Lie To Me

Lie To Me-Chapter 101

With everything out in the open, and our agreement of being honest and taking things slow, the weight of the world seemed to lift off both of our shoulders.

We laughed and talked like old times on our way to the store as Harry pointed out some of his favorite places in L.A. There was a little park not too far from his house that he'd found on a run one day, and he talked about a hidden alcove with a little bench, saying that the view on a sunny day was almost magical. He showed me a little bar down the hill that he frequented while he was here. The crowd there was much older than the boys' target audience, and Harry liked that he could go in for a drink without turning any heads. He even went so far as to pull over when he spotted one of his neighbors at the bottom of the hill, working in her yard.

With child-like excitement, he called her over, "Mrs. Ackerman ! Mrs. Ackerman!"

I watched as her head lifted and her eyes lit up with recognition.

She was a sweet, older woman who, according to Harry, had run away to California with the love of her life, and never looked back. She and her husband had bought their house over fifty years ago, before the area built up and filled in, and they'd lived in bliss until he passed away two years ago. Now, she lived with the memories of their happy life together, spending her days gardening, volunteering, and visiting her family.

As he told her abbreviated, yet special story, he squeezed my hand a little tighter, and I couldn't help but see the similarities...couldn't help but think of what it would be like to just run away from it all, spending the rest of my days loving the amazing man sitting next to me...

"Harry! When did you get back into town?!?"

Her voice exuded much more life and energy than I would expect of a woman her age, and I found myself liking her instantly.

"And who is this lovely lady?!?"

Yep... I knew I liked her.

Harry laughed, reaching out of his window to take her hand.

"This, is my..." He paused for a moment, looking to me for approval, and at the nod of my head, smiled wider. "...My girlfriend, Riley. We got in just a few hours ago, but we'll be here all week. Do you need any help with your yard or anything? How is the garden?"

I watched on as the two of them chatted like old friends, my love for Harry growing by the minute... He was so sweet to her, patting her arm, and talking to her as if she was his own grandmother.

Apparently my overwhelming happiness had manifested into a giggle I hadn't seen coming, and the two of them stopped in mid conversation to look at me. Harry raised a brow while Mrs. Ackerman laughed at my embarrassment, "That was unexpected."

I shook my head as heat covered my face. "I'm so sorry. I don't even know where that came from..."

Smiling at me, she placed a hand over her heart. "I do. I remember all too well what it was like to fall in love..." She paused for a moment, obviously reliving a memory from her younger years. "Oh! And here I am interrupting your time together, going on and on about tulips and cucumbers..." Shaking her head, she smiled at both of us, already waving goodbye. "You two go, and have fun!"

Harry glanced at me before turning back to the kind woman. "Are you sure? Do you need anything?"

She was already halfway back to her garden when she replied, "No no! I'm fine! You two kids enjoy this week, and Riley?"

I leaned across Harry to see her better. "Yes, ma'am?"

"It was lovely to meet you dear! Take good care of that man of yours! He's a good one!"

I couldn't help but laugh back at her as Harry's cheeks tinted and he covered his face. "Yes, he is! And it was wonderful to meet you too! Hopefully we'll see you again soon!"

As we drove away, getting back to the main reason we'd left the house in the first place, I caught him smiling at me for out of the corner of my eye. Laughing, I turned to face him.

"What?"

He shook his head, quickly moving his eyes back to the road. "Nothing. I just like looking at my girlfriend..." He bit his lip as the final word left his mouth, laughter bubbling up from his throat.

Coming to a red light, he turned to me, leaning closer. "I have to admit, I'm liking the sound of that... Riley, my girlfriend."

I followed his lead, moving closer to the center console, the happiness in his eyes mirroring my own.

"I have to admit, I'm kind of liking it myself..."

And as his lips met mine, soft and warm, I nearly forgot that we were in the car, at a stoplight, on a busy Los Angeles street. I ignored the whistles filtering into the car through our open windows, I blocked out the honking horn behind us as the light turned green, and I imagined a world where we could do this every day, where we could run away and just be...together.

Note: Hello my lovely readers!!! I want to take a second out really quick to thank you ALL!!! I just noticed that Lie To Me has over 100K reads!!! That's just AMAZING!!!! I really cannot thank you all enough!!! I'm seriously over the moon about it, and I hope you all know how much this means to me!!

I also want to send out an apology for this super short chapter, and how long it took me to get it posted... It's been kind of crazy lately, so I've been struggling to find time to write, but in the coming weeks I'm expecting everything to slow down a bit. I'm starting the next chapter in the morning, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll have it posted by Friday night!!! I love you all, and I hope you're having a great week!!! 😘❤️