#1 Lie

by T Gephart

  He nodded, reassuring me that no, it hadn’t been an extremely explicit dream and I had been completely irresponsible. Did I ever dare wonder what it meant for us? Lord, there was a conversation I could barely have with myself, let alone speak it out loud.

  “Okay, so I didn’t plan that.” I wasn’t sure if it was apology or pity in his eyes. “Honestly, Jess. I woke up and you were standing beside me naked.”

  “We had sex,” I repeated. “Without a condom.”

  He pulled away, his face screwed up in confusion. “What? Of course I used a condom.”

  “No, no.” I replayed it in my head, the moments of our sordid morning. “I jerked you off, then we made out and then I fucked you.”

  I was positive I hadn’t missed anything, although to be quite honest it was dark and after the first orgasm my brain had been sort of scrambled.

  “Yeah, all of that happened except in between jerking me off and the sex, I put on a condom.”

  “Are you sure?”

  The edges of his lips twitched as he rubbed his hands over my arms. “Jess, it’s not something I’d forget. It’s still in the trashcan in the bathroom if you want to check.”

  “Oh thank you, Jesus.” I threw myself onto my knees, a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.

  Of course it still didn’t deal with the fact I had sex with a man I was paying, which unwittingly made him a prostitute. But at least I wasn’t going to keel over and die, or end up rocking a baby nine months from now.

  He watched my thanks and worship with curiosity, shifting onto the sofa beside me. “So, you’re okay now?” The hesitation still in his voice.

  “We had sex.” I cringed every time I said it.

  Not because I didn’t enjoy it, or hell, not even because I regretted it. But because only one of us had been using our heads and it hadn’t been me. I should have been the responsible one.

  He was an amazing man. He was funny and smart and extremely good-looking, and if we didn’t have all the extra baggage I’d probably be high-fiving myself. He was waaaaaay more considerate than any man I’d ever dated, and as for what he did between the sheets—Lord Jesus, there were no words. Any woman would count herself lucky to be with him.

  But things were complicated.

  There were blurred lines where there shouldn’t be, and not to mention even after all of this, we were going to have to work together.

  There was no way I could read his emotions, his eyes betraying nothing as he sat beside me. I wasn’t sure if he was the one with regrets, or if he didn’t feel somewhat coerced into to sleeping with me. Did he feel obligated? Like it had been part of the package?

  Oh God.

  I was going to throw up.

  Trying to stop myself from another panic attack or vomiting all over his clean clothes, I shoved my messy emotions and thoughts out of the way, leaving them to be dealt with another time. Like later, when I grew a brain and stopped trying to sabotage my life. My priority was to try and salvage the situation and sound like I had a handle on it.

  If he didn’t have a problem with it, then I would not have a problem with it.

  There would be no problem.

  “This doesn’t have to be weird.” I was positive I was convincing myself more than I was him.

  But the truth was, it didn’t have to be weird.

  People had sex all the time and were still able to be friends. Not me, of course, but other people. Sensible people.

  And yes, there were times we all made poor choices, but surely we weren’t going to be crucified for them. Pfft, we’d just move on, like nothing ever happened. Or not.

  Maybe he didn’t want to forget.

  Did he want to forget? I should probably ask.

  Great, I was not doing a good job of making it not fucking weird.

  He tilted his head, wordlessly watching my internal debate, which was sort of freaking me the hell out. “Why would it be weird?” he asked, like he honestly didn’t know. “We had sex, Jess, and while it might not be what either of us planned, it doesn’t have to be a bad thing.”

  I shrugged, not entirely convinced but not wanting to be the one who was freaking out either. Newsflash: it was a little late for that.

  “You’re right, it doesn’t.” Ha, you are such a liar! I desperately tried to salvage the situation, not able to keep with the it’s-all-cool vibe while needing to take responsibility as well. “I guess, I woke up and you were gone, and I thought . . . I just don’t want you to do stuff that you maybe didn’t want to.”

