Lie To Me, page 3
At the ball field Eli grabbed his bag and ran off to the dugout. Marley was forced to help Griffin carry the rest of the stuff.
“Keep the snacks in the truck until after the game.” He said as she reached for the bag of snacks. That gave her a bit of alarm. Megan would have known to leave the bag in the truck. Marley slid the bag to the side as if that was her intention all along and reached for the blanket she had brought to sit on.
Marley did not miss the looks that Griffin received from the majority of the females around him. He was very good looking she had to admit.
“Hey, Dr. Valentine, I need to bring Boots into see you. He doesn’t seem to be feeling well.” A very buxom red haired woman said as she came to stand next to Marley.
“Just call and make an appointment with Jessica.” Griffin said as he folded out the chair that he had brought to sit on.
“How are you doing, Megan?” The woman asked and she wondered if she should know the woman’s name. Megan probably would have.
“Good.” And she did not return the question because that was not something Megan would do. Instead she sat herself down on the blanket and looked for Eli. He was in the outfield tossing a ball with some of his teammates. The red haired woman smiled at Griffin before moving away. She had been only the first of many women that stopped to speak to Griffin.
“Valentine, can you help us at first base until Jeremy gets here?” One of the men she thought of as the coach asked Griffin. He stood up and headed out onto the field. It was interesting to watch him in this environment. She watched as he coached first base and she could tell that this was not the first time he had done it. Griffin was very positive with all of the boys. Even the ones who got out were praised for one good thing or another. Not one negative word crossed that man’s lips while he coached that base. The inning was over pretty quick and he was back in his chair. The score was still zero to zero.
“Are you hungry?” Griffin asked her but she was to into the game to eat anything.
“No.” She answered not looking away from the field. Marley understood this game well. She had dated the pitcher in high school. He had dumped her when she would not go all the way with him after senior prom. Those were the days.
“I had no idea you liked baseball this much.” Griffin said and she wondered if her sister ever showed an interest. This whole thing was starting to get on her nerves. She could feel the frustration building. Griffin stood and made his way to the concession stand she pulled out her phone.
‘Do you watch Eli’s games?’ She sent the text to her sister. And was glad when in seconds she had a reply.
‘Yes, usually it is me and Tuttle at the games. Sometimes Griffin comes. Don’t argue the rules and stay away from Melissa. Red head.’ Marley smiled at her sister’s words. So maybe it was because he did not usually come that he did not know. Why did Megan thing she would argue the rules? Because she was a stickler for the rules. Griffin came back and sat in his chair a hotdog and fries in his hands.
She looked his way only briefly before turning her attention back to the game. After the game, which Eli’s team lost by one run, she handed out the snacks. All the players were friendly and thanked her for the snacks.
“Pop.” Eli almost shouted when he saw an older man heading their way. She could tell without a doubt that the man was Griffin’s father. The three Valentine males could be used to show how they aged through the years.
“Good game, Kid.” The older gentleman said to Eli. Griffin hugged his father and she smiled.
“Megan.” The man said to her before hugging her to his chest.
“Can I go home with you?” Eli asked the older man and she almost groaned when he shook his head yes. That meant that she would be riding back with Griffin alone. On the way over Eli had kept his father’s attention. Now there would be no one in the middle to keep her from having to talk. Megan busied herself folding the blanket. Griffin was loading the stuff back in the truck and she wondered if this was how families did things. She nor her sister were ever into organized sports so she did not have that experience to fall back on.
It seemed to be the way for most of these people she thought as she watched families help each other gather things and load them up.
“You need one of those.” Marley said as a young man passed by pulling a wagon.
“I have one of those, you picked it up.” Griffin said as that concerned look filled his eyes again. Biting her lips she pretended interest in the blanket as she put it in the back of the truck. Why had they not told the man the truth? It would have been so much easier just to say that she was filling in for her sister. When she turned he was much closer to her than he had been a moment ago. His hand came out to rest on her forehead. That little electric current raced through her.
“I am fine.” She said and tried to move away from him. His other hand came out and caught her by the waist. She inhaled quickly at the contact. She saw something flash in his eyes and she wondered if he felt it too.
“No you are not.” He said matter of factly before stepping away from her and heading for the drivers side of his truck.
“Maybe you should get in the back, so you don’t get me sick.” Griffin said as she opened the front passenger door. Closing it quickly she reached for the back door. If that was the way he wanted it that worked just fine for her.
“I am really worried about you, Megan.” He said before turning the key and bringing his machine to life. “Are you still seeing that Logan guy?”
Marley whipped out her phone and sent her sister a text.
‘Are you still seeing Logan?’
