Page 114 of A Lie so Dangerous and Fragile

“He is just scared of getting hurt again. He swore off relationships, but your best friend challenges him, and it’s making it impossible for him to keep to his promise.”

“If they’re meant to be, they will find their way back to each other regardless,” I said.

He nodded at my words, his eyes meeting mine as if we were the clear example of that sentence. I bit on my lip and shifted closer to rest my head on his shoulder.

We were the last people left on the bus by the time we got to our stop. It was almost midnight as we strolled to the house. I couldn’t believe he had made me take the bus when there was a car right there, but it was fun, watching him trying to find a comfortable spot, and I loved our hushed conversations and suppressed laughter.

“So, how was the ride?” I asked as we walked to the house.

Tristan reached for my hand immediately.

“Not so bad, but the seat was so uncomfortable, it stunk, and the air was moist,” he said, and I rolled my eyes with a scoff. “You’re never getting on that again,” he added.

“That was the plan until you made us take the bus tonight.”

“Still glad I got to experience it with you.”

“Seriously, that’s not romantic,” I said, and he laughed.

I felt relieved as we approached the house. My legs were throbbing. I saw the car I’d driven to work parked in the driveway.

“How did this get here?” I asked.

“I told Eduardo to use the spare key and bring it to the house,” Tristan explained.

He unlocked the door while I stood behind him on the porch. He held it open for me. It was dim inside as I stepped in. It became pitch-black after Tristan shut the door. I extended my hand to find the light switch, but instead, my fingers came in contact with Tristan’s chest. He held my hand back when I tried to pull away.

“I didn’t get to kiss you tonight,” he said, pulling me closer till I was pressed against his warm and hard body.

His hand found my neck in the dark, and the cells in my body went off like fireworks as he leaned in and took my lips in a soft kiss. It was supposed to be a soft kiss, but as soon as our lips touched, an unquenchable desire ignited through my veins. I responded almost immediately, my fingers skimming up his chest. I tugged his suit jacket off, and he pulled away and tossed it to the floor. Our lips connected again. His fingers undid the buttons on my dress and slid it down my shoulders till it was around my waist.

He had my back to the door, fingers brushing through my hair and removing the hairband holding it in a messy bun. I ripped the buttons off his dress shirt in urgency, desperate to feel his bare skin against mine. He grabbed my thighs and hoisted me up against the door, our lips not breaking away from each other. I pulled him closer, wanting any kind of friction to soothe the ache between my legs. Tristan trailed kisses down my chin to my throat, nipping on my neck and driving me to ecstasy as he ground himself against me.

I gasped when the lights suddenly came on. Tristan grunted and put me down as we both looked at his mother staring at us from the living room, her jaw slightly ajar and eyes widened in shock. I used Tristan as a shield as I quickly pulled my sleeves back up and did the buttons on the dress. Tristan didn’t bother with his bare chest or suit jacket on the floor or the obvious tent in his pants. He looked annoyed at the interruption.

“Oh, um … I’m so sorry. I thought it was the dog.” She laughed nervously.

When I finally looked at her, she was smiling so big that wrinkle lines arced from her nose to the sides of her mouth. My cheeks flushed as she turned her gaze to me.

“Um … I will … I will just leave. I was getting my night tea. I’ll be on my way now. You can … you can return to whatever you were doing,” she said, stepping back slowly, trying to bite back the big grin on her face.

“Oh, should I leave the lights on, or do you want me to turn them off? It seems—”

“Go to bed, Mom. It’s late,” Tristan hissed.

“Sure, good night.” She turned around and headed for the stairs.

I could swear I heard her squeal. Tristan faced me with a sheepish smile while I laughed softly. I picked up my bag and Tristan’s suit jacket from the floor.

“Thanks,” he said as I gave it to him.

We walked side by side up the stairs. His presence beside me made me hot and light-headed from what we had been doing a few seconds ago. We walked to the kids’ room to check on them. They were fast asleep in their cribs. I leaned down and gave each of them a kiss on the head.

“Um … good night,” I told him when we stepped outside the twins’ room.

“Good night,” he whispered.

He took a step closer at the same time I turned around to walk to my room. I gave him an awkward wave and walked away with my nerves on fire. I entered my room and leaned on the door, listening to his retreating footsteps. He had wanted to kiss me good night, and I’d just walked away, waving. I wanted to open the door, run to him, and kiss him till we were sharing the same breath.

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