All the Pretty Lies Read online

  “That’s easy. Reading.”

  “Reading?” He curls his nose. “Could you be any lamer?”

  “Hey now!” I pick a straw wrapper off the table and toss it at him.

  “I’m just kidding. Reading is cool.”

  “Reading is cool,” I repeat his words, trying to impersonate his tone. “Okay then, big shot, what’s your favorite hobby? Besides sleeping your way through half the student body,” I tease.

  “Hey, you can’t eliminate my answer.” He chuckles.

  “Callum.” I give him a pointed look.

  “Football, I guess.”

  “Four years ago you would have said boating or swimming.”

  “People change.” He shrugs.

  “Yes they do.” One look at Callum and it’s easy to see that he’s a completely different person than the boy I once knew. Sure, there are little things about him that are the same. The way he’s always running his hands through his hair. The way his eyes crinkle at the sides when he finds something funny. How he makes me feel when he looks at me.

  I won’t lie and say I didn’t have feelings for Callum all those years ago. Because I did. It was a silly crush and one that evaporated pretty quickly after he decided he no longer wanted to be my friend.

  “Meat lover’s pizza.” An older woman suddenly appears at the end of our booth holding a large pizza on a round silver serving tray.

  “That’s us.” Callum slides his drink to the side to give the woman room to sit the pizza in the middle of the table and a plate in front of each one of us.

  “Anything else you need?” she asks.

  “Nope. I think we’re good,” Callum responds, waiting until she walks away before turning his attention back to me. “Dig in,” he tells me, wasting no time tearing himself off a slice before dropping it onto the plate in front of him.

  “GOD, HOW DID YOU EAT so much? I only had two slices and I feel like I’m about ready to explode.” I rub my stomach dramatically as we exit Mario’s roughly an hour after we entered.

  “Please.” He swipes his hand through the air. “I could have eaten that entire thing by myself.”

  “You did.”

  “You ate two slices.” He chuckles.

  “So, where to next?”

  “Ice cream?” His lips turn up in a smile.

  “Ice cream? Where the hell do you plan to fit it?”

  “There’s always room for ice cream.” He taps the tip of my nose with his index finger. “And I’ll even let you pick where we get it from.”

  “How kind of you.” I roll my eyes playfully. “I guess if you’re going to force my hand, Whippy Dip.”

  “Whippy Dip?” He arches a brow.

  “Yeah, you know, the little ice cream parlor down the street.” I gauge his reaction. “Please tell me you’ve been there?”

  “I can’t say I have. How long’s it been there?”

  “Over a year at least. You’ve seriously never been.”

  “Nope.”

  “I can’t believe you’ve never had Whippy Dip. They have a blueberry ice cream that will seriously change your life.”

  “Life changing ice cream?” He chuckles. “Now we’re definitely going.” He reaches for my hand.

  “Callum, it’s after nine-thirty. I seriously doubt they’re open.”

  “You know nothing closes before ten on a Friday night. Now, stop stalling and lead the way.”

  I shake my head, fighting to contain the smile threatening to take over my entire face. I can’t help it. He’s that damn cute.

  “It’s just two streets up on the right.” I clear my throat before taking off in that direction, Callum matching my strides. “Can I ask you something?” I ask after we’ve walked several feet.

  “Shoot.”

  “Why did we stop being friends? And tell me the truth.”

  “I don’t know. I guess we just grew apart.” He seems mildly uncomfortable for the first time since we left the party.

  “That’s bullshit and you know it.” I keep my voice light, playful even.

  “Can we talk about something else?”

  “Why?”

  “I just... I just don’t want to think about the past right now. I wanna enjoy this.” He gestures around. “Being out, with you...in that dress.” His eyes do a quick sweep of me.

  “Such a guy.” I knock my hip into his.

  “That’s me. All guy.” He laughs.

  “It’s right over here,” I tell him, grabbing his hand before tugging him right onto Broadway. We jog across the street to the little shop on the corner and as Callum predicted, they don’t close until ten. “Ready to have your mind blown?” I ask, opening the door for him this time.

  The smell of fresh waffle cones invades my nostrils and I take a deep inhale. I swear, nothing smells better. Well, except maybe bacon. Because let’s be real, nothing tops bacon.

  We wait behind another couple before finally making our way up to the register. I order a small cone, Callum orders a large, and less than two minutes later we’re exiting the building with our ice cream in hand.

  I drag my tongue along the side of mine, moaning when the sweet goodness hits my tongue. When I look up at Callum, he hasn’t touched his cone. Instead, he’s staring at me with a look I can’t quite place. All I know is that it sends a rush of heat straight to my bones.

  “What?” I ask, giving him a questioning look.

  “Nothing.” He shakes his head, finally lifting his cone to his mouth for a taste. He drags his tongue along the side, the action sexier than it probably should be, before immediately going in for another lick.

  I study his reaction, waiting for him to give something away but his expression is neutral, completely unreadable.

  “Well?” I finally ask. “What do you think?”

  “I’m still deciding.” He licks the cone again before biting off the top of the ice cream with his lips.

  “Life changing, right?” I smile.

