Page 28 of Lies You Told
Chloe: Because I know your grip would be harder. That it would hurt more!
Jaxson: Chloe…
Chloe: We could be getting our meeting out of the way now!
Chloe: You want to video chat?
That sounds like music to my ears, but I know she’s been out with Kate, and I don’t want her to have regrets here.
Jaxson: I’d love nothing more. But I need you to be stone-cold sober when we talk.
Chloe: I am now! We didn’t drink much.
Jaxson: How much?
Chloe: Two glasses with food a couple of hours ago.
Fuck! She’s not even a little tipsy. That should make me happy that the conversation I’m having with her is real. But I also know she’s hiding. I don’t want us to talk about all the shit we need to over a fucking phone screen.
Jaxson: I want you to be within touching distance.
The three little dots appear and disappear a couple of times. I don’t want her to have any regrets. The fact that she’s so undecided about what to message makes a small part of me nervous.
Chloe: Times Square 24 hr diner.
Chloe: I’ll be there in thirty minutes.
Chloe: If you don’t want me drinking coffee alone. Meet me there.
Fuck! I jump off my bed and grab a hoodie. I walk into my closet and grab my sneakers. I need to get there before her. At this time of night, I don't like the idea of her walking the streets alone. The Dom in me wants to spank her ass for being so reckless. But something tells me that Chloe doesn’t do things like this very often, and I need to take this opportunity she has sent me.
Ijump out of theUberas I approach the diner she mentioned. I open the door, looking for a free table to let us have a private conversation. I’m surprised to see her at the far side of the place, a coffee already in front of her and a chuffed smile on her face. It’s been too long since I’ve seen a smile on her face that looks truly genuine. I want to see more of that.
“You came,” she says, pouring sugar into her coffee, way more than is probably socially acceptable.
“Like I was going to leave you sitting alone at this time of the night.”
“Always the protector.”
“Not always,” I say, serious for a moment. It’s stupid to say that because that smile I was enjoying only a moment ago falters for the smallest of seconds.
“You weren’t supposed to know.” She stops, looks at me, and stirs the sugar into her drink.
“You should have told me. I was a huge jackass. We could have done… something.”
She looks at me, regret in her eyes. “Like I told Blake.”
“Blake is an asshole! Always has been. You know we both had a thing for you back then.” I need to get this conversation back onto familiar ground, less confrontational. “He knew I liked you, then swooped in ahead of me. I was going to make my move at the first study session we all had.”
She looks at me, surprised.
“Yeah, I think you're the only person who didn’t know.”
“I guess we all had our secrets,” she gives me a weak smile.
“I’d have believed you,” I say as the waitress pours coffee into my cup.
Chloe waits until she leaves. “We don’t know that. You were pretty quick to believe Blake.”
