Chapter Fifteen Two Truths and a Lie
ZANDER
My fist connects with the punching bag in front of me and I let out a satisfied grunt as my muscles strain and sweat runs down my face.
I hit it again and again and again, pouring all of my frustration and agitation into each blow.
After leaving Rylee in the park, I came to the gym - one I frequent outside of the arena’s facilities - and have been punching this bag for about twenty minutes.
Sighing, I drop my arms and roll my head to stretch out my neck. Damn… that felt good.
I do feel a bit better, so I might as well shower and get ready for the day here.
Rylee’s probably back at the apartment by now, but who knows if she’s still riled up or not (leave it to someone literally named Rylee to get “ryled up” so easily and quickly all the time).
Should give her a little bit more time before I show back up.
I don’t want us to just start fighting right away again…
though that’s probably what will happen anyway.
It doesn’t seem to matter what I do. Bring her breakfast, stock the fridge, sleep on a couch that’s too small for me…
anything that I do that anyone else would consider nice and normal, she blows up at me about.
She always thinks I have nefarious intentions or something.
Making my way into the gym’s locker room, I grab my bag and take out clean clothes, my mind still on Rylee.
How could someone that beautiful be so irritating? It defies logic!
Turning on one of the showers, I step under the hot spray and release a long sigh.
Still, I feel bad. I promised her an interview, and instead we ended up shouting at each other in a public park. I cringe at the thought. That was a bit… much. Immature. I never lose my temper like that. I’m a chill guy! I try to keep the peace and am able to go with the flow with most people.
Not with Rylee, though. She pushes my buttons in a way no one else ever has before. Even my sisters never got on my nerves the way she’s able to. I just don’t know why. Why does she get to me? Why can’t I seem to shrug it off when she’s annoying or impulsive or wild?
What is it about Rylee Benson that gets under my skin so easily?
Shaking my head, I finish my shower and quickly get dry and dressed. My stomach rumbles as I make my way out of the gym and I decide to grab some food on my way back home.
Reaching my car, I slip in behind the wheel just as my phone buzzes in my pocket. When I dig it out and see that I’ve got a notification from ClickTease, my heart starts to race and I can’t stop the grin that curls my lips.
ClickTease: Hey, how’s your day going? Last night was a lot of fun.
I reply and we chat a bit, eventually playing the ‘In or Out’ game. She makes me laugh and my mood lifts further. It’s the exact opposite of how Rylee makes me feel - I’m at ease, having fun, with no hint or frustration or irritation anywhere inside me.
Still, whenever I try to picture what she might look like, the face I imagine looks a lot like Rylee’s and it’s irritating as hell. She’s just so beautiful, and it sucks so much!
I can’t stop thinking about the feel and taste of her. Whenever I try to fantasize about ClickTease, I’m imagining driving into Rylee’s lush little body, her perfect pussy squeezing my cock while I fuck her until she’s screaming my name in pleasure.
It’s fucking aggravating. Eventually, ClickTease says she’s sleepy and going to take a nap and our conversation comes to an end. I sit back in my seat and release a breath, feeling lighter, but wishing we could continue talking. Still, I recognize she has a life outside of our messages.
I realize I’ve been sitting in my parked car for over twenty minutes, so I turn it on and pull out into the street to make my way back to the apartment.
It’s not until I’m walking through the front door that I realize I didn’t stop for food.
Damn it. I’m really hungry, too. I bought all those groceries, but I didn’t want to cook. Don’t really have a choice now.
A soft meow welcomes me and Gizmo rubs up against my leg. I grin down at the little furball. I like that he’s warmed up to me. As a kid, my family always had dogs, never cats, but he’s starting to grow on me.
“Hey, buddy,” I say, bending down and scratching him behind his ears. “Where’s your Mama?”
The apartment is quiet, and for a moment, I wonder if Rylee is actually here. Tiptoeing to the hallway, I peak down toward the bedroom door. It’s slightly cracked, and I can see light coming from the room, but I don’t hear anything. Still, if Gizmo’s roaming free, that means she’s likely here.
