Pieces of Lies

by Angela Richardson

  “I’m going to park on the sofa while you finish, alright,” Josh yelled down the hallway. As I walked out of my bedroom, I could see the back of Josh’s head as he sat comfortably on the sofa, waiting for me to make an appearance. From behind, his knee was jerked out to the side and it was pulsing up and down as he waited, like someone with a nervous tick.

  I wonder if he is as excited about this date as I am.

  In a moment of impulse, I walked up behind him, moved my hand along his shoulders, and quickly walked around to the front of the sofa and took a seat on his lap, taking him by complete surprise. His eyes glowed in excitement. I frowned a little when I saw his face, “Oh you shaved your stubble. You know how much I liked it.” I rubbed his clean-shaven jaw. He closed his eyes as I ran my hand up and down his cheek in smooth firm movements. He really was unbelievably handsome with those dreamy green eyes and rugged good looks.

  “You know I’ll grow it back for you,” he said, grabbing my hand and holding it as it rubbed along the skin on his face. He opened his eyes after I had rubbed him, desire now evident in his eyes. My breasts swelled as I took in that hungry look. Oh my! I liked that Josh was always so affected around me, and I noticed it more now because I was paying attention to the responses from his body, which I also felt leaning up on my hip. Josh cleared his throat, a little uncomfortable that I had brought him to attention.

  Why hello Mr. Hollows!

  He helped me up so we were both standing, facing each other. Awkwardly he adjusted himself, his eyes darting across the room. I took a minute to take in his appearance. He was dressed in a black designer tux, looking dashing with his lightly tousled hair brushed back and he had on shiny black dress shoes. I knew that he probably had been loaned his tux, but I wasn’t about to remind him of his money situation or lack thereof. It was a sore point and the main reason he had agreed to try and join the Lappell.

  He finally returned to looking back at me, staring into my eyes sweetly as he often did, and then he looked down at my dress. “Jesus Christ Norah, you look, I mean, you look, I mean,” Josh took a deep breath.

  “Well, I hope I look good enough to be a Stepford wife?”

  Josh composed himself from his staggered breathing; “You look un-bel-ievable.”

  He then reached across to me and held my hands. My heart began racing, and suddenly, I was aware of the sensation I was having inside. It felt electric and thrilling, hot and pulsating, and I wanted more.

  His hands let go of mine but then slid up my arms, grazing the skin as they travelled up to my shoulders and finally coming to rest around my neck. “Norah.” Josh breathed my name, making it sound like pure want and need. It rolled off his tongue so smoothly and I felt my thighs twitch by how much I enjoyed him saying my name like that. He took a step forward, reaching out and cupping my cheek in his hand, using his thumb to smooth the skin near my mouth. I licked my lips and pulled him a little closer, clearly directing him that he was more than welcome to continue. As his face began to draw close to mine, my hands gripped onto his back, driven by excitement.

  This was it, our first kiss, the moment had arrived.

  I watched as his lips moved towards my lips, and I began to close my eyes as we were about to take the next step, crossing the line over from friendship to something more. So much more. I was ready and I wanted it. My heart was bracing for an explosion of fireworks that I believed were imminent when…

  “Brrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiing!” Josh’s cell phone sliced through the air with its shrilling sound and we let go of each other before our lips could meet. Immediately we both jumped back, startled by the intrusive noise.

  Fuck cell phones!

  Josh answered his phone, breathing raggedly as he did. “Yes, yes, we are on our way. Yes, I’m bringing Norah. Yes, Norah. I know, I know. OK, OK, alright!” He slammed his cell closed, obviously annoyed by the disruption.

  “They know who I am?” I asked curiously.

  “Well of course, they know everything. I had to put your name and some details on a list before you can come to an event like this and...”

  I cut him off, “They know everything?” I stared at Josh and he thought back to his words,

  “Oh no, of course not everything. C’mon let’s go.”

