If he didn’t intend to see her again, to take this further, then he could just let this go. It worried him that she had to lie to explain the bandage, though. Made him wonder about what really happened.
But if he decided that he did want to know her better, then he’d need to make it clear that she’d crossed a line with him. One that she shouldn’t cross again. At least not without consequences.
Okay, bringing up consequences might be going a step too far. One step at a time.
He glanced over at the bathroom door, she’d been gone a while. He hoped she was okay. Just then, she walked out and came towards him. He slid out.
“Oh, you didn’t have to move,” she said.
He shook his head. “Safer for you to go in first.”
She blinked at him in confusion.
“Wall on one side. Me on the other,” he said in clipped sentences.
“Right,” she replied, giving him a small, worried smile. “Are you all right?”
He tapped his fingers against the table then turned to her. “I know you just lied to me.”
Her face paled. Those expressive caramel-colored eyes stared up at him, trying to get a read on him. There was an anxious air around her. He instantly wanted to soothe her. To reassure her that no harm would come to her. That she was all right. They were all right.
But he knew that he had to start as he meant to continue on. Allowing her this one lie could bleed into more lies. Bigger ones. And he couldn’t allow that. Lies and rejection were big triggers for him. So she needed to know this now.
And if he was too much for her, then he needed to know that too.
Maybe it was crazy to be so interested in someone this quickly. But Linc had watched so many of his friends find their other halves recently and it made him impatient and yeah, a bit lonely. He wanted someone of his own. Someone to come home to at night, share dinner with, laugh or commiserate with over their days. Someone to curl up around in bed and wake up to in the morning.
And he was drawn to her.
So yeah, maybe he should make this clear from the start.
“Lying is something I can’t ever tolerate, Marisol,” he told her firmly. Her breath hitched, her eyes widening even further. “I get that maybe you don’t feel comfortable telling me the truth since we don’t know ea
ch other that well. But that doesn’t mean you need to lie. If I ask you something that makes you uncomfortable, that you don’t feel you can answer honestly, then you tell me that. Don’t make something up, okay?”
“Okay,” she whispered. “But what if there’s something going on and I can’t talk about it, then won’t you be mad at me for not telling you?”
Their food arrived and he took a moment to answer. “We don’t know each other so I get there might be things you don’t want to tell me. As we get to know each other and you come to trust me, I would hope you would confide in me, tell me what’s going on.”
“I’m not used to trusting in people,” she told him.
“It can be tough. But when you find the right people, it can also be the easiest thing in the world. I’m here if you want to tell me something. Anything. All right?”
“All right.”
He picked up his burger and took a bite, noticing the way she just stared at her food, looking sad.
Fuck. This wasn’t the conversation he’d meant to have. This wasn’t even a proper date and things had taken on a very serious tone.
“Hey.” He reached out and lightly touched her hand which was resting on her thigh.
She jumped with a gasp, flinching back.
Mierda!
“Sorry, Mari. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Sorry, my mind was a million miles away.”