For a moment, I consider going and knocking on the door to offer some sort of apology for what happened in the park, but I think better of it. Instead, I turn back to the kitchen and head for the fridge. My stomach is still rumbling.
When I open the fridge door to look for something to make for lunch, I find a sandwich on a plate, covered in plastic wrap with a note that reads For Zander.
I blink, staring at the sandwich and the note, written in neat and graceful handwriting. Did Rylee make this for me?
Wait, that’s a stupid question. Of course she did. Who else could have? Gizmo?
Is this a trick? Did she, like, lace it with laxatives or something?
Okay, I’m being ridiculous. Even she wouldn’t do something that crazy… I don’t think. Shrugging, I reach into the fridge to grab the plate, but I freeze when I hear a soft voice behind me.
“Hey, you’re back.”
Glancing over my shoulder, I find Rylee standing in the doorway to the hall, watching me with a hesitant expression.
“Hey… ” I murmur, standing up straight. “Yeah, I, uh, just got back. Went to the gym for a bit.”
“Oh, that’s… productive of you.” She nibbles her bottom lip and rubs her hand up and down her opposite arm. My eyes latch onto the movements and something in me heats up as I think about how soft her skin is, or how lush her mouth is.
Fuck! Stop it. I’m not going there. Not with her!
Not again.
“I, uh, wanted to apologize for earlier,” she suddenly says, surprising me. “I shouldn’t have gone off on you like that. It was uncalled for.”
I’m so taken aback by her unexpected apology that I don’t respond right away. She watches me, rubbing her arm harder until she finally moves to one of the cabinets and pulls out two shot glasses. Then she grabs a bottle of tequila.
Turning to me, she holds the glasses and bottles up. “Olive branch?”
I frown at the tequila, a bit taken aback that she went straight for that as part of her apology… and it’s still early afternoon.
“Uhhh… ” I shake my head. “I don’t think that’s the best idea right now.”
She blinks and looks from me to the bottle and back again. Her cheeks turn pink, and she sets the bottle back down and instead pulls a can of Sprite from the fridge.
“Let’s play a game,” she suggests, placing the shot glasses on the island and cracking open the Sprite. “Two Truths and a Lie.”
I furrow my brow, confused. “Why do you want to play that?”
She pours Sprite into both shot glasses. “It’ll be a good way to share information about ourselves with each other. Get to know each other a little better. Besides, it’ll help with the article. Give me some insight into your life without it feeling like I’m drilling you with questions one-sidedly.”
It’s not a bad idea. I mean, really, it’s how it works with Cloak. Play games to get to know each other. It’s working for me and ClickTease… why not Rylee?
“Okay,” I nod, grabbing one of the shot glasses and pulling it toward me. “You start.”
She scrunches up her face in concentration, and the way she crinkles her nose is actually pretty cute.
No! Bad Zander!
I stuff half my sandwich in my mouth while I wait for her to speak.
“I studied digital photography in college,” she begins. “I was a beauty queen when I was in high school. When I was a kid, I wanted to be the next Annie Leibovitz.”
Interesting start. Color me intrigued.
I think about it a moment before I say, “I think that the beauty queen one is the lie.”
She arches her brow. “You don’t think I could’ve been a beauty queen?”
I grin at her teasing tone. “It’s not that. The other facts have to do with photography, so my assumption is they’re both true since they relate to each other. The beauty queen fact is an outlier.”
“Ooooh, using logic I see.” She raises her shot of Sprite and salutes me. “You’re correct. I was no beauty queen back then. More of a shy nerd, truth be told.”
Hard to believe, but she wouldn’t be the first person to have a glow-up in life.
She drinks her shot, refills the glass, and nods at me. “Your turn.”
I consider my three facts for a bit, then grin. “I’m the youngest of four. I hated hockey when I was a kid. I saw Jaws way too young and have a secret fear of deep water.”
Rylee tilts her head and scrunches her nose again. “I’m gonna say… you hated hockey. You’ve always loved hockey.”
Smirking, I point at her shot glass. “Drink up, Wildcard.”
“Damn!” She throws back the Sprite. “Which was the lie.”
“Jaws. I didn’t see that movie too early… I saw Jurassic Park too early and have an illogical fear of dinosaurs.”
