Page 53 of Whisper Pretty Lies (Lust & Liars #1)

I definitely should have been more specific. No fucking, no touching, no flirting. The motorcycle vibrates between my legs as I try to cling to Damon for all I’m worth. The burger place they were talking about is only five minutes away.

Some students even walk there for lunch.

I don’t usually leave campus, even though it’s a privilege for seniors and honor roll juniors. The cafeteria has better food than the fast food options available nearby.

I can feel Damon’s breathing against my chest, like I could when I slept with him. He pulls up to a stop sign and rests his hand on my knee.

My breath catches. He has to know Mia is seeing this. She might tell Chase. Maybe he’s hoping she’ll tell Chase so he breaks up with me. And then, what? We don’t have a deal anymore?

My chest tightens. Would Damon be done with me so quickly? I don’t know why he wanted to make this deal with me, of all people. Just to get back at Chase? Or to punish me for moving into his house?

We drive into the parking lot, and Damon stops his bike. The others rumble to a stop next to us.

“Give us a minute.” Damon’s voice is gruff in my helmet.

“What?” Mia sounds confused.

“Yeah, we’ll head inside.” Cam cuts out next.

I haven’t opened my eyes. That weight still presses uncomfortably on my chest. What am I doing? This could blow it all up.

“Evan, what’s going on?” Damon rubs his hand over mine still clenched in his shirt.

I’m going to ruin everything if I don’t start acting normal. “Sorry.”

I release him and climb off his motorcycle pretty easily, and then work on removing my helmet while Damon sets his kickstand and gets off. He has his helmet off already and reaches for mine.

“I can do it.” I step away, even as the buckle evades my fingers.

His eyes narrow on me and he steps in close. “Let me.”

I drop my hands to my sides and tip my chin up. He quickly unbuckles the helmet and lifts it off my head. I try to turn to head inside after the others, but Damon grabs my hand. The sparks that scatter through me every time he touches me cascade up my arm.

“Wait, little devil.” He draws me back toward him. “What’s wrong?”

He tips up my chin to look into my eyes, but I avoid him. “Nothing. This isn’t a good idea. This isn’t normal. I should be eating a salad in the cafeteria.”

“It’s a project for class.”

I finally meet his eyes and arch an eyebrow at the stupidity of that statement.

He smirks and glances toward the restaurant. They parked in the back, and there’s no window facing us. “Maybe I just wanted to get between your legs again.”

I roll my eyes. “We’re going to get caught if we stay here.”

“No one would assume anything is going on.” He sounds so confident.

I search his eyes. “You really think no one will believe you and I are doing anything but studying?”

Is that really what he thinks of me? That I’m not a sexual being?

“I thought you thought I was a whore? Maybe you want to prove it to people.” My eyes widen. “Is that it? Are you going to make me suck your cock, so everyone knows what a dirty little slut I am? Should I drop to my knees here?”

“No. Fuck, Evan, I just wanted to make sure you were all right.”

“That doesn’t make sense.” I step forward and put my hand on his side. “No, I think you want someone to see you with your little fuck toy. You want to prove to Chase I’m just as big a cheater as he is.”

His sharp blue eyes search mine. For a second, I think he’s going to pull me closer and kiss me. My fingers tighten into his side in anticipation of his kiss.

His gaze drops to my lips and then jerks up toward the restaurant. He turns me and pushes me toward the entrance. It takes me a few seconds to recover, but then I move away from his touch and enter the restaurant.

Damon’s on me like a shadow as we walk up to the counter. The others already have a booth, and Cam entertains them with a story. Damon stands too close, but I don’t want to push him away or tell him to back off.

Too much of my life has been spent toeing the line. Coloring inside the boxes. Even with Chase, I let him put me in a box to keep me whole and untainted. He let me stay in my box.

Damon refuses. He’s torn open the box that kept me safe from everything else. Safe from being ridiculed or teased. But now it’s like he wants to expose me to everyone else.

I don’t know if I’m right, but he does like to call me a cum slut. It doesn’t sound like an insult, and I like it when he says it. It doesn’t make sense why something so offensive would turn me on, because he doesn’t even like me.

We step up to the counter and I still haven’t figured out what to order. I could just get fries. They have a garden burger, but it isn’t one that I like.

“What can I get you?” The older woman at the counter looks us over.

“Two burgers, everything on them, fries, and a Coke.” Damon touches my hip.

I shy away from his touch. “Just fries and a Diet please.”

When she tells us the cost, Damon taps the credit card machine before I can even get out my debit card. I press my lips together, but she moves away to grab our order.

