Forgiving Lies

Just as we’d finished with the windows and blinds, my door cracked open. I turned and smiled at the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen. “Morning, babe.”

She smiled and stumbled out of the room.

“Sleep well?” I asked against her hair when she walked into my arms.

“Mmm-hmm. You already go for a run?”

“Yep, I need to shower. Wa

She peeked around me to look at Mason, then looked back up at me and blushed as she gently nodded her head. I pushed her back in the direction of my room, and as soon as her back was to me, I tossed her cell to Mason so she wouldn’t ask why I had it and looked back at him in time to see him nod at me.

Whatever this Marvin guy was doing, we would find out. I just needed to find a way to keep Rachel away from the apartments completely while we watched for him.

12

Rachel

“I’M EXHAUSTED,” CANDICE moaned, “but we needed this day.”

“I agree. I just want to go home and crash for the rest of the night . . . we did big today.”

“Yeah, we did! How many outfits did we get combined? And the shoes—oh, the shoes. Maybe we should go out with the guys tonight instead. Take them to a club downtown or something. I need an excuse to wear some of my new stuff.”

A club sounded like the exact opposite of fun right now. Not when my comfortable bed and fluffy pillows were calling my name.

With Candice at the cheer camp during the day and me working half the nights during the week and spending the rest with Kash, we never saw each other anymore. Kash and Mason had set it up so Candice and I could go to the movies last night, and today we’d gotten pedicures before going on an all-day shopping spree. It was good to be with her again, but I was already missing just being with Kash. Even before we’d stopped playing games with each other, I’d craved being near him. And now—I couldn’t get enough of him.

Yes, my bed was definitely calling my name. But I didn’t see sleep coming any time soon.

I gri

“Oh, did you already have plans with . . . someone?”

“Someone like Kash?”

She shrugged slowly. “Or just someone.”

Uh . . . what? “No.” I drew out the word as I looked at her expectant expression. “Am I supposed to? And who else would I be with? I only ever hang out with you, Kash, and Mase.”

Candice didn’t respond for almost an entire minute. She just stared like she was waiting for something from me. Like a switch being flipped, her expression went back to normal and she bounced in her seat. “Well, anyway! Next week’s perfect. We can celebrate me being done with cheer camp and our senior year starting!”

I was about to tell Candice we needed to see if she was bipolar or had multiple personalities when what she’d said registered in my mind. “School, that’s, uh—just a little over a week away, isn’t it?” All the color drained from my face at the thought of having to see Blake on an almost-daily basis again. I wasn’t ready to face him, especially after the way he had been that night at work.

“Yeah, can you believe how fast this summer went by? I’m kind of bummed the camp took up all of my time, but next summer, after graduation, we’re going on a trip somewhere and we’re celebrating for a few weeks. Just us, a bunch of hot guys we won’t remember the names of, endless drinks, and the beach.” She sighed contentedly. “Doesn’t that sound perfect?”

I forced a smile as I attempted to remember what she’d just said. “Uh, minus the nameless guys . . . yeah, it does.”

She scoffed. “You’re no fun now that you’re dating Kash.”

“Candice, when have you ever known me to want to hook up with a bunch of guys?”

“Okay, true.”

We got out of the car and, loaded down with our dozens of bags, made our way to the apartment.

“So, you’re not going out tonight?” she asked as we walked through the living room toward our doors.

What the hell was with her right now? “No, Candice. I’m not. I just want to relax for a while. Make one of your booty calls; I’m sure one of your guys is free.”

Before she could respond, I dumped all the bags on my bed and walked into my bathroom to turn on the tub. Giving my sink a double take, I studied it for a second before walking back into my room to get undressed and start pulling things out of the bags. Once everything was laid out on the bed, I hurried back into the bathroom, turned off the faucet, and slipped into the hot water.

After a few minutes in there, Candice poked her head in. “I’m going over to Charlie’s place. I’ll probably be back tomorrow.”

Wow, I hadn’t heard of a Charlie yet. “Be safe. Hey, did you take anything out of my bathroom?”

“No, why?”

“My sink just looks . . . kind of bare, I guess. I’m not sure, it caught my eye when I came in but I can’t figure out what—if anything—is missing.”

She studied the contents on top of my counter before shrugging. “It does look like something’s missing. But I haven’t taken anything. Maybe you just took some more things over to Kash’s and forgot about it?”

“Maybe,” I muttered, but I really didn’t think that was it.

“All right, I gotta go. Call me if you need anything. Love you, Rach.”

“Love you back,” I mumbled.

After she was gone, I took my time relaxing in the tub until the water was cold before stepping out. As soon as I walked back into my room, I knew something was wrong. I looked at my bed and my eyes flitted over the few things that were on it. Over half of what I’d bought wasn’t there anymore.

“What the hell?” I whispered, and checked all the empty bags, making sure I hadn’t left some of my things in there and forgotten. Turning to check Candice’s room, a scream to rival those in horror movies left me and I jumped back, clutching my towel to my chest. “Jesus, Kash! Make yourself known!”

“I called your name when I came in. Why are you so jumpy? You okay?”

“No, I feel like I’m going crazy. First I thought there was stuff missing from my bathroom, and now I swear most of what I bought today isn’t here anymore!”

He offered a small smile and pulled me into his arms before kissing me softly. “Sorry, babe. I should have told you when I came back in while you were in the tub. I’ve been taking your stuff. I packed a bag for you. We’re going on a little trip.”

“We are? Wait. Who’s ‘we’?”

“You and me. Get dressed, we’re leaving in a couple minutes.”

“Kash!” He whirled back around to look at me, and though he was exuding patience, he began pushing me over to my dresser and pulling out thin sweats and an off-the-shoulder top I only ever wore to bed. “Are you packing those too?”

“No, put them on.”

“What—no. First, we can’t just leave; we both have work. How long are we going for anyway? And you can’t just expect me to get ready and leave in two seconds. If you were in here while I was in the tub, you should have told me. I would have gotten out sooner and started getting ready then. I’m not wearing this to wherever we’re going.”

Kash turned me and held me close as he caught my gaze. “I promise you don’t need to dress up for where we’re going; I doubt anyone will see you but me. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to have time to get ready or to know about it. As for work, I took care of it.” He leaned in close and kissed me softly once but didn’t move back as he continued to talk against my lips. “But I pla

I’m pretty sure I wanted to keep arguing with him, or at least demand to pack my own bag. But my stomach had gone all fluttery on me and I had a ridiculous smile on my face as I nodded, letting my nose trail against his, and kissed him once more. “Okay.”