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Wary, maybe. Or even relieved.
She certainly wasn’t happy now. She was frantic, possibly even manic.
The spell of her joy had been broken.
And whatever vague intentions I’d had about approaching her were gone.
As if sealing that decision, a hand grabbed my shoulder before the reason I didn’t have room in my life for managing any more craziness came into view.
“Bro! How’s this for a change? I had to come find you.”
I raised my eyebrow at a smiling Liem, relieved that he was, by beach-town standards, wearing enough clothes to get into most places. Not that this was really a beach town, but it was close enough.
He fiddled with the strings of the black sleeveless zip-up hoodie he wore over one of his customized tanks and leaned against the Minerva statue, the picture of rebellious youth. You’d never guess that behind the tattoos and edgy haircut was such an exceptionally kind and loyal person.
“Sorry about that.” I smiled slightly and jerked my head toward the coffee shop. “I’ll need to go back and get you a new birthday drink. Yours got… watery.”
He shrugged. “Maybe watery was just what I needed before our big night out. Lucky that we moved to a casino town in time for my twenty-first, wasn’t it?”
Most twenty-year-olds probably wouldn’t follow their parents to a new town without hesitation, but this one had. His brand of help may not always be useful, but he cared about others deeply and always showed up. Just maybe not exactly where or when you expected.
Being around for Liem’s milestones was one of the major upsides to temporarily relocating here. There were about nine years between us, so he’d just started middle school when I left for culinary school. It’d been a tough year for him, and about halfway through sixth grade, he’d switched to homeschooling.
The memory always left me feeling guilty, so I pulled him into my side for a hug and turned us toward the coffee shop. “Do you plan on drinking tonight?” I asked. Despite his comment about needing water, I was pretty sure his answer would be the same as mine.
“No. I don’t want to be impaired during my first time. It just wouldn’t be right.”
Okay, not the exact same, but still. Growing up with a parent who’d previously struggled with sobriety had thoroughly tampered the intrigue of alcohol for both of us.
I brought us to a stop after only a couple of steps toward Caffeina. “Your first time doing what?” I asked against my better judgement, releasing him from our contact.
“Playing the Larry the Lobster slot machine, of course.” His eyes flicked over my shoulder and snagged on whatever he saw, his eyes lighting with joy. “Oh!” Liem straightened, grabbing me by the arm and attempting to turn me around. “Today is already perfect.” He took a couple of steps past me, but I didn’t budge as he raised his other arm and waved it with extreme enthusiasm toward the lobby. “I didn’t know she gardened. That’s cool.”
I lurched out of his grip.
His eyes were still aimed toward the lobby as he asked, “She seems busy. Do you think we should go help her?” He looked over his shoulder and when he didn’t find me where he expected to, he frowned and furrowed his brows at me. “Vinh? Why are you hiding behind Minerva?”
8
BREE
Liem was a real person. And I thought I loved him.
Not romantically, but it was similar to the way I’d “fallen” for Cody when we first met.
Regardless, it wasn’t like romance of any kind was in the cards for me right now.
But still, my hopes for a friendship with Liem were high even as I tried to keep my expectations low. Friendships were as meaningful or superficial as you wanted them to be. There were no resentments in the making here.
I was so good at lying to myself.
I didn’t even know his last name. I knew almost nothing about him.
Except that I loved him. And his sweater.
Thank goodness Cody wasn’t here to see the sorry state of my self-esteem. It was nearly as bad as my seventh-grade goth phase that I, to this day, thanked fate he hadn’t been around to see.
That brief interaction with Liem earlier today when we’d animatedly waved at each other across the lobby—my goofy grin matching his own—had put me in a fantastic mood.
