The sun was too bright to look at. I was tempted to put my shades on but having sunglasses tan line didn’t seem very appealing so I simply kept my eyes closed. My skin felt warm as I was trying to collect proof that I’d been to the beach and failing not to wonder what Jason was doing at the time.
“Do you ever take that off?” His voice reached my ears, making my attempt impossible.
I squinted as my eyes popped open and the sunbeam got to them before they shifted to Jason. His position wasn’t very different from mine – lying on his back, legs bent lightly at the knees, except he was shading his eyes with one arm, while both of mine were at my sides.
“What?” I asked, confused.
Jason tipped his chin to my feet. “That bracelet-thingy. You’ve been wearing it since we got here and I think I saw it on your ankle that time we were at the lake house.”
I was taken aback for a second. First because – had he really noticed? And second – was that a normal insinuation-free question?
“No, not really,” I admitted. “And right now it’s an anklet-thingy.”
“Same difference.” He was such a guy. “Aren’t you afraid you might lose it in the ocean?”
“The lock is pretty good.”
“So what is it? Like a lucky charm?”
“Something like that, I guess. I made it,” I confessed.
“You made that?” Jason shot me an incredulous look.
“Yeah,” I muttered, feeling my cheeks grow warm. “A while ago. It was a hobby.”
His eyes inspected the jewellery for another moment. “Pretty cool.” He sounded impressed and I couldn’t help the little proud feeling steering in my chest. At least until his next comment brought me back to reality. “I thought it was a gift from that boyfriend of yours or something.”
“Um, no.”
Talking to Jason about Brandon was just as awkward as talking to him about Dayan. Both raised a little storm in my stomach – the unpleasant kind. Even more after last night.
“How long have you guys been together?” Jason apparently didn’t feel that way.
I considered discouraging the conversation with another short answer but then a different thought occurred to me. The more I pushed him toward the friend zone, the easier I could stop feeling like I couldn’t trust myself around him. And what faster way to get there if not chatting about my boyfriend?
“Since high school,” I answered.
“Was he your first?”
I threw him one miffed look. Of course he would ask something like that!
“Do you always have to be so straightforward?”
Jason shrugged. “Saves time.” He pushed himself up a little and supported his head on the palm of his hand. “So, was he?”
He had got to be kidding me.
“I’m not telling you this!”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t want to talk about my sex life with you,” I said curtly.
“What’s the big deal?” Jason asked like we were talking about the weather.
“The big deal is it’s personal.”
“More personal than seeing you naked?”
He did not just say that!
YOU ARE READING
Secret Rulebook of Cheating
Humor"Cheating is like casting. You need a lot of candidates to find the right person for the role of your soul mate. And you don't stop at your first selection, because someone more suitable for the part might come along. But you'll never know unless yo...