  He put his arm on the small of my back and ushered me out of my apartment. We took the elevator down to a limo that was waiting in the car park. “We all have to take these. Don’t ask.” Josh started helping me into the long black sleek limousine. As we both got comfortable sitting side by side in the rear of the limo, I relaxed back into Josh’s chest, enjoying the peace and quiet of the confined cool space. My body tingled being in Josh’s arms, and as if sensing my thoughts, Josh ran his fingers up and down my thigh, skimming the jeweled embellishments on my dress. I closed my eyes, enjoying the fact I was letting him touch me, knowing that if he tried to kiss me again tonight that I would let him. I let out a satisfied sigh in hopeful anticipation.

  “I should tell you that I used ‘Ross’ like on your transfer papers.” Josh stopped stroking my thigh and waited for me to respond.

  “Good thinking,” I said, and closed my eyes, allowing the silence and the closeness of our bodies to continue to gain intensity and desire.

  With Josh, I never felt the need to fill in the silences. Our friendship was always comfortable enough that we could allow the quiet to be just another easy conversation for us. I always loved that dimension in our bond, no need to make small talk. It was just another reason I was excited to move our relationship forward.

  As his hand stopped to rest on my lap, I began to think again about our reunion earlier this month. I had transferred from NYU a few weeks back to the township of Morewell, a place not too far from Boston, so I could attend McLaren University with Josh. I had known Josh since I was thirteen, and we had never lost touch through the years, keeping a constant state of electronic togetherness through text, email and Skype.

  Josh had never returned to New York after he left for college. When we were nineteen, Josh lost his parents in a violent mugging, and since the funeral, he refused to return to the city, not even to see me. I had begged him to return, time and time again, offering him countless airline tickets, but he always turned them down. I think coming back to New York would have been too painful for him. He just couldn’t bear to be in the same place that had the memories of his parents and former wealth.

  Sadly for Josh, they also had not fared well during the global financial crisis, and after the estate was settled, Josh was left with barely enough money for college. It was a huge step down after growing up on Park Avenue. Hence, I knew how important is was for Josh to get into the Lappell. It was an opportunity to regain the lifestyle he was once so accustomed to. Josh certainly wasn't a snob, but he did miss the life that money had provided him growing up, and even as a teenager, Josh was always ambitious.

  The limo started to pull into a large gated estate. There were towering cherry blossom trees which lined the long expansive driveway, and there were already a number of black limos heading down the entrance towards the very grand and well lit mansion. “Wow, it really is everything you would expect.” My face pushed up against the glass window of the limo to peer out. The massive white pillared mansion glowed brightly in the distance.

  “You aren’t feeling overwhelmed are you?” Josh asked, looking more nervous as we reached the end of the driveway.

  “Me, are you serious? This should be quite a night, don’t you think?” I was really excited to be doing this. I loved new kinds of social settings and I couldn’t think of anything more exciting than a night out at a mysterious secret society and of course, being on a date with Josh. I couldn’t have been happier. My heart danced again at the thought of kissing Josh tonight, and I shifted a little closer to him as I let my imagination run wild.

  “Ah Norah, perhaps I should also tell you something else about this party. Look, you know how much I need to be accepted into the Lappell, what it means to me and
my future, and well, tonight, we needed to bring...”

  I was so frustrated at his continuous insecurity about my behavior, that I abruptly moved away from him, cutting him off. “Look Josh, you have nothing to worry about OK, I’ll do you proud,” and before Josh could utter another word, the limo door swung open.

  Josh tried to grab my arm again as we both exited the vehicle but missed. I spun in agitation to look at why he was desperately trying to hold me back. “I really do need to talk to you before we go in there Norah. There are things that you need to know, and there are things I need to say about how I feel.”

  I glared at him. “You wait seconds before we walk through the door to have a deep and meaningful. I don’t think so Joshua.”

