Dirty Little Liars by Missy Lynn Ryan

go well.

    “I take it your a Robertson supporter?”
    He grunted. “Nope. I only throw my support behind men who actually stand for something. You politicians nowadays, you dress up in spiffy suits and act like you’re king of the world but you don’t do squat to make a difference. I’m not willing to hand over my vote to just any who-ha that smiles my way.”
    Tyler chewed on this for a moment but he didn’t seem particularly unraveled.
    “Tell me more.” He stepped closer to the counter and leaned down as if to get settled in for a long conversation.
    Just then the phone rang.
    “Dillwyn Motel,” he said before handing Juliette the phone.
    She grabbed the receiver and backed away from the two men. Thankfully the hotel manager seemed eager to continue their conversation and they paid Juliette little attention.
    “Okay. So here’s the plan,” Courtney started and she began to relay the details of Juliette’s rescue. She jotted everything down on the back of a pamphlet. She noticed the table hadn’t been put back together and felt little guilty about it. She made a mental note to slip them a twenty before leaving. They did after all provide room and board, even if they didn’t know it.
    Juliette hung up the phone and headed for the door.
    “You got everything all figured out?” the old man called after her.
    “Yes, thanks. Someone is on the way. I’m just going to stand outside so that they can see me.”
    Juliette made her way to the door without a second glance at Ty or the old man. She didn’t want either of them to convince her to stay. In fact, part of her was hoping that the hotel manager would keep Ty occupied in deep conversation until her ride appeared. It sounded as if they were only fifteen minutes away by car, maybe less.
    But then she heard those damn chimes and turned around to see Ty following her.
    “What?” she snapped before he could say anything.
    “Did I do something wrong?” he asked. “Because you seem to be avoiding me today.”
    Juliette stared at him. Did he do something wrong? Of course he did. They both did. “I don’t want to talk to you, Ty. I thought I made that clear last night.”
    “First you tell me to behave, keep my distance. Then I wake up and you’re practically dry humping my leg.”
    Juliette’s face burned red and she swatted him on the arm. “Will you not say that so loud? People can hear you.”
    “Hey, I’m not complaining. To tell you the truth, I rather enjoyed it.”
    “Of course you did. But there’s not going to be a repeat performance. I had a serious lapse of judgment. And now I am going to do everything I can to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
    “Oh come on Jules. Don’t do this. I told you I would break up with Courtney. It’s not going to short-circuit my campaign. I like you. What more do you want from me?”
    “I don’t want anything from you!” Juliette cried and then realized how loud she was yelling. She needed to get away from him, not just because they were starting to cause a scene, but because he was talking her into something she knew she shouldn’t do.
    “Jules.” He jogged after her and she batted him away. She would walk all the way to the car if she had to. She just couldn’t stand to be near him. But he grabbed her shoulders and forced her to stop. When he turned her around his face shifted from anger to sadness. “Are you crying?”
    “No.” But that was a lie. Her cheeks were wet and she hadn’t even noticed. She wiped one trail of tears away with the back of her hand. “It’s nothing. I’m fine.”
    He ignored her completely and pulled her into his arms. This time she didn’t fight him. She just rested her head against his chest and tried to tell herself that everything would be all right. But at that moment she wasn’t so sure. Because in Ty’s arms she felt safe and she felt loved and nothing else seemed to matter&emdash;not at that precise moment on the edge of the parking lot of the