Page 23 of Lies Like Love

A seemingly innocent comment, when really, he’s trying to get under my skin so he can get information.

“You can forget her name.” I don’t like hearing it out of his mouth anyway, even if he is my best friend.

There’s a reason I’ve never mentioned Fel to him. She’s the single point in the universe where every regret I have lives. It’s hard enough to survive with that buried inside me, much less having to relive it for his entertainment.

“I don’t know…” Sage tips his head back and closes his eyes. He’s pretending to think hard, but he’s smiling wide like the dick he is. “She was pretty unforgettable. Besides, you fucked my sister. It’s only fair.”

Circling the chair in the center of the room, I stop in front of him and punch my fist into the wall beside his head. But he doesn’t so much as flinch. “She’s not my fucking sister. And she’s off-limits.”

“Understood.” Sage smirks because he got the reaction he was looking for.

Dick.

Besides, Sage knows I didn’t actually fuck his sister. It was a kiss during a stupid game of truth or dare and didn’t mean shit. We were all rolling so hard that night I don’t even remember it. But he’s taunting me because he’s the master of uncovering people’s weaknesses. Something Fel is, whether I like it or not.

“Seriously, man.” Sage lifts off the doorframe and walks into the room, taking a seat on a chair in the corner. “Why haven’t you ever mentioned her?”

This is not the conversation I want to have right now—or ever.

Even if I’ve kept close tabs on Fel for the past eleven years, I’ve been careful not to let anyone in on that secret. She was a past never meant to actually come full circle.

And now she’s everywhere. Showing up at my shop, showing up at my fight.

The second I saw her climb the steps in short shorts and a bikini top, I almost murdered everyone in the room for daring to so much as look at her. No one is allowed to see her like that.

Especially me.

Fuck.

“I told you my dad was married once.” I shrug, trying to play it off like I haven’t purposely hidden Fel away from my best friend like some damn secret that needs protecting.

“It’s about what you failed to tell me, Jude. And you fucking know it. What’s the deal with you and that girl? Don’t think I didn’t see that shit you pulled in the ring. You could have won in the first round against that douche.”

“I was in the mood to let out some aggression.” I take a drink of my coffee and it immediately burns my tongue.

“Aggressionwould have been three rounds.” Sage glares. “You did that shit just to make her watch.”

Fucking Sage, always seeing through all my shit.

“You don’t need to worry about what I make her watch.”

Sage takes another sip of his coffee. “Jude, we’ve been friends for a decade, and I’ve let you in on some dark shit. Demons from my past I don’t share with anyone.”

I swallow hard, because he has, and I’m being an asshole for not doing the same, but all my rules go out the window when it comes to Fel, even my brotherhood with Sage.

“I’m here if you need to talk, just remember that.”

“I will.”

He tips his chin up. “Good.”

Taking another sip of my coffee, silence chokes the room.

I want this to be enough. For last night to be a closed door. For her to actually listen to me for once, so we can continue pretending we aren’t embedded in each other’s lives as much now as we were back then. But I sense her like a beacon pulsing. And even if I managed to stay away for years, now that I’ve seen her again, it feels impossible to continue to do.

The need to hit something radiates through me. Anything to release the tension I’ve never been able to set free in the one way I want to.

“You got a full schedule today?” I change the subject before the thoughts that will send me to hell flood my brain.

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