Free Lie to Me (an OddRocket title) by Suzanne Brahm Page A

barely know me… I could have been a lunatic, a crazy guy."
    "Maybe you should drive me home," I giggled.
    "Now you're thinking straight. Stay away from the idiot condemned to sleep on his boat for the summer."
    "Condemned?"
    "But today you sailed with that idiot and you owned that jib sheet. If the wind hadn't died, you probably could have taken us around Jekyll a few times single-handed."
    I laughed. "With these blisters? No way."
    He inhaled. "Man, I seriously screwed up. That is my fault, you know." His tone changed and he reached out and grabbed my hands, holding my palms for a moment. Then he looked up at me and dropped my hands like they were burning hot. "Okay, that is my cue. Time to get you home. I have wounded you enough."
    I liked the way RD touched me, but I felt unsure of what his touch meant. He was older than me, a nice guy condemned to live on a sailboat for the summer. I wanted to know more, but he hadn't shared and, even if he did have problems, the way he smiled made me feel like I was standing in sunlight. He had this laugh that washed over me and left me warm. "But I'd rather stay here and talk to you," I said, hoping for a few more minutes.
    "You have a curfew and no way am I going to soil my already blackened reputation by keeping you out too late."
    "But Mariah sent you for me."
    "With instructions to bring you back," he said, glancing at his dashboard. "So, unless you want me to feel Mariah's wrath, and I have seen a flash of it and it scares me to the bone, I am going to drive you home."
    "You're right," I said. But RD didn't start the car right away and we just sat there for a minute, watching raindrops fall on the windshield. The air inside the car felt hot and moist. We’d fogged up the windows talking. "You really think it's going to be okay, RD?" I asked.
    "This stuff with your ex? It's white noise. You and your friend will work things out. And when it comes to your mom? You are stronger than you know, beautiful."
    There it was again. Beautiful . It took the air out of my lungs. I felt my cheeks burn and the warmth in his voice didn't make me smile this time, it crushed me. I lost a grip on the swirling emotions inside and cried, tears rolling down my cheeks.
    "Hey, hey,” he said, scooting closer to me in a panic. “Man, I thought I was cheering you up.”
    "You did. I'm sorry." My voice was high and choked with tears. Even now, I don't know if the tears were for Mom and what I knew was coming, or for Nick and my broken heart, or my splintered friendship with Priya.
    "Hey, hey. Easy." RD scooted forward and put his arm around me. "You are going to be okay." He laughed a little. "I thought we were at the part where you start to feel better? I don't know anything, I guess."
    "You did make me feel better," I sobbed. Why couldn't I stop?
    RD reached out and stroked my hair. I felt his fingers brush against my cheek, lingering. When I looked up at him, our eyes met for a moment and I felt something between us. A heat that made my tears stop and my breath feel too big for my lungs.
    RD looked at me for a beat before moving away. "Okay, so seriously, that really is my cue to get you home. Show me the way."
    I didn’t argue this time.
    He turned up the radio while we drove along the island. I took that as a sign that he didn't want to talk. I didn't mind. My tears had stopped and suddenly I had this feeling that I wasn't totally alone. RD was here for the summer and he believed I could face whatever was coming. I showed him where to turn when we reached the stop sign near the stables. RD parked the car at the top of our steep driveway. I could see the glimmer of lights on upstairs in my mother’s room, but another house and a row of thick trees kept us out of sight.
    "So, I'll just drop you here," he said.
    "Good idea." I didn't want to get out of the car and face my mother's secrets. The car idled and, for the first time, I noticed that the radio was on. Joni Mitchell sang sweetly about drawing