Jordan Slade was hiding something, and I could feel it in my gut. I didn’t know what it was. I couldn’t prove it either, but I could see it on him like a layer of invisible shit under which the real person was hiding. His tentative smiles and nervous glances could fool everyone else, but not me. He was too rehearsed—that was his problem. His eyes rarely held on to one thing for too long, yet I had a feeling he saw everything. His speech had a pattern, switching between hesitation and shyness. Even the first words he said to us were untrue, and I could see it in those lying amber irises.
Lie number one.
“I knifed a guy,” Jordan said after someone asked him why he ended up in the Loser’s Division. Everyone hummed in doubt, thinking him incapable of it, but my gut told me otherwise. I believed he was capable of butchering the entire Smitsville if so inclined, but again, it was just a hunch. Still, it wasn’t the reason he ended up in the LD, and I was determined to prove it.
Lie number two.
“I’m asexual,” he blurted when the conversation got weird after a few rounds of drinks at Pete’s.
I believed he believed it, but hedidpop a boner that one time when the bunch of us were playing truth or dare. Someone dared him into sucking my finger, so I blocked most of that evening out, but I could rememberthat. Did it mean anything? Maybe, maybe not, but I could sense a dark, quiet hunger about him struggling to get out. I hated contemplating that aspect of him because it gave me acid reflux, but I wanted to expose him for the liar he was.
Another fact? His eyes burned with intensity whenever he looked at me. At first, I thought it was animosity, but itwas something else, and the closest word to describe it would be taunt. His eyes glinted with provocation and challenge, as if daring me to react. Sometimes his gaze would be more restrained, and sometimes he blatantly stared at me. I returned the favor and stared back, holding his gaze in a silent confrontation, because I was onto him. I could see what others could not.
I told him that, too. One night at Pete’s, I stood in his way and spoke to him for the first time since he came to the LD. When his amber eyes rose to meet mine, my throat constricted as if it didn’t know whether to gulp or take air in.
“Wh-what?” Jordan mumbled as two red blotches appeared on his cheeks.
“There’s something wrong with you,” I said, looking straight into those amber, lying eyes.
He stood there as if rooted to the spot, his cheeks reddening, then paling, then reddening again. I could feel the tension seeping out of him and mixing with his cologne, making me want to take a shower. For a moment, I thought he was going to keep up the charade, but then the weirdest thing happened. His eyes lit up, filled with golden sparks, and almost blinded me. His teeth flashed in a wide smile that gut-punched me. The truth poured out of his mouth, making my blood freeze in my veins.
“Prove it,” he said. Not “p-prove it” or “prove it-t”, which was the rehearsed version he usually delivered.Prove it. It came with a twinkle of mischief and fascination in his eyes that he didn’t even bother hiding.
“Markland, are you in love? Your eyes are all dreamy.”
The scratchy voice, followed by a burp, reminded me I'd forgotten to mention the latest addition to the LD. He was also my direct competition in the asshole department.
Buck Hensley was a bully. He bullied his wife, his three sons, and even the old ladies crossing the street with the helpof a walking cane. He was a surly, overweight, greasy-looking man and the worst cop I ever worked with. He also wasn’t the smartest tool in the shed, or he would have thought twice before provoking me.
“What’s wrong, Buck?” I said, smirking. “Did you gamble away your paycheck again? Or have you fathered another brainless offspring like the three you have at home?”
“You fucking asshole!” Buck growled, lunging at me.
I grinned and let him slam me into a wall, because pain sometimes felt better than numbness. Everyone in the room rushed toward us, but Jordan was the quickest, and he pushed Buck away from me.
“Let go of him, you jerk!”
Buck pushed him back, and since Jordan was much lighter than him, he ended up hitting a wall. Just like that, I saw red. I grabbed Buck by the throat, ready to tear him apart, when Maddox pulled him away from me. I would have followed him like a rabid beast when arms closed around me, and a scent of lemons washed over me. My throat tightened as my gaze shifted from Buck’s larynx to the arms still wrapped around my chest.
“Are you ok-kay?” Jordan stammered, finally letting go of me.
I slowly turned, as my bewildered gaze met his amber one.
“Have you lost your mind, weirdo?” I exclaimed. “Don’t fucking touch me.”
“Huh?”
He was playing dumb again, and it made me lose it. I stepped toward him, seriously considering punching him in the face. It wouldn’t be the first time, either.
“How many times do I have to tell you to leave me alone?” I growled. “Stop looking at me. Stop talking to me. Stop being where I am. Why are you always where I am? Why are you always touching me? I swear to God, if you touch me again one more time…”
I let my threat hang in the air as he blinked, tensing up.Lie. Truth. Lie. Truth.I could see it switching in his eyes like the red and black slots on a roulette table. Once in a blue moon, I could spot a debate in those amber depths, weighing between honesty and deceit.
When his eyes lit up with golden flame, I knew I’d won.
“Or what?” Jordan countered, stepping toward me. “What are you going to do to me?”
I met him halfway, standing so close to him that our noses almost touched. Chests, too. His hand brushed mine, making my fists clench. My shoe collided with his shoe. When his scent invaded my nostrils, I stopped breathing. His body heat was unbearable, but I refused to back away because I was toying with the idea of head-butting him. I wanted to see him bleed more than anything, and the look in his eyes, for once, corresponded to mine. His gaze flicked to my mouth, and I reciprocated, when someone bellowed from a distance.
