Beneath The Lies (5 page)

I make a detour to the kitchen for a bottle of water when Gavin walks in and leans up against the wall. I feel his eyes on me, but he does not say a word. I wait a beat for him to say something, anything, but he doesn’t.

When I’m near Gavin, my body physically responds. My heart instantly starts racing while my stomach flutters with nerves. And when he smiles...God, when he smiles my body reacts in more intoxicating ways...ways I would rather not acknowledge.

I clear my throat and shake my head, hoping he’ll think I’m irritated rather than slightly turned on then I turn and head up to my room.

I make it all the way upstairs and am just about to shut my door when Gavin slips in behind me. He stops and slowly takes in my room as he whistles. “Good Lord, Leeta went all out for you.” He walks the rest of the way into my room then swaggers around like some kind of gorgeous male model. The idea of throwing dollar bills at him to see if he’ll in fact take anything off briefly crosses my mind, but then I quickly shake my head, forcing myself to regain some semblance of self-control.

“Is there something I can do for you?” I question with a stern look on my face that doesn’t seem to bother him. Instead, Gavin makes his way over to the sitting area and makes himself comfortable in one of the two chairs.

“Why did you say your name was Jamie when it isn’t?”

Geez, not this again...I take a deep breath then look at him. Really look at him. He’s amazingly beautiful. I knew he was good looking Saturday night when I saw him from fifty feet away, but the up-close version is a thousand times better. His hair is black, short on the sides but longer on the top. His eyes are a dark shade of brown, and once again, he looks like he’s a day or two behind on shaving. It only accents his amazing cheekbones. And like the other two times I’ve seen him, he’s wearing a black tee shirt with dark jeans paired with black boots. This time, however, I see a few tattoos on his bulky arms. Gavin clears his throat and immediately I go from ogling him to extreme embarrassment because he caught me.

I shrug. “I didn’t know your friend. I thought he was hitting on me so I gave him a fake name. I really don’t know what the big deal is.”

“What’s wrong with Kiran? The ladies seem to like him well enough, but not you? Why?”

For some inexplicable reason, I get the impression this visit has nothing to do with Kiran and everything to do with the fact that I lied about my name. “I’m sure Kiran is a great guy, but I was ready to go home with my friends.”

Gavin stares at me until I finally look away. His stare is intense and demands my attention, but it’s more than I can take. A few moments later, I hear him move. I turn back to see that he’s about to leave, but when he starts to walk out the door, he stops and looks back at me. “I was glad when I heard your name was Jamie, but then again...everyone lies.”

My body jolts at his parting comment. Screw him. I have no idea what the big freaking deal is. Women give fake names and numbers to guys all the time. That does not make me a liar. Not to mention he didn’t even come over and ask himself. He acted like an eight-year-old and sent his friend instead. Now he comes in here and acts like I committed some sin? Well, the jerk can take his high morals and fuck off.

****

I cruise through my Friday fairly effortlessly. Minus the tension between Gabby and Alyssa, the day was great. I managed to get out of the house this morning without spotting Leeta or Gavin. I’m still pissed about Gavin’s comment last night. Everyone lies? Of course they do, but I’m not a liar and that’s exactly what Gavin implied.

“You want to hang out tonight?” I look over at Alyssa who I know has had a bad week. Gabby has remained one step away from rude ever since the night of the fight.

“Maybe. What did you have in mind?”

If she says clubbing or something else that’s equally out of my comfort zone then I’m declining. “We can go have dinner then watch a movie.”

My eyes are wide as I watch for any indication that Alyssa isn’t being truthful. Dinner and a movie are definitely in the slow lane for her, but if she’s truly offering then I am happy to go with her.

“Sounds good to me.”

“Awesome. I’ll pick you up at the Lomans’ around seven.” Crap. I was hoping to head home with her and avoid Leeta’s house all together, but that means I either go out in what I’m wearing—which isn’t anything Alyssa would be caught dead being seen with me in—or allow her to dress me up again—which isn’t high on my list.

