I laugh under my breath. “Do I know that Antonio Moretti is mafia? Yes, I already know that, Dad. Liam isn’t following in his father’s footsteps. He’s going to med school. Well, he’s planning on it after he graduates.”
Liam runs his hands slowly up and down my arms in a soothing gesture. He’s trying to calm me down, but I’m feeling like a shaken-up carbonated bottle ready to explode.
“And what are your plans?” Dad asks. “You’re a year and a half into college and undeclared. You’re going to have to pick a major if you change schools.”
“I know that. I really want to major in Library Science, with a minor in Children’s and Adolescent literature.”
Silence follows, and I glance over my shoulder at Liam, who is smiling at me. He pulls me tighter, planting a kiss to the top of my head. “I love you,” Liam whispers.
“Dad?” I ask, finding the silence overwhelming.
“I’m just surprised, that’s all. I always thought you’d end up majoring in Occult Science or Anthropology, with a focus in something like Folklore and Mythology.”
I laugh under my breath. “Are you disappointed in my choices?” I can’t quite read him and not being on a video call isn’t exactly helping. But I don’t need him to see that I’m in Liam’s bedroom, cuddling with him as we talk on the phone.
“Of course not. I just want my daughter to be happy. If you decide Evergreen is the school you want to attend, then I suppose I’ll have to start buying Narwhals gear and will have to support that godawful team that your boyfriend is on.”
“They won the last two games,” I say, defending Liam. “He’s actually a decent player.”
The Narwhals aren’t a bad team. They’re just relatively new to the university, and they don’t have a lot of older talent because of it, that includes coaching staff.
“I’m sure he loves the game,” Dad says, steering clear of complimenting Liam.
“Anything else?” I ask, getting a bit perturbed that he doesn’t like Liam. I don’t need my dad to love my boyfriend; I just want him to like him.
“Just, call me if you need anything. All right?”
“I know I can call you, Dad. Everything is fine. Just chill out. Okay? Stop helicoptering.”
He chuckles. “Fine. Fine. I’ll leave you to it.”
I hang up and glance back at Liam. “That went better than I expected.”
“What were you expecting?” He pulls me tighter against him, resting his chin on the top of my head. It feels possessive, and I like being in his embrace.
“I’m not really sure.”
We spend the next couple of hours cuddling, joking, just lounging around in Liam’s room. I feel more at home with him, just hanging out in his bedroom, than I do my own dorm.
I try not to overthink it, but I don’t want to go home, and Liam doesn’t make me. He lets me spend all of Sunday with him.
“Can we talk, seriously, about something?” Tension curls through me like wisps of smoke, and I nod, turning to face him, giving Liam my undivided attention.
His expression is grave, and it makes me nervous.
“Of course.” I reach for his hand, hoping to ease whatever concerns him.
“Yesterday—”
I inhale sharply, and already, I don’t like where this conversation may be heading. A lot happened yesterday. Too much that I don’t want to talk about, but I let him continue speaking.
“I don’t like us fighting.” He squeezes my hand, his fingers intertwined with mine. “You can always call me, text me, anytime of day or night.”
“Even when your phone is on ‘do not disturb’?” A faint smile plays at the corner of my mouth, teasing him.
“Yes, any time, Bristol. If you need me, you reach out to me.”
I sigh and nod. “Okay. Yeah, I know that.” I mean, I should know that, we’re dating, but I can feel the weight of his words between us.
