Read Know Me (Truthful Lies Trilogy - Book One) for Free Online

good. (Then again, probably
so does he after pulling an all-nighter like this.)
    His pupils are not cooked, which means he’s
either at the bottom of his downer, or he never rolled in the first
place. I’m hoping it’s the latter. The former would be a
deal-breaker for me. Completely. I just can’t go that route with
anyone.
    Not after Savva...
    We get outside and the cold wind is a blast
of relief on my skin. Maybe in ten minutes it’ll be too much, but
not now.
    Before Xavier told me Declan’s name, I’d
already named him in my
mind: Mr.
I’m-So-Inked-and-Hard-and-Hot-I-Drop-Babes’-Panties-All-Over-Town.
    M y eyelids are too heavy to even try and start up a
conversation with him. And it’s been so long since I’ve been with a
guy that I wouldn’t trust my ice-breaker topic choices in my
current state of mind either. The only thing on my mind now is a
bed. Or any surface for that matter. Even this icy sidewalk or the
lumberyard next door would do.
    I see his two friends: The Huge-as-a-Mountain black dude
and the Snake-On-The-Neck skinhead dude. Huge-as-a-Mountain Black
Dude’s eyes go wide when he sees me, like he’s looking at
Brooklyn’s very own socialite. The skinhead’s reaction is typical
of someone who’s been rolling all night. That is: “Hey, whoa,
awesome! You rock!” And then he hugs me. Like, truly hugs me as if this were a sixties
Free Love party.
    Declan starts with the intros: “DJ Heaven—”
    “ Blaze,” I interrupt.
    “ Sorry, Blaze...what was the last name
again?”
    “ Ryleigh.”
    “ Ryleigh, that’s right. Damn, I’m tired,”
he says.
    You’re telling me, dude.
    He continues: “Blaze Ryleigh. This monster
here is my best friend, Trevor Perkins—everyone calls him Trev. And
this skinhead here is Skate. We promise he’s not a member of the
Aryan Nation, although he’s really got that look going for
him”
    Trev’s one bad looking emm-eff. Shorter than Declan by a little,
but wider. Seriously wider. At one stage during the party, he had
his shirt off, and I saw a sick tribal tat spanning his left pec. I
shake his hand and, even in my bleary state, can’t help but stare
at that same massive chest.
    “ You’re incredible,” he says.
“ So good.”
    “ Thank you.” I don’t even have an emotion
about the statement. Maybe it will all sink in after a few hours of
Zs.
    Declan: “So, we’re giving Blaze here a ride home.”
    Trev’s eyes bulge. Skate says, “Awesome! Right on!”
    Skate here looks pretty buzzed up, and
someone who’s not part of the scene might mistake him for something dangerous with his
own solid build and shaved hair, snake tattoo curling all around
his neck. But his gray—just slightly blue—eyes are warm. Just another dude rolling his problems away on a
weekend , I
think.
    “ So, we parked a little way away. Ten
minute walk.” Declan points up the road. “I can get the car so you
can rest, or you can walk with us.”
    I ponder both options. The thought of
anyone else coming over to me in what is already too bright a day
(it’s cloudy as hell, but my eyes can’t take it), and then telling
me I was so “Awesome!” is too grueling to ponder. More grueling
than a ten minute walk. Then, of course, there’s the stench from
Newton Creek currently making me feel ill... “I’ll walk. The smell
from the creek might just make me puke.”
    “ It is pretty skanky,” says
Declan.
    Trev says, “Skate, c’mon.” He flicks his head back. Then he
steals a glance at Declan. Skate doesn’t move. Trev grabs his arm
and pulls him. Skate almost trips over, then starts walking. Before
Declan and I even get going, they’re already ten or fifteen yards
ahead of us.
    The intention is clear.
    “ Want me to take your backpack?”
    For a moment I clutch the bag
instinctively. Then I give myself an internal laugh. The bag feels
like it has rocks in it. Now that the adrenal rush is slowing down,
my whole body is aching. “Uhm, actually, yeah, if you