The Liar Next Door by Nicola Marsh
Sixteen
Frankie
THEN
I’m floating on my back in the pool and Walter is sitting on the side, his feet dangling in the deep end. He’s wearing plain black board shorts that show off surprisingly muscular legs. His chest is bare, with a smattering of dark hair in stark contrast to the pallor of his skin. I’ve been eyeing him off for the last hour, my pulse racing and my heart pounding in the throes of my first full-blown crush.
He’s nothing like the guys at school, who can only converse about football and college and parties. It must be an age thing, because Walter exudes a quiet confidence I find extremely attractive. He’s not verbose yet he’s easy to talk to, and we’ve covered a range of topics over the last sixty minutes, from how much he loves his job at the bank and being on a fast-track to manager, to my passion for books across genres.
But he hasn’t mentioned one salient fact and I’ve finally worked up the courage to ask him about it.
“Where’s your girlfriend?”
“She left yesterday morning.” He sounds relieved rather than unhappy about it.
“Was she at my party?”
“No, she had a migraine.”
“Too bad.” I would’ve liked to suss out the competition. Then again, the way Walter has been checking me out since he arrived for a swim, I’m quietly confident he returns my interest.
I can’t explain my attraction to him. But from the moment we met I felt a bewildering mix of excitement and calm around him, two conflicting emotions that make me want to do crazy things, like beg him to take me with him when he leaves.
I don’t want to talk about his girlfriend but I don’t want to encroach on her territory either if they’re serious. “How long have you been going out?”
“A year.”
Yikes. That’s bad. Twelve months is a committed relationship and I experience a flicker of remorse. Maybe I should back off?
But then I catch him staring at my breasts from behind his sunglasses and I know I have to make a move or I’ll regret it forever. My priorities have changed. I’d been looking forward to my gap year at home, to figure out what I want to do with my life before heading off to college. But meeting Walter, the first guy I’ve ever been interested in, hot on the heels of discovering my parents’ secret, has made me re-evaluate. Maybe I need a fresh start away from here to work out where my life is heading?
“Do you love her?”
“What kind of question is that?”
He’s bemused rather than angry so I persist. “Because if you love her I won’t pursue this and today is about two new friends hanging out and getting to know each other.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Then you better get your ass in here and find out.”
He laughs, a loud bellow that startles some nearby starlings into taking flight.
“Just so you know, I don’t usually talk to guys like that. In fact, I’ve never said anything so forward to a male in all my life, but I like you, you’re leaving at the end of the week and I don’t want to waste any time.”
In response, he swings his legs out of the water and stands. Great, I’ve screwed this up monumentally with my uncharacteristic bluntness. I swim to the shallow end so I can stand too. When I do, he’s still staring at me like he can’t quite figure me out.
“Where are you going?”
“Home,” he says.
“Will I see you tomorrow?”
“No. I’m not going ‘home’ as in next door, I’m heading home to Hartford.”
“Oh.”
Not only have I failed in my quest to get him to like me, I’m so damn unlikeable I’ve driven him all the way to his hometown.
“Aren’t you going to ask me why?”
I shake my head and water droplets fly in a pretty arc, glinting in the sunlight. “I think I’ve said enough.”
He shrugs and turns away, and my heart sinks, before he pauses and glances over his shoulder.
“I’m going home to break up with my girlfriend because I’d never cheat.”
I think I fell a little in love with him right then.
He grins and gives me a funny half salute. “And in case you don’t understand, I’ll be back.”