Page 95 of Surviving Lies

My eyes popped open as I pushed myself away, my hands lingering a moment too long on his chest. “I have to get to class, Ty.” As I stepped back, our eyes stayed on one another. After a few more steps, his pleading eyes forced an answer from me.

“I’ve given you lots of chances already, Ty. Why should I give you any more?” My biting words stung, and he flinched. But I couldn’t leave well enough alone. “I’ll think about it.”

I spun around and ran to my building.

And kept my sunglasses on during the entire class.

Chapter 28

Ty

Why was I surprised that Becca hadn’t contacted me yet? A couple weeks had passed and I hadn’t even gotten a text from her. But that was the new typical Becca Reynolds; she always needed to exert her control in the situation. But this time, it was with avoidance, the newest tactic of hers. I wasn’t sure which I liked better: being yelled at or ignored. At least if she was yelling at me, we were in the same room and talking.

Lanie assured me she’d been discussing it with her, and Becca was still considering seeing me. So there was still hope.

It was approaching the end of October, and the frat always had a huge Halloween party every year. My pledge class, being the newest guys, was responsible for running it. It was something to keep my mind occupied in addition to my classes and homework. And thankfully we were having the party this Friday, so I would actually be able to go to it before heading home the next morning. I hadn’t been home in a couple weeks and wanted to see my daughter.

But until then, I had a lot to do.

“Jake, can you come with me to the party store?” I asked as I grabbed my keys from the counter. “I need to pick up a bunch of decorations for Friday.” He was on the couch, controller in his hand. But I didn’t know when his next class was.

“How long will it take? I have class at two,” he said.

“C’mon, get your ass up. It will only take like an hour – you’ll be fine.”

The store was a short car ride into the next town. Jake fiddled with the radio and found some music we both agreed upon.

“So, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something,” he said as he settled back into the passenger seat. “Me and Kayla, we’ve kind of been hooking up a few times. Like, I guess we’re seeing each other.”

That shocked me. Jake prided himself on the notches in his belt each weekend. But I’m assuming that got old after a while.

“OK, man, that’s cool. If you like her, that’s cool.” I kept my eyes on the road, waiting for him to say more on the topic.

“Well, I know she was all into you for a while, so I wanted to make sure you were OK with it,” he continued.

My laugh came out before I could stop it. “Jake, I never had any interest in Kayla. Don’t get me wrong, she’s hot. And if I never met Becca, maybe there would have been something there. But go for it, man. I wish you luck. I’m happy for ya, if that’s what you want.” I wasn’t convinced she was a one-man kind of girl, so I hoped Jake wasn’t going to get hurt. But he didn’t seem the type to want a long-term commitment, either.

“She’s cool. We talk and shit after. I’ve never done that with anyone else. It’s kind of nice.” His smile was big. “Did you and Becca used to do that?”

I knew he didn’t mean to slice my heart open with that question. But it was splayed open and bleeding at the moment. “Yeah, Jake, we would talk after sex. And lots of other times, too.”

“Well, yeah, I get that. Kayla and I talk, but I’ve never had someone who wanted to stick around after and hang out. It’s really nice. That’s all.”

He actually sounded like he liked her. A lot. Maybe this would turn into something for the two of them.

“I know things aren’t great with you and Becca right now. Sorry, man. Do you think she’ll be at the party?” Jake asked.

I didn’t have an answer for him. I could only assume she would be, since Lanie would be there with Xander. But for all I knew, she would stay away because of me. Thankfully, we arrived at the store and I was able to avoid talking about the topic altogether.

“Let’s get going. I don’t want you to miss your class,” I said as we got out of the car.

“Dude, you look amazing!” I told Jake. He was dressed as Danny fromGrease, so I had to imagine Kayla would be dressing as Sandy.

“Thanks, so do you. Love the hat,” he said, flipping it off my head. Lanie told me that Becca decided to come to the party and was dressing as a pirate. I took a risk and decided to dress as one, too. There was a couples costume contest, and I thought maybe, just maybe, we could enter if she decided to talk to me.

Xander came walking in the door next, all bloodied in ripped-up clothes. Wasn’t quite sure what he was supposed to be, and it appeared no one else was either. We all stared, trying to figure it out.

“What?” he asked, putting his hands up.

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