The Hometown Hoax (The Hoax Series)

by Heather Thurmeier

  Lip balm. Steel wool scrubber.

  What the hell did I pick up? Her heart pounded. Condoms would look mighty weird with this lot of goods.

  Hand lotion. Condoms. Tissue. Rubber gloves. Hair clips.

  She rolled her eyes and said a silent prayer for this moment to end. Or never have existed in the first place.

  The girl took the basket from the counter and was tucking it away to make room for the bag. “Oh. Almost forgot this one.” She scanned it quickly before dropping it into the bag, but not before Tessa noticed the smirk on her face.

  Constipation medicine. Awesome.

  Tessa swiped her card quickly, punched in her code, took her bag and receipt, and scurried out the door. She took a deep breath, trying to convince herself that by morning the whole town wouldn’t know that she was getting laid, cleaning something dirty, had dry skin, and couldn’t poop without medicinal assistance.

  “Can you stop by my apartment before we head out?” Logan asked.

  He heard about the condoms already!

  “Why? What do you need? I’m not going to sleep with you again.”

  “Um, okay. Good to know. And random.” He chuckled. “I need to grab my blender so I can make smoothies tomorrow.”

  The breath she hadn’t realized she was holding came out in a puff. “Sure. Yeah. Where’s your place?”

  “The building on Third.”

  She didn’t need any more information than that. There were only two apartment buildings in town—one on Third and the other on Seventh. Neither was all that great, but as a temporary place to stay they weren’t terrible either. She’d definitely seen worse apartments in the city. Hell, she lived in a worse place in the city.

  “Want to come in?”

  Yes.

  “No. We should go. Dinner will be ready soon and everyone will be looking for us.”

  He nodded and opened the door, taking a small bag with him. “I’ll be right back.”

  While she waited, Tessa flipped on the radio and turned it up when a good song came on. It wasn’t often she heard country music anymore. Seemed it wasn’t the popular choice in the city. But there was something about the twang-y tune that comforted her like a warm blanket on a cold night. Before the song ended, Logan was back with a duffle bag.

  “That’s a blender?” she asked, pulling onto the street.

  “And a couple of other things I needed.”

  Tessa got back onto the highway and headed toward the campground. The silence between them was comfortable as they drove until Logan asked her a question she didn’t want to answer.

  “What happened that made you so set on leaving this town? I know it’s not my business, but you seem to fit in here and everyone is nice. And it’s beautiful, quiet, and clean. I can’t imagine wanting to leave it so desperately.”

  “Why do you want to know so bad?” she asked.

  “If I’m keeping your fake boyfriend a secret, I deserve to know why you made one up in the first place.”

  Did she want to tell him? Did she want to dredge up the past and let another person know about her personal life when she didn’t need to? “Does it matter?” she asked instead.

  “Yes and no.” He was quiet for a few breaths, looking out the window at the passing trees and boulders. “I guess it doesn’t matter if you feel strongly about not telling me. I only asked because I want to know more about you, Tessa. I wasn’t lying earlier when I said I wanted to know everything about you. I wasn’t trying to get you into bed.”

  “It wasn’t one single incident that made me want to leave. It was a combination of things that added up over time. I like being myself even when I go against the grain. But it’s hard to do in a little town where everyone gossips all the time.”

  “Can’t you ignore them?”

  Maybe someone else could, but she couldn’t. As a Cutter, she never got to fly under the radar. Her family had helped to establish the town more than a hundred years ago. She didn’t think it was important, but everyone else did.

  “I tried to let the comments and rumors and whispers roll off my shoulders like they didn’t bother me. Most of the time I was pretty good. I got really good at hiding what I was doing or with who. Not because I did anything bad, but because I didn’t want everyone else’s thoughts about it later on.”

  “What pushed you over the edge and made you leave?”

  Was it such a big deal? No. Sure, it would always be a part of her history and a contributing factor to who she was today, but it didn’t define her. It was a stupid thing from her past. Besides, he’d hear it mentioned around town eventually anyway since she couldn’t trust the town to keep her history in the past where it belonged. He may as well hear it from her.

  “I had a boyfriend when I left for college. He stayed here and kept working while I went to school. I thought he was the one.” She cleared her throat, not because she was getting choked up, but because she’d never had to tell anyone the story before. Everyone in Cutter’s Creek knew. “I came home for summer break, and he’d gotten me a job at the card shop. He kept telling me how great an opportunity it was. I worked the stupid job to make him happy and I started to overhear the gossip from customers coming in. One particular story about a guy cheating on his unsuspecting girlfriend while she was away at school captured my attention. Can you imagine my surprise when I learned I was the girlfriend being cheated on?”

  “I’m sorry, Tessa. I can’t believe anyone would cheat on you.”

  “I think that part sucks, of course. But the part that drives me crazy is the whole town knew it was happening before I did and no one told me until I accidentally found out.”

  “That’s what made you want to leave.” He said it as a statement, not a question. “Now I get it.”

  Finally, someone else understands me.

  Chapter Fourteen

  There was enough time for an early morning jog and shower before Logan had to be in the main cabin with Tessa making breakfast. When he sat on the bed to tie his sneakers, she groaned.

