Page 29 of Brighter Than Gold

“No,” she said, feigning innocence.

“You’re either the best liar I have ever met, or that was in fact the truth.”

“Damn… you’re good. He was a sweet orange tabby—”

“Bullshit.”

“Excuse me?”

“He wasn’t orange.”

Reyah chuckled in disbelief. “Black.”

“No.”

“White with black spots.”

“Still lying.”

“Grey with one white paw.”

“Almost there.”

“Two white paws.”

“There it is.”

Reyah sat stunned. “How? How can you possibly know what was a lie and what was the truth?”

I was amused by her disbelief. “There are a million different ways, but your eyes let me know absolutely everything.”

She hung on the back of the chair waiting for me to elaborate. I stepped in closer.

“Every single time you lied to me, you stared directly into my eyes.”

“So what? Shouldn’t that show I’m confident in my answer?”

“That is exactly what you want me to think, but it’s too forced. Both times you told me the truth, first about your cat’s name and then about what he looked like, you glanced away from me. You were confident in your answers, there was no need to convince me of anything.”

“Really?” she asked. “You weren’t just staring at a vein in my neck or something?”

I smiled. “No, not from all the way across the room.”

“What about my pupils? Did they get bigger?”

“Well…pupils aren’t always the best indicator.”

“Why not?”

I opened my mouth to answer, then shut it. “They just aren’t.”

“But why?” Reyah asked with suspicion.

This time I met her gaze. “Because they are also indicators of other things like fear, surprise or arousal.”

Reyah exhaled, flustered. “I don’t—”

“I know, Reyah,” I said with an awkward smile.

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