Page 15 of The Lies
I was dreading having to go back but it suddenly doesn’t seem so bad. There’s a lot of money sat in our apartment—and I don’t just mean in my wardrobe. I need to see if I can sell it all so I have some money to pump into the bakery.
* * *
“Oh my God, that was so good,” I say as I strap myself into the passenger seat of Blake’s van, thinking it was a good idea to wear leggings and not jeans. The crème brûlée I had for dessert was out of this world but a reminder that I really need to do some exercise.
“I wish this didn’t have to be the end of our night,” Blake admits when he pulls up on Aunt Addy’s driveway.
“Me too,” I reply honestly. The little touches Blake’s been teasing me with all night has my blood on a gentle simmer. Sleeping alone on Aunt Addy’s sofa bed really isn’t where I want to be heading.
Blake turns to me once we come to a stop and places his giant palm on my cheek. The heat of his skin instantly warms my entire body. He stares deep into my eyes—I’m sure he’s begging for the night to end differently. He can beg all he wants but this is the way it has to be for now.
“Sinead has a party Saturday night and a sleepover at a friend’s. Do you fancy having a sleepover at my house?” he asks with a smile. I want to laugh but the seriousness in his eyes stops me.
“I’ll have to check if I’m allowed out. I might’ve been a bad girl,” I say, playing along.
Blake growls before saying, “I’ll make sure you’re a very bad girl.” His words send tingles straight to my clit. I squeeze my thighs together to try to stop it but Blake doesn’t miss the move.
“Fuck, you’re killing me,” he groans. He drops my cheek, grabs my hand and shoves it against his crotch. I can feel him hard under the denim. “Been like this all night,” he admits.
I feel sorry for him, I really do, but as much as I’d love to lean over and suck the problem right out of him that’s not happening outside Aunt Addy’s house for her and her nosey neighbours to watch.
Instead, I bring up something that’s been niggling at me for a while. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“When I spoke to Cara recently she said something about you not being with anyone since Kayleigh. Is that right?”
“Yes.”
“Wow,” I breathe. I wasn’t expecting such blunt honesty, or for what Cara said to actually be true. “What? No one?”
“No, Addison, no one.”
“But it’s been like—”
“Over three years, yeah, I’m aware.” He thrusts his hips slightly as he says it, reminding me where my hand is.
“Why me?” I whisper.
“Honestly, I’ve no idea. It’s not like I’ve been lacking in offers to keep me company but none of them interested me. I was too focused on work and Sinead, and then you appeared soaking wet in that tiny towel and suddenly I was very interested.” I blush at the memory of how we first met. “You’re different to all those who tried; they all wanted something from me, even if it was just my time, but you…you didn’t want anything from me. Hell, I’m pretty sure you didn’t even like me.”
“I didn’t know you,” I say as a way of avoiding answering with the truth.
“Just as I thought,” he says with a laugh.
“I like you now.”
“Not enough to spend the night with me though?” he asks with a pout.
“I would if I could and you know it.” I move myself away from him and open the door. The longer we stay in this confined space the harder it’s going to be to leave.
I don’t make it to Aunt Addy’s front door before Blake is out of the van and has me backed up against the wall of her porch.
“Fuck, I don’t want to leave.”
“Sinead,” I mutter, reminding him why it has to be this way.
Blake leans his forehead against mine and looks into my eyes. “Saturday?”