  “Why are you up? It’s too early,” she mumbled.

  Her hair was splayed out on the pillow making her look a little like Medusa, not that he’d ever say that out loud. He didn’t have a death wish. She stretched and rolled toward his bed, her breasts lolling gently to the side under her shirt. Damn, he’d like to see them again, up close.

  He’d take them bouncing in a sports bra too. “I’m going for a jog before breakfast. Come with me.”

  “Why would I want to do that when I could stay here and do this?” She pulled her blanket over her head.

  “Because it’s a beautiful day out, and you should get some exercise.”

  “I hiked up a mountain yesterday. I did my exercise for the month.”

  He grinned. She didn’t need to exercise anymore than he did, but he wanted her company and knew the only way to get it was to trick her into coming. His way might be unorthodox, but it’d hopefully get the job done. “I didn’t realize you were so out of shape. I guess it’s better that you stay since you’d probably slow me down.”

  The blanket flipped off her and Tessa sat up, glaring at him. “Did you just call me fat?”

  “No.” She wasn’t fat. He enjoyed her curviness. It made her even more luscious to hold. Skin and bones were not sexy. “I actually meant to say lazy.”

  He tied his other shoe, not needing to see her expression to know he’d pissed her off. Mission accomplished. Stifling a laugh, he stood and stretched, easing the aches out of his stiff muscles and warming them up before his jog.

  “I’m not lazy.”

  “Of course not. Staying in bed instead of going for a quick and easy run with me is totally something an active person would do. This jog would probably be way too hard for you anyway.” He moved into a side-lunge to stretch his legs while struggling not to smile. It was hard to tease Tessa this way, but it was also the best way to get her moving. “I’ll see you when I get back.”

  “You’re extremel
y irritating.”

  “I didn’t mean to be.” He’d hoped to be somewhat Tessa-style motivating too.

  “For your information, I can jog around the lake.”

  He tried to keep the grin off his face while nodding. “I’m sure you can.”

  “Fine. I’ll prove it. Give me two minutes to brush my teeth, pull back my hair, and find something to wear. Then I’ll show you how not lazy I am.”

  “You don’t have to prove anything to me.”

  She slammed the bathroom door behind her, and he let out the chuckle he’d been holding inside. He didn’t know why it felt so good to get under her skin, but it did. As an added bonus, he’d have company on today’s jog, something he hadn’t had since leaving the city.

  While he waited for her to get ready, he did a hundred pushups. Normally he did them after his run, but since he had time to kill, he wanted to stay warmed up. Halfway through a set of crunches, Tessa appeared at the bathroom door looking sexy and sporty in her black yoga capri pants, bright pink sneakers, and blue skin-tight tank. Thanks to the stretchy material he had an excellent view of her curves and couldn’t wait to see them bounce around once they got outside.

  “Want to warm up while I finish my set?” he asked, still sitting on the floor. The temptation to pull her to the ground on top of him was almost too overwhelming to ignore. Instead, he crunched his abs and counted to one hundred in his head. As he completed his reps, Tessa did a few halfhearted stretches while yawning, then she sat on the end of her bed, staring at him.

  “Are you done yet?” she asked. “If we don’t go soon, I’m changing my mind and going back to bed. I’d rather prove you wrong first.”

  “Let’s go then,” he said rising to his feet and heading out the door. Without waiting for her response, he broke into a slow and easy jog while she closed the cabin door and caught up.

  “Nice. Getting a head start so I have to sprint to catch up and get tired faster. I see what you’re doing. You play dirty.”

  “I play fair, but I’m not afraid to get dirty doing other things,” he said.

  “Just because we fooled around one time…” She stopped talking for a couple of breaths. “Doesn’t give you permission to…talk dirty to me…”

  “But seeing your cheeks turn red along with that look in your eyes that’s a mix of wanting to kill me and strap me to a bed to have your way with me, is so irresistible. You make me say things I’d normally keep to myself, so my dirty talk is all your fault.”

  “My family could overhear you. We’re hiding this from them, remember?” She panted as they crested a small slope along the trail.

  “They can’t hear us out here in the woods, so we can say whatever we want to each other.”

  The pathway narrowed and Tessa went in front of him so he could catch her if she slipped. It also meant he could watch her ass muscles moving beneath the tight workout gear. “Like for example, I could say how great your ass looks in those yoga pants and no one will overhear me.”

  She flapped her arms behind her as if shooing away a fly. “Stop looking at my ass. I never gave you permission to do that.”

  “The second you put on those leggings, you knew your ass looked fantastic. What kind of man would I be if I didn’t appreciate your beautiful curves?”

  “A gentleman.”

  “Or a dead man.” He laughed.

  “It’s true men think about sex all the time, isn’t it?” she asked.

  “No, it’s not. I don’t think about sex all the time. At least I didn’t until I laid eyes on you.”

  “Well, you should stop thinking about it, because it’s not happening again.”

  “Why not? It’s not like you have a real boyfriend to worry about.”

  “I live in the city and you live here. What’s the point in fooling around when we both know it can’t lead anywhere?”