I nod my head as Alyssa starts to walk away. “See you later.”

When I make it to the Lomans’, the house is quiet. Leeta is nowhere to be found, unlike the last few weeks I lived here. Then, Leeta was practically at the door every day to greet me, like we’re long lost friends reuniting. Something’s changed, and I know it all stems back to Gavin. I don’t know what’s happened between them, but it’s clear they don’t get along, so why is he hanging round here all of a sudden?

I don’t waste any time walking through the house to see if Leeta or Gavin are home. Instead I head straight to my room, then shut and lock the door. Instantly I can tell something is different. I just can’t put my finger on what. My eyes are searching for something, anything, and it takes a second before I notice the drawer to my bedside table isn’t completely shut. I walk over and pull it open, but nothing seems out of place. All I really keep in there are a few letters my mom wrote me over the years, but nothing of any value at least not to someone else. However, it bothers me that someone came into my room and looked through my things. I know Leeta has a cleaning lady but my gut tells me it was someone else.

I shake off the strange vibe and take a long hot shower. Tonight I take the time to actually fix my long hair, put on makeup and dress in an Alyssa worthy outfit. When I’m ready to go, I still have almost a half hour to wait. I make my way to the kitchen for a bottle of water when I notice the house is still quiet, even though I get the feeling I’m no longer alone and seconds later, I know why.

“Where are you going?” I jump when I hear Gavin’s voice. He’s once again dressed in practically the same clothes, only he has on a white t-shirt instead of his normal black one. “I was just getting some water.” His eyes dangerously take me in. I can feel him undressing me with a hungry look and it completely unnerves me. “You dressed up for water?”

I’m dressed up compared to what I wear to school every day, but I’m by no means dressed up. “I’m going out in a little while.”

Gavin’s eyes snap to mine. “Out?”

He thinks I’m a liar, so why does he care what I do? “Yeah, out. The opposite of in.” I grab my water and start heading back up toward my room where I can wait for Alyssa alone, but Gavin is one step behind me.

“Why are you living here?” I’m surprised at his sudden straightforward approach. His question didn’t seem harsh, just to the point.

“I just transferred to Berkeley and Leeta invited me to stay with her.”

Gavin holds my eyes for several beats. “You don’t find that odd? A woman you hardly know invites you to live with her?” Where Gavin and Leeta are concerned I feel like I’m caught in a strange game of tug-of-war and I want nothing to do with it.

“Leeta’s nice and she also happens to be a family friend.” Gavin slowly shakes his head.

“Leeta is only nice when she wants something. Believe me, I have years of dealing with her firsthand.”

“Trust me, I’ll be fine,” I say with a nervous laugh.

“If you keep your eyes open where she’s concerned then sooner or later you’ll see the truth. Leeta is trouble and not the fun kind of trouble.”

Where I come from trouble is just plain trouble, but I’m already sensing Gavin has a brand of trouble that could be exciting. To the right girl, that is.

I take a deep breath as I look into his eyes, where I once again find him closely watching me. I feel more flutters in my stomach as my body starts to heat under his intense stare. Whatever strange spell we seem to be under is broken when I hear my cell phone ring with a text. I grab it and see a message from Alyssa that says she is out front waiting on me.

“I gotta go. My friend is here,” I say with a shaky voice.

To my surprise, Gavin licks his lips and gives me a sinister smile. “I’ll see you later. Enjoy your evening.” I suck in a breath, beyond confused by his strange behavior. Does he hate me? Or no...don’t even go there.

****

I didn’t make it home. I ended up crashed at Alyssa’s place. We went out for dinner but we never made it to the movies. Instead, Alyssa ran into a bunch of people she knew from high school and the two of us ended up at some party where Alyssa drank herself stupid.

With help from her friends, I somehow got her home safely. I didn’t have my car but I could have taken a cab home if I really wanted to, but I didn’t. I stayed with Alyssa to ensure she was okay, or at least that’s what I kept telling myself.

