Lie to You

“I know that,” he says. Hands still holding mine, he wraps our arms around me and gives me a little squeeze. “I think what bothers me most is how long you two were seeing each other.”

Months. I’d been meeting Rebel for months before I got together with Ransom. The timeline is sketchy in my head, all things considered, but Ransom and I only started seeing each other after I became his student. At the time, I’d been sleeping with Rebel since somewhere around the start of summer break. If time were the only factor to consider here, it’s Rebel I should be having this conversation with. Hence the reason I feel like I am somehow betraying him right now.

However, the way Ransom holds me and talks to me like he really cares, reminds me that he’s the one I’ve spent quality time with. There’s no denying the depth of our co

“I can’t go back and change what happened,” I tell him. “I just hope that it doesn’t come between you two. I’d hate to be the reason for that happening.”

Releasing me, Ransom walks to the fridge and takes out a beer for himself. His mood has shifted. He doesn’t look at me as he cracks the bottle open, but I can tell by the rigid set of his shoulders that he’s bothered by what I said. “Don’t worry about it,” he says tightly. “There’s not much that Rebel and I haven’t dealt with that we can’t work past.”

I don’t know what that means, but I don’t ask him to elaborate. There’s enough shit on our plate now to deal with, without adding more. “Why did you come over tonight?” I ask instead. Now that he’s here, drinking my beer, we might as well get this over with.

I’m half expecting him to throw down an ultimatum, or break it off clean and save us both the headache of dragging this out further than it has to go, but I should know by now that Ransom isn’t that predictable. Every time I expect him to react one way, he does the complete opposite.

Leaning back against the counter, holding his beer to his chest, Ransom’s dark eyes concentrate on mine. “I want you to come with me to di

My jaw drops. “Excuse me?”

“Di

“Yeah, before I found out I was screwing your brother!” I can’t believe this guy. Is he for real?

His features scrunch in distaste. “I’ll admit there’s a lot to work out.”

“Ya think?”

“But,” he continues. “We can’t keep avoiding each other like this. I assume you’re just as confused as me and Rebel. Which is why we think it would be a good idea for you to join us for di

My eyes widen. “Rebel? You two are discussing me now? And you think we should have di

Ransom scowls at me, but I don’t care. I need another beer if I’m going to deal with this shit tonight. Drinking deeply, I choose to ignore that dark, disapproving look Ransom is sending me. Screw him anyway. If he seriously thinks I’m dumb enough to parade around on the arms of two men, then he’s got another thing coming.

“I wasn’t suggesting that at all,” Ransom counters. “I’d escort you to di

I give a derisive snort and take another swig from the bottle. He’s delusional. “Complicated is the very definition of what’s going on here, and I fail to see how having di

“That’s just it, Joe,” Ransom says as he pushes away from the counter and rises to his full height. My head tilts back and I glare openly as he comes to stand in front of me. “This is exactly what we need. All of us. I was giving it some thought, and I realized that none of us really knows each other. You and Rebel,” he says, his voice roughening at the mention of his brother, “just fucked. You and me? We might have talked a little, but we weren’t much more than that either.

“You’re having just as hard a time sorting this out as we are and this is the perfect opportunity for us to learn more about each other.” His lips twitch. “You once said you wanted things to change between us. Well, this is our chance to do that.”

This isn’t just some casual di

A light goes off behind those dark eyes and I know I’m right. Rebel and Ransom have talked it over and together have decided that I should choose which one of them I want to be with.

“That’s the idea,” Ransom confirms with a dark smile.

My first instinct is to lay into him, tell him how dumb their idea is, when it dawns on me. They just might be onto something here. I’ve been agonizing over this situation for days, unsure of how to handle it, and this di

Narrowing my eyes, I regard him skeptically. “And you really think this could work.”

“What have we got to lose?”

“What if I don’t choose you?”

He doesn’t appear phased by the question. “Then you don’t choose me,” he says with a lift of one shoulder, but his answer is too confident. He doesn’t think I’ll pick Rebel, which makes me wonder what I’m missing.

I guess there’s only one way to find out.

THREE

I brush my hands down the dress I borrowed from A

My nerves are shot, and as I stare up at the sizeable Tudor-style mansion, I’m questioning why I agreed to do this. It’s something I’ve been agonizing over since Ransom co

The Scott estate is stu

It sits on River Road, a location known for its historic—and pricey—homes. The neighborhood is comprised primarily of lawyers, doctors, business owners, and the like. In other words, this is where the wealthy dwell.

I came alone, unwilling to get trapped here if I find a need to make a speedy exit. It’s the best decision I’ve made yet. As I walk up the flagstone path, Ransom steps out onto the porch. His smile is wide as he takes me in, and I paste on a friendly smile of my own, though barely.

I’ve never met anyone’s parents before. Keeping my relationships superficial has afforded me the ability to maintain a certain level of distance from people. A

This situation is entirely new to me, and highly uncomfortable. I’ve gone through great pains putting myself together today in order to look the part of a nice, wholesome woman instead of a girl who takes her clothes off for a living. Thankfully, with school being nearly over, I won’t have to worry about that much longer.