Page 106 of Liam

“Somewhere” is the mostly empty ballpark. Besides a young father and his son playing catch in the outfield, we’re the only ones here. Liam takes us to center field, where he spreads out a blanket he pulled from his trunk earlier. He sits, tugging on my hand for me to do the same. Of course, I comply. And when he lies down, facing the vast blue sky above, I follow his lead.

I don’t really know what we’re doing here, but I don’t feel the need to ask—not even when he takes my hand in his, linking our fingers and holding it between us. I’d love to crack open his mind, get an insight into what he’s thinking. What he’sfeeling. I roll my head to the side, stare at his profile a moment. And then I let my curiosity get the best of me, ask something I’ve been wondering for days. “You know the Internet says that you and Lincoln are super straight edge?”

His eyes drift shut, a slight smirk tugging on his lips. “Oh, yeah?”

“Yep. No drinking, smoking, drugs…” I release his hand so I can sit up slightly, watch his face for a response. “Is it true?”

His eyes remain closed, his smirk getting smirkier when he answers, “Partially.”

“Partially,how?”

“Idon’t drink. Linc does. Our mom died of lung cancer, and even though she never smoked a cigarette in her life, we stay away from it. And drugs are a hard no, at least for me.” Hepauses a breath, thinking. “Linc tried weed when we were, like, fourteen, but he hated it, so he hasn’t touched it since.”

“No judgement, and you don’t have to answer… but, is there a reason you choose not to?”

He shrugs, his eyes opening and immediately finding mine. The afternoon sun intensifies the blues, and I wish I could capture this moment. “Stay right there,” I tell him, pulling out my phone.

He grins as I snap a picture of him, then asks, “You saving that for your spank bank later?”

“Liam!” I laugh out. “I was just admiring how bright your eyes were, but now that you mention it?—”

I cut off when he grabs my waist, hoists me down until I’m lying beside him again. He offers his arm, and I settle my head in the crook. He says, “As soon as we were able to get our driver’s permit, we both did the test and passed. But when it came to actually getting our license, I think Linc just figured only one of us needed it since we always did everything together anyway. Iwantedto get it because it meant I’d be able to easily leave situations that made me uncomfortable. It worked out for us in the end. Linc would still go to parties in town, and I’d pick him up, so I’d always be sober. But even without that aspect, I wouldn’t drink anyway. I want to stay in control of my mind… and my body, I guess.”

“Makes sense,” I murmur, then remain quiet a moment—until his chest vibrates with his silent chuckle. I peer up at him. “What’s funny?”

He shakes his head. “Just… I know that’s not what you’re really asking.”

It’s not, and I hate that he knows it. “What am I really asking, then?”

He shakes his head. “I’ll wait for you to say it.”

“Fine,” I sigh. He knows me too well. “The Internet says you and Linc are virgins.”

Without shifting his position beneath me, he removes the tie from the end of my braid, starts fingering my hair to loosen the strands. “Do you believe everything the Internet says?”

“No.” I keep my eyes on the tree line in the far, far distance. “I guess it just stumped me is all… I mean, after the way you were with me, I assume you’re not.”

“What makes you assume that?”

My eyes drift shut as he strokes my hair. “You just seemed very experienced, I guess.”

“I’m not,” he’s quick to say. “Notvery.”

“Well, you’re more experienced than me.”

“Addie…” He tenses beneath me, his hands freezing mid-movement. “Are you a virgin?”

“No.”

He noticeably relaxes.

“Would it have been the worst thing if I were?”

“No, I just—” He resumes playing with my hair. “I would’ve been more gentle with you.”

“I don’t want you to be gentle.”

A breath catches in his throat before he clears it. Then he adjusts until he’s on his side, my head resting on his bicep now. And because I’d been planning this conversation in my head since the moment it happened—before everything went to shit—I tell him, “No one has ever… done what you did to me or—” My cheeks heat with my blush. “I’ve neverfinishedlike that before.”

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