Bitter Lies

by Nina Lincoln

  “I heard about the little charade,” he sneers in the way of greeting, and I frown.

  “How did you know?”

  “Well, I had to ask when Jason was invited to a fucking party at the house,” he says sourly. “Fucked-up shit, Hals. You could have ruined his life.”

  Gritting my teeth, I smile, but it’s undoubtedly a horrific fucking rendition of amusement. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that Griffin is buddies with Jason again. Hell, I helped it along, but it doesn’t stop the devastation I feel as a result.

  I don’t know what’s going on in Griffin’s diabolical mind, but I have to assume at this point it’s as dark as mine.

  And Jason has a massive set of balls walking back in as though nothing is wrong, which makes me that much more determined.

  “Whatever. I need a favor,” I grumble, hoping that for once in his fucking life, my brother will throw me a damn bone.

  “Which is what?” he asks with furrowed brows.

  “I need money, and Mom won’t let me have access to mine. I’ll pay you back, but it might be a while.”

  “What do you need it for?”

  “I just do,” I say stubbornly.

  I’m expecting him to argue with me, demand to know why at the very least, which is why I’m surprised when he says, “Only if you help me with something.”

  Shit. Of course, there are strings. Would my damn brother have it any other way?

  “What?” I ask warily.

  “We’re going to Griffin’s house on the lake for spring break. You’ll come with.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Because I need your help with something.”

  “What?”

  “You don’t need to know right now.”

  “Max!”

  “Do you want the money or not?” he demands.

  “Griffin hates me. He’s not going to want me there,” I mutter.

  “Whatever. I’ll tell him Mom said you needed to come.”

  Eyeing him skeptically, I agree with a rock in my stomach because I don’t know where this is going, but I need that fucking money to protect myself.

  Even as I can’t help but wonder what I’ve gotten myself into.

  ∞∞∞

  Spring break rolls around far too quickly for my liking, and I admit, part of me hoped Griffin would refuse to allow me to come, but my prayers went unanswered, and here I am, driving in his fucking vehicle again.

  This time, there’s a brunette bimbo with huge tits chattering beside me, and if I weren’t completely freaked-out about what I agreed to, which I still don’t know, I’d probably be more annoyed by her presence.

  Although by the time the five-hour ride comes to an end, I’m definitely annoyed. Still, I brood sourly and avoid looking at Griffin, who gave me a cold smile and proceeded to act like an obnoxious shit the entire way.

  When we switched out drivers at the halfway point, he pulled the bitch onto his lap and, if I’m not mistaken, fucked her while Max and I sat in the front seats.

  To say it was massively uncomfortable would be an understatement, and my teeth were gritted the entire time as I fought back the jealousy and hurt circling my chest.

  This is what I get for trying to protect myself, and only the knowledge that I’m moving forward with my plan makes the sting a little easier to bear.

  But now I’ve got a week of torture ahead of me because no doubt Griffin plans to bang every chick in sight.

  If I had the balls, I’d consider doing the same but remind myself this is how I got here in the first place, and it’s not a fun fucking place to be.

  ∞∞∞

  I’ve never been to Griffin’s house by the lake, so it’s with some awe that I take it in when we approach. It’s massive, with floor-to-ceiling windows on both sides of the main level of the house, which means I can see the lake through the interior as we park.

  With two stories, a beautiful wraparound porch, and a dock leading to a boat, it’s far more decadent than I was expecting.

  Cars arrive around us as we unload, and Griffin leads me up the stairs and down the hall silently before pushing open a door and saying coldly, “You can sleep here.”

  Ignoring his ice out and his gorgeous chest, currently stretching yet another damn shirt, I nod and step inside, eyeing the single bed and small dresser within. It’s tiny and at odds with the rest of the house and the rooms we passed with fancy beds and furniture.

  It would seem, I’m to be punished. Whatever. I have bigger issues, like the sting of damn shame that keeps me from looking Griffin in the eyes even as rage beats with a savage intensity in my heart. He could have dropped Jason from his friend list, but I guess that was too much to expect from the heartless jerk.

