Because I was telling him about my dead mother, something I’d never tell her. “Sara, it’s not like that, and you know it.” Except I’d enjoyed the closeness with him.
“Wait, you aren’t…you aren’t bisexual or gay, are you?” Her lips tensed as she straightened her shoulders.
I forced a scoff. “No.” What an enormous lie. But it was none of her business. I stared at my beer. I couldn’t look at her. I wasn’t a good liar. “How about you go back to your friends and let us finish?” I’d have to shift the conversation toward his classwork when he got back and maybe not sit so close.
“Are you sure?” She narrowed her eyes. “I could join youguys for a little while.” She snickered. “Then maybe he’d keep his distance from you.”
“No.” I tossed a glare at her. She was overstepping. If this were her dating style, I wouldn’t date her again.
She pouted and slumped her shoulders. “But we’ll see each other tomorrow, right?”
“I-I don’t know.” I really didn’t want to now. How could I get out of it? “Another student asked for tutoring tomorrow, and I need to help them.” Now I was full of lies. I hated this. She brought out the worst in me.
My gaze caught Travis striding toward our table.
“Oh.” With a slow nod, she wrung her hands on the table. “I see.” Tutting, she slid off the bench seat. “What time do you want to pick me up for dinner on Saturday?”
As Travis glided onto the seat beside me, I said, “How about five?” With the game starting at seven, we’d have just enough time for dinner before traveling to the stadium.
Travis’s brows lifted. “You’re going to dinner before the game?”
With her gaze laser-focused on Travis’s, she said, “Yes, he’s taking me on a date.” She curled the edge of her lips. “Let’s go to The Thirsty Lion at Tempe Marketplace.”
“Sure.” Planting my elbow on the table, I rubbed my temple. Did she have to do this now? But I’d gotten out of seeing her tomorrow.
“Okay, well, have fun with your new student tomorrow night, and I’ll text you later.” With a knowing look at Travis, she turned on her heels and stomped off.
“I’m sorry.” I hung my head. This was embarrassing. “She’s gotten a little pushy since I agreed to the date on Saturday.”
“Yeah, she seems very, I don’t know, protective of you?” He chuckled. “She must really like you.”
“Yeah…” I gulped my beer as my head buzzed. We should eat before I drank any more.
“Do you like her? You don’t look like it.” With a glance toward her table, he set his arm on the seat back behind me.
Here we go. If I let him get too close to me again, Sara might return to our table. I couldn’t let her figure out I was queer. Shifting away from him, I said, “I don’t like her that way. The game on Saturday will probably be our only date.”
He inched closer to me. “Good. She doesn’t seem like a good fit for you.” He drank some beer. “So, you have a new student to tutor tomorrow?”
My gaze cut to his. I couldn’t lie to him. “No, I just told her that so she’d stop hassling me about hanging out with her tomorrow night.” I sighed. “I rarely lie to people. In fact, I’m pretty bad at it.” My gaze searched his face. What was he thinking about this? Had he been making moves on me like Sara thought? But I thought he’d almost kissed me.
“Being a good liar is nothing to be proud of.” He smirked. “Why not just tell her you don’t want to see her tomorrow?”
“I…” As my jaw fell, my gut knotted. If he’d liked me before, he was probably second-guessing himself now. “Maybe I’m a coward too and took the easy way out.”
“Yeah, I guess we all do that sometimes.” He twisted his lips. “Don’t do that with me, okay? Just be honest with me if you prefer not to hang out.”
“Yeah, okay.” I didn’t want to lie to him, anyway. He was different. He didn’t push me into things the way she had. I hadn’t told him I was bisexual, but then he hadn’t asked. What would I say if he asked?
“Do you want to order pizza?” He tapped my shoulder. “Or would you prefer a different spot to get away from Sara?” With a snicker, he said, “She’s looking over here a lot.”
I glanced her way, and her gaze caught mine.
As her eyes widened, she looked away.
“No, let’s order pizza here.” With her around, I’d keep from letting him get too close. I’d almost given in earlier. But then, maybe I’d seen things that weren’t there.
FIVE