Believing Lies (8 page)

“I’m not really, but
Dead Poets Society
is one of my favorite movies . . . I didn’t take you for someone who’d recognize the quote,” I rebuffed.

He silently chuckled and shook his head at me. “As I told you the first time I met you, I think you’re an interesting girl.” He tapped my nose with his index finger, and I swatted his hand away. “And you just became even more interesting, Princess.”

“Stop calling me Princess,” I demanded. I turned my back to him, ready to catch up with Sophie.

Instantly, I felt his body come dangerously close to the back of mine. He was leaning into me, but not quite touching, and the nearness was paralyzing. I shivered when I felt his hot breath against my ear before he whispered, “No.”

Heat flooded my body, and before I could fully comprehend why, he grabbed my hand and pulled me toward Conner and Sophie.

Chapter Seven

“Just hold on tight, and if I’m going too fast, squeeze me . . . Preferably with your thighs.”
Holy shit. Did he really just say that to me?
I didn’t know if I was offended or turned on; probably a little of both.

“Don’t be an ass!” I slapped the back of Adam’s life jacket. “Just drive alreaadddyyy . . .” My voice trailed off as the Jet Ski shot forward. Instinctively, I held on to him for dear life. I could feel him shaking with laughter. Conner sped up next to us with Sophie sitting behind him, and the look of exhilaration she wore relaxed me. I loosened my death grip on Adam’s waist and took in the feeling of complete freedom as the water crashed around us.

Adam and Conner weaved around each other, causing water swells for the other to smash into. Each small wave we hit caused us to momentarily go airborne. The first time it happened, I was petrified. By the second time, I knew what to expect, and it sent a rush of excitement through my system. Adam was an excellent driver, and I felt completely safe behind him. Adrenaline pumped through my veins, and it was the first time I felt truly alive in almost a week.

Eventually, we slowed our pace and came to a standstill in the middle of the lake. Sophie and Conner pulled up next to us.

“That was amazing!” Sophie screamed.

“Glad you had fun, Babe,” Conner said, then turned around and gave her a sweet, small peck on the lips.

“How about you, Princess? Was it
amazing
for you too?” Adam asked as he partially turned his head back toward me.

I was on such an incredible high that I unintentionally flirted back. “Of course it was, but I’m sure everything you do is
amazing
.” Sophie’s mouth dropped. Conner looked slightly perplexed. Ah, but Adam, he looked down right triumphant.

“Glad to hear you think so,” Adam said with a cocky grin.

“Don’t get a big head.” He quirked his brow at me as soon as the words left my mouth. “Pervert. That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

He laughed. “Sure it wasn’t.”

Sophie saved me from myself. “I’m getting really hungry. Should we go in now?”

“Yeah. Sounds good. I’m hungry too,” I agreed.

“You haven’t driven yet,” Adam said to me. “No going in until you drive.”

“I’ve never been on a Jet Ski before today. Thanks, but no thanks. I’m not too thrilled about the idea of spending the rest of my night in the hospital.”

“It’s easy. I’ll hold on to you, and we can go as slow or as fast as you want.” His tone was smooth, and his words were taking on a whole different meaning in my head—One that had nothing to do with Jet Skis.

There was absolutely no way I was going to drive. “Okay, I’ll drive.”
Wait. What?

Before I could undo my answer, Adam was standing and carefully maneuvering himself behind me. The inevitability of the situation caused me to freeze up. He noticed, and instead of asking me to move forward, he put his hands on my butt and pushed. Sophie must have found this hilarious because she was laughing like a hyena. I didn’t think it was funny—slightly amusing, at best.

Adam looked to Sophie. “Are you going to drive too?”

She immediately stopped laughing. “That’s a hard NO.”

Conner rubbed Sophie’s legs. “You should try, Babe. I’ll teach you.”

“Not going to happen.” Her voice was firm.

Sensing it was a lost cause, Conner didn’t try to further persuade her. “Do you want to keep riding or go on back to shore while Sienna gives it a try?”

“Go back. I’ll pick up our stuff and pack up the Jeep, so we’ll be ready to go when they’re done.” She looked to me. “Don’t take too long. I need food sometime this century.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to be driving this thing a second longer than needed to make it to shore.”

She gave me a wave as Conner drove them off, leaving me alone with Adam.

