Lies of a Makeup Junkie

Chapter 9: Guys need to have depth like eyeshadow

Later that day, Lenox was in Callen's car telling him about the time in elementary school when a boy dared her to put her head between the stair railing on a jungle gym. "So then the bell rings, and everyone runs to class, and there I am stuck on the playground with my head between two bars. Finally, Mrs. Merchant comes out to find me and after much debate with the other teachers they decide to grease me up with butter and pull me out."

"That didn't happen," Callen said, his eyes shining bright with laughter. He'd dressed up for their date, wearing a collared shirt and a cologne that reminded her of the crisp hours before dawn. It was refreshing, bold, but held a slight musk that made her want to lean in and snuggle.

Lenox held up her hand. "It did. I swear! The worst part is I smelled like popcorn for weeks. Squirrels stalked me every time I went outside. I had to sneak around just to get to school!"

"Good thing you didn't live here. You'd have had all sorts of wild creatures follow you." Callen launched into a story of when he ran into a pack of coyotes during a camping trip.

"Do you camp a lot?" Lenox wondered. She'd never been but her dad had told her stories. Apparently, he used to play all sorts of pranks on his friends and family. Now that she thought about it, she realized how happy he looked while telling her stories. Clearly, he enjoyed it so why had he never taken her? Maybe if he had she would have more in common with Callen.

"Yeah. I try to get out at least once a month. It's been harder though with the store and everything."

His nonchalant shrug didn't fool Lenox. She could see the tension in his muscles. "Is the store having problems?" Her grandparents hadn't mentioned anything, but then again, her grandparents didn't mention much. Mostly they talked about their day and what was on the news.

"Just the usual." Callen turned onto a gravel road. "Did I tell you about the time I played baseball with my friends but ended up covered in poison ivy?"

She knew the change of conversation was deliberate, but she didn't call him out on it. Didn't feel like she had the right to. Lenox hated that. She wished he felt comfortable enough to talk to her about his problems, but then if he talked about his problems, she would have to talk about hers. Not that she had a problem per say, but there was the issue of Kaylie thinking she was poor. It'd come up again when they discussed her wages. Kaylie was paying her way more than minimum wage, and no matter how much Lenox protested, Kaylie wouldn't change her mind. Said to was the "Ashwick rate." It was incredibly sweet but left Lenox feeling guilty as hell.

"You okay?" Callen asked.

Lenox realized he'd finished his story and she hadn't said anything. "Sorry, was just thinking that I've never seen poison ivy before." Man, the lies were flowing like water for her. Since when had she gotten so good at it?

"Not a lot of poison ivy in the big city?" Called teased.

She shook off the guilt. She didn't want her lies to ruin the date. "I think the closest I've come was reading about it in a book. What does it even look like?"

As Callen described it, Lenox was impressed by how much he knew. He was spouting off facts and figures like he was on Jeopardy. "You know your stuff."

"Let's just say I was motivated to become an expert so I would never fall in a poison ivy patch again."

Maybe, but it was more than that. He was intelligent. Knew his stuff. But there a quiet confidence behind it that made him seem more man than boy. "What else are you an expert in?" she asked.

He took his eyes off the road for a second to get a good look at her. "Do you really want to know?"

She found that she did-unless it was girls. She definitely didn't want to hear about that. "Tell me."