Page 33 of Surviving Lies

Lanie’s head snapped toward me in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“Well,” I started as I sat up against the headboard, “it didn’t feel so good when I saw him with Kayla yesterday. I mean, shit, they were only sitting next to each other. If Ty only knew what Gage and I have done. Lanie, do you think I need to tell him?” The horror I was feeling came through in my voice.

“I don’t know; that’s up to you,” Lanie responded, her face still smooshed on her pillow. “You need to decide if that would help or not. You guys aren’t together, he said he’s giving youspace, and he knows you’re kind of seeing Gage. Don’t you think he can put two and two together without knowing the gory details?”

“Yes!” I screamed in agreement, jumping off the bed. “Yes, so we agree that not telling him what Gage and I have done is the way to go, right?”

Lanie jerked her body up and leaned against a pillow, her curiosity truly piqued. “OK, maybe you don’t have to tell him, but what about me? Does the best friend get to know? It sounds like I may have been right about Gage.” Her knowing smile spread across her face.

The heat that spread from my chest to my face was a dead giveaway. And I suddenly had no words to even explain to Lanie what had happened between us.

“Becca Reynolds, are you blushing?” she asked.

All I could do was roll my eyes at her with my hands on my hips.

“Oh my God, have we found a guy who makes you speechless?” Lanie shrieked.

“Enough, woman! I have words. I have a voice!” I yelled back. Little did she know how many times he did indeed render me speechless. “But let’s just say, yes, you were right. He knows his way around a woman’s body.” I smirked. “Very well.”

And then we both laughed out loud.

Lanie suddenly got quiet, but surprised me when she said her next words. “Well, are you going to tell me anything?”

“OMG, do you want the gory details?” I asked.

Her head plopped back on the pillow, but a small smile landed on her lips.

I gave her an abridged version of our pond-side escapades, making sure to highlight what a selfless guy he was in the sex department.

“I knew it!” she exclaimed. “I knew he was going to be good at what he did!”

“He was more than good,” I told her as I paced the room, full of energy from telling my story. “But now I’ve got Ty back in the picture,” I said as I came back to the bed next to her. “Kind of,” I corrected.

Lanie looked at me curiously. “So what did he say to you yesterday?” she asked.

“Well, apparently, there was a long-term relationship in high school that went south, and so did his grades. He needed a ton of tutors, and his parents hated her, Kallie or Kacie something. They told him to break up with her or else, but he didn’t. They were pissed at him. Ty and her decided to end it before leaving for college, but his parents still told him no relationships while here or they weren’t paying for school. So, yeah, that’s it in a nutshell.”

We went back to facing each other on her bed, a position we liked to be in when we counseled each other about our lives.

“Okaaay,” was all Lanie said.

And she took the thought straight from my head, but I didn’t want to say it myself. I slowly closed my eyes and turned my face into the pillow.

“Hey,” she said, “it’s better than nothing.” I knew she was trying to make me feel better, and I would do the same for her.

“Is it? Is it though?” I asked, looking back at her. “I mean, yeah, I’m happy he felt the need to open up. But it took me being with someone else for him to feel as though he had to.” I threw myself onto my back, my arms flailing above my head in frustration. “Why was I, alone, just me, not enough?”

Lanie didn’t answer; she knew I wasn’t looking for one. We both continued to lie there quietly, but I knew we were thinking the same thing.

“If he had told me this last year, or even over the summer, does he really think I would have left him?” I turned toward Lanie. “Do you think I would have left him? I mean, yeah, I understand now why he couldn’t, or wouldn’t, tell his parents. But if he had told me, do you think this is so bad I would have left him?” I stared at her, hoping she would be completely honest with me.

It took her a moment of thought before she answered.

“No, I don’t think you would have. But we don’t get to be inside his head.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe Ty was that scared of losing you.”

“But he did lose me!” I yelled. “And he still never told me!”

Ugh, this just wasn’t making sense to me. I was more confused than ever now that Ty had finally done what I wanted him to do.

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