Lies and Omissions excerpt

This is an excerpt from Lies and Omissions, on Amazon for Kindle (link). It is part of the first chapter.

After practice, Nick went home and grabbed a quick shower. He jogged back out to his car and headed to the Dixon house. He hopped out of the car and walked to the door. When he knocked, Sharon, Nicole’s mom, answered the door. She ushered him in and let him know that Nicole would be down in just a minute.

Nicole always made an entrance, and as she swept down the stairs, this evening was no exception. Her jeans were tight, without making them look like she was trying to squeeze into tight jeans. She wore a casual blouse, that accentuated her cleavage, again, without making it look like she was trying. Looking amazing, while not looking like she was trying to look amazing was her superpower. Nick thought to himself that at the moment, not looking like a cartoon character with his eyeballs popping out of his head was his superpower.

“Hi, Nicole,” Nick said as she got to the bottom of the stairs. “You look amazing.”

“Thank you. You ready?” she replied, giving him a quick and very chaste hug in front of her mom.

“Where are you guys off to?” Sharon asked.

“Dinner, movie, maybe a little parking,” Nicole said.

Nick blushed hard enough that Sharon laughed. She covered her mouth, trying to hide it, but there was no hiding the crimson tide that washed over Nick.

“They’re messing with you, Nick,” Nicole’s brother, Jack, said as he headed out the front door.

“I’m sorry, Nick. I bet my mom that I could make you blush. I’d never tell her that we planned to go parking. We’d just go,” she said with a wink.

“That didn’t help. I feel like I have a sunburn.”

“Nick, it’s ok. You kids have a good time, and be glad Ed isn’t home. If she had said that in front of her father, he’d have called in an air strike,” Sharon said, the smile in her eyes letting Nick know it was all in good fun, except the air strike. He’d met Ed and thought military action might be on the table if he thought Nick was trying to pick his daughter’s locks.

Nick and Nicole turned to leave as Jack’s friend Terry pulled away from the curb in his six-cylinder Camaro. Nick walked Nicole to the passenger side door and held it for her as she slipped in. A moment later they were pulling out of the Dixon’s neighborhood.

“Are you going back to your dad’s this summer?” Nicole asked as they drove to the restaurant.

“Yeah. I head down at the end of June. I’m working for him for seven weeks this summer.”

“C’mon, it can’t be that bad. I bet it’s beautiful.”

“St. Croix is actually awesome. And I have a couple of friends down there. I bet you’d love it. I wish I could take you,” Nick said, smiling over at his beautiful passenger.

“Nick Tower, you are something else,” she replied with a grin. “You’d be bored of me in a week. Knowing you, you have a bevy of island girls following you around. Don’t forget, I know what you look like in a bathing suit.”

“I don’t think I’d get bored of you in a week, though. Plus, I’ve seen you in a bathing suit, too,” Nick said with a grin. It was Nicole’s turn to blush.

They pulled up in front of Capri. Nick parked and met Nicole at the front of the car. He tried to make it around fast enough to get her door, but she wasn’t waiting. Capri was a popular spot for high school students on Friday and Saturday nights. He held the door for her as they walked in, looking for a seat. The hostess only took a moment to find them a two-top booth. As they looked around to see who was there, Nick thought he knew half of the kids in the restaurant. At least, he knew who they were. Most of his friends were at the skating rink on a Friday night.

“I think that guy over there is staring at you. The one with Sherry Cross, that Bobby guy and your brother. And Bobby is staring, too,” Nick said.

“That’s Terry Gates and Bobby Smith. Terry is one of my brother’s geek friends. He’s actually a pretty nice guy, but he has a little crush. He drives that Camaro that pulled away when you were at the house. Bobby kind of weirds me out, though. Speaking of crushes, should we go around the room?” Nicole said, laughing. “I know of at least four girls in here that would kill to be sitting in my seat right now.” She leaned over the table and kissed him, “But I’m glad that I’m the one that will be parking with you later. In fact,” she added with a devilish grin, “I was thinking we might add dessert here, skip the movie, and get a head start on the parking.”

Nick sat in silence for a moment.

“You are sooo red right now,” Nicole laughed. “And I was totally not kidding. I even know what dessert I want.”

The waitress walked up to the table with their food. Her gaze lingered on Nick for a moment, “Are you ok?” she asked him.

He turned and shot her a questioning look.

“You are just so red. I thought you might be choking,” she replied.

“I’m good,” he said, taking a sip of ice water.

Satisfied that Nick wasn’t dying, the waitress walked away while Nicole laughed.

“I’ll give you a little mouth-to-mouth later,” Nicole whispered. “Our secret.”

After another minute of teasing, they dug into dinner. They were splitting a calzone. They also had cheese sticks. As they were finishing, Nicole ordered tiramisu, raspberry jam bomboloni, and chiacchiere.

“I love Italian desserts. I’m working on cooking them on my own, but Maria here is magnificent. I hope you’re ok with me ordering them,” Nicole said, holding Nick’s hand across the table.

“You are a puzzle,” Nick said, looking back at her.

“What makes you say that?” she replied, batting her eyes.

Nick watched her for a few moments. She was a complicated girl. And he was gathering his courage for his answer. “Steve Hall called me when he found out we were going out. He said you were a cold fish. Skip Hodges wasn’t as nice when he gave me his impression of you. But you are nothing like your PR,” Nick said.

She leaned across the table again and put her hand on the back of his neck. She pulled him toward her. The kiss this time wasn’t a speedy smooch on the lips. It was a toe-curling, tongue lashing. When she leaned back, he was glad he had lip balm in his pocket because his lips were burning. He glanced around and there were half a dozen tables staring directly at them.

“What do you think?” she asked, her eyes showed the seriousness of her question.

“They obviously know nothing about you. That was the most amazing kiss I have ever experienced,” Nick said. “Ever.”

“Steve and Skip were both cute. But I figured out pretty quick that they weren’t the guys I wanted to be with. You, on the other hand, are also pretty cute… I admit it, I have a type… but you are different. I really like you. I have for quite a while, too.”

“I don’t know what to say?” Nick replied.

“This is when you say, ‘Nicole, you are the most beautiful girl I’ve ever laid eyes on. I want you to be mine until I die. Run off with me and let’s elope’,” she said in a deep voice, “and then I say to you, ‘we’re too young to get married, but we can date and have a wonderful time and kiss each other like that lip melter a minute ago’,” the last bit in a falsetto voice with an unexplained Southern accent.

Nick laughed. “I can’t wait for dessert,” he said.

“Yeah, I don’t know how to follow that one, either. Changing the subject was a good call.”

They both broke down laughing as patrons stared at them again.

***

The long station wagon backed into a spot at the parking lot by the beach. Nick pulled the rear-facing seat out of the floor in the back, and they climbed in the back to watch the waves crash on the sand. She snuggled up next to him as he slipped his arm around her.

“I want to try that kiss again,” Nick said.

“I want you to,” Nicole replied with a smile as she folded into him.

If you liked this, you might like Lies and Omissions, available on Amazon for Kindle.