10: Secrets and Lies

Liz twirled around, her red dress swaying. "You look great Liz" I smiled, loving how Liz looked in her new dress.

"I feel great" she grinned, taking one last look in the mirror.

Her makeup was light, not wanting to go too heavy for a first date. She, of course had matching heels to go with the dress. She looked great, compared to my attire, which consisted of a football top. There was, however, a reason for that.

"You do remember the plan, right?" Liz asked for the thousandth time.

I rolled my eyes "Yes, I came up with it remember!"

"Just go over it for me one more time before I panic again" she said, pacing the length of her room.

"First, stop panicking" I said, getting up from my place on her bed to stop her from moving about. "Don't worry, I've got this under control" I assured her. "But just to clarify one more time, I'm going to distract Jason by taking him to Ethan's house to watch the football game. You are going on a cinema date which should last the length of the football game. You may even have time for a sneaky goodnight kiss if you don't stay for the credits"

Liz took a deep breath, re checked herself in the mirror and smiled at me "Have I ever told you what an amazing best friend you are?"

"No, you haven't actually. You should say it more often considering how much I've saved your butt. And I'm practically the reason why you two are together in the first place. I distracted Jason at the beach, at the club, I also- "

"Okay, okay, you're the most amazing, wonderful, fantastical, awesomist, best friend in the whole entire world" Liz said, cutting me off.

I nodded, satisfied "That is all I ask"

"But seriously, thank you for doing this. I appreciate it more than you could ever know"

I smiled; hugging Liz tight "I think I can guess how much Ian means to you. You do realise I could never have done this for any of your other loser boyfriends"

Liz chuckled "I know. Anyway, they weren't that bad"

"I just know you'd do the same for me if I was in your situation"

"You're so lucky you don't have a brother who has a hot best friend" Liz groaned.

"Don't worry about Jason. We'll deal with him when the time comes. In the meantime, you just have fun with Ian and see where the night takes you"

"I'm so nervous. I've never felt this nervous about a first date before"

"That's because it's true love" I cooed.

Liz smiled, her cheeks flushing red. "I wouldn't go that far, but I'm hoping it's headed in that direction"

"I'm sure it is. I saw the way Ian looked at you when he was over here earlier on in the week and it just looked like he wanted Jason and I out the room" I laughed.

"You do realise that you'll probably be having to do this for the next while? Well, depending on how tonight goes"

I smiled "Don't worry. I can come up with a few more ingenious plans to keep you going for another few dates. But once I run out of ideas, you're going to have to tell Jason"

She nodded "I will. I just need time to figure out the best way to tell Jason. The more you distract him the better"

I held three fingers up, standing straight "Best friends honour. I promise I shall try my best to distract Jason so you and Ian can fall in love"

Liz just shook her heads "You better make sure you leave on time.  Ian is supposed to pick me up at half seven"

I glanced at the bedside clock which read six forty-two "Oh, we better get a move on. The game starts at seven". I hugged Liz one last time. "Good luck. You are telling me every little detail tomorrow. That is the payment I demand for distracting Jason"

"Fine" she grumbled, hugging me back "Now go before I kick you out" she laughed as she pushed me out the  .

"Okay, okay miss bossy boots" I laughed before running downstairs to find Jason. "Hey Jason, you better get a move on" I shouted "The game will be starting soon"

Jason appeared behind me, as if by magic, making me jump. "I'm ready" he said with a smirk, wearing the same football top as  .

Jason's mom appeared behind us, smiling as she came out the living room. "Awww, don't you two look cute all matched up"

Jason rolled his eyes "Bye Mom. We need to go"

"Let's go then. We're running late" I said, pushing Jason out the door and towards his car.

We arrived at Ethan's apartment just in the nick of time. Ethan opened the door as soon as he saw us "Come on, the game is about to start" Ethan said, ushering us in.

"Hello to you too" Jason smirked to which Ethan just glared back.

Ethan's place was the best place to watch any game.  He had a fifty-inch plasma TV screen and his place was big enough to host a party. Even though there was no party tonight, and it was just the two of us, the place looked more open and spacious. I suppose that was because his apartment was very minimalistic. There were a few leafy plant pots here and there and a painting or two hung up on the wall but other than that there wasn't much to it.

The kitchen area lay to the right of his open plan apartment where Ethan was grabbing some beers out of the fridge. An assortment of snacks lay on the breakfast bar which Jason had already helped himself to. A couch lay in front of the TV with a table in front. I swiped one of the bowls of chips from the breakfast bar and made my way to the couch.