When I finally make it back to Leeta’s, it’s early afternoon. I thought I was going to successfully make it to my room without seeing anyone, but Gavin is once again in the same bedroom I saw him in a few days ago. He left the door wide open and hops up the second he spots me.

“Where have you been?” he snaps, causing me to stop and turn in his direction.

“Out.” His eyes turn sharp.

“Oh, that’s right. We already covered that. You were going out.”

He crosses his huge arms over his chest as he continues to stare at me like I did something wrong. I would be annoyed if Leeta gave me a hard time for not coming home without calling but I could at least understand where her concern is coming from. Gavin, however, is a completely different story.

“What is your deal?” I say pursing my lips. Gorgeous or not, I’m done with Gavin acting like an asshole.

He must see the fury in my features because he quickly changes his tune. “I’m sorry. I hate this house and Leeta, it brings out the worst in me.”

“So leave. I mean, wait...how old are you?” There’s no way this beautiful man isn’t well over eighteen, but this is California and everyone here seems to age well.

He laughs before giving an honest and almost breath taking smile. “I’m twenty-four. And I have my own money. I’m here because right now...this is where I need to be.”

I feel like he’s talking in riddles, and it annoys me. I eye him one more time and instead of asking him anything else I turn and start heading toward my room.

“Hey,” I hear him holler out only a few steps behind me.

“Do you...I don’t know, maybe want to get some lunch or maybe even dinner later...with me?”

My eyes widen at his question. A question I wasn’t expecting. “Um, sure?”

Gavin takes a step toward me, his eyes focused on mine. “Good. Then be ready in three hours.” I take a step back to put a little more distance between us because I’m suddenly wondering if being alone with him is such a great idea. But I’m drawn to him enough that I’m not about to back out now.

When I returned to my room, I put on my running gear and hit the streets. During my run I kept thinking about Gavin and the fact that he asked me to have dinner with him. I’m excited but I’m also nervous. I have no idea what his thoughts are regarding me, but I’m hoping to find out.

After an hour of running, I give up and go home. Gavin asked me to share a meal with him, he didn’t necessarily ask me out on a date, but either way I’m not about to go anywhere with Gavin Loman unless I look decent.

When I’m finally ready to go, I head over to Gavin’s room but the door is shut. I knock a few times, but he never opens the door. I head down the stairs hoping to find him in the kitchen but I stop when I hear a voice coming from the office Leeta uses.

“I said I’d take care of it.” Leeta is talking but once again the door is shut enough that I can’t tell if she’s on the phone or talking to someone in the room with her, so I silently wait. “Don’t cross me. I’ll make sure you regret it,” she sneers. My heart sinks. Leeta must be really upset because I’ve never heard her use such a harsh tone before, not even when she was talking to Gavin. Her voice rises, but I decide it’s best to get out of here before she finds me listening to her conversation. I turn around and walk straight into a wall of solid male.

“Oh. My. God,” I nervously ramble out as Gavin puts his hands on my arms to keep me from falling over. His grip is tight but once I appear steady he removes them and steps away.

“You ready to go?”

I was expecting him to call me out on listening to Leeta’s conversation. Thankfully, he didn’t.

“Um, yeah. I’m ready.”

His eyes flicker toward the cracked door then back to me. “Then let’s go.”

Gavin takes me to a locally owned bar and grill where every worker appears to know him by his first name. We finally make it to a table after being stopped ten times. “What’s good here?”

“Everything.” I roll my eyes and sigh at his comment. “I mean it. Everything I’ve eaten here is great. That’s why I brought you here.”

My stomach flutters. He put thought into the place he picked tonight.
That’s something a date would do, right?

With that thought, my nerves kick up, but Gavin remains cool and collected. After we order, I take a good long look at Gavin, who suddenly appears serious. His eyes soften and his smile disappears.