She snorts, soda spraying out of her nose.
“Oh, my God!” she exclaims as I roar with laughter. She dives for the roll of paper towels on the countertop and cleans herself up. “Sorry… I was not expecting that.”
“Clearly.” There’s something kind of endearing about her right now - messy and relaxed and having fun.
Once she’s wiped the soda from her face, she asks, “You have three older siblings?”
Nodding, I answer, “Yep, three sisters.”
“You’re the only boy?”
“Sure am.”
She studies me a moment before she refills her glass again. “My turn. I’m going to get you this time.”
I give her a cocky look. “We’ll see.”
Rylee points a finger at me. “I have one older brother. My father lives in Ireland. I have a younger sister who lives in Maine.”
Oh, now this is tricky. I consider the three “facts” one by one, but they’re all related and seem potentially true. This is going to be a shot in the dark.
“Uhhh, your father doesn’t live in Ireland.”
Something crosses her expression - a flash of pain that’s there and gone so fast I can’t decipher it. She’s somber, but then quickly masks her shift in demeanor by clearing her throat and putting on a sarcastic smirk.
“Wrong-o, laddy,” she says in a faux-Irish accent. “Bad luck there. Drink.”
I take my shot of Sprite, but I don’t take my eyes off her. There is something about this fact that is hitting a nerve.
“Daddy issues?” I ask.
She sighs. “Oh, you know, tale as old as time. Girl meets boy. Girl and boy have a one-night stand, which leads to a surprise pregnancy. Girl and boy get married out of obligation and try to make it work. Have another baby. Marriage doesn’t work.
Girl and boy divorce and boy goes back to Ireland, leaving behind his children and abandoning his family. That’s about it.”
Well… shit. She’s putting on a brave face, but I can tell this is something that weighs on her. I can’t imagine what I would feel if one of my parents abandoned me. Devastated. Heartbroken. Bitter.
“I’m sorry,” I tell her softly. “That had to be rough.”
She shrugs, trying to put on a nonchalant attitude. “It is what it is. I had my mom, and she’s great.”
“Still… I’m sorry you went through that. It sounds like you have a lot of good in your life, though.”
Regarding me a moment, she lets out a small chuckle and shakes her head. “Yeah, sure, but I also have this shitty ex situation. Ghosted me and cheated on me. Taught me a good lesson and now I have a zero tolerance policy for liars and secrets.”
“Understandable.” Fuck, she’s kind of been through the ringer.
Is this shitty ex the Kodiak guy she was thinking about the night we hooked up?
Part of me hopes so - because fuck that guy.
No wonder she’s a little wild. Knowing all this about her makes me feel a lot more sympathy for her, but I know she wouldn’t want me to show it.
She’s too proud for that. “Listen, I think we got off on the wrong foot. I… ”
Her hand suddenly slips and she knocks the can of Sprite over, spilling it across the island and onto the floor.
“Fuck!” she gasps.
She grabs more paper towels and I go for a dishtowel at the sink. We both start cleaning up the spilled soda.
“Sorry,” she grumbles, her cheeks pink.
“Hey, it’s okay,” I chuckle.
Suddenly, we’re both lowering ourselves to the floor to clean up the Sprite. It’s like a scene out of a damn movie. Our fingers brush and we look up, realizing our faces are just inches apart.
Wow. Her eyes are so green. So… fucking stunning.
I get momentarily lost in them. Mossy and deep. They make me think of rolling grassy hills.
Slowly, as if an invisible force is pulling me in, I lean closer to her. I want to know if her lips taste the same as they did the night of the wedding… like sun, salt, and tequila…
Before I can kiss her, though, her eyes go wide and she jerks back.
Oh, fuck! What was I thinking just now? Why did I… ?
“I’m sorry,” she murmurs, pushing to her feet, looking flustered and flushed. “I, uh, I need to get some work done. I should go.”
“Okay,” I whisper, standing up as well. I don’t know what to say to her… honestly, I don’t know what I’m feeling at this moment.
Without another word, she turns and hurries back down the hall to her room. I hear the door shut and I slump back against the island, rubbing a hand down my face.
What the hell was that?