Tell Me Lies by Locklyn Marx Read Free Book Online

And put whipped cream on top?”
    “Sure,” the barista said. She looked at Reid.
    “Just a plain coffee. Black.”
    Alexis rol ed her eyes. “Boring.”
    “It’s not boring,” he said. “It gets the job done.” He’d always taken pride in the fact that he could drink his coffee black.
    He didn’t need anything to mask the taste or take away the bitterness.
    “Yeah, but what’s the point?”

    The barista was sliding their paper cups across the counter, and Alexis picked hers up and took a sip. Reid handed the barista a ten-dol ar bil and told her to keep the change.
    “The point is to get caffeinated,” Reid said.
    “Wel , yeah. But I’m getting caffeinated, too, and I’m actual y enjoying what I’m drinking.”
    “Yes, but not needing anything extra for my coffee puts me at an advantage.”
    She frowned. “What kind of advantage?”
    “Wel , if I were someplace where they didn’t have cream or sugar or whipped cream or espresso shots, I’d be fine with just a plain coffee. I wouldn’t feel like I was missing out on anything.”
    Alexis shook her head. “That’s ridiculous. When was the last time you were somewhere that had coffee but no cream and sugar?”
    Reid just sighed and said, “You wouldn’t understand.”
    “Probably not.” Alexis looked at thoughtful y and nodded, like she’d just figured something out about him.
    “What’s that supposed to mean?” Reid asked, frowning. He didn’t like people analyzing him. It made him nervous.
    “Wel , you’re obviously a control freak. So it would make sense that you like to drink your coffee black.”
    “I’m not a control freak.”
    Alexis was moving through the airport now, back toward the gift shop. He fol owed her, glancing up at the arrivals board as he went. Good. Their flight was on time. If there was one thing Reid hated, it was flights that were delayed. Waiting in the airport was the worst. It was like you had lost control of
    –
    Wait. Was it true? Was he a control freak?
    “I’m not a control freak,” he said again, as if saying the words out loud would make them true.
    “Yes, you are,” Alexis said cheerful y.
    “No, I’m not.”
    “Yes, you are.”
    “How do you know? You barely even know me.”
    “I know that you color-code the suits in your closet. And I know that your sweatshirts look like a display at the GAP.
    And I know that your bathroom is cleaner than any guy’s bathroom I’ve ever seen, and that your takeout menus are in alphabetical order.”
    “I just like to have things organized. That doesn’t mean – ”
    He stopped. “Wait a minute. How do you know al that?”
    “Al what?” She set her bag down on one of the chairs in the waiting area and suddenly became extremely busy rummaging around in her stuff.
    “The things you just said. About my suits.”
    “Oh.” A look of guilt passed over her face. “I don’t. I was just guessing.”
    He looked at her. “Jesus,” he said, stunned. “You went through my shit!”
    “I had to make sure you weren’t an ax murderer.” She pul ed a hair tie out of her bag and flipped her head over, gathering her hair into a ponytail. He got another view of that luscious cleavage and the image of her in that towel yesterday flashed into his mind.
    He remembered how soft her skin had looked, how easy it would have been for the towel to accidental y fal from her body.
    “Whatever,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m going to get some snacks for the plane. You want anything?”

    “No, thanks.”
    He started to walk to the gift shop, but she cal ed after him.
    “Hey, Reid.”
    “Yeah?”
    She held up her cup and gave him a smile. “Thanks for the coffee.”

    ***
Reid didn’t seem mad at her for poking around in his apartment, which, Alexis had to admit, was pretty cool of him. She fol owed him through security, setting her bag on the conveyer belt and walking through the metal detector.
    She wasn’t sure if it was because she was moving even further