  With a mental sigh, I drop my shit on the bed, spinning when he speaks in a silky soft tone. “I suggest you stay out of the way. We wouldn’t want you to get the wrong idea.”

  “About what?” I ask cautiously.

  Raising a brow, he says with eyes so full of hate I can barely breathe, “Let the big kids have fun. Those who drink too much and make shit up only ruin the atmosphere.”

  Stretching my lips into a bitter smile, I raise a brow because what the fuck else can I do? “Right.”

  “Hm, oh, and stay the fuck away from Jason. I think you’ve humiliated yourself enough.”

  He backs out and walks away before I can react, and I sigh long and loud because once again I’m stuck at a fucking house with my rapist just beyond the door.

  With a frustrated huff, I close the door to find a substantial lock and click it into place before collapsing on the bed. I don’t know what the lock means, but I refuse to entertain the idea that Griffin was looking out for me. Yeah, right.

  The sound of music kicks on somewhere in the house as hoots and hollers follow, the party getting underway, and bitterly, I acknowledge this may be the longest five days of my life. I just hope whatever Max wants from me is worth the money. Otherwise, I’m trading one hell for another.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  If you can’t beat the dicks, join ’em.

  Since I can’t hide in here forever, I eventually decide to join the party, watching as the jerk’s frolic in the lake and the fucking pool placed before it.

  Donning an old bikini, I pull on cutoff shorts and brush my long blonde hair. I’ve got my signature dark purple makeup on my eyes to hide the fucking past that I can’t outrun, and forgoing lipstick, I shuffle out the door.

  As long as I avoid Griffin, I might have a little fun, and strangely, I’m determined to flirt and be normal for once in my pathetic life.

  Searching out the kitchen, I help myself to a soda and stare out the back, pausing when I hear the distinct sound of Griffin’s deep voice farther into the house. I have zero desire to see him again, basically ever and step out the door, only to hesitate at the threshold as his tone grows louder.

  “I thought…I…fuck.”

  Glancing outside, I roll my eyes but tiptoe back through the kitchen and down an adjacent hallway. I can hear Griffin’s voice at the first open door, and I slam my back against the wall, cocking my head toward the opening.

  “Relax, bro. You said it was fine. It’s fine,” Max says, his tone dismissive.

  “It’s not fine. Not until I figure out what the fuck is going on. I told you I didn’t want him here.”

  “Whatever. She told you she lied, right? Why are you being suck a dick?”

  “Because I don’t fucking trust either one of them and I want to know what’s going on,” Griffin growls.

  “I told you what’s going on. She fucked him. She fucked all of them. She’s a whore.”

  I slap my hand over my mouth to cover my gasp as my fucking brother calls me a goddamn whore. Dick.

  “Shut the fuck up.” Backing away from the door, I pause when I hear a scuffle before Griffin speaks again, “I’m tired of the fucking shit spewing from your mouth. Enough.”

  Wow. Easing away, I speed through the kitche
n and emerge out the back, making my way to the water. I don’t know how to feel about Max’s jerk attitude nor Griffin speaking up for me, but I’m too fucking tired to analyze it right now.

  Turning my thoughts away, I dip my toes in the lake with a small smile, contemplating a swim.

  “Hey, you’re Griffin’s old roommate, right?”

  Turning, I find the same guy who called me hot in the library standing before me with a grin.

  Smiling hesitantly, I nod and hold out my hand. “Halsey.”

  “David, nice to meet you. We’re just about to go out in the water. You want to come?”

  “Sure,” I say, reminding myself to be casual.

  He’s cute and built with pretty dark eyes and blond hair. I presume he’s on the football team, although I haven’t seen him at any of the parties, but that’s not hard since they’re always packed so full of people.

  Following him to the water, I drop my shorts and fight off a blush when he smirks at me, dropping his gaze down my form with appreciation before licking his lips and saying, “C’mon.”