  “I don’t think I’ll ever look at ice cream the same way again.” He grins.

  “It’s amazing, right?”

  “How has this place been here for over a year and I’ve never tried this?” he says more to himself than to me, taking another long swipe with his tongue.

  “It’s so good. April dragged me here for their grand opening. I’ve been coming back every couple of weeks since then. I don’t think I could even eat regular ice cream after having this.” I lap up a couple spots on my cone that are starting to drip.

  “I...” he starts, but the sound of his cell phone pinging in his pocket kills the words on his lips. “Hang on.” He puts his ice cream in his other hand before digging into his back pocket for his phone.

  He slides his finger across the screen and reads whatever the message says, not bothering to respond.

  “Ready for our next stop?”

  “That depends,” I say, watching him slide his cell phone back into his pocket. “Are we walking and if so, how far? I don’t think I’m going to last much longer in these shoes.” I gesture down to my heels. “I honestly don’t know how women wear these things on a daily basis.”

  “Well, for what it’s worth, they look damn good on you.”

  “If only that made them less uncomfortable.”

  “Don’t worry. Where we’re going is on the other side of town so we’ll be driving.”

  “Thank god.” My voice is riddled with relief.

  “You know, if you’re feet hurt that bad, I could always carry you back to the Jeep,” he offers, half of his ice cream cone already gone.

  “Pass. I can walk.” I nudge him with my elbow.

  “Your loss.” He shrugs, dropping his free arm around my shoulders before leading me back toward where we came from.

  We eat our ice cream in silence, and by the time we reach the Jeep less than five minutes later, Callum’s is gone and I’ve just popped the last bite of my waffle cone into my mouth. I didn’t think I would have the room to fit it after the piz
za, but it tasted so good I couldn’t stop myself from eating the whole thing.

  “You’re really not going to tell me where we’re going?” I ask, climbing into the passenger seat as Callum settles behind the wheel.

  “Nope.” He starts the engine.

  “Just please do me a favor and tell me it’s not food related. I seriously don’t think I could fit another thing in my stomach.” I stretch out my legs as I slide my seatbelt into place.

  “No food is involved. Promise.” He traces an X over his heart with the tip of his finger.

  “Well thank goodness for that.” I groan audibly.

  Callum laughs, pulling the Jeep back out onto the street.

  We drive in silence, the radio playing softly in the background as we make our way across town.

  It’s less than ten minutes before Callum pulls into an overflow lot across the street from the zoo. I turn my head in his direction, confusion no doubt marring my face.

  “Planning on taking me into the zoo and pushing me into the lion enclosure?” I joke.

  “We’re not going to the zoo.” He shakes his head, a smile tugging at his mouth.

  “Considering it’s closed, I assumed as much. So then what are we doing here?”

  “Come on.” He climbs out of the Jeep without answering me.

  Grumbling, I push open the door and join him outside the car.

  “That,” he points across the street, “is where we’re going.”

  It takes me a moment before I realize what he’s pointing out.

  “The Planetarium?”

  “Yep.” He takes my hand, tugging me through the parking lot.

  “Um, Callum, I hate to break it to you but it’s definitely closed.”

  “I know.” He tosses me a warm smile as he leads me around the back of the building.

  “I thought this went without saying, but I’m really not in the mood for breaking and entering right now.”

  “Relax, P. We’re not breaking and entering.”

  “Then what are we doing exactly?”

  “You’ll see.” He stops outside an exterior door, lifting his fist up to knock on it. He pounds twice and the damn thing swings open.

  “Mikah Ames?” I blurt, not even sure how I remember the name.

  It’s not like I know him. I know of him, but I don’t think we’ve ever actually spoken. He graduated last year and like Callum, played on the high school’s football team.

  “What’s up, C?” He lifts his fist for Callum to knock.

  “Hey, Mikah. Thanks for doing this.” Callum pulls me inside, Mikah shutting the door after us which automatically locks as soon as it latches.

  “No problem.” He nods, his gaze sweeping to me. “Poppy.”

  “Hi,” I say awkwardly, honestly surprised he knows my name.

  “You know the drill.” His attention goes back to Callum. “Don’t fuck with anything and make sure the door latches behind you when you leave.”

  “Will do.” Callum clasps Mikah on the shoulder as we pass.

  I look back to see him heading the opposite direction down the long corridor.

  “Um, what is going on here?” I ask Callum once he’s out of earshot.

  “What do you mean? I thought that much was obvious.” He gestures around us as we enter a large room full of interactive displays that teach you about our solar system.

  “Right. But how?”

  “Mikah got a job here as a night guard last year. He lets me stop by during his shift sometimes when no one else is here.”

  “Wait, you’ve done this before?”

  “Only like every week for the last twelve months.” He chuckles. “Come.” He pulls me through the display room and down another long corridor before leading me through a set of double doors, into the circular theater.

  “Sit anywhere you want.” He gestures around the room. “But if you want my opinion.” He leans down so close that his breath is hot against my ear, causing my skin to prickle. “Middle section, middle of the row are the best seats in the house.”

