The Crush

His brows drew together. “Well, I find that kind of troubling, to be honest.”

“I’m sorry, Nathan. Okay?”

Jace walked in at that moment. “What’s going on here?”

“My sister thinks it’s okay to lie to me. That’s what’s going on.”

Jace’s face turned practically white.

I spoke before he could freak out too much. “Nathan ran into one of my co-workers at the drugstore. She asked him about me, since I called in sick today. I told Nathan I went to work, because I felt funny about playing hooky. I shouldn’t have lied.”

Jace’s eyes moved between Nathan and me. He looked as guilty as I felt.

“Yeah. I agree. It was dumb to lie,” he finally said.

Nathan turned to me. “It’s not the fact that you stayed home from work. I could give a shit about that. It’s that you thought it was okay to look me in the face and lie. It makes me wonder what the hell else you’re lying to me about.”

Jace swallowed. “Alright, man. Go easy on her. Everyone tells white lies from time to time.”

I knew he felt the need to defend me because he felt bad for not taking some of this wrath. I smiled, but paranoia started to seep in. If my lie about work got my brother this upset, I could only imagine how badly he would lose it if he knew the real reason I’d stayed home today.

Nathan suddenly stormed out of the living room. “I’m going to get a beer.”

As he left, Jace and I just looked at each other. There were no words necessary. We both knew we were fucked.

Chapter 16

* * *

Jace

Fifteen days.

For fifteen days I’d been sneaking around behind my best friend’s back, sleeping with his sister and afraid to say I was loving every minute of it.

It had also been fifteen days since I’d given up my morals to be with a girl I wanted with every inch of my being, even though I knew I was wrong for her.

And it only took fifteen days for me to wonder if I was actually falling in love with Farrah. What I’d once assumed was infatuation felt stronger than ever. Would you die for someone you were infatuated with? There was no doubt in my mind that I’d die for Farrah. Infatuation didn’t seem like the right word to describe what we had anymore.

She was the first thing I thought about when I woke up, and the last thing I thought about at night. I also found myself depressed whenever I thought about my self-imposed one-month time limit, at which time I was supposed to just forget about everything that had happened between us and move out. How was I supposed to give up these feelings and pretend they’d never existed? Yes, I wanted to protect Nathan. But at what cost?

Meanwhile, Farrah and I had been meticulous about not getting caught. No more skipping out of work or doing anything out of the ordinary that might tip Nathan off. We went to our respective jobs each day, but at night, she’d say she was hanging out with Kellianne. Her friend was the only one who knew about us, so she acted as our alibi. Farrah would even park her car at Kellianne’s house in the event Nathan happened to drive by. I’d meet her there and scoop her up in my truck. Then we’d drive at least an hour away—somewhere we wouldn’t be recognized—and go to a hotel. At some point close to midnight, I’d drive her back to her car at Kellianne’s, and she’d head home. Then I’d go back to the hotel and spend the night there, or return to the house later, depending on the night, to change things up. We’d repeated this pattern every day for over two weeks.

Tonight was a little different, though. Nathan had scheduled family movie night. I would have preferred to be alone with Farrah and not under Nathan’s microscope, but we couldn’t exactly cancel. Nathan had invited Crystal, so that would serve as an extra distraction from any inappropriate looks or vibes Farrah and I might emit toward each other.

Crystal had cooked pasta for all of us, and after dinner, we hung out by the pool before we were set to watch the movie. Farrah and I were careful to stay at opposite ends of the patio, but I couldn’t stop looking at her. When she’d emerge from the pool, I’d marvel at her beauty and wonder how I’d been able to have my way with her every night. Then I’d catch her staring at me from afar, and I’d smirk. She’d blush, and it would take everything in me not to race over to her and kiss her senseless. I felt like a teenager again, without a care in the world. I didn’t want this feeling to end.