Page 72 of Bared Betrayal

“That’s a lie.”

I cross my arms in front of my chest. “They’ll believe me.”

Maya scrunches up her nose, disgust bleeding from her eyes. “You won’t dare.”

“Try me, creep. Now, go lock the back door.”

“You go lock it,” she spits out before stomping up the stairs and slamming her bedroom door so hard, I’m sure the plaster will crack off the walls.

Thomas lifts his dark brows. “Well, your sister is a bitch.”

“I know. It’s hard to believe she’s fourteen when she’s always acting like a six-year-old.”

Thomas grabs my arm and pulls me in for a kiss, his lips wet and warm against mine. I don’t like the way he uses his tongue, though. It’s like he’s kissing an ice cream cone and trying to lick it all up before it melts.

I step back, and he smiles as he reaches into his jacket pocket, pulling out a joint. “I thought we could go to your room and get the party started up there.”

I lean my head to the side. “I’m not having sex with you, Thomas.”

“Who says I want to have sex?”

“You’ve been trying to get me to sleep with you for the past two months,” I say as I start up the stairs, Thomas following me.

“Everyone’s doing it.”

“I don’t care if everyone’s doing it. I’m not ready.”

We walk into my bedroom, and Thomas plops down on my bed, rolling the joint between his fingers, his light-brown hair hanging over his eyes. “Do you maybe know when you’ll be ready?”

I cross my arms and smile. “No. But I promise you’ll be the first to know.” I gesture to the joint in his hand. “You can’t smoke that in here. My parents will have a fit when they smell weed in my room.”

He gets up and goes over to crack a window. “Problem solved.”

“Don’t look so smug,” I tease, grabbing the joint from him and taking a seat on the windowsill. It’s not the first time I’m smoking weed. Thomas had me smoking it on our second date—peer pressure and all. I can probably argue that he’s not a good influence on me, but he’s hot. Captain of the football team. Most popular guy in school. It’s a win-win. Plus, the weed doesn’t really affect me for some weird reason. Other kids will laugh and be tripping off their asses while all I get is sleepy.

I light the weed and take a deep inhale before handing it to him. “You think your sister will tell your parents I was here?”

“No,” I say, pulling my legs up to my chest. “She knows I’ll tell them she smokes.”

“She doesn’t really smoke, though.”

I shrug. “But they don’t know that. And even if she denies it, I would have planted the seed and they will be watching her like a hawk.”

Thomas laughs. “You’re a horrible big sister.”

“Hey. It’s not like she gets the reward for the world’s greatest little sister.” I pull up my shoulders. “We’ve just never really gotten along. We’re too different. Always bickering and fighting and making snide remarks to one another.”

“You know,” he starts, blowing out a plume of smoke, “girls are weird, being all catty and shit. Us guys, we fight, beat the shit out of each other, and move the fuck on. And tomorrow we’re all jokes and farts at the lunch table again.”

I burst out laughing. “And they say men are the superior sex.”

“Just because we’re the superior sex doesn’t mean we can’t act like dumbasses every once in a while.”

The stairs creak, and I sit upright. Mom and Dad aren’t supposed to be back yet from their anniversary dinner.

“Who is it?” Thomas asks as I walk to my bedroom door.

“Jesus. It’s Maya.” I rush out and down the stairs. “Maya, where do you think you’re going?” I yell at she unlocks the front door.