Page 15 of Reckless Liar

I laid a hand on my shoulder. “Here. I want it here.”

Next to me, Scarlett laughed. “Live fast, cut your hair!”

I gave her a smile, and she winked at me. For the first time in a long while, I felt light. Even if it was only for a moment.

The entire ride home, I kept looking at my reflection in my rear-view mirror. It was a drastic change, much shorter than I’d ever had it. I felt like I was a different person, stronger, coquettish even. Scarlett walked me to my car with a pair of earrings she said would complement my new hairstyle perfectly. She hugged me at my car, her oversized bag stuck between us.

“I love it. You look like a new person. So bold.”

“I didn’t want to be bold. But I needed a change.” I paused, grabbing her hand to squeeze it. “Thanks for forcing me out. I know I need a push more often these days.”

Squeezing my hand back, she smiled. “I’m glad you came out. It looks great.” She tilted her head to the side as she tucked a tendril behind my ear. “I bet Xander will like it, too.”

“You think?” I touched the ends, my thumb touching my chin.

She looked as if she was suppressing a laugh. “Yeah, you look amazing. I don’t know why you let all that hair bog you down for so long. Not many people can pull off a shorter style like this. You were made for it.”

My smile faded. Thinking back to Max, how he’d run his fingers through my hair, braiding the ends while we lay on the bed. I remembered the scent of his hair as he buried his face in my neck. I gripped my key and pulled away from Scarlett. “Thank you, again.”

Back home, I walked through the door, setting my keys in the small bowl next to Xander’s. I hung my jacket up on the coat rack before placing my purse over my coat. I picked up Xander’s sweatshirt, rehanging it from the hood and not the tag. Noticing several coats hung sloppily on the rack, I grabbed them all, draping them over my arm, and hung them back up, one by one.

“What are you doing?”

I jumped at Xander’s sudden question, dropping the jackets on the floor. I clapped a hand to my chest and whirled around to see Xander standing there, his eyebrows raised. “Holy Hell, you scared me.”

He leaned against the wall between the kitchen and the living room, a glass of water in his hand. He gave me a sheepish grin. “Sorry.”

I crouched down, picking up the coats off the floor. I turned back to the coat rack, placing the coats on there, one by one, smoothing them down so they hung straighter.

Once I was happy with how the coat rack looked, I turned back to Xander who watched me from his spot on the wall.

I walked past him into the kitchen. He turned to follow me. He reached up and touched the bottom of my hair directly above my shoulder. “You cut your hair.”

I brought my hand up to touch where my hair stopped, and my neck began. “Yeah, Scarlett talked me into it.” I heard the lie pass so quickly that it didn’t sound like me. Looking away, I worried I’d betrayed myself. “I know it’s drastic.”

He toyed with the end of a curl I’d never be able to recreate. He was looking at his hand in my hair. “No, I like it.”

My face went hot at the compliment. “Do you? I wasn’t so sure. I haven’t had it this short since...”

“Since we were in eighth grade,” he finished softly. His fingers were close to my neck. I could feel the warmth of his skin so close to mine as he played with the end of my hair. “I liked that haircut.”

His finger barely brushed against my throat and I felt my breath hitch. A shiver went down my spine, my body betraying me. Turning away, I pulled my hair out of his grasp. “I know Max liked it long. I’ll probably regret it tomorrow morning.”

Behind me, I sensed Xander tensing up, as if he wanted to say something. With a shaky hand, I grabbed a glass from the cabinet, filling it with water from the tap. I finished a whole glass in one long gulp, trying to calm my nerves. He set his glass down on the counter, then put his hand down, so his arm was under mine.

“It looks nice, Ana. You look nice.”

“Thanks,” I whispered. I could feel his body behind me. The heat of him radiating through me. I had the sense that if I leaned back, his body would support me. That maybe his hand would move to cover mine.

He was silent for a moment, and I thought he was going to leave, but he leaned closer to me, his words a breath against my ear. “Cutting your hair doesn’t mean you didn’t care about him, Ana. You’re allowed to be your own person. You’re allowed to live your life.”

"Iam," I replied, my voice more forceful than I meant to be.

“I don’t think you are.” He leaned in closer to me. “And it’s been longer than you think.”

I furrowed my brow in confusion. He leaned in closer to me. “It’s been a year.”

“I know how long it’s been, Xander.”

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