  Without saying anything, I head in that direction, only to realize Callum hasn’t followed me once I’ve taken my seat.

  “What are you doing?” I ask, watching him make his way back to toward the doors we entered through.

  “Patience, little bird.” He flips a light switch and the room goes completely dark.

  “Callum?” I question nervously as I hear a loud click and the entire ceiling lights up in an amazing view of space.

  Stars twinkle overhead and it suddenly feels like I’ve been transported from the Earth entirely. I’m so preoccupied that I don’t realize Callum has joined me until he drops down in the seat next to me, reclining it back so that he’s lying flat.

  I mirror his actions, my gaze going back up to the ceiling which I realize is a giant screen.

  I’m mesmerized by the sight, the colors, and how expansive it all seems.

  “Beautiful.” I break the silence after a couple of minutes.

  “Yes, you are.” My entire body pings to life when I turn my head toward Callum to see that he’s watching me instead of the screen. His eyes hold mine for a long, tense moment before sliding back up to the ceiling. “I love it here. Whenever I’m worried or stressed about something, I come here. It reminds me just how small and insignificant my problems really are. That I’m one tiny person, on one tiny planet. It really puts things into perspective.”

  I want to say something. I feel like I should say something. But words completely fail me. Because this, him bringing me here, it means something to him. He’s sharing a part of himself with me. A part I don’t think I’ve seen in all the years I’ve known him. And that means more to me than I could put into words.

  We lay in silence for what feels like forever, my hand tucked in his as we watch the screen shift and change above us.

  Everything feels different somehow. Like something between us has changed. I don’t know how to explain it, or even make sense of it, but I can feel it down to my very core.

  “Thank you for bringing me here,” I say when Callum sits his chair upright and announces we should probably get going. We’ve been here well over an hour.

  “You’re welcome.” He helps me up, reaching out to brush a strand of hair away from my face as soon as I’m standing.

  Goosebumps break out across my skin, and even though it’s the most innocent of touches, it feels like it sets my entire body on fire.

  “Be honest though. You totally bring girls here all the time, don’t you? I have to admit, it’s a pretty smooth move. Dazzling them with the stars.” I gesture around the room.

  “I don’t. You’re the only person I’ve ever brought here. Not just the only girl. The only person.”

  “Shut up.” I nudge him with my elbow.

  “I’m serious, P.”

  “Then why bring me?” I ask curiously.

  “I don’t know. I guess I just wanted to share this with you. I used to share everything with you.”

  “Used to being the operative words.” I cross my arms in front of myself.

  “Come on. I should get you home.” He shakes his head, a trace of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

  I reluctantly follow Callum back to the door we entered through. It’s strange how a small amount of time in a quiet room can make you feel so many different things. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t sad to see it end.

  The drive home is quiet. I can tell Callum is lost in his head, and while I want to know what he’s thinking, what he’s feeling, I don’t feel like it’s my business to know such things.

  When we pull up outside of his house fifteen short minutes later, the last thing I want to do is get out of the car. I want to hold onto this night. I want to tuck it away somewhere safe where nothing and no one will ever taint it.

  It’s been the perfect night, even though it didn’t start out that way.

  Callum walks me to the front door.

  “Your mom’s not h
ome.”

  “No surprise there.” I sigh, fishing my house key out of my purse before shoving it into the door and turning. The lock clicks loudly, my hand hesitating on the knob. “Thank you for tonight,” I say, turning back to Callum. “I had fun.”

  “Me too.” He rocks back on his heels.

  “Well, I guess I’ll see you later.” I move to turn back toward the door when Callum’s fingers wrap around my forearm, stopping me.

  I don’t have time to react.

  One minute I’m facing one way, the next I’m flush against Callum’s chest, looking into those incredible green eyes of his. My gaze sweeps his face, his firm jaw, defined cheek bones and full lips before making my way back up to his eyes.

  I suck in a sharp breath when his hand slides across my cheek and into the back of my hair, locking my head in place.

  He lowers his face painstakingly slow. It’s torture. But a sweet kind of torture because I know it will end with his lips pressed to mine.

  He hesitates when his mouth is so close I can feel his breath on my face, his eyes searching mine, for what, I’m not really sure. And then he kisses me. He kisses me slow and deep, his tongue sweeping across my mouth, leaving no part of it untouched by him.

  I’m putty in his arms. Completely consumed by the feel of him, the taste of him, the hardness of his body pressed into mine.

  The hand in my hair tightens as his other hand slides down my back, across the tight material of my dress, his fingers digging into my lower back like he’s trying to find something to hold on to.

  I know the feeling. Because right now I feel like I’m struggling to keep my feet on the ground.

  My body heats. My skin tingles. And the deep ache between my thighs is unmistakable.

  I’ve never had someone affect me the way Callum does. Never had my body come to life with a simple touch. Never felt the overwhelming need I feel at this very moment. A need I know that only Callum can satisfy.

  But right as the thought takes hold, Callum pulls away abruptly, his breathing heavy and labored as he drops his forehead to mine.

  “Go inside, P.” His voice sounds strained. “Go inside or I may never stop kissing you.” He pulls back, cupping my face in his hands.