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“Sure.” I nod.
He turns on his oversized television and asks Alexa to dim the lights. He then talks into his remote control and says Netflix.
“What movies are you into these days?” he asks.
“I honestly don’t remember the last time I watched a movie that wasn’t rated G,” I admit.
“Seriously,” he says, surprised.
“Liam, in high school I was too busy to watch television because I had to get good grades and work. Nowadays, I work all the time, and when I have downtime, I prefer a good book or movies with Crew.”
“We don’t have to watch a movie,” he says with a lopsided grin.
“This is the first time in I don’t remember how long when I have nothing to do and nothing waiting to be done. Crew is at school, and I’m incapacitated.”
“Don’t say that. You make it sound terrible. You hurt your ankle. It sucks not being able to get around the way you want to, but enjoy this time. I’ve had my share of injuries and as much as I hate being away from the ice, I’ve learned to be thankful for the moments when I can’t do anything but sit on my ass.” He chuckles.
I watch him with reverence. Liam was always a special guy. He wanted to please his family. He tried to make his brother happy and was hell-bent on not breaking my heart.
“What?” he asks.
“Sorry.” I wince. I didn’t mean to stare. “It’s just there is something different about you.”
He leans a little closer. “Skylar, there is a whole lot different about me,” he states with confidence and a spark in his blue eyes. The look sends liquid heat to my core, but I’ve only been here around fifteen minutes. I’m not supposed to want to jump his bones right away. “I have a heck of a lot more experience than I did back then. I’m more confident, and I know life is fleeting, so when an opportunity arises, I won’t let it slip through my fingers.”
“Am I an opportunity?” I ask, swallowing hard.
“Damn straight, you are,” he confirms, leaning toward me.
“Liam.” I put a hand on his chest to slow his moves toward me.
“What are you afraid of, Sky?” He’s so close I can remember the taste of his lips.
“Everything,” I breathe.
He sighs. “Once upon a time, I did everything so I wouldn’t hurt you.”
“Yet you still managed to gut me,” I admit.
He deflates and squeezes his eyes for a minute. “I hate that I did, Sky. I was a mess senior year. Even before David killed himself, I feared he would do something to hurt himself, so I was always walking on eggshells, waiting for the ball to drop. I knew what kind of life you had been through, and I never wanted to be a source of pain for you.” I can’t help but reach over and touch his cheek.
“Liam.”
“I never wanted to hurt you, Sky. I was terrified if I took your virginity and then we didn’t have time for each other while you were at Brown and I was at Westfall that I would leave you heartbroken. But after years of marinating in my mistakes, I realized I was protecting myself from getting hurt. I knew one taste of you, and I wouldn’t be able to let you go, but I couldn’t walk away from my dreams either. I promised David I’d make it to the NHL. There was so much going on in my life that my head was spinning.”
“I’m sorry you were in so much pain. I saw your suffering and didn’t know how to help you. It was so frustrating for me,” I admit to him. “You were the only person I trusted to always be there for me. My mom let me down. The Pattersons didn’t care for me, but I knew you loved me.”
“Damn, Skylar, I loved you so much, but I was young, stupid, and all kinds of screwed up.”
“I should’ve been there for you in a better way,” I disclose.
“You were everything to me back then. Don’t you get it? I never would have made it through senior year without you,” he says, causing my stomach to flip.
“But you didn’t want me. You left me no choice but to break up with you,” I remind him.
“Breathing felt like a task. I didn’t have energy to get through my days. I was in a bad headspace, and I couldn’t think straight,” he confesses.
He looks into my eyes, and I feel mine fill with tears.
