Love, Lies, and Deception Read online

  I waved first before turning around to walk briskly in the direction of campus. I was already late and Kristian was probably two seconds away from calling me. Alec called out behind me, “Have fun in class.”

  Not looking back, I threw my hands in the air and waved again. The smile on my face stretched from ear to ear and I didn’t want Alec seeing how excited I was. My insides were going crazy, not to mention my libido. Just having him so close to me turned me on more than having full out sex with my ex. That’s how starved my body was for some attention. I couldn’t believe I wasted some of my best college years tied down to someone I simply felt comfortable with.

  I wanted the love and passion, to feel the butterflies in my stomach, and the clenching of need in my core. I wanted to feel alive, and to feel desired. My spring break was just the beginning, and I had a feeling things were going to get a lot better. It opened the flood gates to new possibilities, and I was going to take it … I was going to take it all.

  Kristian was pacing back and forth and looking at his watch when he came into my line of sight. When he saw me, he marched over to me and glared; his long strides catching up to me almost instantly. “What took you so long?” he asked, worry marring his handsome face. “I’ve been waiting here for twenty minutes.” My heart lurched at the sight of him, and I instantly felt bad for not calling to tell him I was running late.

  “I am so sorry, Kris,” I apologized, coming up to his side. Turning, he huffed and began walking the half mile trek to our first class with me falling in step beside him. I felt guilty for keeping him waiting, so I kept my gaze on my feet as I walked. The dew on the ground soaked through my boots as we strolled through the grass, but thankfully it didn’t reach my socks.

  Sheepishly, I finally lifted my head and apologized. “I should’ve called, Kristian, and I feel bad that I didn’t, but I got stopped by my neighbor and we got to talking. The time seriously got away from me.”

  “Oh?” he replied, his tone unreadable.

  “Is that all you’re going to say to me?”

  “What do you want me to say?” he asked.

  “I don’t know,” I sighed, “but my neighbor asked me to have dinner with him. I’m really excited about it.”

  “Is this the same guy you were talking to before we left for spring break?”

  Nodding quickly, I smiled and muttered, “Yep.”

  “Did you say yes?”

  I glanced up at him incredulously. “Of course, I said yes. Why wouldn’t I?”

  Kristian kept his eyes straight ahead, but I had a feeling he was keeping something from me. His tone was very weird and I didn’t know how to take it. Putting my hand on his arm, I pulled him to a stop. “Hey, what’s wrong? Don’t be mad at me for not calling you. I promise not to do it again.” He released a breath and finally tilted his head so he could look at me.

  His cool gray eyes regarded me intently, all soft and definitely the Kristian I loved as my friend. He tucked a stray strand of my hair behind my ear, and let his finger linger across my cheek before it fell away. “It’s not that, Marissa, it’s just … you just got through breaking up with your ex and now you’re jumping into another relationship. You don’t even know this guy.”

  I smiled and rolled my eyes. “That’s what dating is for, Kristian. Most people do it to get to know each other. His name is Alec Holden and he seems like a really nice guy. I think I’m entitled to a little bit of fun.” A look passed across Kristian’s face briefly, but I couldn’t get a chance to decipher it … surprise, maybe, or recognition. I couldn’t quite tell.

  Narrowing my eyes, I asked, “What’s wrong? Do you know him? Have you heard something about him from someone?”

  His reaction was odd, but he shook his head and half-smiled. “No, I don’t know him. I just want you to be careful is all.”

  I groaned halfheartedly, linking my arm through his as we began our brisk walk to the Rankin Science Building where our first class of the day would begin. “You and your worrying.” I laughed, squeezing his arm. “How did I get so lucky to find someone like you? I’m gonna miss you when I have to move away. You’ll have to come visit me and Em sometime.”

  “I’m going to miss you, too, and yes I will definitely come visit you. I can’t let you and Emily have all the fun now can I?” he agreed with a mischievous grin on his face. He was up to something, I could tell, but what I wondered.

