All or nothing (Love in chaos #1) - Missy Johnson Page 0,30
seated with his mom a few tables away. Thank God she hasn’t noticed me talking to Ben yet, or I’d never hear the end of it.
“You know you like me,” Ben continues, reaching for another roll. “Even without the accent.”
“The only thing I liked about you was the accent,” I shoot back.
God, he frustrates me so much, but at the same time, I’m loving this.
“So, you don’t like me at all?” Ben prompts.
“Finding you attractive and liking you are two different things.”
He cocks his mouth into a smirk as I cringe, realizing what I’d just said.
“Oh, so you find me attractive, huh?”
I blush bright red, my cheeks burning. I look away. How the heck does he make me feel like I’m fifteen again? He tsks as he continues his shameless attack on me.
“I bet you’ve been dreaming about kissing me, haven’t you?” he teases. “Is that what you did last night? Lie there in your bed, with the waves rocking you back and forth, slipping a hand inside your panties—”
“While listening to Tara snore like a hyena next to me?” I finish. “Unlikely.”
“There’s always room in my bed, you know, if the snoring gets too much to handle.”
“Sorry, Ben, but I’m not doing this with you.”
I get to my feet and scowl at him like I’m bored with the conversation, even though the real reason I need to get away is because he’s making me flustered. Before I change my mind, I turn around, taking my half-eaten breakfast with me before. I almost make it out of the dining hall, when I run into Mom.
“Where are you off to in such a hurry?” The she looks at my half-finished plate, her lips pressing into a thin line. “Are you sure you’ve eaten enough?”
I nod. “I dished up way too much.”
“I saw you sitting with Ben.”
His name rolls off her tongue like it’s left a bad taste in her mouth.
“He joined me. It wasn’t my idea.” I’m defensive, because it’s my mother.
“What’s going on between you two?”
“Nothing,” I assure her.
My mom shakes her head. “It’s not the first time you’ve said that.”
I open my mouth to reply, but then I close it. It’s not worth arguing over, because nothing I say is going to be believed anyway.
“I know you’re an adult now, but be careful of him, Liv,” Mom says. “I don’t trust him. Any twenty-three-year-old who’s interested in a fifteen-year-old—”
“I told you a thousand times, he didn’t do anything,” I groan.
My face heats as I swallow that familiar burning feeling in my throat. It’s like all the lies are catching up with me again. I look over my shoulder to make sure he’s not in earshot, because the last thing I want is him hearing this.
“Didn’t do anything?” my mom glares at me. “So I just imagined seeing him climbing out of your window at one in the morning, did I?” Mom shakes her head. “You’re lucky I didn’t call the police.”
“If you were really worried, why didn’t you?” I taunt.
“Because you begged me not to, remember? That was our agreement. I let it go on the condition that you go and live with your father and end all contact with that boy.”
Only it wasn’t him.
“That was five years ago. I’m an adult—”
“And he’s the same, childish—”
“Hey Liv, can you help me for a sec?”
We both look up to see Tara waving at me. I smile at her gratefully and turn back to Mom.
“Look, we’ll talk later, okay?”
She grumbles to herself as I kiss her on the cheek, but then she nods. “Okay.”
“That was getting ugly, fast,” I say to Tara when I reach her. I grab her arm and lead her outside. “You’re a life saver.”
“I know,” Tara says with a cheeky smile. “Are you okay? What was she going on about? You looked about ready to punch her in the face.”
I groan. “She doesn’t trust me. She never has.”
“I don’t get it,” Tara says, glancing at my mom. “It’s not like you’ve ever given her a reason… oh wait, this goes back to what happened in high school, doesn’t it? Those rumors?”
I hesitate and Tara catches it.
“You can tell me what happened, you know.”
I always intended on telling my friend the truth, but I got shipped off so fast that there wasn’t any time. Telling her over the phone didn’t feel right, and when I got back, it felt like ancient history. At least, until I ran into Ben.
Sighing, I grab her hand and drag her to somewhere