Read Online Know Me (Truthful Lies Trilogy - Book One) by Rachel Dunning - Free Book Online

All manner of intensity
rages in his aquatic eyes. I don’t pursue the last statement. All I
know is his gaze burns into me. My chest lights up. I feel the
scrim of sweat on my skin from last night’s party liven up again. I
imagine his lips on my skin— Why!? The thought comes out of
nowhere! —and realize I’d
probably taste like an athlete right about now.
    So would he. And yet...the thought of his
briny flavor on my tongue is enough to make me shift in my
seat.
    There’s only one explanation to this, of
course: I’m completely tired. I need to sleep and think straight
again.
    Of course that’s what it is.
-7-
    “ So why did you really stop dropping?” he
asks me.
    I pause as an argument rages in my mind as
to whether or not I should answer truthfully. Or should I pepper it, tell a
semi-truth, a lie that isn’t completely a lie? A “truthful” lie.
But a little voice in my head tells me not to, tells me that I
should be open with him, completely, and see where it
goes.
    I say it quick: “Friend of mine ODed.” Jackhammer hits me! Savva’s face, on the ground, swollen eyes looking
up, fingers curled halfway... “Can we change the subject?”
    Silence. I sense that he knows that the
dead tree on my arm is because of that. “That’d do it,” he says.
And then he changes the subject. “So how long you been mixing
for?”
    “ As long as I can remember. I got some
cheap-ass decks when a friend of ours moved back to Poland. I was
twelve then, but I’d been mixing at his place already since I was
eleven or so. Then I sold those and got some other decks off eBay.
The current ones I have were given to me by another friend who also
went to Poland. A...uhm...year ago. He DJed in his spare time.”
Patryk was never much of a DJ, but he was a big spender, always
liked getting the best gear even if he couldn’t afford
it.
    Savva really liked that about
him...
    “ Wow.” He says it slowly.
“Just... wow . So, that’s
what you do? I mean, mix full-time?”
    “ Yeah...I try at least.”
    He taps his finger on the table.
“Blaze.”
    “ Yeah.”
    “ You mesmerize me. And I know that’s
forward and all and maybe I’m stuck in the moment of heat, or maybe
I’m still ‘infatuated’ and all but...I need to kiss you again. I
mean, need to.”
    I need it too. “Then kiss me.”
    Electric sparks fly across our table. I
actually hear the crackle of static. Declan pays the bill. We stand
to leave but Clarissa grabs him by the wrist. She gives me a cold
look that says to me, Gimme a minute, this is private!
    I go and wait by the door. I overhear:
“Gina’s not doing so good, Deck. You need to go and see her. The
doctors think it’ll help. You know, her last touch with reality and
all...”
    “ It’s not my business, Clarissa. She did
what—”
    “ It is your
damn business. You owe it to her to—”
    “ Clarissa, I don’t owe her shit. It was her
choice, and I tried to stop her.”
    “ She would’ve walked to the depths of the
earth for you, Deck. And she followed you when you got into the
scene. Hell, everyone followed you in. You know everyone in school looked up to
you. You can’t make out like you didn’t know you had that kinda
influence over people.”
    A pause. “I didn’t know back
then...but...it was still her choice.”
    “ Fine, whatever. Look, that may be true.
But right now it is your choice. She
needs help. Go see her. Go—”
    “ And take another beating from her brother
who thinks I’m the devil consummate?”
    “ Maybe. But everyone knows you never put up
much of a fight on that one, Deck. You coulda taken him in two or
three punches. Something says to me you wanted to get beat on. Like that woulda make it OK
or sumthin .
You know Gina’s in
the shit she’s in in a large part because of you.”
    “ Damn it. I don’t need to take this crap
from you. This was years back—”
    “ Clarissa!” It’s Mr. De Luca to the
rescue.
    Declan calls out to him. “Sorry, Mr. De
Luca.