  When we got to our first class, Kristian and I separated and took our seats. It was a long hour and a half, but I was able to get by and take notes. When I glanced over at Kristian he was staring at his notebook with a blank expression on his face.

  He seemed fine earlier, but I was sure he’d tell me if it was something serious. Surely, he wasn’t mad about me and Alec, was he? Kristian had never shown any romantic feelings for me before, so why would he have a problem with me and Alec? He was hiding something, and I could feel it. I just needed to find out what it was.

  All during class, my mind wandered to what my evening would be like with Alec. What would I wear? What would we talk about? What were his intentions? It was all bombarding my mind, but my train of thought was interrupted when my cell phone buzzed with an incoming text. It was from Kristian.

  Kristian: Pay attention and stop daydreaming!

  I peered over at him sitting beside me and mouthed the word ‘sorry’ to him. It took all I had to try and pay attention to my professor and take notes. I could already tell Alec was going to be a bad influence on me.

  After a long day of classes and the silent treatment from Kristian, which about killed me when he wouldn’t talk to me on the way back to the apartment, I was a wreck. He left with a simple ‘see ya’ and turned his back and walked away. Determined not to let it get me down, I stumbled into my apartment and headed straight for the refrigerator where I had a bottle of my favorite German Riesling chilling in the side door.

  I fetched a wine glass from the cupboard and poured the cool liquid until it was rimming the top, just the way I liked it. I flung my bag of books onto the floor—out of the way—and took a seat on the sofa with my wine glass in hand, sighing as the first sip went down my throat.

  Emily finally made an appearance, and when her gaze settled on me she said, “Uh oh, it’s not even five o’clock and you’re already drinking? What happened, babe?”

  Taking a huge gulp of my wine, I let the crisp, fruity chill of the liquid slide down my throat before responding. “For starters, I’m nervous as hell about my date tonight, and secondly, Kristian is acting funny around me. I don’t know what his deal is.”

  Emily’s eyes grew wide and she cackled. “Wow … um … I don’t know where to begin.” She poured herself a glass of wine and joined me on the sofa. “Although, I did already know about the date,” she informed me with a gleam in her mischievous eyes.

  Choking on my wine, I gasped and turned my head to face her. She pounded on my back thinking it would help, but all it did was made my coughing worse. “How did you find out about the date?” I asked, sputtering.

  Sheepishly, she grinned and lowered her voice. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you, but you know I can’t keep secrets from you. Anyway, hottie from downstairs came up here after you left this morning and banged on the door. I thought it was you, thinking you left your keys or something, but nope … it was him and he saw me all clad in my flannel pajamas and my hair in a hot mess. Needless to say, I wanted to crawl under a rock.”

  I giggled at the image of her in my head wearing those ratty flannel pajamas while Alec stood there all sexy as hell. “What did he want?” I asked curiously.

  She grinned. “He told me you agreed to have dinner with him so he wanted to know what your favorite foods were. I about died when he said he could cook. Justin can’t cook for shit.” My mouth fell open and I almost dropped my wine in shock.

  “Really?” I squealed in disbelief, beaming as the smile stretched across my face. “What did you tell him? Please tell me you didn’t say my favorite
was liver mush.”

  Emily rolled her eyes and patted my leg. “Now why would I do that to you? I told him your favorite was pimento cheese.”

  “What?!” I hated pimento cheese with a passion.

  Emily cackled and a tear escaped her eye. “I’m just kidding, Rissa. Geez … calm down. The guy is showing some genuine interest in you and I don’t want to come between that, even though I’m a tad bit jealous. Maybe I should tell Alec your sick and take your place.”

  “Hey, you have Justin!” I shouted incredulously. “I don’t think he’d like you doing that.”

  Giggling, Emily held her hands up in defeat. “I know, I know. You can’t blame me for at least trying. Anyways, I don’t know of any guy who would’ve done what he did. If it doesn’t lead to anything serious, I’m sure you both could use the action if you know what I mean, especially you. With a body like his I’m sure he could do things I know boring ole Jason couldn’t do. Live a little and enjoy the last few months we have being free.”

