Read Lie to Me for Free Online Page B

grounded for a week, so come home right after school.” Dad smiled at me. “C’mon, you know you have to tell us these things. See you tonight, sweetheart.”
    I am loath to admit this, but that right there? That moment, when my Dad told me I was grounded, right in front of Marcus? I probably would have told my father that I hated him if Marcus hadn’t been there. Because I was young, and lucky, and sheltered, and immature.
    And because it made me feel even more child like in front of Marcus.
    I worked so hard that morning. I overdid it. And when Marcus told me to cool it, I didn’t listen, kept pushing as hard as I could, running toward that burning feeling as fast as I could because it was better than the humiliation.
    Which is how I ended up with a wicked cramp in my calf.
    I collapsed to the ground, completely and utterly shocked that something could actually hurt that bad. Marcus was right there, right away, taking my shoes off and pushing my foot back, stretching the muscle out. He talked to me in low, calm tones, telling me to try to relax as much as possible.
    “These suck, but it will be ok,” he said, his fingers working into my leg. “Just breathe, ok? Breathe with me, Lo.”
    Pretty soon there was just the sound of us breathing together, and Marcus’s hands on my leg, his fingers kneading and rubbing. Once the pain subsided I pulled my leg back, instinctively embarrassed, knowing I was starting to get turned on. But Marcus grabbed my leg, kept me in place.
    “You have your water bottle?” he asked.
    I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.
    “Drink up,” he said. “You’re too tight. Stay right here.”
    He got up and I watched him walk away, too dumbfounded to even drink my water properly. Every fiber of my being wished that whatever was going to happen next involved more of his hands on my body. When he came back with a banana, my reaction was probably less than enthused.
    Marcus smiled. “It’s got potassium. Eat it. And drink up.” Then he sat down in front of me, his legs on either side of me, and said, “Now gimme your legs.”
    Right there, in that moment, I swear the clouds parted, angels sang, and I promised about a million unreasonable things to God. Marcus took first one leg, then the other, and pulled them on either side of his lap. Then he began to massage my muscles, carefully at first, slowly, his eyes narrowed in concentration.
    I was in some kind of heaven.
    He only had to touch my calves, gently, softly, searchingly, and I honestly think I was halfway there. At the time I didn’t have a lot of experience with sex. Just some fumbling make out sessions, and once I let Jared Kozwolski try to go down on me, which was an awkward disaster that no one was happy with. But I had made myself orgasm plenty of times. I knew what it felt like.
    I just didn’t know I could get so close from such a simple touch.
    I leaned back on my hands and watched him with my mouth open, trying to keep my breathing slow and regular, so it wouldn’t give me away. Marcus worked his thumbs on me in slow circles, probing my calves, calming them. Now that I was no longer worried about my calf seizing up, now that we’d settled into this, whatever it was that was happening, all I had to concentrate on was his touch. The skin-to-skin contact, the feel of the pads of his fingers on my legs, the sheer strength of his huge hands…
    Even thinking about it now makes me feel…soft.
    I was quiet, maybe for the first time ever, just letting it happen. Watching him. What I remember most was how intense he was, his eyes focused and his lips slightly downturned, like he wasn’t thinking about anything else on the planet except my body and me. And his hands explored me the same way, feeling me out, figuring out what my body needed. No words, just touch. Totally in tune in a way that was beyond words. And it was the most intimate I’d ever been with anyone.
    And I forgot, momentarily, that he was just supposed to be