What A Lie Looks Like | ✓

1.04: hayes

"You're an asshole I hope you know," I send Cam a side glare as he snickers.

"I'm not the one that acts like a a fuck boy, so therefore it's not my fault you were a dick about it. Besides, Sephine is actually really nice, and I don't feel like losing her because you screw up at some point by hooking up with her. How was I supposed to know with the way you had your arm around her?"

I fall silent because I know that she's nice. "You know that I don't hook up with every girl I meet, right?"

He gives me a flat look, "I'll believe that when I see it."

I drop the tailgate on my truck and set my bag in the bed. "Are you riding back to the school with me?"

He nods, dropping his gear next to mine, "The girls already left, so I would assume so."

"Then shut the hell up unless you want to walk back."

Cam shrugs, "Don't do stupid shit that gives me reason to call you out."

I climb in the truck, and half contemplate locking the doors and making him walk, but he's not wrong. "Tessa came to talk to me."

He takes a moment to reply, "What did she want to talk about?"

My grip on the steering wheel tightens, turning my knuckles white. "Same old, she's trying to apologize, but you know Tess, she doesn't exactly feel sorry about stuff."

"Are you okay?" Cam is staring at my hands that are still clenched around the wheel, and I let go allowing the blood to regain flow to my fingertips again.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

He grins widely at me, "Cause you look like shit."

I bark out a laugh as I change lanes, "You look like shit too, pal."

"Yeah, but I'm not the one blocking out hurt by using girls. Dude, it's not healthy."

Taking a deep breath, I try to keep control of my temper, "I don't force any of them into it, they all know exactly what they're getting into. Like Sephine said, the girls think they're different until they find out they aren't. Maybe that makes me an asshole, but I like to think that I'm upfront with all of them about what they're getting themselves into."

"You're right, it does make you sound like an asshole." Cam agrees, and I instinctively hit his arm.

"Try telling Sephine that," I mutter under my breath, tapping the steering wheel with my thumbs.

"Look, I'm sorry that I said something in front of Seph, it wasn't cool of me. But can you honestly blame me?"

The thing that bothers me the most is that I can't blame him.

If only Seph wasn't so damn intriguing.

"No, I can't." He falls silent, and I make a quick decision, "Do you mind if I drop you off at your truck?"

Cam shrugs, "Who are you calling this time? Alison or Callie?"

I grin and wait for his reaction, "Neither; Piper."

His jaw drops, "Seriously?"

I roll my eyes, "Dude, what reason would I have to lie? She said she's cool with it not having any emotions attached, but we'll see about that."

His only response is to laugh and shake his head.

*********

"Hayes?" Piper asks in a breathy tone as I pepper kisses down her jaw.

I grunt in response, not really paying attention to anything other than my efforts in trying to get her naked. Her hands twist through my hair as I make my way down from the nape of her neck to her collarbone. Piper's leg hooks up over my hip.

"Are you sure your parents won't come home?" She asks through short breaths of air as I trail my hand up and down her thigh.

"No, they're in Chicago for another week. Stop talking," I pull my shirt off, momentarily distracting her from the topic of my parents coming home, before pressing my lips against hers.

Piper's hands finally leave my hair alone to rest them on my chest as my hand slips under her shirt to rest on her warm skin.

She pushes me up and over onto my back, straddling my core. Piper uses the break to pull her shirt off, revealing her toned stomach and a purple lace bra that contrasts nicely with her tanned skin. Piper breathes heavily, pulling her hair out of her ponytail, and I reach up to run my hand through the short strands causing her to giggle and lean down over me. I shift, trying to get comfortable as she all but sits on me, yet I'm distracted once again when she kisses me deeply.

As I'm in the process of unhooking the lacy bra, she pulls away for a second, "Are you sure no one is home?" Piper asks through swollen lips.

I push myself up to recline on my elbows, trying to regain my breath, "Yes, I'm sure."

She brushes a piece of hair out of my face in a tender way, and I pull my head back out of Piper's touch, "Are we-" I try to avoid the urge to roll my eyes and sit up, causing Piper to move backward. My eyes scan the room to find where she had thrown her shirt before locating it on the floor. "Where are you going?" She asks, sitting half-naked in a tangled mess of blankets as I move further away to grab the shirt off the floor.

"You should probably go." I toss it back to Piper while her jaw drops.

"But-"

I run a hand through my thoroughly mussed up hair to try and think of a nice way to put this. "You didn't do anything wrong, I just don't think you can do just the benefits, and that's all you're going to get from me."

Piper takes a shaky breath but doesn't make a move to put her shirt on. "I told you that's all I want too." Her eyes trail down my chest to where my shorts hang dangerously low on my hips. I don't know why she came here after I made it perfectly clear that this wouldn't be anything more than a hookup.

I shake my head and open the door to my room, "Sorry, Piper, it's probably a good idea for you to leave now. I know what you said, but I also know from experience that sometimes people say stuff that they don't really mean."

I know I've done the right thing in telling Piper to leave just by her reaction as she pulls her shirt on over her head with nothing but hurt in her eyes. It might have been a blow to her pride, but I also know that she'll thank me later.

As I hear the front door slam, I'm left frustrated but feeling like a semi-good person.

Maybe I'm done letting what happened with Tessa control how I live.