Lost In Lies by Xavier Neal

lilac.”
                  “What do you prefer?”
                  “Roses, but continue please.”
                  “They were from his personal collection. He spent hours mixing them, bottled it, and gave it to Nico.”
                  “Right,” my head nods slowly. “On his way to meet the Duchess, it’s said that Nico met a woman, a woman more beautiful than the Duchess herself, and all she wanted was one smell. Being the ... what’s the word I want?”
                  “Chump,” Nick laughs, having a sip of his water.
                  “Sure. Being the chump that he was, he fell for it. The woman ran away with the perfume. Nico followed her into a cave-like area, where she had another bottle of perfume that she swore to him smelled even sweeter than the one he had.”
                  “She told Nico that this perfume was magical, that he could write a note using just his clean fingertips, and with one spray on the paper, it could be read. She told him that she would trade him and even throw in a pair of ruby earrings that he could give to the Duchess to wear if she could just keep that perfume. So, once she proved to Nico that it could indeed work, he traded her, presented the gift to the Duchess, and embarked on what became one of the greatest love affairs to date.”
                  “It’s a charming story,” my lips curl upward slowly, “love letters being invisible, a perfume that makes them visible. I mean, it’s sweet.”
                  “The definition of romance.”
                  After a small smile, I muse out loud, “I was just wondering whatever happened to that perfume.”
                  “It’s the kind of heirloom that gets passed down from generation to generation,” the words slowly come out of his mouth as he raises his eyebrows at me.
                  “Oh my gosh, you have it!” I squeal with glee. “Shut up! No way!”
                  “Yeah,” he snickers under his breath. “Most people have never heard that story, so I take it your father is an art connoisseur of a sort? My tutor told me that it was an age-old tale that only those really into keeping art alive would know.”
                  “Yeah, you could say that,” my voice trails off, swallowing a bit of guilt at the issue of my father being brought up again. Quickly, I clear my throat, “So, you really have it?”
                  “Yeah. It’s locked up in a display in my father’s private office at the apartment, but I would love to show you sometime.” It’s tempting, even though I know this will most likely be our only date. And, I only say most likely since I had no original plan of even having this one.
                  I merely smile and push my plate away.
                  Wiping his hands, he looks over at the door, where Jake is still strumming on the guitar, “Wanna dance?”
                  “Huh?” I look around, confused that no one else is dancing.
                  Unsure of my confusion, he repeats slowly, “Do you want to dance?”
                  Feeling frisky, I nod, “I’d love too.”
                  He tosses a hundred-dollar bill on the table and then offers me his hand. The two of us stroll out onto the sidewalk, where there is a small crowd swaying to the beat of the music. We start with a few shoulder twists at each other, and eventually, Nick pulls me to him, so our bodies are touching. With a smile, I wrap one arm around his neck as the music begins to flow through me in a way that it never has before. Who knew Celtic music could make a person move like this?
                  “You ever heard music like this before?” he asks close to my ear since the music is a little loud.
                  “I