Page 8 of Under the Weatherman
“Why areyousorry?” Ugh, he was going to make me spell it out.
“Well, for lying to you before,” I confessed.
“About?”
Oh, my God, seriously? Was he just breaking my balls?
“About being friends in high school.” I waved my hands to encompass the whole conversation. “And basically everything. I didn’t mean any harm by it.”
His green eyes sparkled in the streetlight. “You have nothing to apologize for, Lizzy.”
Shit, and I needed to clear that up, too. “And I actually go by Elizabeth.”
“Elizabeth?” he said, like he was trying it out.
“ElizabethWright,” I added.
“Wright.” He chuckled. “Got it.”
“I hope you aren’t mad.”
“No. I mean, of course not.” He touched my wrist. “I really wish wehadbeen friends, though.”
I slid my arm along his, catching his hand in mine. “We could be now.”
A tiny scar appeared like a dimple under his lower lip when he smiled, a minor flaw that only set the rest of his perfection in relief. “Can I walk you home so we can talk more?”
I sighed. “I’d like that.”
He leaned in close enough to kiss me, but Chelsea yelled, “Text me when you get home, Elizabeth.”
“Yes, Mom,” I shot back before taking Evan’s elbow and leading him toward the Pavilion.
“You two don’t live together?” he asked.
“We used to, but you know. I’m a bit of a clutter bomb, to be honest.” I decided not to mention how Chelsea protected her space, how I wouldn’t have been able to invite him to my house when I’d lived with her.
“You’re messy?” He laughed, like it was somehow surprising, but he literally didn’t know the first thing about me.
“Guilty.” We’d drifted a little apart as we walked, like we’d gone back to square one. Now that I was free to tell the truth, I felt a little exposed, a little awkward. It had been easier to interact behind a mask, but I wanted to set the record straight. “Just so you know, all that stuff I said…” I sighed. “I don’t like hiking, and I’m actually an avid reader.”
He threw me a quizzical look. “I don’t get it. Why would you lie about that?”
Fair question. “You probably won’t understand, but I find it hard to talk to people sometimes. It helps to pretend I’m someone I’m not.”
“Actually, I understand that all too well.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” He veered into me, our shoulders bumping. “Can I make a confession?”
“Of course.” If he was about to repeat his professed crush on my alter-ego, I might swoon.
“These glasses aren’t prescription.”
I stopped dead to look at him square on. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, they’re just for show.” He slipped them off, and I nearly swallowed my own tongue. He’d been nerdy hot with the smutty little glasses, but without them, I could believe he actuallywasa TV personality. If he’d looked like that earlier, I never would have had the nerve to approach him. “I dunno. I thought it might make it easier to hang out with Bas without, uh…”
