Love & Lies

by Jessica Wood

  “That’s horrible. I’m so sorry, Katherine.”

  She shrugged. “It’s over now. I’m just glad he didn’t get me pregnant.”

  “Yeah.” My heart went out to her as I imagined myself in her shoes. At that moment, I swore to myself that I would try to be a good sister to Katherine—I was going to make sure she was happy from now on.

  “So what about you?” She quickly flashed me a smile and changed the subject. “Anyone special in your life?”

  Just then, my phone started to ring from inside my bag.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry. I thought I had it on silent.” I reached for my phone and saw that it was Ben.

  “Don’t worry about it. If you need to get it, I really don’t mind.”

  “Are you sure?” I looked down on my phone and then back at her.

  “Yeah, go ahead.” She gestured for me to answer my phone.

  “Thanks.” I picked up the phone. “Hi, babe.”

  “Hey, baby. Are you with your sister?”

  I looked up at Katherine and smiled. She watched me intently.

  “Yup.”

  “And everything going okay? I just wanted to check in and call. I thought in the unlikely event that things weren’t going well, you’d need an out to get out of there.”

  I laughed. “Thanks for looking out, but no need for that.”

  He chuckled. “Good to hear. I know you can’t talk and I don’t want to keep you. Just wanted to see if we’re still on for tonight.”

  “Yup. I’ll let you decide on the movie this time if you let me decide on where we’re going for dinner.” I had a craving for sushi.

  “Sure thing. See you at 7?”

  “Okay. See you then.”

  I looked up at Katherine, who was still watching me. “Sorry about that.”

  “No, not a problem. Boyfriend, I gather?” She cocked a brow in interest.

  “Yeah. Was it that obvious?” I smiled sheepishly.

  “Yup.” She leaned in toward me, her eyes twinkled with interest. “So now that we’ve established that I’m your big sister, I think you should tell me everything about him! What’s he like? How did you guys meet? I want every dirty little detail.”

  “Well…” I giggled and realized how unconventional my relationship with Ben had started out. “We actually had a bumpy start.”

  Her eyes lit up, intrigued to know more. “I love a juicy story.”

  For the next hour, I told Katherine in detail about how I’d met Ben and what’s happened between us since then.

  “Sounds like he’s pretty amazing in bed.” Her eyes light up in delight.

  I blushed. “It’s pretty incredible. I’ve never been with anyone who was so aggressive and confident in and outside of the bedroom.”

  “Sounds like a keeper, little sister.” She bit her lower lip. “So you’ve been telling me so much about him, you haven’t even told me this Mr. Perfect’s name yet.”

  “Oh, you’re right!” I laughed. “I’m the worst!”

  Her lips twisted into an amused smirk. “No, you just seem to be seriously falling for this guy and too giddy to even realize it.”

  My cheeks turned a crimson red. “Am I that transparent?”

  “I can smell the stench of love on you from a mile away.”

  I giggled and leaned in closer to her. “I’ll only admit this to you because you’re my sister, but normally I’m too stubborn to say anything. You’re right. I’m totally in love with him. Don’t tell him this, and I know this might sound so crazy because we’ve only been dating for seven months, but…I think he might be the one.”

  “What a lucky bastard to have bagged my amazing little sister,” she teased. “So what’s the lucky bastard’s name?”

  I giggle. “His name is Ben.”

  “Ben?” I noticed something flashed across her eyes as she repeated the name.

  “Yeah, Ben Chase.”

  Katherine took a long sip from her latte. She then looked back at me and smiled. “He sounds hot.”

  “Yeah, he’s amazing.”

  “So, when do I get to meet this perfect boyfriend of yours? As the older sister, I feel like it’s my job to make sure he’s good enough for my baby sister.”

  I grinned, still trying to get used to having an older sister looking after me. “I’m dying for you to meet him, and I know that he’d really want to meet you. So just let me know when you’re free and we can plan something.”

