Page 18 of Not Yet Yours

“You should take chances more often,” I say. “I know I’m going to.”

I look him in the eyes as I speak, and I’m talking about the drink and the dessert, and yet I’m not and we both know it. I shift in my seat again and this time, I’m not the only one. Liam pulls at the crotch of his jeans, and I have to look away because if I see he’s hard, I don’t think I’ll be able to stop myself from reaching out and touching him.

Cullen and Max have stopped whispering to each other now and we all sort of refocus on our group experience at once. Cullen smiles at me.

“So, you’re one of those girls huh? One that pretends they don’t want dessert and then eat someone else’s. I bet you order a salad and then sit and eat Liam’s fries too, don’t you?” he says.

He’s laughing and I know he doesn’t mean anything by it but that doesn’t stop me from responding.

“No, you’ve got me all wrong,” I say. “I refuse dessert so I can have a cocktail instead because let’s face it, cheesecake is nice and all that, but it doesn’t get you drunk. Oh, and I order my own fries and I guard those fuckers with my life.”

We all burst out laughing at that and I realize that I perhaps should have questioned Cullen on why he thinks it would be Liam’s fries I am stealing. I know we’re pretending to be a couple for the party, but that’s not until tomorrow night and we are having dinner just the four of us and we all know that the relationship is fake. I suppose it doesn’t hurt to keep the act up constantly though and then we are less likely to slip up in front of someone who isn’t in on this.

It's surprisingly easy to act like a couple with Liam and I tell myself that’s because I’m working hard on practicing the act for tomorrow, but the truth is, until just now at the mention of stealing Liam’s fries, I hadn’t even thought of whether or not we are acting like we are coupled up.

When the dessert plates and my cocktail glass are cleared away, the four of us are finishing up our last glasses of wine.

“What now then?” I ask.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I just want an early night I think,” Max says. “I’m so tired from the drive up here and I don’t really want to drink too much either because I want to be fresh for the party tomorrow,”

“Yeah, that’s a fair point,” I say. “I can’t imagine going to the party with a hangover and actually enjoying it.”

Cullen and Liam are nodding their heads in agreement with us and Liam signals to the waitress to bring the bill. She brings it and Liam and Cullen both reach for it, but Liam gets it first.

“Ha. Beat you,” he says to Cullen who pulls a face at him.

“I’ll make sure I get it first next time,” he says.

“You’ll have to be faster than that then,” Liam teases him.

Liam sorts the bill and the tip, and we leave the restaurant flag down a cab, and head back to the hotel. We cross the lobby and get into the elevator, and we say our goodbyes to Max and Cullen as we exit the elevator on the second floor, they remain inside to go up to their room on the sixth floor.

Liam and I make our way to our room and go inside.

“Do you want to use the bathroom before I brush my teeth?” Liam says.

“No, it’s ok, you go first,” I say.

He nods and goes into the bathroom. While he’s gone, I open the drawer where I put my underwear and my tank top. I pull out the top. I plan to wear it with my panties for bed.

Liam is back out of the bathroom quickly and I flash him a smile and then I go in. I use the toilet, strip off everything except my panties, and put my top on, and then I brush my teeth and then I take off my makeup, brush out my hair, and take my birth control pill. Once that’s all done, I go back into the bedroom.

Liam has taken a pillow from the bed, and he must have found an extra blanket in the wardrobe. He’s lying on the groundwith the blanket over him. I go and sit down on the edge of the bed.

“Liam?” I say.

“Yeah,” he replies.

“Can you come here for a second, please?” I ask.

I hear the blanket being moved and Liam getting to his feet.

“Are you ok?” he asks, his face creased with concern as he walks toward me.

I wait until he’s close enough to touch and then I nod.

“I’m fine,” I say, as I reach out and hook my fingers into the waistband of his boxers.

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