Page 8 of Surviving Lies

And we just had the hottest make-out session of the past few months.

I was so stupid.

His grin turned into a full-blown smile, then laughter as his breaths blew in my ear, he was that close to my face. “I like your confidence, beautiful. What’s your name?”

Where did this guy come from? I didn’t think he was a frat brother. I would’ve seen him last year with Xander. His confidence made me think he may not even be in college anymore. The way he held himself, the tenacity that showed in his eyes, his shoulders, his entire presence, didn’t happen to a beaten-down student.

I was looking up at him, his frame tall and lean, yet muscles very defined where visible. His bicep, close to touching my cheek, was bulging as he kept his arm bent over my head, almost in protection. His dark hair, longer on top, shorter on the sides, was cut in a professional manner, as if he could already be in the work world.

My lips separated, trying to answer him, when I felt a small hand on my elbow.

“There you are, Becca. I’ve been looking for you. All good up here?” Lanie had a tinge of concern in her voice, understandably, considering what she walked up on. My dark stranger pulled away slightly, but the surrounding crowd limited his movement.

“Becca, that fits you. Is it short for Rebecca?” He was studying me, blatantly ignoring Lanie.

“Um, yeah, I guess, but I’ve only ever gone by Becca. I hate Rebecca.” I turned toward Lanie, giving her my best “I’m fine, isn’t he hot” face, hoping she wouldn’t make more of it than it was.

“That fits you too, not Rebecca. I’ll keep that in mind. For next time. I’m Gage, by the way. Ladies.” As he pulled himself away from us, he discreetly rubbed his hand along my arm from elbow to wrist, lingering on my extended fingers at my side, tugging on them as he disappeared into the mass of people. Lanie even noticed the shiver that it sent through my body.

“What the hell was that about? Who was that? And, just ... why?” Lanie was just as speechless as I was as she tried to follow his form as he made his way down the stairs.

“That was ... Gage.”

That was all I could say. That was all I had.

“Yeah, and who is Gage? Do you know him? Did you know him before today? You guys looked mighty close when I got up here, like, ‘have a history together’ close.” Lanie’s interrogation got interrupted by a group of guys, who appeared to be fighting over a girl, accidentally pushing us into a wall. “Let’s get out of here. I came up looking for you since Ty came down a while ago. He was looking for you, too.” Her warning was clear in her eyes. “Just so you know.” But I didn’t seem to care as much right now. Actually, the thought of making Ty jealous exhilarated me.

And I think that was my new plan, with the help of my new friend Gage.

“So, Xander told me that Gage is a frat brother, but he graduated two years ago. He’s back to go to grad school, so I think he’s actually living in this complex. Becca, I think you need to be careful with him. He looks like he’ll be dangerous for you.” Again, her eyes conveyed a warning, one which I would not be heeding.

“Oh, he’s dangerous all right, in all the right ways. And I’ll be fine. A little flirting hurt no one, especially when one’s ‘ex-boyfriend’ needs a kick in the ass. Am I right?”

We were in the dining room area, by the tap, filling our cups with the disgusting warm beer provided by the frat. The bar they had set up had long ago run out of cans on ice. Ty was still back there, responsible for “guarding” it, I guess. Most of the afternoon I would catch him looking at me, smiling, trying to remind me of our fleeting moment upstairs in his own way. I would occasionally steal glances at him, too, still smitten with those wavy golden locks and whiskey-colored eyes. I loved his long, lean muscles, which used to grab a hold of me and pull me closer, locking me in his grasp whether in bed or up against a wall in a hall.

When Ty had me up against that door upstairs, my face in his hands, his mouth on mine, it felt so right. It reminded me of what we had last year, the feelings when things were perfect. But things were no longer perfect. I guess they never were.

A sultry set of eyes found me from across the room, trying to lure my attention from my own thoughts. He had been trying to catch my eye all afternoon, but from afar, keeping his distance. It allowed me to admire him, discreetly of course, while he’d been mingling with everyone else.

“Would you quit checking out the new guy?!” Lanie stood in front of me, trying to block my view of Gage, who was across the room.

“Why? I’m allowed to move on with my life, Lanie. Ty and me are not together.” I turned my attention toward Gage after saying this but kept talking. “Besides, I can be discreet. Ty doesn’t need to see me looking.”

“There is nothing subtle about you, Becca, never has been and never will be,” Lanie scoffed.

I looked at her when she said this, ready to be mad, but her smile showed she meant it with love. I turned my attention back to the new hottie I had just met.

“And not only are you staring at him, but he is gawking at you, and I’m not the only one who sees it,” she warned.

At that, I immediately peeked at her with a questioning look, trying to decipher who exactly she was referring to.

“Don’t worry, I’m talking about Xander. I think Ty’s too busy to notice, but give him a sec and he will, don’t worry. I understand you guys aren’t together, but I think it’s kind of soon, don’t you?” She looked around the room, looking for Ty. “I mean, it’s the first day back, the first day you guys are seeing each other since you broke it off. Don’t ya think it would rub it in his face to flirt with someone right in front of him?” She pulled me by the arm toward the slider to outside. “Come on, let’s go outside for a while. Lots of the guys are playing games out there. It looks fun.” She dragged me reluctantly while I stole glances to find those milk-chocolate eyes in the crowd.

But she was right. And she didn’t even know that me and Ty had already hooked up before I then destroyed his world again. I would have to limit the flirting. Friends only.

Once outside, Lanie sidled up to Xander.

“You just wanted to come out here to get near your piece of ass, not that I blame you, Lanes. His ass is worth it. But you kind of tricked me.” I looked around and saw little going on out here, just a few couples sitting on chairs and drinking, listening to music. There wasn’t even a chair for me to sit in.

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