“Is that all you’re going to eat?” he asks quietly.

I take the two drink cups she set on the counter and hand him one. “Burgers aren’t exactly my favorite, as a vegetarian.”

“We could have gone somewhere else.” Damon follows me to the drink station.

I shrug and get my Diet Coke with vanilla in it. I’m putting the lid on when Damon moves in close to me. If only he didn’t stir something inside me, if I could just ignore him, even with the way he towers over me.

Our order is called and he goes up to the counter, while I head to the booth. Mia sits next to Hawk, across from Cam. If I sit next to Cam, Damon will sit next to me. No, thank you.

I squeeze in next to Mia. When I lift my gaze, it runs into Damon’s knowing look. He sits across from me and slides my fries over. Even though it’s not a lot of food, I’m not sure I would have been able to eat much at this awkward lunch.

Mia clears her throat as she puts down her cheeseburger. “So, we should probably schedule a time to meet each week outside of class to work on our project.”

“This is about a project?” Cam rolls his eyes. “Man, I was hoping there was a party we were planning or something.”

“When do I plan parties?” Damon asks.

Cam shrugs. “It could happen.”

Hawk leans back in the booth. “Yeah, we can arrange something around Annie’s play schedule and hockey practice.”

“Maybe we could just do lunch once this week.” Mia glances at my fries. Her lips purse like she’s going to ask if that’s all I wanted.

“Sure,” I say. “The library is open during that time.”

“We can’t eat in the library.” Damon lifts his gaze to mine.

“We’ll eat before, then.” I pop a fry in my mouth and chew it while his focus centers on my lips.

“We could meet twice, then we’d only need half the period.” Mia blows out a breath. “I just don’t want to fall behind in any classes. They didn’t talk about how difficult the Deimos classes were in the Anteros brochure.”

“Annie’s the smartest person in our schools. Seems like you picked the ideal best friend.”

I look around Mia at Hawk, but he’s scrutinizing Mia like she’s some sort of mole. I narrow my eyes on him. “She didn’t know who I was when I met her in the office.”

“What?” Mia seems to pick up on what Hawk is throwing down. “Ann—I mean, Evan tied my tie that first day.”

“Seems pretty lucky to me.” Hawk still gives her a side-eye.

“It was just a coincidence.” I shake my head and eat my fries. “Yes, we can meet Tuesday and Thursday during the second half of lunch to work on the project.”

“Now that that’s settled...” Cam grins and wipes his hands on his napkin. “When are the ‘rents out of town, Hawk?”

“No, Cam. Not this year.” Hawk takes a drink from his soda.

“What are you talking about?” Mia asks, twirling her hair.

Damon glances at her then looks away like she bores him, but he does that with all the girls. So, is he interested in Mia? He’s so fucking unreadable. I want to dive into his head and figure everything out.

“Hawk usually throws at least one banger every year. His mom is out of town off and on, but his dad likes to spend a week in Cabo this time of year, leaving him all alone in his huge mansion.” Cam frowns, like it’s devastating to him that Hawk will be all alone.

“Sounds like he needs company in his huge mansion,” Mia says, catching on.

“I knew I was going to like you.” Cam grins at her and a stone drops in my stomach as Mia beams. “What he needs to do is throw a rager, because it’s our last year.”

Hawk glares at Cam. “If you start the speech?—”

“What speech?” Mia asks.

“It’s not important.” Damon finishes off his second hamburger and his fries. He glances at my half-eaten fries and frowns. “That’s not enough.”

I arch an eyebrow at him.

“So... party?” Cam asks Hawk. Fuck, Mia wouldn’t be holding out on them for pussy or ass if they wanted her.

Hawk shakes his head. “He isn’t leaving for a couple of weeks. So, no rager anytime soon.”

“But there will still be parties, right?” Mia looks at Cam who grins.

“Of course. I’m sure you’ll be on the party list, since they’re almost always at Fletcher’s.”

My cheeks heat and my eyes collide with Damon’s. I push my food away, no longer hungry for it. Because suddenly I’m back in that closet, pressed between the wall and his hard body. His finger inside me while moans echo in the room outside of our hiding space.

“Come on.” Damon stands and puts our trash on the tray.

“We still have time, don’t we?” Mia glances at the others. And then she looks at me.

“Evan.” Damon’s voice is commanding. As much as I want to disobey him, because we do have time, I don’t in front of Mia. I get up and follow Damon.

“Should we... ?” Mia asks.

“No, we’ve got time.” Cam glances and meets my eyes before I head out the door.