He looked away and eased himself back. “A joke. Right.”
Silence filled the space between us and I didn’t like it. There had never been space in our friendship before and I hated to be the reason there was now.
“Liam, is everything going to be okay?” My voice trembled, but I carried on. “I don’t care about Andrew, but I can’t lose you. I know you were trying to protect me. You’re a good friend. Can we just…go back to the way things were?” Somehow I’d gotten my hands on a cocktail napkin. I looked down in my lap to avoid his expression as he considered my words. The napkin was shredded in a pile on my thighs.
His hand covered mine as I began to shred the pieces into even smaller ones. I looked up and found him smiling at me, the traces of awkwardness gone. “It’s alright. I was protecting you, like you said. Besides, I’d never let a douchebag like him mess with us. We’re good.”
I slumped and laughed, but it was shaky. For a second there, I thought maybe he’d been seriously hurt. For a second there, I’d even given half a thought to what it’d be like to kiss him on a regular basis. Then, I remembered what he said about me breaking hearts. I’d never want to hurt Liam. He was the most important person in my life. “Good. You had me worried.”
“Naw, it was only a kiss.”
“It wasn’t even a good one,” I said with a smile to soften the burn as I gathered the remains of the mutilated napkin and left it on the counter. Joking seemed easier than acknowledging that I hadn’t wanted the kiss to end.
Liam grinned back at me and I knew everything between us would be okay. At least until I left, but I’d worry about that later. “Now I know you’re talking out of your ass,” he said. “Do you want to get out of here?”
I pressed a hand to my aching head and nodded. “What about your shift?”
“Screw it. I’ll have Tripp cover for me. He owes me for when I switched with him for his tournaments.”
“Are you sure?” Part of me needed space, but another more dominant part wanted me to cling to Liam for all I was worth. Tonight had shaken me down to my core and the thought of going home alone scared me more than it should. I knew it wasn’t the same, but I couldn’t help but remember the night I came home after a volleyball game and the house had been empty, my mother nowhere to be found.
He gave me a look that said don’t be stupid and said, “I’ll get my stuff if you want to meet by my truck.”
I nodded and my stomach nearly dropped to my feet as he got to his and paused to kiss my forehead before disappearing into the mass of throbbing bodies. I almost thought he was going to kiss me again.
Cut it out, Charlie.
If I wasn’t already sick from the four drinks I already had, I would have ordered another to steady my nerves. I’d never been so off-balance around Liam before. It had been a long day, that was all.
I slung my purse over my shoulders and navigated through the crowd to the door. The slap of fresh air against my face helped to clear my head. Clusters of giggling girls clung to each other as they navigated their way up the busy streets. A niggling worry at the back of my head had me pulling out my phone and unlocking it just in case. I didn’t think Andrew would be waiting for me, but I’d rather be cautious. I never thought he’d explode the way he had, either. I let go of the breath I was holding when I got to Liam’s truck in the well-lit parking lot by the back door.
There were a few tense moments where I was certain I’d see Andrew emerge from the shadowed streets beyond the parking lot, but I brushed them off. Liam pushed through the back door to the bar, followed by a short burst of music and laughter. The door slammed and his boots crunched in the gravel to the truck.
“Are you sure you won’t get any trouble for leaving early?” I called out.
“Jesus, fuck, Charlie, who are you my mother? I said it’s fine. Now do you want a ride or not?”
Remembering the creepy suspicion Andrew was watching, I nodded. “Yes, of course. Thanks.”
“You know what?” he asked as he unlocked the truck and we jumped in.
I was already feeling better as the familiar surroundings of his old truck soothed my nerves. “What?”
“Maybe we should go home for a couple of days,” he suggested, revving the engine. “That way you can take your mind off things for a bit. I’m sure my family would love to see you.”
I rolled my eyes and frowned at my lap. I wanted to go more than anything, but I didn’t want to seem needy either. “I have class next week. I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“Well, you don’t have a say in the matter,” he told her and pulled out onto the street. “You’ve got shit in our spare room. I’ll call my mom and let her know we’re on our way.”
“You don’t have to do this, you know,” I said.
He palmed my head with one hand and shoved. “Don't be stupid.”
“Yes, sir,” I said, and relaxed. This was the Liam I was used to. Maybe I’d imagined everything else.
It gave me hope that it wouldn’t be as hard to go back to normal as I thought it would be.
** *