  Handing me an inner tube, he helps me inside and gives my ass a good squeeze, if I’m not mistaken. With a wry smile, I slip over and lay my head against the warm tube, basking in the rays.

  David plops into his own tube and floats beside me before mayhem erupts, and his friends surround us.

  “Yo, pass the ball, Jackson,” someone shouts, and soon a football is being passed between the boys.

  Quietly, I watch the antics, amused by their game as they flail around to catch the ball and end up in the water more often than not. David looks at me occasionally and smiles when he meets my eyes, to which I return the gesture.

  Although I’m not sure about anything beyond a bit of light flirting, I’m enjoying the normalcy of hanging out with a cute boy while he plays with his friends.

  Until Griffin appears in a floatie of his own and gives me a smirk, his gleaming chest beckoning me like water in the desert. I will my eyes away, but it takes a severe amount of self-control.

  I can’t see his eyes behind his sunglasses, but I swear my skin tingles where his gaze lands. Fighting the urge to cover my breasts, my nipples already tight little beads, I drop into the water and emerge within the tube, effectively hiding just how badly I want the fucker to touch me.

  Still, he seems to know because his wicked smirk turns downright devilish, as he says, “See something you like?”

  My stomach clenches at the vicious reminder, but I ignore the pulse of hurt, because how could I expect anything less? “You must be confused. I’m in love with Jason, remember? Besides, I prefer to have sex with someone who doesn’t view me as a cheap fuck.”

  Raising a brow, he drops his tone to a husky growl. “Oh sweetheart, why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve lied and told you what you wanted if that’s what you need.”

  Giving him my own smirk, I say, “No worries. I’ve found I’m not interested anymore.”

  His brows pull low over his eyes, and he chuffs, but I don’t wait around for a response, swimming away and toward the shore, because where Griffin is, I don’t need to be, for more reasons than one.

  “Hey, Halsey, where you going?” David calls out with a grin.

  Turning back with a smile, I say, “Just inside.”

  “Oh cool, I’ll come with you,” he says, and Griffin’s head swings between us rapidly.

  With a small smile and a little thrill, I wait until he joins me on the shore, and we walk away together. When I glance back, because I can’t help myself, I find Griffin’s head turned in our direction and a fierce scowl on his face.

  Once inside, David helps himself to a drink, and I pass, knowing I should keep my shit together, even if I long for the taste of oblivion in this fucked-up mess.

  Wandering over to a room off the kitchen, I find a media space filled with old-school board games on a shelf in the corner, an entertainment system complete with the newest video game systems, and a pool table against the far wall.

  I’m running my fingers over the felt of the table when David asks, “You play pool?”

  I’m fighting back memories of Griffin teaching me to play, which is why my shrug is half-hearted. “I used to.

  He would sit with me for hours in the game room back at his home, set up specifically for fancy billiards, and patiently teach me the angles and trajectory, even going so far as to explain the geometry of it like a complete nerd.

  I loved every second, not only because it was fun but because it was him, and by the time that summer was over, I could kick his ass half the time. But much like everything else, I never played again because the memories were too painful.

  Now, I’m resolved to create new memories, and tentatively, I ask my admirer, “You wanna play?”

  “Cool,” he says, racking up the balls with a playful smile. “I’m pretty good at this. You sure you can handle it?”

  Mentally rubbing my hands together, I return his grin with my own. “How about a little wager?”

  “Oh?”

  “Mm,” I say, rolling a ball under my hand. “What do you want if you win?”

  “A kiss,” he says without hesitation.

  “Oh?” I ask with a small thrill, tapping my finger against my chin. “Okay, sounds reasonable.”

  “What do you want?” He steps forward with a pretty grin and touches my shoulder.

  Resisting the urge to step back, I clench my fist instead and take a deep breath. “How about…a date? A real date…when we get home?”

  His eyes brighten, and I smile, hopeful in the face of this guy and my progress because I’m healing, slowly but surely, and it feels good, right.