“Okay, let’s teach you the basics.” Adam taught me on how to work the controls and was very patient when I asked him a few questions. The fact that his body was wrapped around mine as he showed me what to do with the handlebars did not go unnoticed. After a couple of minutes, I was as ready as I would ever be, so I slowly moved the Jet Ski forward.

“This isn’t so bad,” I yelled over the sound of the engine and the water shooting out the back.

“Go faster then,” he urged me on.

Feeling brave, I accelerated. The sense of power that came to me was shocking. It was incredible, and I was so glad that he’d talked me into doing this. I drove around the lake fairly fast, but we didn’t go airborne or anything like that.

Adam tapped my leg twice, signaling me to slow down. “Great job, I knew you could do it. Now, let’s bring it in, so Sophie can get some food. It’s probably been about fifteen minutes, and I don’t want her to claw my eyes out with those red nails of hers.”

I giggled. “You’re probably right. She gets wicked when she’s hungry.”

I turned the Jet Ski around and drove to the shore. I hopped off when we got shallow enough, handed Adam my life jacket, and swam the rest of the way. Adam got the Jet Ski onto the trailer, which Conner had waiting at the boat landing for us. Wading out of the water, I was greeted by an irritated Sophie, her hands on her hips and her foot tapping.

“Can we PLEASE go eat something now?”
Oh yeah, she’s irritated
.

“Okay, okay, let’s eat. Where do you want to go? How about—”

My words stopped forming when I looked over Sophie’s shoulder. She noticed the deer-in-the-headlights look on my face and spun around. Never in a million years would I have expected to see Trenton walking down the beach toward us. There was only one thing I could say at that exact moment in time. “Banana Hammock.”

Sophie abruptly turned back and saw the trepidation written all over my face. “The Jeep’s all packed.”

We both started to walk briskly to the parking lot, but Trenton simply adjusted his speed to a jog. “Sienna, wait!” he called out.

I couldn’t avoid him forever. I was already planning on calling him tomorrow, so why not deal with this today instead? Sure, I hadn’t expected a public meeting, but it looked to be unavoidable at this point, so I stopped walking.

Sophie back tracked a couple of steps to me. “Are you coming?” she cautiously asked.

I shook my head. “Go on to the Jeep, please, but don’t leave. I’ll be there shortly,” I replied with a false calmness in my voice.

“Are you sure?” She looked highly skeptical.

She reluctantly honored my request and walked toward the Jeep.

I closed my eyes. When I opened them, Trenton was in front of me. It looked as if he hadn’t shaved in days, and his eyes were dark underneath. Otherwise, he was as handsome as ever, dressed in his usual summer clothing of cargo shorts and a polo shirt. This one was dark blue, matching his eyes. Anguish struck me hard. The love I felt for him warred against the utter disgust I felt as I remembered the last time I saw him. He began to stroke the side of my cheek with a feather-light touch, as if he was afraid I would run. For a split second, the world felt right again.

“Baby, I’m so sorry. Come home with me.” It wasn’t phrased as a question. He really believed I would just go with him. I recoiled from his touch. How could he think I would ever set foot in that bedroom again?

“No. I’m not going with you,” I said without much conviction in my voice, my eyes lowered to the sand. I couldn’t look at him. It hurt too much.

“Sienna, you’ve punished me long enough. I’ve learned my lesson, and I promise it’ll never happen again. You have my word.” I just stood there, speechless, averting his gaze by looking at the sand sticking to my wet feet. “I need you, baby. Please come home with me. We both know that you can’t stay at Sophie’s forever. We belong together, and we can still get married and put this behind us.”

It was crystal clear to me now. A tiny part of me, which I had kept unacknowledged, even to myself, had thought I would still be marrying Trenton and that this would all go away as if it was a bad dream. Part of me was elated at the thought of him feeling the same. The rest of me knew with absolute certainty that my future would never be as his girlfriend, fiancée, or wife.

Through my tear clouded eyes, I looked straight into his. “It’s over, Trenton. I’d like to come get my things tomorrow. I don’t want to make this harder than it needs to be on either of us, so will you please stay out of the apartment while I’m there? I can leave the key on the counter.”

“You don’t mean that. I love you, Sienna.” A hint of panic tinged his voice. “We can figure this out together.”