  “I’m free tonight?”

  “Oh. Tonight? Mmm.”

  “Oh, that’s right. He just called, and it sounded like you guys had some fun plans for tonight.”

  “Well, we didn’t really have any set plans actually. Just a low-key night. Dinner and a movie.”

  “Oh. That sounds like a lot of fun.”

  There was an awkward pause, and I had half expected her to ask if she could join us. But she didn’t. I looked at my sister and feelings of guilt washed over me. I’d already lost so much time with Katherine and I wanted to spend more time with her. And besides, I did want them to meet each other. They were going to be two of the most important people in my life.

  “You’re welcome to join us,” I finally offered tentatively. “I’d love for you two to meet.”

  “I’d love that,” she said sweetly.

  “Ok, let me just give him a call and let him know you’re joining us.” I got out my phone from my bag, but Katherine stopped me.

  “I have a better idea.” A devious smile curled her lips. “Why don’t we surprise him? That’d be fun.”

  “Surprise him?” That thought hadn’t crossed my mind.

  “Yeah, I want to meet Ben in his element. I don’t want him to have a chance to prepare and be on his best behavior to impress me because I’m your sister.” She let out an almost-evil laugh. “I think it’d be fun to see how he handles surprises.”

  I thought about it and couldn’t really see a problem with surprising Ben. I’d known him long enough to know that he wasn’t averse to surprises and that he was usually a good sport. “Sure, why not.” I giggled. “Let’s surprise him!”

  Her eyes lit up. “It’ll be awesome! From what you’ve told me already, I know I’m going to love him.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  Ben

  “Perfect.” I looked around my condo, pretty pleased with how everything had turned out. My place was filled with a dozen bouquets of beautiful wild flower arrangements. Several rolls of various types of sushi were neatly arranged on platters on my dining room table, ready to be eaten.

  I looked at my Rolex. 6:55 p.m. Excitement rushed through me as I quickly turned on the stereo.

  “One last thing!” I reminded myself. I started lighting the various ivory pillar candles around the room, creating a warm illuminating glow in the room. As I watched the flames flicker and dance in concert with the soft jazz playing in the background, I smiled at myself. I couldn’t wait to see Blair’s face when she saw this surprise. I couldn’t wait to finally tell her that I loved her. Tonight was going to be a great night.

  Just then, my doorbell rang. I grinned as I ran to let Blair in. The minute I opened the door, my heart stilled at the sight of her.

  “Hi there, hottie.” I flashed Blair a devious smile. She looked more gorgeous than ever.

  “Hey, you!” She threw her arms around me and whispered in my ear, “God, I’ve missed you.”

  I laughed. “Well, you should really see your long-lost sister more often, then, if you’re missing me like this when you get back,” I teased.

  “Very funny. Did you—” She stopped mid-sentence and let out a gasp. Her eyes surveyed the condo and she looked at me in a happy daze. “W– what is all this?”

  “Happy six-month anniversary, baby.” I pulled her face up toward mine and kissed her gently.

  “Oh my God. Ben, this is incredible—I didn’t know.”

  I chuckled as I saw the guilt painted on her face.

  “It’s okay, baby. We hadn’t talked
about this, and I know people don’t usually celebrate six months. But honestly, I couldn’t wait for our one-year anniversary.” I beamed down at her.

  “Actually, honey…I need to tell you something.”

  “What is it?” I studied her face, wondering what was wrong.

  “Well…” She looked down to the floor. “I didn’t know you were planning something special tonight…so I kind of invited someone to hang out with us.”

  “Oh? Who?”

  “My sister.”

  Just then, from my peripheral vision, I saw her standing there—grinning from ear to ear—at the open doorframe of my front door. It didn’t matter how much time had passed, the second our eyes met, I knew who she was.

  It was the Blonde Bitch.

  The sight of her knocked the wind out of me.