  “Because we both enjoyed it the first time. Because it felt fucking amazing to be inside of you. Because the thought of never touching you again makes my balls ache so fiercely I’m afraid they might actually shrivel up like raisins.” He could go on and on listing all the reasons why they should have sex again, but she didn’t give him the chance.

  “Meh,” she said simply between short puffs of breath.

  “What do you mean, meh?”

  Meh sounded like she was indifferent about having sex with him again. Meh sounded as if she hadn’t been that thrilled by it the first time and wouldn’t be the second time either. Meh sounded like a problem he’d work tirelessly to correct.

  “It was good, but ‘fucking amazing’ is a little exaggerated, don’t you think?”

  He grabbed her arm, came to a halt, and spun her around to press her against a thick tree trunk. He pinned her wrists above her head with one hand, while the other snaked up under the hem of her shirt, stopping below her breast.

  Tessa peered up at him with eyes full of fire and lust, and he knew in an instant she was lying about their experience together.

  “I don’t believe you. I see it in your eyes. You want me to taste you again…touch you.” He licked her lower lip and she gasped, tilting her head toward him as if silently asking for more. Her back arched away from the tree, thrusting her breasts upward.

  Accepting her invitation, his thumb brushed over the soft cup of her sports bra. It might support her while jogging, but it did little to hide the tight bud beading beneath his touch. He pinched it between his fingers. She moaned softly and her body melted, her legs spreading enough so he could put his knee between them and lean into her. She responded to the pressure with a full body vibration.

  He claimed her mouth with his, taking everything she offered him. Their breaths came out in hurried pants both from the jog and from arousal. The excitement of being in the middle of nature with her in his arms was enough to make him painfully hard, even with their layers of clothing between them.

  His hand left her breast and went south, slipping beneath her thin, tight pants until he found her hot, wet center. Heat radiated from her body like a furnace cranked to full blast. He dipped his fingers into her then withdrew them to rub little circles against her skin, repeating the process while she panted more heavily each time. She arched against him and thrust her tongue into his mouth, biting his lip so hard he thought he might find his release from her kisses alone.

  Tessa moved her hips in time with his ministrations and within minutes that seemed to pass like seconds, she was quivering in his arms and calling out his name against his lips. She pulled away from his kiss and rested her forehead on his chest. He let go of her wrists and they fell limply to her sides for a moment before one of her hands cupped his length, stroking him.

  “I want you.” His voice was strained.

  “I want you too,” she whispered. “But we can’t. Not unless you usually jog with a condom in your sock.”

  “My foot doesn’t usually need protection.” He groaned with disappointment.

  “But I can…” She stroked him again, with purpose. “If you need me to…”

  He wanted to say yes so badly, but there were logistics and clean up to consider.

  He cupped her jaw, forcing her to look him in the eye. “As much as it kills me to jog with a hard on, I’d never ask you to do something like that here or because you feel obligated.”

  “But I got to… It’s not exactly fair.”

  “Trust me. That was fun for me too.” He kissed her and showed her how much he enjoyed touching her. “Let’s go back before everyone else gets up and starts looking for food. I wanted to take a shower anyway, but now I definitely need one.”

  He sighed when she wiggled out from between his body and the tree, already regretting his decision. “Besides, you’ve suddenly managed to get a nice long rest from the jog you swore would be a breeze but sounded like a marathon. I think you need to finish proving you can handle it.”

  The look of lust left her eyes and her stubbornness flared again. He wished his erection could switch gears that
quickly.

  “I bet I can beat you back to the cabin.”

  “Only because I gave you a much needed burst of afterglow energy.”

  She sprinted back the way they’d come, apparently deciding against finishing the loop.

  “And only if I let you,” he called after her. He wanted to sprint and catch up, but until his anatomy returned to normal, a slow and meandering jog was as fast as he could go. Today would be the last time he’d jog without a condom in his sock.

  Tessa hummed as she flipped a crepe. The first batch had been filled, rolled, dusted with powdered sugared, and put into the oven to stay warm. Another few and she’d be ready to serve breakfast.

  “That’s a sweet sounding tune you’re humming,” Logan said, whispering in her ear. “I can’t imagine what’s put you in such a good mood.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, smiling and nudging him away with her elbows. “Go make your smoothies before someone sees you.”

  She’d been in a good mood since the jog, even though she knew she’d made a mistake with Logan again when fooling around with him was the last thing she should do. She’d wanted to stop, to say no, but hadn’t. She wanted him again more than she wanted to say no. It seemed what her brain wanted and what her body wanted were two different things.

  For now she couldn’t focus on any of that. Getting through breakfast with her family, without them figuring out what she’d done—faking a boyfriend or sleeping with Logan—was her only priority.

  “I’m finished,” she said, putting the last shake of powdered sugar on the platter of rolled crepes.

  “Those look deliciously fattening. Another minute to blend this up and pour it into glasses and I’ll be good to go too.”

  He shoved a handful of spinach into the blender, which was already loaded with apple and banana. There was also some kind of little sprinkles, and slices of cucumber—although that couldn’t possibly be right. No way would her family drink that concoction.