Page 48 of Looks Real Good Now
I knew the second Liam arrived. Sea salt and vanilla entered my radar because he now carried a piece of me around with him always. His hand snaked around my waist, and I sank into his warmth.
“Do you know what you’re standing under, Len?” he asked. It was almost a whisper, but I was still looking at Eddie. I couldtell that he had heard because he looked up. I tipped my head, which Liam took as an invitation to press kisses along my neck. Given that I was now slightly taller than him, he had much easier access. I laughed softly as my gaze reached the mistletoe hanging from the ceiling.
“Well, would you look at that,” I said, shifting a little to get him away from my neck, then pressed a kiss to his cheek. I felt his cheek move as he smiled and when I removed my lips, he moved to stand in front of me, blocking my view of Eddie.
“Not getting with that this time, babe,” he said. He gently grabbed my chin and angled my head down before he sealed his lips on mine. Part of me wanted to be embarrassed about this public display of affection but I couldn’t think about anything but Liam.
The width of his palm on the middle of my back, holding me close, while his other hand curled around my neck to hold me at the right angle. The sweep of his tongue in my mouth and the pressure of his lips against mine. The slow build of heat that was gathering south of centre. The feel of his sweater in my hands, and the press of his thigh between my legs. I could feel him harden against my hip, and I broke the kiss before I really did forget where we were, and escalated things.
“That’s better,” he said against my ear. I shivered.
“Jealousy sure is an interesting colour on you, Muller,” I whispered back.
“Chantelle mentioned something about seeing you two together the other day. You finally locked that one down, Liam?” Eddie asked somewhere over Liam’s shoulder. Liam turned around in such a way that put him in between me and Eddie.In theory, the overprotective act should have annoyed me, but I found myself liking it.
“Wasn’t screwing it up for a second time, Eddie,” he said before looking back at me. “You ready to get out of here?”
“I’m fine if you still have people you want to catch up with,” I replied on autopilot because it had only been a couple of hours and Liam was a social person. There was no way he was already done with this party. Even if I was.
“You wanna come with me while I catch up with people or am I just leaving you to disappear into a corner and think about the book that you could be reading at home?” There was a teasing smile on his face, and I wanted to hate him. For knowing me so well. For having the nerve to be so smug about the fact that he knew me so well. I hated myself a little bit for ever running away from someone who just made thingseasierfor me. Always had and apparently always would.
“There are only so many times I can hear variations of, ‘That’s so cool’ when I tell them what I’m doing with my life, and have the conversation not so subtly steered back to talk of you. So, I am fine in my corner.”
Liam turned his head. “Thanks for the party, Eddie. It’s been great to see everyone. We’re gonna head out,” he said as he laced his fingers with mine and started leading us to the door.
“Yeah, good to see you both too,” Eddie called after us, only sounding a little disappointed.
“I really was fine to stay there for longer,” I said as we walked home, cold fingers linked together, providing a faux kind of warmth.
“You’re always fine to stay at places you don’t want to be in anymore. I really wish that the part of you that is scared of asking for what you want in social situations, like leaving because you’re tired or bored or just over it, was one of the things that had changed about you over the years.”
There was no malice in his words, but his accurate representation of me still slipped through a rib and cut me almost fatally. I tried to change the subject.
“Are you sure you didn’t just want me out of there to stop Eddie from trying to make a move once you had gone on to mingle?”
“I think that kiss would have turned him off from making a move, so no. And if it hadn’t, you would have shut him down anyway.”
“What makes you so sure about that?” I don’t know why I asked. I would have shut him down. Even if I wasn’t in this situation with Liam, I would have shut him down. For the same reason I never gave him the time of day in high school. I just wasn’t into him.
“You’ve never been into Eddie,” he said. I waited for him to say something else, but that was all he said. We lapsed into silence.
“Want to tell me why you’re annoyed?” Liam asked quietly when we were five minutes from home.
“I’m not annoyed,” I answered truthfully.
“Then what’s wrong?”
“I’m just thinking,” I replied.
“You gonna enlighten me on what you’re thinking about?”
“It’s nice having you back in my corner, is all,” I said. It was all I could say without everything spilling over. I felt Liam’s gaze settle on the side of my face and I kept my eyes forward. I knew that if he saw my whole face he’d be able to read it, and I wasn’t ready for that.
“I never stopped being in your corner,” he eventually said, turning his eyes forward again.
I blinked back tears.
“How was everyone, anyway? You talked to more people than I did.”