  Ugh.

  So much for not acting weird.

  Still, it needed to be said, if for no other reason than to be sure I hadn’t accidentally sexually harassed him, and he was biding his time until he was able to file charges against me.

  “You think I didn’t want to?” He laughed, the light hitting his eyes. “Trust me, I wanted to. You’re fucking beautiful, of course I wanted to. And at the risk of making myself look like a dick, the only reason I left this morning was to go buy these.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a box of condoms. “We used one, but I only had the one.”

  My eyes went wide, staring at the box in his hands. “You left to go get condoms?”

  “Look, I’m not assuming anything, so don’t think that.” He tossed the box onto the coffee table, the edges of his lips twitching. “I just wanted to be prepared, and there’s no reason why we can’t have a little fun while we’re here. Assuming that is what you want?”

  A thrill ran through my body as my cup overflowed with gratitude.

  One. I had not had unprotected sex.

  Two. I had not sexually harassed him, with all sexual activity being consensual. There was still that gray area because of my agreement with him and the exchange of money, but hey, I would not let that bullshit rain on my happy party.

  Three. He hadn’t had sex with me and then left—and/or hightailed it back home without saying goodbye—Praise Jesus.

  And four, he was considering—rather seriously judging by his condom purchase—a repeat performance.

  “Well, it’s always good to be prepared.” I stared at the box on the table, wanting nothing more than to rip it open. “But, we probably shouldn’t.”

  There were lots of things we probably shouldn’t do. Having the conversation before coffee was a start, but having casual hot sex with each other didn’t have to be on that list. Unless I wanted to be responsible, which clearly was what I was attempting.

  “Then we won’t,” he said with a smile. “We’ll keep it just for the audience.”

  I was just about to agree—or open it up to further discussion, I hadn’t decided which—when there was a knock. My eyes darted to the door as I shot to my feet and tightened the bathrobe, expecting the door to fly open at any minute like the police would on a drug raid. “Who the hell is that?”

  “Probably room service.” He glanced at his watch. “I ordered breakfast.”

  He strode over to the door, opening it—not the slightest bit worried about who was on the other side—to a man in a hotel uniform standing in the hall holding a tray.

  “You can leave it on the table.” Dave pulled out some money and tipped the guy as he lowered the tray. “Thanks.”

  Breakfast was a surprise I hadn’t dared to hope for. Apart from my rather manic morning of freaking out and general neurotic behavior, I hadn’t expected more than to run downstairs to the coffee shop and snag something on my way out the door. But an actual meal, delivered to my door—well that required the kind of preplanning that clearly I currently lacked. I mourned the loss of my usual organized self while simultaneously being curious as to what he chose.

  I strolled over to where he was standing beside the food, the metal domes covering the plates giving me no clues. “How did you know what I wanted to order?”

  “I’d tell you but you made me agree not to discuss.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “Your detailed email.” He grinned removing one of the covers.

 
; Underneath were two eggs over easy, hash browns and a couple of slices of bacon. It was my greasy guilty pleasure, and what I usually ordered for myself.

  My stomach growled, the smell of the food wafting up and making me feel hungry. “Thank you.”

  He took a seat, uncovering his plate covered with waffles as he smiled. “Don’t mention it.”

  Oh, I wouldn’t, but only because I had no idea what I was actually thanking him for.

  I DIDN’T SO MUCH AS eat as inhale breakfast, alternating between shoveling food in my mouth and swallowing coffee and juice. And while my hurried way of eating didn’t leave a lot of time for conversation, there was an easy silence that stretched between us.

  It was ignorant bliss, willing to bury my head in the sand rather than deal with the obvious mess. Not that I was capable of forgetting, the memories from earlier in the morning burned permanently in my mind.

  Besides, I didn’t have a lot of time, needing to shower, dress and be ready for when my brother’s girlfriend arrived. Or at least that’s what I told myself as I left any further discussion on whether or not we would have sex again sidelined.