  Exasperated, I shook my head. “You’re a nut, you know that?”

  “What? It’s true. You really need to get laid, Rissa. You’re much easier to be around when you do. Just use that pent up aggression on Alec. Besides, he told me you were making brownies and I know what chocolate can do to a person’s libido. Just spread that chocolaty goodness all over his body.”

  “Is that all that’s on your mind these days? You and Justin must have a crazy sex life.”

  She winked and nudged me in the side with her elbow. “I don’t kiss and tell, babe. I’ll be staying over at Justin’s tonight so you’ll have the place all to yourself if you feel more comfortable bringing him down here. His place or our place, either way you need to get some action.”

  Hoping to get off the subject of sex, I downed the last of my wine and spoke quickly, “We’ll see. I’m sure I’ll figure it out later, but right now I need to make my brownies before I run out of time.”

  Getting up from the couch, I headed back into the kitchen and poured myself another glass of wine. Emily eyed me warily from the couch. “Are you gonna be okay? You mentioned something earlier about Kristian acting weird. What do you think his problem is?”

  I wish I knew. Sighing, I leaned over on the counter and rested on my elbows. “I don’t know. When I told him about my date with Alec he got all weird on me.”

  Emily furrowed her brows in contemplation. “Hmm … do you think he’s jealous or something? You two have been friends for years, and he’s never given the impression that he wants more, or at least I never thought he did.” Pausing, she gazed at me wide-eyed and shrieked, “Hey, did something happen between you two in Fiji that I don’t know about? Did you guys have sex? You two spent an awful lot of time together alone there.”

  “No,” I blurted out quickly. “Our relationship isn’t like that. I swear nothing happened.”

  She studied me for a second hoping her scrutinizing stare would make me buckle, but there was nothing to tell … nothing happened between Kristian and me.

  When she wasn’t going to get another answer she shrugged and muttered, “Well, maybe he’s having issues with his girlfriend. Why don’t you ask him?”

  “Yeah, that’s possible. I’ll ask him the next time I see him. Hopefully, she’s still coming to graduation. I know he misses her.”

  “Okay, so enough about Kristian,” Emily said, waving her hands impatiently. She bounced up and down excitedly and came to stand beside me in the kitchen. “Not that I don’t adore our friend, but I don’t want him and his moodiness ruining the night. What are you going to wear for your date? Are you gonna sleep with Alec tonight?”

  “No,” I shrieked. “You know I have a policy against one night stands. Besides, he might want to be just friends.” Emily shook her head in disbelief. I continued before she could cut in, “I do, however, want to wear my favorite pink top. It’s sexy, yet subtle.”

  Emily rolled her eyes and grinned. “You’re no fun, you know that? However, I do think you’ll look stunning in your pink top. Make sure you wear that lacy cami underneath it. I like the way it looks when your top hangs off your shoulders.”

  “Thanks, Em, I appreciate that,” I uttered wholeheartedly. She always knew what to say to make me happy.

  “No problem, babe. Now get to fixing your brownies. You don’t want to be late.” She pointed to the counter by the oven. “I’ve laid all of the ingredients out for you. Make sure you do double so we can have our own, too.”

  Laughing, I nodded and pulled out a huge bowl and the measuring cups out of the kitchen cabinet. “Will do, darling. You know I can’t make brownies and not make double.”

  Emily kissed me on the cheek. “You’re the best, Rissa. If you need anything tonight just give me a call, okay?”

  Smiling, I waved her off. “I’ll be fine. You have nothing to worry about. I’m the responsible one, remember?”

  Playfully, she snarled at me and turned to make her way down the hall to her room. The moment she entered, it didn’t take her long to get the radio pumping. I poured myself another glass of wine and whipped up the brownie batter—hoping I didn’t leave out any ingredients—before placing it in the pans and shoving them in the oven.

  Feeling a little tipsy, I danced to the music and swayed around the kitchen until the time came for me to take the brownies out. Why was I the responsible one? I wondered. Emily had her fair share of fun and still managed to make good grades. Why can’t I do it, too?