‘No.’ Came the almost instant reply.
“No.” Marley said as she ran a finger over the front of her phone.
“What happened?” Griffin asked and she did not think she could get all of that out of her sister in a text.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” That was the truth and for only one reason. She did not know anything about it. Because she did not talk to her sister like a normal human being. So her sister had been seeing a guy, whose name she did not know. Yet her boss did. Then her sister was no longer seeing that guy and she did not know. What else was there about her sister that she was too caught up in her own life to notice?
“Are you hungry?” Griffin asked and she was just too caught up in her own issues to eat.
“No.” That was all he was going to get out of her. They had been close when they were younger. When had all of that changed? Probably when she got too caught up in her own future to even bother asking her sister how she was doing. That thought made her sad. She wondered if Megan had these same thoughts. At the house she helped unload the truck and returned all of the items to the place they were supposed to go. Then she made her way to Megan’s room and changed. She pulled on a pair of stretchy shorts and a tank top. She was not in the mood for anything now. Her non existent relationship with her sister was really bothering her. Griffin was in the kitchen popping pop corn, she could smell it all through the area.
“So we are going to watch that horror movie tonight.” Griffin stated and she wondered if this was something that had already been planned. Marley did not like scary movies but she knew that Megan did. Megan loved all things scary. Griffin poured the popcorn from its microwave bag into a bowl and headed for the den.
Marley grabbed a bottle of water and followed him. If this was something that Megan did, then she was just going to have to put on her big girl panties and do it. Griffin sat on the couch and patted the seat next to him. Marley made her way there and sat. The leather sofa was cold on her bare legs, so she reached for a blanket. The man pushed some buttons and had the movie going rather quickly.
“When is Eli coming home?” She asked hoping she would have that excuse to leave the movie if he did come home.
“He is staying at my dad’s tonight. He has everything he needs there for school in the morning.” Griffin answered before cramming a handful of popcorn into his mouth. A few pieces dropped into his lap and it was going to drive her nuts if he did not clean it up. For the first five minutes of the movie she focused on the crumbs in his lap. It was going to drive her insane. Unable to take it anymore she reached over and plucked the large pieces up, before brushing the rest off of his lap. There now she could watch the movie.
The popcorn bowl was on the table beside of him, empty except for a few crumbs. The movie was about to reach that point where every nerve ending in ones body was on alert.
Marley was almost in his lap, she did not like this kind of movie. When the climax hit she was on his lap straddling him, her face buried against the side of his neck. She felt his hands on her butt and knew this was a terrible mistake. Every inhale brought the smell of him and she was resting on that part of him that told her she was causing an issue to rise.
“I thought you liked scary movies, Megan.” It was in the way that he said Megan that let her know he was aroused. Or maybe it was all just because of her over heightened emotions.
“I do.” She lied, because she herself did not like them.
“Then it is my body you can’t get enough of.” She heard his words just before his mouth closed on her bare shoulder. She felt his lips drop a tender kiss there. His hands gripped her butt and she tried to lift off of him. His hands slid up her back and cradled her face. When he kissed her all rational thought left the building. Honestly all thought left her brain. There was nothing left in the world but this man and his kiss. Marley had kissed others before but nothing like this. His mouth caused molten lava to enter her belly and she pressed herself against his erection. The contact caused a spark to fly through her.
His tongue entered her mouth and she allowed hers to dance with it. When he stood she was not ready to let him go, so she wrapped her legs around his waist and paid no attention to where they were going. When he dropped her on his bed she watched as he pulled his shirt over his head. There was no going back now, she thought and she really did not want to. All thoughts were shoved down deep and buried and she went with the moment. This moment where she wanted this man like she had never wanted another human being in her life. Griffin brought his body down over hers again covering her with his warmth. His mouth found hers and they kissed like they were the last two people on the face of the planet. Griffin was grinding against her and she felt every single inch of contact through her whole body. He easily removed her clothes and had her naked underneath him. When his fingers touched her she almost shot off the bed.
“Easy.” Griffin said softly against her ear before kissing her again. The kiss took her mind off of everything else. When he stood to remove his pants she almost changed her mind. They were too far gone to be changing her mind. Marley crawled up the bed until she was against the pillows and slowly slid under the blankets. She was not really comfortable being exposed like that. He watched her before lifting the blanket and crawling in the bed with her. The kissing continued.
Griffin had her under him and their naked bodies were pressed so close. The kissing continued and so did the touching. His fingers were touching her and she felt how wet she was for him. There was a growl and then he was lifting himself between her parted thighs and sliding inside of her. She was surprised at the ease of it. There was really no time to think about it as he moved inside of her. Marley was lost to everything else but him. She went where ever he wanted to lead and was amazed at the sensations crashing inside of her body. She was completely exhausted when he rolled away from her. She was not sure what to do, but reality came back with a quickness.
