Page 123 of Tight Ends & Tiaras
Everyone seems shocked I’m speaking, but I’m not going to be cowed anymore. Ben needs someone on his side. Plus, I have a bone to pick.
“Well, yeah. Pretty much.” She blinks innocently, her lashes wet with tears.
“So you didn’t return to my house and ransack my room?”
She lifts her chin. “No, of course not. I mean, yes, I went to your house, but I’m not the one who trashed it. Some guy did it. All I did was grab my stuff and leave.”
“What guy?”
“Some guy. I assumed he was one of your exes.”
“Cal?”
She shrugs like she can’t be bothered to remember.
“How many boys were you dating this summer?” Teresa asks haughtily.
“Tía,” Ben growls.
“What? You’re not giving Janelle a chance when your girlfriend just goes from man to man to man.”
Wow. Okay.
Janelle sniffs dramatically. “It’s worse than that, Teresa. My friend Amelia told me she overheard Ben talking to her boyfriend. Apparently, Ben was only pretending to date Sienna when they went to the lake. They weren’t even together when they had sex.”
Ben scowls. “What the fuck, Janelle? Who are you to say shit about my relationships?”
I sit there stunned while Ben lays into her. I suppose it seems like I springboarded from Cal to Ben, but everyone is missing a few crucial details.
“Cal cheated on me.” I resist the urge to bite my nail.
Ben reaches over and laces our fingers together. “You don’t have to explain anything, sunshine.”
“It’s okay. I suppose if I were in your family’s shoes, I’d want the full story.” I brave a glance around the table, and the hostile expressions make me swallow. “Anyway, I caught my ex in the act, so to speak. That night I was injured, and Ben helped me. Yes, maybe we bonded more quickly than we would’ve otherwise because he took care of me when I was in the hospital, but I wouldn’t say my feelings for him came out of nowhere. I don’t know if you know this, but I also lived with his sister Gabby last year. And while it’s true that Ben and I started out pretending, we did start to officially date while at the lake.”
His aunt doesn’t look terribly convinced, but I forge on and turn to Janelle. “Why should I believe that you didn’t destroy my bedroom? You lie about everything else.”
Her eyes narrow. “You’re one to talk.”
Ignoring her comment because she’s obviously irrational, I turn to her parents. “Did you know Lily was Ben’s? Did your daughter ever tell you? Or did she lie to you too?”
They stare at me stonily until Mr. Lopez clears his throat. “Janelle told us Lily was Ernest’s. We had no reason to doubt her. Our daughter is a good girl—she didn’t lie. Janelle only recently learned the truth herself.”
I guess he’s entitled to think the best of his kid, but I can’t let Janelle get away with letting everyone believe her tall tale about running right back home after the lake.
After I reach into my purse to grab my phone, I turn to Ben. “I didn’t say anything about this to you because you’d already heard from Mr. Lopez that Janelle was home safe, but after she disappeared, I called a friend of mine who’s in security. And he traced Janelle’s locations through her phone.”
“Oh, my God. You just won’t stop, will you?” Janelle yells.
I pull up the email. “She claims she went straight home, but according to her phone, she stopped at my house and then stayed at this address.” I rattle off the info as I watch Janelle’s face pale. “I looked it up, and guess who lives there? Her ex, Ernest.”
“I just stopped to get my stuff.”
I scan the email. “Well, according to your phone, you stayed there overnight. And, oh look, I didn’t realize that there’s a link to a video at the bottom.” For a brief moment, I stare at Janelle. “I’m not sure I mentioned this, but my friend is one of the top security specialists in the country.” Probably the world, but I don’t like to brag.
I hold the phone between me and Ben as I click on the link. The timestamp and date are on the bottom, conveniently. It’s the door cam of someone’s house, I’m guessing Ernest’s. Janelle steps out onto the porch, walks halfway to her car, turns around, and runs back to the guy who’s now standing in front of the door in his underwear. They make out. Full tongue and everything.
“Look at the car in the driveway,” I whisper to Ben. “It’s a black Audi. Isn’t that the vehicle Johnny saw her jump into when we were at the lake?”
