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There’s a beat of silence when I stare at him, and he stares back, and I’m worried he sees right through me. That there have been enough genuine moments between us that he’ll see right through the act I’m putting on.
Then his jaw hardens. “Well, we both know you won’t have any trouble finding someone else who qualifies.”
Liam steps away and walks out of the bathroom. A few seconds later, I hear his steps echo away as he heads downstairs.
I lean back against the cool glass of the mirror hanging above the sink, wishing Iwantedsomeone else.
CHAPTERNINE
LIAM
Irise early again.
Again, I’m out and running before anyone else has woken up.
She’s getting into my head. Creeping under my skin.
I’m not nearly as confident as I pretend to be.
I care what people—friends and family—think, especially when it comes to football. My friends overlap with teammates. My family—my dad and my grandfather in particular—are invested in my success.
Caring doesn’t extend to what girls think. I have plenty of teammates who I’ve seen try to use their jersey to impress a girl. Generally, I find it annoying when a chick comes up to me, asking about plays or listing off positions. I couldn’t care less if they know anything about the sport and find it irritating when they pretend to.
It doesn’t matter to me what anyone from Alleghany thinks, either. I know plenty of people think that I do—that the years of losses made me ashamed, made me feel inferior. The truth is, the only thing that bothered me was letting down the short list of people whose opinions do matter to me.
But I care what Natalie thinks.
In a disturbingly short length of time, she’s affected me more than any girl ever has. It bothers me that I can’t tell what she’s thinking most of the time. That I don’t know if her indifference is an act or genuine. If she’s struggling the same way I am or if this is nothing but a game to her. A video of what took place between us last night would cost me close friends.Ikissedher.
Natalie never came back downstairs after the kiss in our shared bathroom last night. Tessa went up and checked on her while the rest of us played charades. She said Natalie wasn’t feeling well and headed to bed early. I know she was seasick. Just like I know she didn’t sleep well the night before. But I’m pretty sure she went to bed because of me.
I was distracted for the rest of the night, tempted to break my one-drink limit for the first time since losing to Alleghany for the final time senior year. I would have gone back upstairs, if not for the fact I came to hang out with Parker, not pine over a girl.
Plus, I don’t want Parker to have any suspicions about me and Natalie. If he mentions to Matt that he noticed something going on between us, it will bring down a total shitstorm on my head.
And not just mine. I don’t know much about the dynamics in Alleghany. But Weston faced blowback about his involvement with Maeve. Natalie being linked to a guy from Glenmont? Tome? I’m certain that wouldn’t go over well across the lake that separates our towns.
I don’t just care what Natalie thinks, I also care abouther. I want to ask more questions about her life at BU. About her parents. About growing up in Alleghany.
Maybe it’s some silly fascination that will be easy to squash once I have the answers. Maybe it’s not.
Either way, I’m returning to Glenmont tomorrow morning.
Natalie Jacobs lives fifteen minutes away from me—at most. Glenmont and Alleghany are both small towns. But chances are, after tonight, I’ll never see her again.
I’m so lost in my own head I barely have the presence of mind to stop running when I see a familiar face.
“Hey.” I speak first, smiling at Audrey as I pull out my earbuds and wipe the sweat dripping off my forehead with the bottom of my shirt. In addition to barely paying attention to my surroundings, I also was running faster than usual, if the amount of sweat I’m producing is any indication.
It’s not even that warm out yet.
“Hey,” she replies, her cheeks turning pink.
I’m not sure why I keep noticing how Tessa and the other girls I’ve met this weekend act around me. But if I had to guess, I’d say it has a lot to do with wishing Natalie was the one smiling back at me. There’s never been a girl I wanted to react before.
“Happy Fourth,” Audrey adds.
I completely forgot that’s today. I really am distracted. The holiday is the whole reason I’m here this long weekend.