  Dave cleared the breakfast dishes, letting Amy into the room while I finished up. “Hey, just need to grab my purse.” I strolled out to the living room, Amy barely having had time to sit down.

  The smile widened across her face as she looked between us. “We’re in no rush.” Her eyes dropped to the box of condoms that were conspicuously left on the table. “No rush at all.”

  That, of course, was bullshit. My sister Melanie didn’t do late. She had been born two weeks premature, and the only time she’d been five minutes late—due to a flat tire—we’d been on the brink of calling 9–1-1 to file a missing person’s report. She took after my mother, both of them believing being on time was running late, and punctuality was one of the forgotten commandments.

  I not so subtly gestured toward the door. “We might as well get going. I’m ready.”

  “Of course.” Her smirk stayed in place. “Enjoy your day, Dave.”

  He followed us out, walking us to the door where we both stopped.

  We had kissed when he first arrived at the hotel under the guise of “practicing,” and then in the morning for an entirely different reason. Both times had been hotter than hell, with neither feeling pretend. But as I stood there wondering if I should do it again, I hesitated.

  But he didn’t.

  Taking my head in his hands, he brushed his lips against mine. There was no tongue, just lips, but it didn’t feel any less electric. My eyes closed of their own accord, leaning into him as Amy cleared her throat.

  Under protest, I tore my mouth away from his, not sure how much of it had been for performance. The butterflies in my belly sure felt real. “I should go.”

  “Have fun.” He kissed my nose, tipping his chin to Amy as he said goodbye. “I’ll see you when you get back.”

  My fingers tightened around the strap of my purse, nodding to Amy we were good to go. Staying any longer would be dangerous, and I was going to leave even if I had to throw myself out.

  She looped her arm into mine and pulled me into the hall, her infectious laugh bubbling the minute we had made it to the elevator. “Wow,” she fanned herself, “you might want to take extra precautions, girl. A kiss like that will get you pregnant.”

  “Oh ha-ha.” I smirked, my skin still tingling as we rode the elevator. “You’re hilarious.”

  She giggled, the metal doors opening out into the foyer. “You know, I bet y’all would make the cutest babies too. We’ve got time to go to the courthouse and get an extra license. I’m sure Lana won’t mind sharing her big day with you.”

  “Yeah, that is not happening. I’m not even considering marriage until I’m at least thirty. Besides, it’s your turn next, not mine.”

  We walked out to her Chevy Malibu, the sun blinding me as it reflected off the silver paint. “Yeah, here’s hoping,” She shrugged, hopping into the driver’s seat as I got into the car.

  Unlike the rental, Amy’s stereo was blaring country tunes like it was its job, both of us laughing as we made our way to my mom’s.

  The plan was for Melanie to drop off Anna with her in-laws, and then meet us at Momma’s house. Anna was going through separation anxiety and would scream the house down every time Mel disappeared. It didn’t matter if it was in a bathroom or she was headed to the store, unless that child was asleep she wanted to be on my sister’s hip 24/7. Not conducive to a day of shopping which was why we were leaving my niece behind.

  Lisa greeted us at the door with a cup of coffee in her hand. “What are you two smirking about?”

  “Jessica’s man gave her quite the sendoff,” Amy volunteered. “I might need to change my panties before we head out.”

  I rolled my eyes, usually on the other end of the good-natured teasing. “You guys going to be at it all day? I’m not supposed to be the center of attention.”

  “What was I thinking having two kids? I swear I need my head examined.” Melanie looked tired, walking in from the front door and giving me a hug.

  I rubbed her bulging belly, feeling the soft kicks of my niece. “It’s a little late for that.”

  She sighed, following us into the living room where my mom was. There had been some kind of emergency at the office and she was trying to get it sorted before we left.

  “Now listen here.” She planted a hand on her hip as she paced. “The contract has already been signed. We can’t just go ahead and change everything now. It would take hours if not days contacting all the relevant parties.”