  I quickened my pace until I was at the front door, which was opened by an elegantly dressed servant. Josh quickly caught up to me and held my hand. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, OK Norah,” Josh whispered into my ear and suddenly alarm bells went off in my head. I opened my mouth, ready to fire a million questions at him about what he meant by that comment, when a very tall, handsome blond guy in an impeccably fitted tuxedo stepped in front of us, stopping us in our tracks. My heart fluttered for a brief moment at the sight of his gorgeous appearance.

  Holy fuck!

  “Josh Hollows.” His voice was deep and inviting. He eyed Josh and then turned to me, “And this must be, Norah.” I was feeling uncomfortable; sensing there was something off with what Josh had just said only moments ago, but since I had no answers, I put on my best game face.

  “Yes, Norah Ross, a pleasure to meet you, ahh…” I waited for the very handsome guy with chiseled features and silken voice to respond.

  “Clint Weston. This is my house. I’m also Josh’s group leader.” Josh looked very worried now for reasons I couldn’t fathom. Clint studied me for a brief moment. I assumed he was already passing some kind of judgment on Josh’s choice of guest for the evening. As Clint’s eyes gave me a final once-over, he grinned slyly and then turned and started leading us off into the mansion. As we entered the enormous doorway, we were ushered down a wide hallway and to a grand ball room. My eyes drifted around the house as we made our way. Expansive mahogany floors, spectacular chandeliers, and all the luxurious fittings you could ever imagine decorated the opulent mansion.

  I turned my head slightly to look at Clint a little closer. He walked confidently, with a little air of arrogance about him, no surprise there, and he was a good deal taller than me; maybe around six feet or more, with broad shoulders and a lean body. The Tom Ford tuxedo he was wearing was tailored to perfection against what I was imagining as a very nicely toned, muscular physique. I started to mentally undress him, my eyes sweeping over his arms, to his chest, working their way to his waist and then they began to drop a little lower. Clint noticed my stare and cleared his throat. I caught a little smile on his lips. My eyes shot upwards and back to facing forward, returning my focus back to Josh. Whoops!

  When we all entered the grand ballroom, Clint made his way over to a group in the far corner of the room, whilst Josh and I stalled at the entrance. I could see there were at least fifty or more guys dressed in tuxedos, all with dates that were immaculately put together with designer dresses and well groomed features. They were all holding champagne glasses, standing around, chatting with one another. There was also a string quartet off to the side near the wine bar. It filled the atmosphere with light hearted classical numbers. It was quite an affair and exactly how Josh had described it would be.

  Josh put his arm around my waist and tightened his grip as an alarming number of eyes fixated on me as we stood at the entrance to the ballroom. “You really do look stunning Norah,” Josh whispered into my ear, trying to assure me that the stares were nothing more than complimentary. I took a breath. I had been in some confronting situations before, but this was definitely a different kind of scene. I quickly realized I had taken myself out of my comfort zone for a cheap thrill.

  Pushing insecure feelings aside, I fell into my normally confident persona and squeezed Josh’s arm, “C’mon, let’s take a walk on the wild side.” I tried to joke with Josh, but he looked anything but amused.

  After an hour of mingling, fake smiles, and the most boring conversation about the economy I had to endure, I was realizing fast that I had over-estimated the excitement I would gain from these people. I had every intention of throwing in the occasional snarky comment for my own amusement, but I didn’t get a window. I was so bored that I was genuinely confused by Josh’s initial hesitation in bringing me here in the first place.

  “Can I steal your date for a while Hollows?” Clint Weston appeared behind us, as if from nowhere. Josh looked at Clint and then to me. Fear was evident in Josh’s expression, which made me a little concerned. Clint was probably making the rounds to all the dates, talking to them and making sure they were of a suitable standard for the night’s test.

  “Yeah, sure, why not,” Josh mumbled, looking around at the other girls. I felt a little irritated by his lack of attention to me and his easiness at handing me over at the first available opportunity. I kept in the mindset however, that this was probably some kind of ‘Q&A’ for Josh’s test this evening, so I was more than happy to try and put my best foot forward.

