Perfect Lie(46)

“I’m never drinking again,” I moaned, as I stuck my toothbrush in my mouth.

“You have an extra one of those?”

I pointed to the door below the sink and stepped out of the way as he pulled it open and grabbed an unopened toothbrush.

He didn’t wait for me to finish as he began to brush his teeth, his large frame taking up all the room in front of the mirror. Toothpaste foamed over my lips, and I used my hand to keep it from dripping as I shoved against him with my hip. He grinned as he held his stance firmly, and I pushed all my weight into his side. He sighed dramatically and stepped out of my way. I bent over and spat, cupping water and using it to rinse my mouth. As I stood up and looked in the mirror, Abel was directly behind me, an entire head and shoulders taller than I was. He grinned, the toothbrush protruding from his mouth as he winked. I watched as my cheeks turned six shades of pink and wondered whether that was what I looked like every time he did something like that.

He tapped my shoulder, pulling me from my thoughts, and I stepped to the side so he could finish as I wiped my lips on a hand towel before heading into the living room. I plopped down on the end of the couch and clicked on the television with the remote. Abel came out of the bathroom and sat on the cushion beside me, thigh pressed to thigh, arm against arm.

“You know there’s another cushion.” I clicked through the channels.

“I like this one.”

“Child.”

“Play nice, Kettle.”

I rolled my eyes and fought against the tug of my lips to smile. I clicked; Abel stretched. I clicked, and he slid farther down in his seat. I clicked, and he snatched the remote from my fingers and scrolled through the channels.

“I can’t believe I skipped class to put up with this.”

“Come on. You know this is much more fun.”

Our eyes met, and I looked back at the television with an indifferent shrug. He settled on a movie called Twelve about a drug dealer.

“How appropriate,” I snorted, and he gave me a sideways glance.

“I’ll have you know this is a very deep movie about relationships and loss. Besides, you can’t judge me after that smut you made me watch the other day.”

“Wild Thingsisn’t smut. It’s a deep movie about relationships and loss.” We both laughed, and Abel’s hand fell on the bare skin of my thigh. My giggle died in my throat; I hated and loved having him so close.

“Do you like Trish?” I stared ahead at the movie as I bit my lower lip with my teeth.

“She’s nice.”

“Ha!”

“Come on,” he said. “She isn’t that bad. She’s just looking for fun, nothing serious.”

I knew he was right, but the thought of the two of them together didn’t fit. It was like forcing two puzzle pieces together that clearly didn’t belong because it was easier than looking for the right match.

“You’re not jealous, are you, Lie?”

I glanced at Abel as I felt my cheeks burn under his gaze, and my heart hammered against the inside of my chest.

“You’ll get to see Brock soon, and you’ll get to go out and do all these things with him too.”

I relaxed back in my seat and nodded. I was jealous, but for all of the wrong reasons, and my stomach twisted into knots. Abel’s fingers patted my leg, and then they were gone. I pulled my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around them as I tried to focus on the movie.

After about a half hour of not focusing on the film, I heard my phone ring from my bedroom. I hopped up, dashed to my room, and grabbed it from my dresser, cringing when I saw it was Marie.

“Hello?” I answered, as I stood in the hallway. Abel glanced at me for a second.

“You running again, Delilah?”

“Of course not.” I tried not to sound defensive.

“I went out of my way to see you yesterday.”

“I know you did. I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

Abel got up from the couch and walked by me into the kitchen. I watched as he pulled open the fridge and bent over. He had a cute butt.

“Did you hear me, Delilah?”

“I’m sorry. What?”

Abel looked over his shoulder and smirked before pulling out two sodas and holding them up. I nodded and looked away as I tried to focus on Marie.

“I won’t be able to see you on Friday,” she said. “My sister is getting married, and she wants me to help her pick out a dress.”

“It’s fine. It’s whatever. I have plans Friday anyway. I was gonna tell you.”

Abel cocked his head to the side as he popped open his soda and took a sip as he slowly walked toward me.

“I don’t want to put you out,” Marie said.