Page 31 of Reckless Liar

“See, and that story is way crazier than mine. At least Troy has people to vouch for him. That girl took your drink, and you end up with her phone number.”

He ran a hand through his hair, scratching his head. Silently, he looked away from me. When he said nothing, I turned back to the counter to rearrange the spices that lined the window. I could hear Xander turn away from me, his footsteps moving out of the kitchen. He stopped in the doorway and slapped his hand against the door frame.

I whirled around to face him. His jaw tight, he looked at me. “Why do I think I’m still going out with Sherie? Dammit, Ana, just...” He squinted his eyes tighter, pinching the space between his eyebrows. “Is this really what you want? This guy?”

I nodded at him. “It’s only been one date, but yeah, Troy seems really nice.”

“So, he’s the guy you want?” he asked.

“For now, yeah. I think he is.” I replied, cocking my head to the side. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but he seems as good as any.”

Xander closed his eyes, clenching his teeth. “Better than me?”

“What?” I asked.

“So, you’ll kiss this guy and it’s fine, but not me? I tell you that I love you and I hear crickets. Are we never going to talk about what happened?”

I wasn’t ready. To acknowledge the kiss between us was to open up all the mixed emotions I had swirling inside me. Troy was safe. He was new and came with no guilt, no betrayals, just a clean slate.

Xander shook his head at me. “Just be careful, okay?”

“Okay,” I whispered.

He turned to walk out of the kitchen, smacking the door frame one more time.

Chapter thirteen

“I'll never kiss another.” -Ana age twenty-four.

Iwasthoroughlyexhaustedafter working my third twelve-hour shift in a row. Setting my purse down, I could hear Xander talking to someone.

A girly giggle breaking through the silence of the apartment. I was shocked Xander was talking to a girl. As I listened to them, I stilled, their voices too low to make out what they were saying, but there was a soft familiarity between them. I rolled my shoulders, trying to work out a tension that had suddenly formed as I pulled off my coat.

I rounded the corner until I was in the kitchen. Across the island counter, I had a better view of Xander and the girl sitting on the couch.

I had to assume this was the girl he met at Starbucks. I tried to remember her name but couldn’t place it. She had curly brown hair half up in a big metal barrette.

I watched them as they talked, a malevolence rising in me. The last thing I wanted to see when I got home was Xander and this woman sitting on the couch together. He said something to her I couldn’t catch, and she laughed. It was an annoying, aggravating sound. I pulled a glass from the cabinet, letting it slam loudly to signal that they weren’t alone. She looked over her shoulder at me, a surprise passing over her face.

Xander didn’t look the least bit ruffled by me showing up. His arm slung over the back of the couch, not quite over her shoulder but above her. The stark familiarity unnerved me.

“Hey, Ana-Sweet. You’re home.”

I filled up my glass of water, taking a big drink, my eyes on the girl. I took my time, setting the glass down before finally looking at Xander. “Yeah, long shift today.”

The girl stood up, walking over to me. “I’m Sherie. You must be the roommate Alexander has told me so much about.”

“I am the one and only,” I replied. She stuck her hand out and it took me a moment to realize she wanted to shake mine. I brought my hand up and she took it, clasping her other hand over mine, enclosing it in hers. It wasn’t a handshake—it was like an overly familiar hand-holding session. I struggled to smile at her.

She stepped back, motioning to the living room. “Sit, I want to get to know you too.” She sat back down on the couch next to Xander, leaving only Xander’s ugly rocking chair for me to sit in. Over the course of five minutes, I felt like an intruder in my apartment.

“So, you’re the Starbucks girl?” I asked. “The one who took Xander’s drink?”

“Ana!” Xander shot me a warning look.

Sherie didn’t seem to catch my tone because she giggled. “Oh yeah, quite the meet-cute, huh? I was distracted and grabbed it off the counter, took a big drink and nearly spit it out on the floor.”

“I assume his quad shot mocha wasn’t what you like?” I wanted her to know that I knew his drink order.

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