  “Honey, are you okay? You’re so tense.” Blair ran her hands up and down my arms. Then she saw my blank expression and turned around to follow my gaze. “Oh, come on in, Katherine. Did you find the wine shop okay?”

  “Yup.” She lifted up the bottle of red wine in her hand.

  “Ben, come on,” Blair squealed in delight as she grabbed my hand and pulled me toward Katherine. “Let me introduce you to my sister!”

  I found myself face to face to the last person I’d ever thought I’d see again. The ghost from my past, the nightmare of my dreams, the only woman I’d ever given my heart to. The last person I’d ever loved. The only person who had ripped out my heart and changed me ten years ago. The person whom I’d hated more than anyone else.

  “Hi, Ben. I’ve heard so much about you today.” Katherine outstretched her hand and flashed me a devious smile.

  I stood there paralyzed with shock as I stared at her. Why is this happening? How is this possible? How could she stand there and pretend we didn’t have the history that we did? Has she forgotten about the shit she’s put me through?

  “Ben?” Blair’s voice broke through my thoughts. “What’s wrong? Aren’t you going to say hi? I’ve been dying for you two to meet!”

  It was then that the truth of everything all hit me at once. I looked over at Blair and she beamed at me, doe-eyed and hopeful as she waited for me to greet Katherine. I’d never seen her look as happy as she looked at this very moment. I saw the sheer joy in her face, and my heart broke at how cruel and twisted fate could be. How could I be the one steal this happy moment from her? How could I tell her right now about my past with the woman standing next to her? More importantly, how could Blair and I move past this when there was an inextricable and unbreakable link between Blair’s and Katherine’s lives?

  I slowly drew in a deep intake of breath and forced a smile on my face. “Hi,” I finally managed.

  Katherine flashed me a victorious smile and lowered her hand, knowing that I wasn’t going to shake it. “So, I get to finally met the man who’s bidding for my baby sister’s heart.”

  “Yeah. Right.”

  “Ben? What’s wrong?” Blair looked at me with worry, and the moment I met her concerned eyes, I knew I had to somehow get through tonight without hurting her.

  “Um. Nothing. Sorry, babe. Just—I’ll be right back. I need to…get something from the bedroom.”

  “Okay,” Blair responded tentatively. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Yeah. I’ll be fine.”

  “Okay. We’ll open the bottle of wine, then?”

  “You know what, Blair? Can I go use the restroom? Do you mind opening this wine for me?” Katherine asked.

  “Yeah, no problem. The restroom’s straight down the hall, past the bedroom.”

  “Great. Thanks.”

  I sat at the edge of my bed, still reeling from shock when Katherine walked into the room.

  “I thought you were going to the restroom?”

  She smirked. “So I lied. Seems like you’re doing the same.” She closed the door behind her.

  “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I stood up and moved further away from her.

  “Nothing, Ben. I just want to talk.”

  “Fuck.” I looked away from her. “I can’t believe you’re her sister.”

  “Yeah, that’s crazy, huh?”

  Suddenly, I felt her hand on my back. I flinched and moved away from her.

  Ignoring my rebuff, she followed me to the corner of the room. “So I saw you on Forbes Magazine recently as one of San Francisco’s thirty most eligible bachelors under 30.”

  I shot a look at her. “What do you want, Katherine?”

  “What do you mean?” She looked at me innocently. “Ben, I just wanted to tell you that I was sorry for hurting you like that ten years ago. I was young and stupid.”

  “It’s all in the past. We don’t need to dig up those memories,” I said flatly.

  “You should be happy to know that karma got me back. Gibson cheated on me with numerous women throughout relationship and later throughout our marriage. It seemed like after he found out that you and I were no longer together, he lost all interest in me, like I was yesterday’s trash. He got me pregnant, which is why we got married. But then he decided he didn’t want the baby, so he forced me to have an abortion. Then I caught him cheating on me. I think he wanted to get caught and give me a reason to break up with him—”

  At that moment all the rage I had those many years ago for Katherine came rushing out. I glared at her and spat, “That serves you right, Katherine! You are yesterday’s trash!”