  I latched onto Clint’s arm, hoping to get some kind of jealous look from Josh, but he shuffled away, not making eye contact with me as Clint led me to a corridor and away from the ballroom. Something felt completely off, but I didn’t have time to stop and analyze Josh’s behavior since Clint clearly had some kind of agenda in mind.

  In the short time I had spent on campus, I had already heard a stream of gossip about Clint Weston. It wasn’t that I enjoyed that kind of gossip, but it was hard to avoid since he was such a popular subject for many girls in my classes, who didn’t care who was in earshot. As soon as Clint told me his name, campus whispers and girlish sighs came booming into my head. From the chatter I had already heard, he was from the richest family in the county, and that they were from ‘old money’ (the best kind apparently). His family was into real estate development, and it was said Clint was in line to take over the family business when he finished his degree. That, combined with his male model-esque good looks and charm, was the constant talk amongst the female majority of the student body, all hoping to become the future ‘Mrs. Clint Weston’. He was also largely described as the campus playboy, something that didn’t surprise me at all.

  Aren’t all the rich, good looking, future CEO-types, womanizers? I was a sucker for stereotypes since I grew up around so many who fit the molds. Already I was certain that nothing Clint would say or do, would surprise me in the slightest.

  “So you’ve recently transferred to McLaren University Josh tells me,” Clint commented, a bored tone to his voice.

  I sighed, more small talk. “Yes, almost a month ago, I really like the campus; it seems rich in history and has a very good graphic design program.” I had been saying the exact same things all night. Questions about why I transferred, what I was studying, what I thought about the campus. Boring.

  “Graphic design, you’re an artist?” Clint kept the questions coming.

  “Yep, I try to be both kinds, mental and physical.”

  Clint smiled, “That’s cute.”

  Clint shifted direction, leading me right down another corridor. “Where are we going?” I asked, wondering why the sudden change in our walk.

  “I thought since you liked art, you would like to see some of the work we have on display here.”

  This did please me. Finally something I was interested in and I could only imagine what kind of collection a place like this had. It was very considerate that he had thought to do so.

  “How long have you known Josh?” Clint’s voice was a little brighter and seemed interested in my answer.

  “We’ve known each other most of our lives. We grew up in the same city, went to the same school. He was never afraid to talk me.”
<
br />   Damn, I had forgotten myself!

  “Not afraid to talk to you? I guess your beauty does come across as intimidating,” Clint complimented, but I was happy he misinterpreted the real meaning of my comment. I laughed a little uncomfortably.

  “Hmmm, I bet you say that to all the girls.” I nuzzled him with my hand, hoping he would play.

  “I don’t feel the need to say that kind of thing to anyone, especially girls.” Clint seemed offended that I hadn’t been more appreciative.

  “Sorry, I just figured you were being polite.” I raised my eyebrows at his reaction.

  “I don’t say anything I don’t mean, Norah,” and then he stopped walking, turned and we both looked up.

  I held my breath, staring in awe.

  “I take it you recognize this?” Clint beamed at me but I was silent in my appreciation.

  “Is it?” Then I stopped and spoke to myself, “Of course it’s real Norah.” How could I even doubt for a second that this place would display copies? I was standing in front of the real Marc Chagall’s Three Candles. Emotion swept over me and I found myself gripping Clint’s arm with both my hands. Clint's hand began to move as he spoke, “Some say it’s simply supposed to convey protection from harm and isolation, but I believe it means…”

  “That with true love there is always protection.”

  He turned to look deep into my dark brown eyes. “Yes exactly. That was exactly what I was going to say. How did you know I was about to say that Norah?”

  I looked at his blue eyes which were completely soft and gentle, almost vulnerable. “I didn’t, but that’s what I feel when I look at it. The conflict of what it conveys, the reasoning that it’s both those meanings at any given time, but knowing ultimately that true love can always prevail.”

  There was a very awkward silence as I remained gripped to his arm. I felt his muscles flex under his tux, which made my heart jump out of my chest. I let go of him, suddenly falling back as I did, my heels slipping from my sudden movement. Clint reached out to catch me before I could fall.