Page 10 of The Lie
My confusion doesn’t fade. “I took the spare key after the last time you got in here.” Those memories are good ones too. I smirk at him, and I can see the change of expression on his face as he remembers the same thing.
“Well…I had to see you, and I kind of came over last night. Your dad wasn’t impressed. But I guess midnight isn’t the best time to make a house call. You were sleeping, but I begged him to let me come over today.
“He gave me the key and said that you really wanted him to go to work today, so he asked if I could check in at lunch and make sure you were fine. And to call him if there are any problems.”
My mouth drops open and Hunter comes over, placing a finger on my chin to close my mouth. I smile and let out a little chuckle. That’s so not like my dad. Or maybe it is. He doesn’t know that Hunter and I have something more than a friendship going on…right?
Hunter and I haven’t discussed what this is; hell, we haven’t talked about it at all. But I know we’re more than we were before. I can feel it in the way he touches me and the looks he gives me. It’s like the air is charged when he’s around. Now, we’re just waiting for one of us to climb over that wall we’ve both built to stop from being hurt and make it real.
I’d said I wanted them all. All three of them. That I wouldn’t choose, and I didn’t want them to make me. But after everything Jace did, he isn’t even on my radar anymore. He can go to hell, for all I care. I still haven’t told Hunter what he did to make me so upset.
But I think I need to tell him, since he seems to think Jace will just “come around.” I know that’s not true. He’s mad at me for kissing Grady and, granted, it’s not ideal. But it was one kiss, and it didn’t mean anything. Well, it did, and it didn’t. Childhood crushes can’t live up to what you imagined. That goes for both the Montero brothers now.Sorry Grady.
It’s not like Jace had told me he wanted to be more than friends. I’m pretty sure he was with Britney when I kissed his brother. So, I don’t see why he would be upset about me kissing someone. It’s not like he wasn’t kissing someone else.
I’m not his girl, and we haven’t even kissed. Not since we were twelve. I think I know why I picked him to be last now. Like, subconsciously, I knew I would have my heart broken by him, and I saved the pain by choosing him to be my third kiss. I knew Roman would never break my heart. Not intentionally. He would rather catch all the bullets flying toward me than to ever let me get hit. He always put me first, was always there to catch me.
I made the right choice for him to be my first kiss.
“Hey, you okay? Need some water?” Hunter asks, and I blink up at him. He carefully sits beside me, placing his arm tenderly around my waist and moving into me. I let out a sigh as I rest my head on his shoulder.
“I’ve been thinking…” I start, and I feel Hunter shake his head.
“You’ve been thinking? This can’t be good for me if you’re starting this as soon as I walk in.”
With a warm smile, I place my left hand on his cheek and inhale a small breath. Pulling his face to mine, I stare into his deep brown eyes. His hot breath on my lips tickles, and I swipe my tongue to wet them. My heart hammers in my chest as his eyes crinkle at the corners.
They widen slightly as I move in and kiss his soft lips. I pull back to see his expression but, before I can, his hand reaches up and cups my face, bringing me closer to him again.
“Mila,” he croaks, his voice rough. He sweeps his tongue over my lower lip, and I part my mouth for him on a small gasp. My tongue meets his as he lets out a deep rumble in his chest. It has me grinning so much that he travels to my throat, kissing and nipping the soft skin there as he moves up to my earlobe.
“Well…I do like that kind of thinking, Mila,” he whispers into my ear, and I tremble under his hot lips on my throat again. He moves back to my mouth and claims it like he owns me, and I let him. When we pull away for air, he kisses my nose, and the tingles I feel all over have me biting my lower lip.
“I’ve wanted to do that since you’ve been back.”
“Me too…but that wasn’t exactly what I was going to talk about.”
He nods and holds my hands…well, as best he can. I let out a deep sigh and tell Hunter about how Jace found out from Grady about the kiss we shared. And how Jace used the walkie-talkie to broadcast Britney giving him head. Plus, the visual that was even worse.
A vision that I can’t erase out of my mind. He could have just told me he was mad and didn’t want to talk to me. He didn’t need to do something so…fucked up. But the message was clear. He doesn’t want to be my friend. Or anything else. We are done.
“Jace is a fucking dick. I knew something was up with him.” Hunter shakes his head and swears under his breath.
I look down at my hands. I don’t want this to come between them.
“He hasn’t spoken to me all week. I didn’t play Friday’s game, but that’s no excuse for the shit he’s been pulling.” Hunter cups my face again, tilting my head back, his eyes searching mine. “You’re more important than football, Mila.”
His big dark-brown eyes are full of hope but also sadness. I can see how much Jace is hurting him too. I never wanted this for him.
“Hunter, I’ve wanted to kiss you so many times. But I also didn’t know how to go about it because you aren’t the only one…that I want to kiss.”
“We all give you butterflies.” He moves back a little, scanning my face.
I nod and try to work out what he’s thinking. Does he understand what I mean by that? That I won’t pick, that I can’t.I just can’t. It would break my heart. I need Roman as much as I need Hunter. Just like I need to breathe.
“Jace is out,” he whispers.
I nod, not wanting to say his name again.
