Cheater (Curious Liaisons 1)

“I’m NOT a virgin!” She finally looked at me, thank God. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I have loads of sex, all the time.”

“Really?” I crossed my arms. “All the time, huh?”

“All the time.” She confirmed that with a serious nod. “In fact, I’m having sex tonight.”

“Are you?”

“Yes.”

“With Carl?”

“Who?”

“Fess up, he’s not real.”

“He’s ABSOLUTELY real!” She scowled as the elevator doors opened. “In fact, we’re meeting for drinks later.”

“Where at?”

“Not telling you.” She stormed out of the elevator and into the hallway.

“Fine.” I held up my hands. “Let’s call a truce. Besides, we have a lot of ground to cover this afternoon. Now give me your phone.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Why would I give you my phone?”

I sighed and looked heavenward. “So I can give you my number just in case this jackass is real and I have to hunt him down. Why else?”

She hesitantly handed her phone over to me. “No funny business?”

“Nope.” I held the phone in the air to prove I was doing something simple, like typing in my number.

While also turning on her GPS and Find My Friends app.

Harmless.

Right?

“Here you go.” I handed it back.

“That took too long.” Her eyes narrowed.

“Usually that’s a bonus, when things take longer.” I shifted toward her, almost pinning her to the wall of the hallway. Her perfume floated around me.

She pointed her cell at me. “No more sex talk.”

“Stop being paranoid.” I placed my hand on her lower back. “Now, let’s go save the children.”

“Ughhhhhh.” She groaned and jerked away from me. “God really did a number on you, Thorn.”

“What?” I smiled brightly. “Because I love kids?”

She eyed me up and down and smiled wickedly. “I cursed you yesterday.”

Well, that was wonderful. “Um, thank you?”

“I cursed your cow too.”

“I don’t believe I own a cow.”

“Because I cursed you.” She nodded. “But beware if one suddenly appears in your life. It’ll probably be cursed, just like your cat.”

“You cursed a poor, helpless imaginary cat?”

“Of course! I had to include all animals in your foreseeable future. Oh, also, I prayed you’d develop adult acne and get in a car accident where you’d be forced to walk into the light, but let’s be honest—the darkness calls you way more.”

I groaned. “Business. Professional. Why don’t you try that for, say, three hours?”

“Fine.” She pulled on her jacket while I called an Uber.

“So, save the children time?” She peered up at me with hopeful green eyes.

“Exactly,” I whispered.

Chapter Fifteen

AVERY

I opened up an IPA and chugged half of it before I slammed it down onto my small kitchen table and contemplated making friends with the spider in a corner of the room.

No matter how many times I sprayed for spiders, one always found a way in.

And they never ran away from me, just stared me down, waiting for me to make my move so that they could yawn, wave, and then slowly crawl back into the hellhole they’d come out of.

Spiders and Lucas Thorn had a lot in common.

Interesting.

I played with the green label on the beer bottle and yawned.

It had been a long afternoon at the schools. Not only did I suddenly appreciate the fact that I was out of high school and free of the smell of books, lockers, and puberty—but luckily for me and Lucas, one of our school visits had been the very high school we’d attended.

At different times of course.

But it didn’t help that when we walked by the trophy case, there was still a picture of him and Kayla in their homecoming garb.

Causing long-buried memories to flood to the surface.

Memories of Kayla holding his hand and winking at me behind his back.

Being obsessed with him, lusting after his stupid body when I was a freshman. And the night he held me in his arms, his lips brushing my seventeen-year-old skin.

I wasn’t sure if I should block the glass case with my body or pull the fire alarm to distract him. I mean, was he over Kayla? The situation? I had no clue, but I did know that we needed to focus. To his credit Lucas completely ignored it. He put his professionalism first. I could learn a lot from him—loath as I was to admit it.

When he needed to be all business, he was.

Whereas I was having a minor anxiety attack, pitting out my shirt while my old principal sat a few rows in front of us and took notes about the new app.

I almost tripped on my heels when Lucas asked me a question, one that I had to answer out loud—like I was in class—in front of at least half of the teachers who had taught me four years ago.

Four years ago, when I’d graduated with bags under my eyes and a swollen face from crying.

He was supposed to be at my graduation.

He’d never made it.

Then again, understandable since Grandpa had said he’d wait in the truck just in case he spotted Lucas—maybe he could run him over without getting caught.

But still.

“Um . . .” Lucas smiled brightly at me.

I cleared my throat. “The stats show that if we give free access to the students, they’re ninety percent more likely to use the app to get homework done on time. Our rese

arch discovered that most high school students don’t complete their homework because they’re so busy with after-school activities that they don’t get started until pretty late at night or they’re too tired to finish.”

“Thanks, Avery.” Lucas smiled again and addressed the teachers. “We’re ready to move beyond the beta phase, so with your permission we’d like to implement this program immediately and see how the students react.”

The rest of the meeting went great.

But I was completely drained by the time I made it home. Maybe it was because I’d had to keep my emotions in check around Lucas. Or maybe it was because those halls reminded me of how lost I had felt when I no longer had him as my rock.

I slumped further into my kitchen chair, then snatched my beer, walked over to my living room—you know, like two feet away—and sat cross-legged on the floor in front of my laptop.

It was too late to go out—not that I had plans or anything. I’d lied about Carl. Who the hell was named Carl? And a dancer? What had I been thinking? Good call, Avery, bragging about dating a ballerino in front of Lucas. That would show him.

A man in tights.

Well, superheroes wore tights, so it was kind of the same thing, right?

My phone buzzed.

And the name Lucas Thorn popped up on my screen.

I stuck out my tongue, then finally answered. “Minion here.”

“Satan calling,” he snapped right back.

“Good one.”

“So how’s the date? You know, the one with all the sex?”

“It’s . . .” I looked around my empty apartment. Peeling paint clung desperately to the east wall near my bed, and my place smelled like old Chinese food and french fries. My stomach growled.

I had one beer left.

And leftover chow mein.

Just under a hundred dollars, and I still had five days before I’d get paid.

“Did you just sigh?” he asked.

“No.” I sighed again.

“Avery.”

“Thorn.”

“Be honest. Are you really out with Carl?”

“He, uh, had a recital.” I slapped my hand against my forehead. Great, Avery, because grown men had recitals?

Lucas was quiet for a moment. “Oh, so he teaches children, then?”

Thank God one of us was logical. “YES!”

“No need to shout it, Avery.”