Page 17 of Under My Skin

“Lizzie.”

Damn it. I know that voice.

I look over and at a table a few feet away from where Lia, Ellie, and myself are walking, to see three of the town’s hottest men. “Hey, Cameron. Liam. Reid.” I wave awkwardly in the general direction of the table, noticing Theo isn’t here to round out the group of Brantley Falls’ most eligible bachelors. Liam doesn’t acknowledge me at all, only stares at Ellie, but Reid stands up for a hug before he gestures to my foot.

“How’s the foot, Lizzie? All healed up?” he asks.

Reid stitched up the bottom of my foot a couple of months ago after I stepped on a broken piece of pottery in my studio. I was stupidly walking around barefoot before sweeping up and paid the price with five stitches just underneath my big toe. My attraction for mishap and mayhem never ceases to amaze me.

“Yep. All healed up now.” Cameron is watching our interaction with his jaw clenched, and I have an uneasy feeling that he’s mad for some reason.

“I didn’t realize you knew each other so well,” Cameron mutters, looking between me and Reid.

“I can’t really talk to you about the interactions I have with my patients, Cam.” Reid smirks at him like this is a private joke. “Violation of HIPAA laws and whatnot. I take my nephew to her pottery class, remember? Plus, everyone knows Lizzie.”

“Right,” Cameron relents. “Well, do you guys want to join us? It seems like everyone pretty much knows each other.”

There’s a bite to his tone now, and I’m considering it when Lia blurts out, “Sure. We’d love to.”

I am so going to get her for this.

The guys pull up some extra chairs, and the server comes by to make sure we’re all set. Lia and Ellie order martinis, and I decide to just get a beer. I suddenly feel like I need a clear head, and liquor will impede that real quick for me.

I watch as Reid’s eyes follow Lexi as she’s walking away, and I turn to Cam, expecting him to be doing the same.

But his eyes are on me instead, his stare intense. Regardless of the reason, my body clearly likes it, and I have to shift around in my seat a little to ease the tingling ache between my legs.

Needing to disengage from our staring contest, I turn to Ellie, who is sitting next to Liam, and realize there’s a lot of awkward tension surrounding them as well. “Do you guys know each other?” I ask, because I want to move Cameron’s attention away from me.

“Something like that,” Liam answers, not taking his eyes off Ellie. A long, silent pause washes over the table, and I’m almost regretting coming out tonight.

“Well, this is awkward,” Lia announces and then claps her hands.

We all laugh a little, and then silence descends on the table again. I’m just about to open my mouth and say I need to use the restroom just so I can escape when I notice Ellie take a deep breath, like she’s gathering up the courage to start talking.

“Liam and I met in Chicago over a year ago, right before I moved back home.” She turns to him and lowers her voice. “Do you live in Brantley Falls? Honestly, if you do, it’s kind of crazy we haven’t run into each other until now.”

We’re all just staring. Liam looks…dumbfounded. I’m beginning to wonder if this is a happy reunion or not.

“Oh, wow.” Lia reaches across to Ellie and squeezes her hand. “Good for you, Els,” she says quietly, alluding to what everyone at the table is thinking—they had sex.

“Yeah, I do live here. And it’s definitely crazy we haven’t run into each other,” Liam finally spits out.

Lexi returns with our drinks, which gives us a short reprieve from the awkwardness. As she’s setting our drinks down, I notice she’s lacking her usual politeness and wonder what the problem is. I follow her gaze to Cameron and notice that he’s watching me again, so I grab my drink and take a huge chug in hopes that it will calm the butterflies in my stomach.

It doesn’t.

“Alright. Who wants to dance? Reid?” I stand up and pull my dress down, hoping I didn’t flash the table behind me in my haste to escape. “Why don’t we give Ellie and Liam some privacy.”

Liam flashes a look of thanks while Ellie shoots daggers at me with her eyes.

Oh well. I’ll deal with whatever wrath she has for me later.

We all walk out to the dance floor as an upbeat song plays. I’m hoping to dance with Reid, but he and Lia pair off, both giving me weird smiles. Lia even follows hers with two thumbs up like a dork. I stare her down and silently tell her to knock it off, but she only laughs and starts dancing with Reid again.

Cameron and I stand there for a minute looking at each other, and I can tell that the dance floor is the last place he wants to be. I’m not sure if he doesn’t like to dance or if he just doesn’t want to dance with me. Maybe both?

The song switches to something slow, and I feel myself turning red with embarrassment and am about to attempt my bathroom excuse again when he moves toward me and puts a hand on my hip, luckily not my bruised one. I instantly feel how stiff his body is when he touches me and can’t help but feel like I’m torturing him by making us dance together.

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