  After downing my third glass of wine, my mind was set; my insides were screaming for me to be bold, to take what I wanted. I made my way to my room and flung open my closet doors. Pushing my usual T-shirts to the side, I brought my more seductive, weekend wardrobe to the forefront.

  Taking off my T-shirt and full coverage bra, I replaced them with one of my sexy push-up ones from Victoria’s Secret and my favorite low cut pink top. After straightening my long brown hair to get rid of the wavy pieces, I added a little more makeup to my green eyes to draw them out and to make them pop. I usually didn’t wear a lot of makeup, but this was a special occasion.

  I was feeling good, except maybe just a tad bit tipsy, but if anything were going to happen tonight I’d be ready.

  I knocked on Alec’s door precisely at seven o’clock. I debated on if I should show up a few minutes late to make him stew, but thought better of it. Games were not something I liked to play in relationships, and I wasn’t going to start.

  Alec opened the door dressed in loose fitting jeans slung low on his hips, and a form fitting blue T-shirt that matched his electric blue eyes. His shirt was tight against his biceps, and instantly my gaze focused on them, wishing I could feel the strength of them closing around me. His smile was appreciative as his gaze lingered down over my body, and it made it hard not to grin triumphantly at his approval.

  Reining in my excitement, I handed Alec the pan of brownies and he moved aside with a flourish, inviting me in.

  “You’re right on time,” he said to me.

  “I usually am for most things,” I replied, surveying the room. “It just all depends.”

  He smiled. “Depends on what exactly?”

  Nonchalantly, I turned away from him and shrugged my shoulders. “On if I want to be where I’m going.”

  “Well, then I’ll consider myself lucky. I hope you’re hungry; I made a ton of food.”

  “I’m starving,” I mumbled, placing my hand on my stomach. “The food smells wonderful.”

  It smelled amazing and it didn’t take long to realize from the aroma of garlic and Italian seasonings that he probably made what Emily would’ve told him was my favorite … lasagna. My stomach grumbled and my mouth watered just thinking about it.

  The apartment was very neat and everything was in order; definitely not what I was expecting from Alec. I wondered if he cleaned up because I was coming over, or if he was always that tidy. The carpet was just like all the other apartments, off white and fluffy with stains in various places
from recent tenants. His furniture, however, was top of the line leather. The couch, loveseat, and recliner were all made of sleek black leather—all in immaculate shape—and surrounding what had to be a sixty inch flat screen television.

  My interest was definitely piqued. I glanced at Alec briefly, and he watched me with an amused expression on his face as I made my way around his living room. Framed pictures adorned the walls with various photos taken of surfers riding enormous swells. I couldn’t tell if they were of him or of other people, but whoever it was had guts. There was no way I would ever have the balls to get out in that water with those huge waves.

  “You look beautiful tonight,” Alec said softly, coming up behind me. His breath grazed across my neck, making me shiver in response.

  “Thank you,” I whispered, sounding breathless. I pointed to the pictures on the wall. “Are these all of you?”

  His eyes landed on the pictures and I could see joy spark behind his gaze, but also longing and pain reflected in them as well. “Yes, it’s me, but they were taken a long time ago, or so it feels like it. Surfing was my one passion, and I miss it every day.”

  “You never got to tell me why you moved here from California. If you miss it so much, why don’t you move back?”

  He regarded me intently and let out a regretful breath. “I wish I could, but it’s a long story. I might tell you someday, but for now it’s time to eat. Come,” he commanded lightly.

  Gently grasping my elbow, Alec steered me toward the kitchen. Two glasses of white wine were poured and he had two salads already made up. There was also an assortment of dressings lined up on the counter, which happened to be in bowls instead of bottles.

  I furrowed my brows and eyed him curiously. He handed me a salad and pointed to each of the dressings. “That one is Ranch, the one beside it is Italian, and the other is balsamic vinaigrette. I didn’t know what you liked, so I did all three. They’re homemade by the way, and before you ask, my mother made me go to all of her cooking classes growing up. I wouldn’t ever tell her this, but I actually kind of liked them.”