The players were all making their way out, all focused on their upcoming game. Liz only ever watched football with us to make comments on either how good the players looked or how terrible the players were playing. She wasn't interested in the actual game.

I had grown up with sports in my house and always loved watching it from a young age. I would often watch games with Jason if I was ever over at his house.

Jason and Ethan soon joined me on the couch. Ethan placed the beers on the table, while Jason had two bowls of snacks, holding them like a precious baby.

"Is Ian not coming today?" Ethan asked. My heartbeat picked up, not knowing what excuse Ian had told Jason.

"He said that he had to catch up on some of his work, so they are making him work from home" Jason explained.

"Aw, that sucks" Ethan sighed. "He always loves a good football game"

I breathed a sigh of relief, glad that they believed Ian's excuse. I sat silently on the couch, continuing to eat the bowl of chips.

"Stop hogging the chips, pass me some" Jason said, taking the bowl of chips away from me. I tried to hide my face, by staring straight ahead at the television, trying to show no emotion on my face. This lying to Jason business was harder than I thought it was going to be.

"T " Ethan screamed, rising from his spot on the couch. I was so busy panicking about keeping a straight face that I missed the touchdown.

"Already?" I screamed back "Yaasssss!" I screamed, also jumping out of my spot to celebrate.

"Alright! That's what I'm talking about" Jason howled, dropping the ball of chips in the process.

"Hey, watch the floor" Ethan chastised. "I just got that cleaned"

"Sorry man. But did you see that? How amazing was that"

They both stared at the screen, the scattered chips forgotten, as a replay was shown of the glorious touchdown.

"Sheer perfection" Ethan said, eyes glued to the screen as he fell back onto the couch.

Jason and I followed suit, slumping back onto the couch after our euphoric high. Before I could have the chance to relax, my phone buzzed in my pocket.

I automatically assumed it would be a message from Liz updating me on her date, so I was surprised when I saw Max's name instead.

Max: Hey you. I've missed your face. How was your first week at work?"

I smiled, thinking how sweet it was of Max to check up on me.

Me: It was great, I'm really enjoying it. I'm so glad it's the weekend now. I'm so exhausted right now. All I want to do is sleep, lol x

Max: You'll be running the place in no time.

I giggled at that, not realising I had giggled out loud. Jason furrowed his eyebrows at the disturbance "Sorry" I whispered, my attention now back on the TV screen.

The game was getting intense. The opposing team that were far behind on points were fighting hard to catch up, but our team was that little bit stronger.

My phone buzzed again to see another message from Max.

Max: Any plans this weekend?

Me: I'm just watching the game. After that I'm planning to sleep for as long as possible, lol.

Max: In that case, I won't ask you out this weekend. Hopefully you'll be free next weekend. I'm hoping to take you out somewhere nice to celebrate you now being a working adult.

I giggled again, causing Jason to huff "Sorry" I apologised once again. I didn't know why Max was having this giggly effect on me. The thought of going out with Max again made me smile. Maybe it was seeing Liz all dressed up, that made me want what Liz had. I think secretly, I wanted that. Maybe I should give Max a second chance?

Me: That sounds great. looking forward to it x

I sighed in contentment, quite looking forward to our little date.

"Why do you look like that?" Jason asked, startling me.

I had only now noticed it was half time on the game. I must have been in some sort of daze.

"Oh, err, like what?" I asked, trying to play it cool. Ethan sighed as he had gotten up of the couch to clean up the mess Jason had made earlier. I was so distracted with Max that I had almost forgotten about it.

"Like you were staring at candy in a candy shop"

I chuckled "Maybe I wanted some candy"

"Snacks are now banned from this area" Ethan demanded.

"That's not fair. It was Jason that made the mess, not me. I shouldn't be punished for that" I pointed out.

"You may not have made a mess this time, but I'm sure it was you that spilled the soda the last time"

"That was an accident" I defended. "Plus, Jason pushed me, making me spill the drink so that was Jason's fault again. I think you should just ban him from your place"

"I just might" Ethan grumbled as he picked up the last of the crumbs from the floor.

"Hey, why is everyone blaming me for everything today?" Jason groaned.

"Because you are to be blamed for everything today" I smirked, sticking out my tongue like a child.

"To be honest, I really shouldn't have let either of you inside my home considering what you did to me at the beach" Ethan said.

