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“Nice.” He pulled out his cell phone and started typing, so I dropped my head back and closed my eyes, my mind wandering to Liam, as it had been doing all week.
He seemed to be avoiding me, and I didn’t know what to do or how to feel about it. He’d been coming home only a few minutes before I had to leave for rehearsal, so the little time we had together was a quick rundown of the day and a handoff. I’d say, “Dinner’s in the oven,” and he’d say, “Okay. Thanks. Have fun and drive safe.” Then I was off to rehearsal, and by the time I got home, Finn was asleep and Liam was in his room. Until I’d hear him sneak downstairs and the raging music would start a minute later, so I knew he was boxing.
It was almost as if he didn’t want to be around me.
I shouldn’t have been upset about that. Because we weren’t…friends or anything. I worked for him. That was it. There was no reason for me to stay awake at night, waiting to hear any sound or movement, letting me know he’d finished his workout. And I definitely shouldn’t have been imagining him stripping his shorts off and stepping naked under the spray of his shower, his hands raking through his mess of hair or skimming over his long torso, down to those muscles at his hips, to the impressive?—
“Somebody’s calling you,” Christian said, nudging my leg for my attention.
I blinked a few times, confused and flushed from the journey my mind had taken. Next to me, Christian gestured to my cell phone, which was on silent and sitting on top of my script. I reached for it, finding Liam’s name on the screen. Daydream of the devil…
“Hey,” I answered. “Is everything okay?”
“Oh yeah, yeah,” he assured me quickly. “It’s Finn. He won’t settle down for bed and keeps asking for you. I don’t mean to inter?—”
“Put him on,” I said, smiling. My sweet boy missed me.
Finn’s voice filled my ear. “Ken-dee! No seep.”
“Babes,” I cooed. “You have to sleep. It’s night-night time.”
“No!”
“Yes. If you don’t go to sleep, you won’t be awake to play with me tomorrow. You want to play with me, right?” When he didn’t respond, I went on, “Tomorrow is Friday, and I wanted to go to the store after school and pick out a special treat for the weekend. What do you think?”
“Reat! Reat!”
“Yeah, you want treats. So, go to sleep, and we’ll go to the store tomorrow, okay?”
“Reat!”
I laughed. “Yeah. Go night night and get treats tomorrow. I’ll see you when you wake up, okay? I love you.”
“Wuv you.”
Liam came back on the line. “Thanks for that, and sorry about calling you.”
“No big deal. We’re on a break right now.”
“Okay, well, I’m gonna put him down. I’ll see you later.”
“See you,” I said and hung up as Cathy started to assemble us back to center stage. “Help,” I whined, and Christian chuckled, holding out his hand to hoist me up.
“Let’s get back to it, Tracy.”
When I returned home two hours later, I was surprised to find Liam lounged out on the couch in the living room. He lifted his hand in silent greeting, and I gave him a small smile in return. I toed off my sneakers, setting them on the shoe rack, and hung my coat up before crossing the room to the couch, making sure to keep to my end.
I could’ve sat on the recliner, which I would have all to myself with plenty of room, and yet…
“How was it?” Liam asked.
“Great.” I tugged my scrunchie out of my hair, letting the strands down. I was a mess and needed a shower, but he didn’t seem to mind my sweaty locks, his gaze trailing over me.
He nodded after a while. “And, again, I’m sorry for calling during your rehearsal. That’s your time and?—”
“Liam, it’s fine. Really.”
He crossed his arms, his focus going back to the television and some news show with a panel of people discussing something about Congress. I watched for a moment, though I might as well have been listening to them breaking down sports stats for all that I understood. Or cared to understand.
