Firsts & Lasts

Last Lie.

Novalee

I flinch whenever the barista calls out my name. I'm extremely tired. I barely slept a wink last night. Christian and I had sex. Many times. It felt good in the moment, but now at 9 a.m., the next morning, I feel God awful. I volunteered to get Chris, his roommates, and I some coffee and pastries at the café.

They had a late night as well because they went to a party after winning another game. Chris obviously skipped the party and we hung out all night. I grab the bag and drink carrier from him. "Thanks," I say. "No problem, have a good day," He says with a friendly smile.

On my way out, a blonde steps in front of me and I quickly recognize her. She was Chris and I's waiter when we went to dinner after his game. "Novalee, right?" She says. I furrow my brows, very, very confused. I think she's about to ask for my boyfriends number. Did it not look clear enough that we're a couple? "Yes?" It comes out more like a question than an answer.

"I was just wondering, are you actually dating Valdez? Or is it more of a friends with benefits kind of thing? I don't see you on his social media, so I thought I'd ask," She smiles. Is this the reality of dating this guy? Random girls coming up to me and asking if we're dating? I set the drinks and bag I'm holding on a table near us. "We're actually dating," I reply. Her eyes widen a bit like she's surprised. Then she sucks her teeth.

"Okay, don't hate me," she starts "because really I didn't know." I furrow my brows even more. "What?" My voice has grown softer. Why is she intimidating me right now? "A couple of days before you guys came to eat at the restaurant, Valdez I kind of," she pauses, looking off into the distance behind me. I turn around to see if she's looking at something or someone. "What? Kind of what?" I say annoyed. Also, impatient because what is she trying to say?!

"We hooked up. Had sex," She says lowly. I feel my heart immediately drop to my stomach. What the hell. "W-what?" I choke out. My skin heats from anger, jealousy, I don't even know. "The Sigma party that Tuesday? You didn't come, at least I don't think you did because I didn't see you, but we went back to his place and had sex. I didn't know about you until I saw you guys together at the restaurant on Saturday," She explains.

She's right. I skipped that party because I was feeling too tired to go out. I trust Christian to go out with his friends, so he went with the boys.

Is she actually freaking serious right now? I shake my head. There's no way. He would never. He texted the whole time he was there, told me when he got home, and when he went to sleep. "No. You're lying. He wouldn't do that," I retort. My jaw clenches slightly, not because I'm mad but because I'm holding back tears. This cannot happen again. He just met my parents. He told them to their face that he'd never hurt me. Was he lying? No.

She pulls out her phone from her back pocket and scrolls through it for a couple of seconds. My breathing starts to become uneasy as I try to process what's happening. She shows me her screen. It's a picture of her, Christian, and Xander. I look at his shirt. He was wearing that shirt to the party. I FaceTimed him before he left. But this picture explains nothing.

"So? You saw him and took a picture at the party," I say. He didn't cheat on you, Nova. She rolls her eyes. "Fine, I wasn't going to show you this, but I guess since you won't believe me." She takes her phone back and scrolls again. She turns the camera back at me and a video plays. It's Christian. Going down on her. She giggles and he covers the camera with his hand and then the video ends. A sob tries to escape my throat, but I hold it back.

I don't say anything more, I just leave. Screw the drinks because I am not going back to Christian's apartment. I should've known better than to ever trust him. What hurts me the most is that I introduced him to my mom and dad and he told them to their face that he'd never hurt me. Christian Valdez's speciality is lying. I should've known this. You're stupid. This time I don't deny that voice in my head.

Because it's right. I fell for him again and he hurt me. Even worse this time.