me soften the walls I put up the minute I saw it was her. Idon’tget that question.

“If I cared, I wouldn’t be at a club, nor would I’ve sent those drinks. I don’t have a problem with alcohol. I just don’t consume it anymore.”

“Oh good,” she adds, taking a sip of her drink and swinging her gaze back to the dance floor. The song changes again, but none of our friends come back to the booth. They keep dancing and seem to be enjoying themselves. I relax on the couch; there’s absolutely no need to stay on edge when they’re having a good time.

“So tell me, Nellie. How was your birthday weekend?” I ask her, trying to have a neutral conversation and taking advantage of the moment to catch up. I kinda feel like shit I don’t know much about her anymore, so there’s no better time than the present.

“It was fine. We had fun. Drank too much, slept too little, but overall fine. I was hoping to end it with a bang tonight, so we’ll see.”

“Figuratively?” I ask, and she arches a brow at me.

“Literally.” Nellie smiles, sipping her drink without taking her eyes off me. Her gaze makes this moment so much more sensual, and my body has a visceral reaction.My fingers tingle to touch her, my mouth goes dry at the thought of kissing her, my body uneasy and ready to be near her. I’m fucked; really there’s nothing I can do other than sit here and talk to her. She sits up straighter and, like before, my eyes dart down to her chest, to her perfect cleavage, to the little clasp calling my name.

“Gus, you need to make up your mind, my guy. You either stop looking at me like that, or do something about it. Figuring out where I sit between your annoyed stare and yourready to fuckstare is getting hard to handle.”

This girl. “Are you always this honest?” I ask her,notwiping my smirk off my face.

“What’s the alternative? Act like you’re not stripping me with your eyes? Play coy? Play hard to get? Which one would you prefer?” Her eyes sparkle with mischief and confidence, and her posture reflects it too.

“I would prefer to ignore the fact that Cara’s little sister is making me think those thoughts.”

“I’m more than Cara’s little sister, but you would never know, since you really don’t know me.” I don’t. She’s right. She seems hurt, and I try to rectify that.

“No offense, Nellie, but I never thought getting to know you like this was an option.”

“It’s an option now. How about we start over?” she clarifies, letting go of the glass with her right hand and offering it to me. “Nellie Thompson, nice to meet you.”

I could ignore it. I could wish her a good night and head back to the hotel. At this point, anything I wanted to do tonight has been soured by the past thirty minutes. I could do the right thing and say no. But with her looking at me like that, like I hold all the answers to her prayers, it makes me wonder if that’s the case. So fuck it, let’s find out.

“Hi, Nellie. Augusto Zabana, but please call me Gus. Nice to meet you too.” I take her delicate hand and notice how small and slim it is compared to mine. I may be an office guy,but my rough hands would say otherwise. Living my life to the fullest includes sailing and rock climbing, hardening my hands.

“What’s your drink of choice, Gus, if you’re not an alcohol consumer?” Out of all the questions she could’ve asked, she chose one nobody has ever asked before. People always assume I’m either an alcoholic or that I just drink soda all the time. She seems genuine, though, and I would love nothing more than to answer her honestly.

“In the morning, tea. In the afternoon, water. When I’m out and about, tonic water with lime, and before going to bed, tart cherry juice.”

Her eyes widen before she asks, “Tart cherry juice?”

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