Tanya shivered. She knew he suspected her story was false, but had no real idea of how little he believed. She nodded. "But," she said, "there are some things I can't tell you. Really, Kevin, I can't."
Kevin frowned, perplexed. "All right, let's go over some of the…um…small things, like your childhood, the overdose story, and the campus orgies."
"True, false, and almost false, in that order."
"Why did you lie to me?" Kevin leaned on one arm and stared at her. His cloud-grey eyes were almost black.
"I knew a bit about you, Kevin. Don't ask me how, just know that I did. You fascinated me from the beginning. But I knew who you were and what you were doing, and especially…I knew about your women. I wanted to interest you." Tanya could feel her blush as it spread from the pit of her belly, up and over her face. It burned. "I know it was stupid, silly. I made most of it up because I knew I couldn't match those girls you dated." She stopped, smiled slightly. "It worked, didn't it?"
Kevin brushed the remark away. "What did you really do at those parties?"
She groaned, rolled over on her back and stared at the ceiling. "I was still a virgin at nineteen. That embarrassed me. That's why I went to those damn parties, I wanted to meet boys. And that's where I met Jeff, Jeff Leight. He was my first…and my only…lover. He was my steady boyfriend until he moved away two years ago."
"What was he like?"
"Nice to me, spontaneous…no complications, no commitments."
"What happened?"
"He won a sports scholarship in Colorado and moved. Long distance relationships usually don't do too well." She sat up and began to wind her hair into ringlets over her fingers. She still didn't look at Kevin.
"Are you in trouble with the law?"
"No."
"And did you know I knew you watched me from your terrace while I swam in the nude each day?"
Tanya jumped, shocked. She turned to Kevin's laughing face.
"Little one, I didn't need any special gadget to see the light reflected off your binoculars each morning while I swam. It made you all the more interesting to me." He fell back on the rug, laughing. Tanya glowered.
"We're not even, Tanya, not by a long shot. Just make a promise to me… Never again lie to me, no matter what. If you can't tell me the truth, say so, but never again make up a story to mislead me." He placed his hands on each side of her face. "Promise me," he said, staring deep into her eyes.