Page 60 of Tell No Lies

For the first time, it registered I’d been laughing through all of this. The taste of salt water remained after my attempt to spit it out. My laughter found new life when I looked at Gage glaring at me.

“I wasn’t supposed to go in with you.”

“You really thought I would let you throw me in? No way, sir. I go in … you go in.”

“I don’t want to run back soaking wet.”

“You started this!”

“Let’s just sit here for a few minutes and dry a little.”

“Fine. You’re such a baby.”

I pulled him down to sit next to me, high enough on the sand that the water could only taunt us. The sun was still high in the sky, and I wondered if I could make Gage stay here long enough to enjoy the sunset. There wasn’t anything better in the world than watching murals paint themselves across the sky in the minutes before the sun finally dropped beyond the horizon. My spot on the balcony had a nice view, but here, there was not a single thing blocking me from the scene.

Gage was silent next to me. I wanted to ask him what he was thinking about, but maybe I wasn’t the only one in love with the here and now. I didn’t know what made him show up when he did, but I was so grateful. I leaned toward him and pulled his elbow out. After slipping my arm through his, I settled down. A heartbeat later, he tugged my elbow, urging me closer.

☼ ☼ ☼

A strange sound startled me awake. My room was darker than it normally was when I would get up. The sound repeated. I looked to my nightstand and watched my phone shimmy on its surface. Who on earth would text me this early?

Now that I knew I wasn’t in immediate danger, I fell back onto my pillows and lazily reached an arm over the side of the bed. After a few seconds of blindly fumbling around, I grabbed it and brought the screen to my face.

Mike. What did he want at this unnatural hour?

My eyes blinked several times as they adjusted to the brightness when I unlocked my phone.

Mike “The Babe” Thomas: Morning, babe. Date night w/ B and Liv tonight.

No one was in danger. There was no breaking news devastating the nation. My favorite band wasn’t even touring close by. Nothing deserving of an unwelcomed wakeup call.

I threw my phone across the bed and thought of the endless replies he deserved, before I fell back to sleep.

After what felt like seconds later, my real alarm sounded. Mike was going to get an earful when I saw him. I had only been up for a few minutes, but it had thrown off my sleep cycle enough to make me feel drowsy.

Mckayla texted me to let me know she was waiting just as I was getting dressed. I groaned and grabbed some makeup on my way out. Another bun day for me. I hurried out the door and willed the elevator to hurry down.

My illusion that she wouldn’t notice dissipated the moment I got in. “Rough night?” She didn’t bother trying to conceal her grin.

I only had enough time to shoot her a dirty look before opening my bag and digging around for my makeup.

“Wow. That bad?” She laughed lightly as she drove. The school was only a few minutes away, so I had to hurry before we pulled in, and I had it out with Mike.

“I’m just off this morning.” I was brushing on powder with one hand and applying mascara with the other. Not the most effective method, but it did the job well enough to conceal my tired eyes.

We pulled into the lot, and our normal spot was still open. It was funny to me that Mike was intimidating enough to save a prime parking spot without anyone challenging him. He was standing at the back of his truck with some of his friends. I couldn’t help but glare in response to his friendly wave.

His brilliant smile dimmed the longer I took to get out of the car. By the time I turned to get my bag from the seat, he was next to me, leaning in for a kiss.

I held my hand up and pushed against his chest. “Oh no, buddy. We need to talk.”

Emotions crossed his face faster than I could decipher. “Did something happen? What’s wrong?”

I lifted my phone in response.

“I don’t get it. Did you get another message?” Suddenly he was angry. “What did it say this time?”

“It said, ‘Morning, babe. Date night w/ B and Liv tonight.’”