  I just wish there wasn’t a tiny voice in the back of my head reminding me that David will never be Griffin because I’d really like to move on from the gorgeous asshat with the cruel eyes.

  The game goes quickly, and it’s clear I’m better because picking up that cue was like riding a bike, and everything Griffin taught me came back quickly.

  “Okay, fine, a date,” David says with a grin when I sink the eight ball happily.

  I smile triumphantly, but it fades when Griffin appears, his cold smirk firmly in place as he glances between David and me. “Who won?”

  “Halsey. She’s a shark,” David says with a chuckle. “I’m gonna grab a beer. You want anything?”

  Shaking my head no, I watch as he leaves me alone with Griffin, and turning away, I place the stick down on the felt with trembling fingers.

  As usual I’m caught between the oblivion I crave at his hands and the knowledge that for him I truly am the cheap fuck I admitted to before.

  “Double or nothing,” Griffin says, grabbing a pool stick.

  Lifting my face to his in shock, I search his wicked eyes. “What?”

  “Double or nothing. What did you win?”

  “Um, a date,” I say, the words awkward in my mouth. I suspect in direct relation to Griffin’s amused stare.

  “What did he bet?”

  “A kiss.”

  “Amateur,” he says silkily, causing a riot of shivers to roll down my spine. “You in?”

  Unable to ignore the challenge in his eyes, I pick up the stick grimly and eye the table. Griffin taught me everything he knows, so this won’t be as easy as the last time, but maybe I can kick his ass.

  He’s so confident as he racks up the balls and makes his first move, smirking at me devilishly that I’m spellbound, and of course, he sinks the first ball easily.

  For the briefest moment, I’m cast back in time to when Griffin actually liked me, or so I thought, and that expression would have been light-hearted and free.

  “Stripes,” he drawls, giving me a wicked smile, and I break away from my reverie with a flush.

  I aim for the red solid, and it shoots smoothly into the pocket, and with a victorious grin, I aim for the next but miss.

  It goes like this through the entire game until we’re both down to one ball. Others have trai
led in, but I can’t see them for Griffin, who says nothing but keeps me captivated with every smile and raising of his brow.

  At the last, when I miss my shot, I’m both annoyed and anticipatory because, in this, I don’t feel like I can lose. I just wish my heart wasn’t on the line also.

  Griffin lines up his shot, glancing at me with a heated stare before he makes his play, and the blue striped ball sails into the pocket, ricocheting off the black ball which follows behind, signaling the end of the game.

  Turning to me with a burning gaze, his eyes flame hotter. “I win.”

  Cheers break out behind us, the masses adoring of their king, and I roll my eyes, to which Griffin raises his brow once more before grabbing my hand and pulling me from the room.

  Breathlessly I follow, and I know I should pull back, protest, but I’d be lying if I did because we both know how much I want this. We’ve been trading delicious stares since this began, and although Griffin is always the first to protest, his eyes were as heated as mine.

  He leads me back down the hall toward my room, and just when I think he’s taking me back there, he enters the room opposite and closes the door behind us.

  As he presses me against the wood, I glance around blindly, noting the king-size bed, french doors, and massive television on the wall before Griffin leans against me and rubs his erection against me harshly.

  “Now then, I believe I won a kiss,” he purrs, but instead of pressing his lips to mine, he drops to his knees and brushes his nose against my core.

  “Wh-what?” I ask shakily, my limbs turning to noodles under his eyes.

  “I never said where the kiss would be,” he says huskily, moving my bikini bottoms aside and swiping his tongue between my folds.

  “Oh god,” I moan, grabbing at the wall desperately.

  “Mm, so sweet,” he groans, lapping me up greedily.

  “Aw fuck, Griffin,” I keen as I arch into his wicked tongue, my core pulsing heavily at his naughty attention. He laves me up and licks me down before sucking my clit into his mouth and biting down gently. I’m racing toward orgasm, writhing against his wicked tongue, on the verge of insane pleasure as my clit tingles and throbs when he pulls back abruptly. When I glance down blankly, he’s licking his shiny lips and I whimper.