I pursed my lips, trying my hardest not to laugh. "Again, that was all Jason"

Jason glared at me before turning to Ethan "At least it came off eventually. I told you it would come off"

"It took three days for it to come off" Ethan moaned "You were lucky I had taken that week off work. There is no way I could have gone into work like that"

"That would have been hilarious to see" Jason laughed.

"Do you know how many dates I had to cancel? I was homebound all that time. I couldn't show my face anywhere"

Jason and I laughed, no longer being able to be polite to our host. The prank would be a memory I would treasure forever.

My phone buzzed again; my smile big as Max's name appeared on the screen.

Max: Just an FYI, wear something warm. We're going someplace a little chilly.

I giggled as I responded back. Me: you're not taking me to the Arctic, are you? I love the Penguins but I'm sure you could visit the zoo for that, much closer, lol.

Max: It's a surprise, but I can tell you it's defo not the Arctic. and the zoo ...not a bad idea ...another idea for a date if this one goes well...

I could feel a blush form on my face. I had almost forgotten what it was like to be with Max. He made you feel like you were on cloud nine when you were with him.

"Who has been texting you all throughout the game that's making you giggle like a little girl?" Jason asked, coming up behind me. I whipped the phone back in my pocket, hoping he didn't see.

"No one. I mean, it was Liz. She's just bored at home" I lied.

Jason raised an eyebrow at me, as if not quite believing me. I don't know why I was hiding it from him. I guess I was just worried about saying anything to Jason in case I blurted out the truth about Liz and Ian.

Before Jason could respond, Ethan interrupted him "Why don't we call Ian and see how he's doing? I'm sure he'd like a break from his work"

Oh no. I knew Ian's Lie with backfire. It wasn't even a great lie. "Sounds good" Jason agreed "We still got some time before half time ends, so let's give him a call now"

My eyes widened in panic. I had to do something.

Jason reached for his phone. As if I was on autopilot, I lunged for his phone and yanked it away from his hands, making it fall to the ground.

Both Ethan and Jason looked at me with their eyebrows raised, wanting an explanation for my strange behaviour. "Sorry. It's just...erm...why bother calling him now. The game is about to come back on any time soon. I don't want to miss any of it. Who knows how long you guys will be chatting on the phone?" Surely, that was a reasonable explanation, right?

"Okay" Ethan said, raising an eyebrow before heading to the kitchen for a beer of his own.

Jason picked up his phone from the ground. Luckily there was no damage to it. If there was, I would have made Liz pay for it, seeing as all of this was her fault.

"It seemed like you were okay to miss half of the game as you were busy texting... whoever it was you were texting" Jason said, his eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"It was Liz" I said quickly "It doesn't matter. Look, the game is starting again" I said, taking my place back on the couch. Jason stayed silent and stayed like that for the rest of the night.

Jason dropped me off home, not saying much during the car ride home. I didn't know why he was mad at me. Okay, I kind of knew. He knew I was lying about something. I'm sure once everything was out in the open, he would be okay about it, right?

I sighed as I laid on my bed, ready for a good night's sleep. Other than the little mishap, it was a good night. Our team won, so we were pretty happy with the result.

As I was getting ready for my bed, my phone buzzed on my bedside table. I was too tired to look at the caller ID and picked up anyway.

"Hel-"before I could get my full greeting out, Liz's voice spoke out, loud and clear in my ear.

"Oh em gee, you're going to go crazy once I tell you everything that happened" Liz screamed down the phone.

"I'm guessing the date went well then?" I said, snuggling into my bed cover.

"It was amazing." Liz squealed. "I couldn't even concentrate on the movie. He held my hand the entire time"

"Ewwww, wouldn't your hands get sweaty?"

"Not the point Rosie" Liz chastised "Even before the cinema, we spoke the whole car ride there. It felt like we had known each other our whole lives"

"That sounds amazing Liz" I smiled, genuinely happy for my best friend.

"And that's not the best bit. When he dropped me off home, he gave me a good night kiss. It was short and sweet, but Rosie, it was amazing. I felt that spark" she sighed dreamily into the phone.

"Awwww, Liz that's so sweet. I'm so jealous." I laughed. "Anyway, shouldn't you be keeping your voice down? Jason could hear you"

"Oh yeah" Liz said, dropping her voice lower "How did it go with Jason?"

"I don't think he suspects anything. Oh, and you better tell Ian to come up with better excuses next time. You guys almost got busted"

"Thanks again Rosie. You know how much I appreciate this. Hopefully we won't be sneaking around for too long. We're just waiting for the right time and place to tell Jason"

I sighed, really hoping it would be sooner rather than later., I really hated lying to those I cared about.