“There’s nothing to figure out. I’m sorry.” I stepped forward and kissed him on the cheek. “Goodbye, Trenton.”

He pulled me to him and smashed his lips to mine. Stunned, I didn’t pull away. I closed my eyes and, for a tiny moment, allowed myself to pretend all of the pain and heartache was erased. But the moment quickly passed, and I pushed myself away from him. Seeing the hurt on his face, as I backed a step further away, tore at my heart. A few tears escaped, which I didn’t try to wipe away or hide.

“I can’t forgive you,” I said through a cracked voice and then turned from him, and began to walk toward a worried looking Sophie, who was sitting in her Jeep.

“Don’t you want to know how I knew you were at the beach?” That caught my attention, and I halted midstride. I was so surprised to see him I that hadn’t considered how he knew where I was.

I turned around, and instead of a heartbroken, remorseful man, I saw a bitter and angry version standing there in his place. “I’m sure you’re dying to tell me, or you wouldn’t have brought it up.”

“Paul called me. He and some friends are out on a pontoon boat, and imagine their surprise when they saw
my fiancée
driving around on a Jet Ski with another guy. I explained to Paul it was a misunderstanding and that I was on my way to meet you.”

“I’m not your fiancée anymore. You should tell Paul the truth, so no further
misunderstandings
happen.”

He threw his hands up in the air. “I’ve been a fucking wreck for the past five days, waiting for you to contact me, giving you the time I thought you needed. What a joke! While I’ve been crushed, not eating and not sleeping, you’ve been out and about having fun at the beach.” He exhaled, and I could see him struggling to calm himself. “It’s very obvious now that you never loved me.”

My sadness was trampled over by the pure anger that raged through me. “How dare you?” I hissed. “Are you serious right now? Do you honestly think that I haven’t been in my own world of pain? I LOVED YOU! I WAS GOING TO MARRY YOU!” I screamed. I needed to calm down because most of the people around us were starting to stare. I shut my eyes and counted to five before speaking again. “I wanted to be with you for the rest of my life, and you threw that away for a cheap lay. Was she worth it, Trenton?”

I stared at him, waiting for an answer. After a long pause, he finally gave one. “You made your point by coming here today with your cousin and that asshole. If you were trying to get back at me for hurting you, it worked. Did you want to make me know how it feels? Congratulations, Sienna. Now I know. I want to kill him for touching you,” he spat. “Is that how you felt when you saw me with Jenna?”

I was floored. “Well at least I know her name now, so I won’t forever have to refer to her as The Brunette Skank. You know what? I came here with some friends to try to forget my miserable life for one fucking day! I’m not the one who should be feeling guilty right now.” I was both mentally and physically exhausted. Sophie must have realized the situation was getting out of hand because she was walking toward me fast. I just wanted to leave. Feeling defeated, I begged, “Please go home, Trenton. I don’t want to fight with you anymore.”

Sophie made it to my side and linked her arm through mine. “I’m taking Sienna home with me. Please just let us come get her stuff tomorrow. You’re a good guy who did a bad thing. Do the right thing now, and let her go.”

Any good that Sophie’s plea might have accomplished slipped through the cracks as soon as Adam and Conner walked up behind her. They didn’t say a word, but their presence was enough. Trenton looked Adam up and down with complete hatred in his eyes.

“Came here with friends, Sienna? Nice coincidence your newest
friend
happens to be the biggest womanizer around.” He cocked his head to the side, and his eyes narrowed to slits. “Did you fuck him? Because you sure as hell weren’t fucking me. Maybe if you had been, I wouldn’t have had to look elsewhere.” His lips pulled into a sneer. “But it appears that all you needed was a week on your own to turn into a slut.”

I gasped from the pain of the emotional punch I’d just received. At the same time, Adam swung a real punch, hard to Trenton’s jaw. I screamed for them to stop as they exchanged blows, but my words were useless. I kept my head turned as Sophie dragged me to the Jeep and was thankful to see Conner and two other guys pulling Adam and Trenton off of each other.

“We can’t leave them like this,” I insisted as we both got into our seats and put on our seatbelts.

“Sienna, we can, and we are. You being here will only make things worse.” She pulled out of the parking lot. This time there was no loud music playing or singing as we drove back to our apartment.