Page 63 of Tell No Lies

Liv looked at me and winked. “Say you’re sorry to your sister for embarrassing her in front of the entire restaurant and her date.”

Brandon’s eyes narrowed, challenging her.

“Say it.”

In a barely audible whisper, he grumbled, “I’m sorry, Aubrey.” He side-glanced at Liv to make sure she was happy.

When Liv nodded and looked back at the menu, he turned back to me.

You’ll pay later, he mouthed.

I stuck out my tongue and shrugged. Watching someone tell Brandon what to do was new for me. Even when he lived at home, Mom knew better. Having Liv around would be very convenient for me.

Adam came back to take our orders, and our food was out suspiciously fast.

“See! Look how good it all looks.” Brandon was trying hard to get back on Liv’s good side.

“It looks great, but that doesn’t mean very much when it comes to food.” She poked at her fish with little interest.

“Liv, if I can eat it, you know it’s good.”

She laughed and cut off a piece. “You’re right. I’m surprised to see you eat something other than Mexican food. I didn’t know you had such a broad palate.” She winked and took a bite.

All eyes were on her, waiting for a reaction. She chewed slowly, being overdramatic in her careful consideration.

“Hmm … it’s not bad.”

“That’s it?” Mike seemed to be getting as frustrated with her as Brandon.

She looked at him sternly and took another bite. I watched her with admiration, wishing I was taking notes. This one knew how to drive them crazy.

“Alright, alright. I admit, it’s good. Really good.”

Mike sighed as if he could finally relax, knowing she approved.

I chuckled and started in on my food.

After a few silent minutes of us enjoying our meal, Mike cleared his throat. “Do you have any big plans this week, Aubrey?”

My mind instantly ran through my list of things to do. Nothing out of the ordinary was jumping out. Did he know something I didn’t, or was he just making conversation?

He must have sensed my confusion and clarified. “Your last few weeks have been pretty busy, so I was just wondering if things were calming down.”

“Oh. Well, we only have two practices this week, plus some optional time too.”

“So, you can hang out after I’m done with football?”

He looked so hopeful, and I groaned internally. How many times were we going to have this same conversation? “Not really. I still have to go in to work on my new solo and a small group piece I’m not comfortable with. Our team practices were just cut back this week.”

“Well, if you don’t have to be there, then we can hang out.”

“I just told you. I have to be there for my solos. It’s just not team practice.”

He sighed and stuffed his napkin onto his plate a little too aggressively. “Once again, you’re putting dance in front of everything else.”

I waited for him to continue, but to my disappointment, he was done.

“Would you ditch football practice to hang out with me?”