My Beautiful Lies (Beautiful Nothing #2) Read Online Free Page A

flaunts across the room; I don’t have to see her face to know she’s still smiling.
    When she makes her way across the bottom of the bed, I leap up, wrapping my arms around her, and fall backward. She falls hard on top of me giggling and squealing. 
    “I don’t think so. I didn’t get to cook you dinner last night, so I am making your sexy ass breakfast,” I tell her, slipping my fingers under her ribs until she screams. She hates being tickled, but I would give anything to listen to that laugh.
    “Okay, okay, you can cook for me!” Kicking and shoving, she pulls away laughing. We go down the stairs heading toward the kitchen but the stench of fish fills the room. I can see her face turn green as if she wants to puke. She rushes across the room to the forgotten groceries, lifts them in one quick swipe, and runs outside to the trash. When she comes back in she grabs cleaners and air sprays, prying the windows open as she goes. The wintery breeze fills the room giving us both a chill, and she tumbles over in laughter.  “Guess we should never skip dinner, huh?” she barely breathes out.
    We laugh for a few more minutes before we start toward the kitchen for breakfast. I cook her pancakes and bacon, which is the best way to a woman’s heart, at least, that’s what my mom used to tell my dad. Thinking of my parents or my childhood in general always sends memories flooding in. My mind shifts to another place as I place her food on the counter in front of her. She disappears, and I am standing in the kitchen of my childhood home. 
    Dad walks past me to my mom at the stove. I am a ghost; they can’t see me. But I see me sitting at the table, picking up a spoon full of baby food. I watch as my baby sister, Kimmy, knocks the spoon out of my hand with a bashful smile. 
    “Don’t you know that bacon and pancakes are the way to a woman’s heart, Gerald? I thought I trained you better.” She giggles as Dad places kisses on her neck. 
    “No one could train me better than you, Hun. You have been training me for fifteen years, and I still learn something new every day,” he says, reaching over her shoulder for a slice of bacon. She smacks it out of his hand telling him no.
    “Looks like you need more training!” she says, they giggle with each other until Kimmy throws her cup, making a loud crash when it hits the floor.  
    My old life vanishes, and I am met with Laney in front of me with a troubled look on her face. I must have knocked my glass of orange juice off the counter. 
    “Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. I’m tired,” I say, bending down to pick up the shards of glass. She nods her head as if it is normal for me to space out. Then I realize she knows what it’s like because she does it too. After I get the mess cleaned up, she asks if we are still going for our jog.
    “Yeah, I just have to eat and grab my joggers and we can go,” I tell her in a slight daze. I hate when flashbacks come out of nowhere—I lose my appetite and seem shaky. I push through breakfast, eating the bacon and half a pancake before going to get dressed.
    I throw on my jogger sweats, a white t-shirt, and a grey hoodie, and slide on my sneakers before going downstairs. I reach the bottom of the steps and see that she’s bending over, stretching her legs with her ass on display, and I feel back to normal. Walking up behind her, I place my hands on her ass cheeks. Sliding my hands up and down until I get to the small crease separating her ass from her legs and then I lift. She tumbles forward, but I catch her and spin her around, planting my mouth on hers before a word can escape her lips. When I finally break the kiss, we grab our headphones and water and head out. “I’m Not Afraid” by Eminem blares in my ears as I set off. I glance over to Laney and she smiles turning on her own music, following beside me. 
    The chilly breeze blows in my face, causing my eyes to tear up. The clouds are dark; the sun is hiding. It looks