Easier To Lie

Garrett drove Mallory back to Kennedy’s house reluctantly. He kept a smile on his face because he was still holding her hand, but a frown on the inside because he would soon have to let go.

That is, until he got to Kennedy’s house and noticed a familiar car there. Mallory went to unbuckle her seatbelt when Garrett stopped her.

“You do not want to go in there.” He warned.

“What? Why not?” She asked, obviously confused.

“That’s Gabi’s car, Kennedy’s girlfriend. I’ve come to learn that they have issues staying quiet. Especially if they think they’re alone.” Garrett shuddered at the awful memory of walking into his house and hearing the ending of them doing the nasty.

“Oh,” Mallory gained his attention back. She was biting her lip. “I’ll just wait here, it’s alright. Thanks for everything today Garrett. It was nice to be treated how a lady should.” She hesitantly leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“Mal, wait. I can’t let you sit here for God knows how long. Why don’t you come over to my place and we can watch a movie if you’d like.” Surprising himself, he didn’t stutter trying to ask a girl over to his house.

Mallory thought it over for a minute. It was just a movie, no harm in that. They didn’t even need to sit on the same couch if she didn’t want them to. “Okay,” She smiled and got back into his little car.

Garrett was hesitant taking her hand again, but when she looked from the window to him, still with a smile, he felt reassured that she didn’t mind. The drive from one point to another didn’t take very long and Garrett was out of the car in a flash jogging over to Mallory’s side to open the door again. Like the first time, she blushed.

“So what movie would you like to watch?” Garrett had asked her once they were in his house.

“You can surprise me,” Mallory smiled and followed him to the basement where there was an entertainment center full of movies and video games.

“Whatever you say,” He muttered and walked forward to pick out a movie. Mallory made herself comfortable on the couch in front of the TV and waited for Garrett to make his pick. “Do you like scary movies?”

“They’re… Cool,” Mallory tried to hide the fact that she screamed like a baby at the drop of a pin with scary movies.

“Cool doesn’t cut it with me, it’s either a ‘hell yeah’ or nothing.” Garrett teased her, popping in The Devil Wears Prada.

“Why do you own this?” Mallory laughed.

“Erm, my ex kinda left it here,” He said awkwardly, rubbing his neck. “Everyone likes the occasional chick flick, right?” His cheeks turned red as he sat down next to Mallory, almost touching her: leg to leg.

Mallory noticed this closeness and felt a little apprehensive. If she wasn’t practically on top of the arm of the couch, she would have scooted over even more.

“Hey Mallory,” Garrett said quietly. Mallory turned her head toward him; he was looking down, playing with a rip in his jeans. “Can I hold your hand again?”

“Yeah, that’s okay.” Mallory gave him permission and Gare laced his fingers through hers.
As the movie played, Garrett couldn’t focus on the small town city girl pursuing her dream in New York as much as he could on the other small town girl next to him. Her face had a similar structure to her brother’s. A square jaw, but not overly prominent with her bottom lip just a bit fuller than her top and a button nose to accentuate her sculpted cheekbones. The only difference that stood out the most to Garrett was the eye color. Kennedy’s eyes were hazel, where Mallory’s were more on the blue side.

Mallory looked over while Garrett was doing his inventory check on her and he automatically turned five shades of red in the cheeks. She just simply smiled and gave his hand a squeeze. Surprisingly, Mallory didn’t find it weird or creepy at all. Just the way he was looking at her made her wonder how much of a shy boy he was, or if he just knew how to play it to the sky.

Since she was curious, she adjusted herself so that she could lean into Garrett’s side. When she looked up to see his reaction, all he had was a simple smile on his face which didn’t let Mallory determine anything about him. So she decided to take it just one step further.

She looked up at Gare for a moment before he looked back down at her. When he did, he just smiled, and Mallory went in for the kill. She moved her head closer to Garrett’s, and rested her forehead on his when she was close enough. From his breathing, she could tell that he was genuine about being such a gentlemen. She could also tell that she didn’t have to kiss him if she didn’t want to, she could get away with whispering another simple ‘thank you for tonight,’ and a kiss on the cheek. But Mallory knew that’s not what he wanted. Hell, that’s not what she wanted either.

She closed the gap between them and let her lips rest gently on Garrett’s. His lips were soft and very plump for a man’s. They seemed to fit along with hers just wonderfully. It had been a long time since either of the two had shared a kiss with someone that was just simple, and not full of lust.

Mallory’s eyebrows rose as she pulled away. She was definitely not prepared for how that was going to feel. When her eyes finally fluttered open, she noticed Garrett with the same expression on his face.

“That um,” He started to say before realizing he didn’t know what to say.

“I think I’d like to do that again,” Mallory admitted shyly. Garrett had no second opinion, just a simple smile. He leaned forward, this time meeting Mal halfway.

This kiss was longer than and just as surprising as the first one. Neither of them could wrap their heads around what they were feeling, so neither of them broke apart for a break. Mallory seemed to be preoccupied with how Garrett’s lips felt. So soft, so… luscious. For just a moment, she wanted those lips elsewhere. On her neck, her shoulders. Reality killed her thought when she remembered she had just met Garrett a mere day ago. Although, she would be sure this wasn’t the last she would see of him.

All Garrett seemed to think was about how addicting and intoxicating this girl was. He wanted to know more about her, needed to know more about her. He wanted to feel more of this amazing… high he was experiencing. If he was getting mind boggled from a simple kiss, what would touching her feel like? Feeling the flesh of her exposed body under his calloused hands. Garrett’s mind was interrupted by a twitching below his belt. Now, he felt embarrassed for letting his mind wander too far. He was the one who had to break apart, because who knew how well his self control would hold out with Mallory being the one he had to restrain from.

“You stopped,” Mallory whispered, silently grateful. She would feel dirty if anything further would have happened on the first date.

“We aren’t limited on time, where’s the rush?” Was his simple reply. Mallory forced a smile. They might be limited on time, it was a matter of weeks, maybe a month or so if they would know for sure.

“You’re different Garrett, I appreciate you.” Mal told him. It was then she noticed the credits were rolling to the movie, and it must have been past midnight. “I need to get home.”

Garrett nodded his head in agreement and with full confidence, grabbed her hand and led her to his car.

There was no awkward tension between the duo. Just the sound of their surroundings passing by and Radical Face playing softly from the car’s stereo. Pulling into the driveway was a very hard task for Garrett to achieve. He was thinking of just whizzing past it and taking Mallory for the night, but he decided against it, solely for the purpose of not getting beat up by Kennedy.

“Gabi’s car is still here; think it’s safe to go in?” Mallory teased with him, stalling time.

“I think its okay by now, Kennedy’s no superman.” Gare joked back and Mallory scrunched her face up.

“That’s my brother! I don’t want to know that!” She laughed and gave his hand a tight squeeze. “Why don’t you give me a call when you're not too busy, maybe we can go out for lunch or something?” Mal suggested.

“I’ll probably be seeing you tomorrow, band practice.” He shrugged. “Who knows, maybe I’ll take you for some ice cream and a tour of the city.”

Mallory just smiled, saying nothing and going for one last peck on the lips. “Goodnight Garrett Nickelsen.”

She got out, and Garrett watched her get into the house safely. “You’re beautiful Mallory Trotter.”