  Mom didn’t look pleased, her pointed-toe shoe tapping on the floor impatiently as the person on the other end of the line answered.

  “Are you kidding me? The client had no idea what they wanted, we sold them on that design, you can’t tell me that the change of heart hasn’t come from that two-bit architect from Baton Rouge putting their nose where it doesn’t belong.”

  “Sounds serious,” Amy whispered. “It won’t fair well for them if they get LeeAnn in a mood.”

  She was right about that, and judging from my mother’s huffing and puffing, our plans didn’t sound as sure as they did last night.

  “Steve, stop.” She held up her hand. “I’ll be in the office in twenty minutes, I suggest you use that time to decide whether you want to continue working for me or if you want to go pave roads for the Parish. Don’t disappoint me.” She hung up the phone in a huff.

  “Bad news?” I asked, not really needing the confirmation.

  She shook her head, silently seething as she gave me a hug. “I’m so sorry ladies, but y’all are going to have to go on without me. This contract has taken too much time and too much money for me to walk away from it. And if we don’t finalize today there is going to be hell to pay. I’m sorry, Melanie, I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

  If Melanie was disappointed, she didn’t look it, her lips spreading into the first grin since she walked through the door. “It’s okay, Momma. I understand.”

  Mom fussed a little more, looking at her eldest daughter with suspicion before turning to me. “Oh, before I forget, there’s a BBQ dinner at your aunt and uncle’s after Lana’s rehearsal. I’ve told them that you and Dave will be there, it’s time for him to meet the rest of the family.”

  “Mom, he is seeing everyone at the wedding tomorrow, why the hell do we have to go to dinner tonight?”

  I knew that the chances of a quiet night were probably slim. My parents would probably expect us to come over for dinner again, the opportunities to grill us before we headed back to L.A. limited. I’d accepted that and figured it was a good way to psyche myself up for the main event. Because if I thought dinner with my parents had been a challenge, that was nothing on what it would be like with my whole family.

  My mom didn’t even bother looking sorry, straightening her row of pearls. “Because tomorrow is Lana’s day, and everyone is going to want a proper opportunity to fuss over you. B
esides, you love your cousin, I would have thought you would be dying to see her.”

  A proper opportunity to fuss over me? I had brought a boyfriend home; I hadn’t won a Nobel Peace Prize.

  “Mom, I don’t want to bombard him. I know everyone and sometimes it’s even too much for me. And there is no reason for everyone to fuss, we’re here just like any other guests”

  Lisa snorted, not buying my excuse. “Are you kidding? Gran Shelly has been on the phone telling everyone about him. I’ll be surprised if the mayor doesn’t offer him a key to the city. Oh, and he’s coming too, along with about a hundred other people.”

  “Oh Lord.” My hand flew up to my mouth, the thought of one hundred or more people greeting us like visiting heads of state enough to throw me into a panic.

  “Jessica, you know I don’t like when you take the Lord’s name in vain. Anyway, it’s done. And you know the mayor is one of our oldest dearest friends, it would only make sense that he be there. I’ll expect you there at seven, and make sure you dress nice. Now, I better get to the office before the whole deal collapses. Have fun.” She kissed us all, grabbed her keys, reveling in the carnage she’d left behind.

  “This is out of control. He’s going to see all those people there tonight and run a mile.” I shook my head wondering whether or not to tell him the truth or spring it on him last minute. Neither was appealing, the thought of jumping on a plane and saying I had my own business emergency in L.A. extremely tempting.

  “Be grateful there’s not going to be any reporters. I heard Darla was already trying to sell her feel-good piece. I swear, she wouldn’t know the definition of discretion if it bit her on the ass.” Amy sat on the edge of the armchair.

  Well, I guess that was something to be thankful for. That, and the fact that even if we did get a mention, The Shreveport Times didn’t exactly have an earthshattering readership.