Lie To Me

Lie To Me-Chapter 20

"Aww... Aren't you two so cute... Wake up lazy bums!!!"

At the sound of a voice, followed by the shutter of a camera phone I stirred, opening my eyes and slowly stretching from the quite uncomfortable position I'd been sleeping in. Seeing movement by the entrance to the living room, my eyes darted over. "Gemma!!!!"

"Hemnin" A raspy voice murmured from my lap, where Harry still laid with his eyes closed.

"Harry... Harry, wake up!! Your sister's here!!"

And just like that he shot up from my lap, his eyes going wide as they darted around the room, finally landing on his sister. "Gemma!!!"

As he scrambled off the couch, rushing over to give her a hug, she gave me a look, making me laugh. "I think Harry needs to go out of town more often. I feel like a celebrity right now!!"

"Hashtag, Gemma is the better Styles, right?"

She and I roared with laughter over her favorite hashtag as Harry pulled away from her to glare at both of us. "Hey..."

Still laughing, at Harry's expense, she came to rest in one of the chairs that sat off to the side. "So here I was, killing myself to get over here and see my baby brother, and what do I find? The two of you slumped together in a heap on the couch, snoring away..."

"Killing yourself?!?" I gave her a look. The woman lived maybe twenty minutes away!! "How exactly were you killing yourself?"

"Oh, you know... The usual. I mean, I had to go down the stairs. I had to get in the car..." She dramatically laid back in the chair. "I had to...drive!!! Oh, it was horrible, Riley!!!"

We shared a giggle over her "struggle" and immediately began a girl talk session while Harry excused himself for the bathroom.

"So? What's the latest with Jeremy? Did you guys have your "date" last night? How did it go? I need details!!!"

I let out a laugh, "Oh Gem... If only you knew..."

Having Harry for a roommate-slash-brother, and being "adopted" by the Styles clan, Gemma had quickly become my sudo-sister. The two of us talked almost every day, and had lunch at least once a week. Aside from Harry, she was the closest friend I had, and one of the few people I confided in.

I told her the story of what had happened the night before, the both of us cracking up over the embarrassing tale. She especially found it hilarious that Harry had come home in the middle of it all.

"Oh my God, Riley!!! That is the best!!!" She swiped at her eyes. "I'd love to say this stuff only happens to you, but I've had to do it before too. Only, my brother wasn't a witness to mine..."

"Witness to what?"

The both of us turned as Harry came back into the room.

"Faking an orgasm. Riley was just telling me about last night."

I watched in horror as his face paled. Oh no... Not again... Things were just starting to get back to normal!!!

But instead of freaking out the way I'd expected, he seemed to shrug off the moment of panic that flashed across his face, and came to sit back down on the couch.

Confused at his suddenly relaxed behavior, I turned back to Gemma. "So, how did you handle it? I mean, I haven't talked to Jeremy yet today, but when I do, what do I say? He's such a sweet guy, and I know it's not all about the sex, but I just... I don't know..."

Harry laughed from beside me. "What do you mean, you don't know?!? If he can't, you know...do it...for you, just break up with him."

I gaped at him. Well, this was new... A few hours ago he didn't want to talk about it, got all bent out of shape, and now he was giving me advice?!?

Gemma scoffed out loud as I did mentally. "It's not that simple, Harry..." She turned her gaze to me, still shaking her head at her brother's advice. "You have to decide something, Riley. Is he worth it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, is he worth the bad experience in bed? It could have just been that he was nervous, or maybe he's just that bad all the time... You don't know yet. So, the question is, is he worth that chance to find out? Is his sweetness enough?"

Excusing myself to the bathroom, I wondered at her words. Was Jeremy good enough? Was he enough outside of the bedroom, that it wouldn't matter how bad he was inside it? We really didn't know each other that well, to be honest... Maybe I was just expecting too much too soon...

But, really... Was it too much to ask for more, for better? I just wanted someone who would know me inside and out. Someone who would make me laugh, get my jokes, not be afraid to be silly and stupid with me from time to time. I wanted someone who cared about me, who was there for me no matter what. I wanted someone who would stay in with me on rainy days, cuddling on the couch watching old movies, kind of like what Harry and I had been doing... Basically, I wanted a Harry. Well, not Harry, but I wanted someone like him. A man who could be my best friend... Yet I also wanted him to make my breath catch and my toes curl... Okay, maybe I was asking for too much...