  She winced at my words and tears built in her eyes, causing me to immediately regret what I had just said. I knew I had hated Katherine for everything she had done to me, but I couldn’t deny that I was relieved that we hadn’t gotten married. What if she’s grown up and now a different person?

  “I’m sorry.” My voice softened as I took a step toward her, feeling compelled to console her.

  She grabbed one of my hands and pulled it to her cheek. I felt the tears on my fingertips and for a second, felt sorry for her.

  But I immediately came to my senses and pushed her away. “What the hell are you doing?”

  “What?” She looked up at me innocently. “I haven’t seen you for so long, Ben.”

  “Katherine, I’m with Blair now. Your sister.”

  “So?” She shrugged. “Ben, I can tell you’ve changed a lot in the last ten years.”

  “It’s a long time, of course people will change.” I walked past her, trying to create more distance between us.

  “I can tell you took all my suggestions about your personality issues and changed for the better.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about?” I felt annoyed by her comment.

  “Don’t you remember? The last time we talked, I explained to you why I fell for Gibson, and why I was tired of our relationship. You were too nice and accommodating. You were such a pussy. But look at you now. You’re a hot-shot attorney. Blair told me some stories of how forward and aggressive you are with her, and how hot the sex is.” She bit her lower lip as she moved toward me. “And that’s the kind of man I want, Ben. That’s the strong, aggressive man who can take control and push me up against the wall, ignore my resistance, and fuck the shit out of me. That’s the man that you were not, and the reason I left you.”

  “Where are you going with this, Katherine? Because frankly I don’t care and I don’t want to hear about it. I need to get back to Blair.”

  I walked past her toward the door. But just before I passed her, she stepped in front of me, blocking me from leaving the room. “Ben. I want you back.”

  Just then, the door opened and Blair walked in and looked at us in confusion. “Is everything okay?”

  I looked at her and then at Katherine, and at that moment, I felt trapped between a rock and a hard place. How was I going to tell Blair without hurting her or our relationship?

  The Chase

  Volume Four

  chapter one

  Blair

  Maybe it was a mistake to surprise Ben. Maybe it was a mistake to
bring my sister tonight without checking with him first. I could tell from the upset expression on his face that he wasn’t completely thrilled with my surprise.

  But how was I supposed to know that Ben had planned a surprise for me as well? I sighed and felt disappointed that the night hadn’t turned out the way I had hoped. When I had agreed to surprise Ben and introduce him to Katherine tonight at dinner, I had really wanted everything to go perfectly. I wanted my sister to love Ben as much as I had grown to love him over the last seven months since I’d met him. But from how Ben reacted to my surprise, I had a sinking feeling that the night wasn’t going to go as perfectly as I’d pictured in my head. It wasn’t difficult to tell that Ben was upset.

  I took a step back from my worries and took a sip from my wine as I marveled at the transformation in Ben’s condo. The soft flickering flames from the candles scattered around the place seemed to sway with the hypnotic jazz music playing from the stereo. I smiled at the sight of the dozens of bouquets of wild flowers around the room. I couldn’t believe he had planned such an elaborate, romantic night for us. It was clear that he’d spent a good deal of time preparing for tonight, so I could understand why bringing a surprise third person to this intimate dinner wasn’t something he had anticipated or hoped for.

  I’ll make it up to him later tonight, I thought as my lips twisted into a small smile. I’ll make it up to him all night long. That’ll certainly make up for this.

  As I took another sip from my wine glass, I realized that Katherine had been in the bathroom for a while. I headed toward the hallway that lead to the bathroom to see if she was okay. But as I got to the hallway, I frowned. The bathroom door was wide opened and the lights were off inside.

  Where did Katherine go?

  As I walked down the hallway toward the bathroom, I heard muffled voices coming from the bedroom. Is that Katherine inside the room with Ben?