Lies That Bind (on hold temporarily)

Chapter Twenty Three

S A R A

He looks up at me, his eyes sad, his hand still clutching mine, "Sara, she's-"

"It's okay, you don't have to explain," I cut him off, not wanting to know anything about the mystery girl warming his bed because I'd rather stay blissfully unaware. Knowing her would lead to a slew of questions I don't want the answers to. "Have a nice night," I say, attempting to pull my hand from his.

The door swings open, stopping me in my tracks. An older woman wearing dark wash jeans and a nice blouse, who looks to be in her forties, maybe fifties, stands in the doorway. Shoulder length caramel blonde hair curls around her slightly rounded face. Her lips stained a rose colored red, undoubtedly from wine. And her eyes... There's something eerily familiar about them. They're wide and a gorgeous shade of blue. Almost as gorgeous as the pair worn by the man staring back at me.

She's definitely not who I was expecting James to be sleeping with, but in a way it makes sense. He's mature and successful and so incredibly smart, so it makes sense that he would go for an older woman. He's probably sick of the childish drama and immaturity that comes with being with me, or at least around me.

"Can you go back inside please?" he calmly asks, not taking his eyes off of me. I can see the discomfort taking over his body with every second the woman and I are face to face. He's tense and nervous and for the first time since I've known him, his cheeks are flushing. It's actually kind of adorable.

The woman chuckles, "Aren't you going to introduce me to your girlfriend?"

"O-oh, I'm not his...we-we're not dating," I mutter, feeling my cheeks heat. This is so fucking awkward.

She looks between James and I for a second and cocks her brow before smiling wide, "So you're the one he's been sleeping with."

"Mom!" James groans.

Mom. A wave of relief passes over me and the uneasy feeling that had settled in earlier subsides. He wasn't hiding someone he was sleeping with, he was hiding his mom. But why? Does he think I'm not meet the mom material? I mean, he'd be right, but it still stings a bit.

"What? I'm your mother, not a nun," she shrugs, earning another groan from James as he clenches his jaw. "In case you didn't know, I've had sex before. Lots of it actually. How do you think you and your brother got here?" she teases, chuckling to herself as she makes her way back into the apartment.

James visibly shutters and I can't help but let out a snicker. I squeeze his hand and give him a reassuring smile, his body relaxing after the small gesture.

"Hi," he huffs. "I know you're probably going to say no, but do you want to come inside?" he asks, pinching his eyebrows together.

As nervous as I am to come off as a complete idiot in front of his mom, I want to be here with him. I want to spend the night stuffing my face with pizza and cookies and having mind-numbing sex on every surface of his apartment and then fall asleep wrapped in his arms. And there's no way I could say no to his puppy eyes. "Yeah, I'd like that," I say shyly.

He breathes a sigh of relief and I grab the six pack from the floor, laughing at the fact that he refuses to let go of my hand, almost as if he's just as nervous for me to meet her as I am. He walks us into the kitchen and puts the pizza down on the stove before grabbing the beer from me and planting a kiss on my cheek.

Why did that give me butterflies?

"You want a slice, Ma?" James asks, reaching into the cabinet for plates.

She grabs her wine and takes a sip, "No thank you. I'll get out of your hair as soon as I finish my interrogation."

"There's not going to be an interrogation," he says sternly, handing me a plate with a slice of pizza and two cookies.