Lie to Me (an OddRocket title) Read Online Free

“no.” Maybe even “hell no.” It was time to move on.
    I turned around and immediately wanted to melt between the slats of the dock. I had an audience. Sitting under a makeshift, blue canvas roof, on a sailboat about two slips away, was a guy wearing a Husky Football sweatshirt and baseball hat. He was definitely within earshot of my performance with a clear line of sight to my one-girl show. For a split second, I thought he hadn't seen me, but then he tipped his baseball cap toward me as if giving me a compliment.
    "I thought I was alone," I blurted, clutching my arms across my chest. Then the clouds overhead cracked wide open and within seconds the misting rain transformed into drops so big they felt like fingertips tapping my head.
    "Want to get dry?" Baseball guy stood up, pointing to his roof. "Hop aboard."
    I glanced up the dock where a curtain of rain totally obscured the shore. I needed to choose. Run for the restaurant, retreat to the bathroom or do something bold and accept an invitation from a stranger. I didn’t even have my sweater. I’d left it in the car.
    Nice Cassie, Good Cassie knew the right thing to do. Run for the restaurant and get to work, but I'd just tossed Nick's ring away and the idea of being late gave me this delicious thrill.
    "Why not," I said. I darted to the boat and stepped aboard.
    Baseball guy handed me a thick, forest green towel. It smelled like talcum powder when I held it to my face. I took a seat on a bench under the sagging tarp. He sat across from me holding a steaming mug in his hands. I dried the ends of my hair with the towel, but stopped when I remembered Walter, the turtle. What if my hair stunk of pee and I rubbed this guy's towel all over my foul-smelling head?
    I tried to look at him without staring. He wasn't good-looking in a pretty way like Nick; this guy was handsome, rugged, like his edges were rough, but golden. Tall and thin, his short blonde hair peeked out from under his black cap. He had soft blue eyes. His arms were lanky, but I could tell they were solid and strong. He was definitely older than me, but I couldn't tell by how much. Probably a college guy , I guessed from his Husky gear and the pile of textbooks on the bench behind him.
    "This is summer in the northwest, right?" He pointed to the wall of rain and smiled.
    Sitting this close to him, I felt less brave and more tongue-tied. I should have just hid out in the bathroom. That was more my style. I didn't talk to handsome strangers.
    "So, did you get the guy out of your system?" He nodded toward the dock.
    I must have looked mortified; I remember going from just tongue tied to totally mute.
    "I wasn't trying to spy, seriously," he said, sounding apologetic. "Don’t feel awkward. It was your thing out there and I just happened to be here." When he looked at me, he radiated this warmth. It was hard not to believe him and I couldn't help but smile back. "Confession," he said, sounding conspiratorial. "When a relationship ends, I've been known to chuck a thing or two into the ocean, or the fire, or off a bridge."
    I found my voice. "You have?"
    "Sure," he said. "I've burned photos, clothes, books, stuffed animals… now I'm sounding a little nuts. Seriously, it was all very normal and I made sure to be a good Boy Scout and pour water on all the embers when I was done."
    "You're just saying that to make me feel better," I said, and then surprised myself by giggling. Suddenly, my outburst on the dock seemed more funny than embarrassing and my hand felt lighter without the weight of Nick's ring.
    "It's working, right?" He lifted his cup toward me and I smelled the aroma of black coffee. "I think you're smiling now."
    "Yeah," I said, looking at my tennis shoes.
    "Bad break up?" He said, leaning back in his seat. "I'm a very good listener and trust me, I've got time." He nodded toward the bow of the boat. I could see, through the rain, varnish peeling off the teak deck in strips, the brass portholes oxidized