She had just slept with her sister’s boss and he thought she was said sister. Closing her eyes she tried to think of a way to save this situation. The only thing would be to come clean and tell him the truth. She felt the bed shift as he stood and she peeked to see him heading into his bathroom. That was the chance she needed. Quickly she jumped from the bed and grabbed up all of her things. She was heading out the door when his bathroom door opened. She hit the hall and ran all the way to Megan’s room. Once inside she locked herself in the bathroom.
“Megan.” The name was followed by a gentle knock on the door.
“We need to talk about what happened.” Griffin’s words made her want to cry. This was the one thing her sister had asked her not to do. ‘Don’t mess this up.’ Oh she had done so much worse than that.
“Can we just pretend it didn’t happen?” Marley asked as she struggled to get her clothes the correct way before sliding them back on.
“No, and I will not talk about this through the door.” Well then she would just stay in there all night.
“I am going to take a shower.” She lied, oh she was getting really good at that bad habit.
“How could you have a pregnancy scare last month when you were a virgin?” The question came through loud and clear. Marley reached for the taps of the shower and turned the water on. She was not really going to take one but she wanted him to think she was.
“I am coming in there if you do not come out.” He warned and she knew she did not want that. When she saw the little lock turn she knew that he was coming in. Quickly she stepped into the shower, with her clothes on. The glass door would not hide that fact from him either.
She saw his foggy figure in the bathroom. The glass shower door opened and he took in her clothed body.
“What are you doing?” He asked as she stood with the water pouring down her back.
“I had a hangover last month and didn’t want you to know.” That was the truth although it was not her truth it was still the truth.
“So you lied to me?” He asked and she hated the way it sounded.
“You know I hate liars.” Well no she did not know that, but she knew it now. There was no way to save face and get out of this mess now. Telling the truth would probably get her sister fired and that was what she was supposed to be trying to prevent. She had done a bang up job here. How would Megan be able to work for the man now? With him thinking they had slept together.
“Get out of the shower right now.” He ordered and she turned off the water. Griffin held out a towel for her and she wrapped it around herself. Marley did not miss the way his voice had gone all deep, much deeper than it had been before.
In the small bedroom she watched as he sat in the chair by the window. He was not going to give her any privacy. If she was going to change he was going to watch.
“Can you give me a minute to change?” She asked feeling more self conscious in that moment than she ever had in her life.
“I have seen you naked, I have been inside of you. Why do you need me to give you privacy now?” The reminder that he had been inside of her had her blushing so she turned away from the man. With her back to him she stripped out of the wet clothes without dropping her towel. With a steady hand she kept the towel around her while she dressed in dry clothes. Marley carried the wet clothes to the bathroom and hung them up to dry. Griffin was still sitting in that chair when she came out. Marley was not sure what she was supposed to do so she just stood there. Her eyes looking everywhere but at him.
“I’m sorry.” She offered hoping that would be enough.
“I’m not.” He stated and she wondered what she was supposed to say to that. It was mostly her fault for climbing onto his lap during that movie.
“You have worked very close to me for several years, this was bound to happen. Now we need to decide what to do about it.” He hated liars she reminded herself. That thought was all that kept her from blurting out the truth.
“Can we just go on like nothing happened?” Lord her sister had worked for the man for two years and this had not happened. She had been here two days and already screwed everything up.
“Is that what you really want?” His voice was quiet and she looked up to see him standing up. She watched as he crossed the room, closing the space between them. One of his hands came up to cradle her cheek.
“You want to act like there is nothing between us?” She nodded unable to speak. “You want to pretend that you don’t feel that spark when I touch you?” Did that mean he felt it too? She was so confused at the moment. “You want me to believe that you didn’t enjoy that just as much as I did?” Closing her eyes she tried to think of what Megan would say. It was not helping. She was not Megan and she could not pretend to be her.
“I-.” She was going to tell him that she was not Megan. But his mouth closed over hers at that moment.
“You do not want me kissing you?” He asked against her lips. The question caused the butterflies to flutter in her stomach.
“Yes, no, I don’t know, Griffin.” She was trying to clear her mind. To get to the words that she needed to say. The words that were very likely going to infuriate him and have her packing all their things and leaving at that moment.
“Come back to bed with me, we can talk about it in the morning.” His lips touched her nose. She could feel herself giving into him. Shaking her head she pushed away from him. What he was suggesting sounded so nice, but it was not going to help the situation.
