Page 41 of Tell Me Pucking Lies

“You don’t do coke?” I ask. “Smoke crack? Pop pills? Whip-its? Meth? Weed? Heroine?”

He shakes his head. “No.”

“You’re such a liar. And I don’t sleep with liars.”

He pins me further and the restraint is starting to hurt but I barely notice it under his intensity.

“What else?” he asks.

“I don’t know. There’s nothing else.”

He nods. “Oh, there’s more. I can tell you have a whole list. Now tell me.”

I shrug. “I don’t know. It’s a working list. Rain check?” I tug at my arms. “Can you get off of me? You’ve proven I can’t outrun you.”

He shakes his head. “One more question.”

“Yeah?”

“Would you hate me if I kissed you?”

That was unexpected, but it makes me laugh with disgust. “I already hate you, Koa.”

“I take that as a green light.”

He leans down, and I inhale, pushing my chest against him, trying to keep my distance, but I have nothing to back up to. His lips hover above my mouth as his eyes stare at mine.

Then he rubs the tip of his nose with mine. I close my eyes, trying not to panic that this man I just met took me to the forest and tied up to a tree for hours and is now asking if I’d fuck him. My breathing relaxes as his breath tickles me. And then suddenly the cold air hits my face and his weight is lifted.

He walks off and says, “Let’s get you home before that dumb friend of yours calls the cops.”

I stand up and stare at him for a moment, not understanding what just happened. He didn’t kiss me. I pick up the rope and then look around the ground for any other evidence.

“Where’s my phone?” I ask.

“In my pocket.”

I walk behind him, keeping my distance. The rope between my fingers tells me that he trusts me way more than he should. When we reach his car, he grabs the rope from me and throws it in his trunk.

We drive in silence back to the college. He pulls into the parking lot and chooses a far stall in the corner.

“What’re you doing?” I ask.

He turns off the engine and says, “I dorm too.”

I lean back. For someone that’s as dark and terrifying, I’m surprised.

“What?” he asks. “Didn’t expect me to have a normal life?”

“I don’t know if you deserve that compliment.”

He almost smiles. “You belong to me now. Slip up? Your brother pays.”

“What’re you? My fucking dad?” I snark automatically because he sounds exactly like him.

He walks in front of the car to meet me on my side.

“What are you––”