Page 126 of Awestruck at Dusk
“And?” I asked, hugging a pillow.
“Well, he wanted to let me know that you’d left, which I already knew since I saw you walking out with Nathan. And we talked for a bit, and I kinda liked him?” Nina shot a silly smile at me. “I asked him for his number, and, well, he—gave it to me.” She covered her mouth and laughed.
“You—oh, my God!” I squealed. “IswearLiam’s my favorite person right now. I had so much fun with him tonight. He really cheered me up.”
“Right? I couldn’t stop laughing either.” She agreed. “And what the hell is going on with those lashes? I even asked him if they were real. He’s got the mostinsanelycute eyes I’ve ever seen.”
Nina seemed excited about Liam. And with good reason. He’s handsome, funny, and interesting.
“You know he’s twenty, right?” I know age is just a number, but I felt like she was clueless about it just as I was because Liam looked older.
“What!” Nina stood up from the bed and asked me to unzip her dress. “I mean, not that I care, but he doesn’t look twenty.”
I wasn’t sure if Nina was aware of what Liam told me about him liking Belén Freeman and how there was something going on between them. Something complicated, for sure. But I didn’t want Nina to get wrapped up in that drama. But I couldn’t meddle. I had to let it be. Let them figure things out on their own.
Nina grabbed a set of pajamas from my closet and returned to the guest bedroom. “Do you mind if I take a shower?” she asked.
“No, not at all. Go ahead,” I replied with a yawn. She yawned too. “But you’re sleeping in my bed tonight. And I’ll be sleeping here.”
“Obviously.” She smiled. I’d already talked to her about my concern with listening to William and Rachel over the wall. I made her swear not to tell me anything the next morning. If she heard something or not, I wouldn’t want to know.
Nina disappeared off into the bathroom, and I grabbed my phone to check on my messages before going to bed.
Talking to Nina was helpful and distracting. But the truth is that I was completely devastated on the inside. I had to concentrate on keeping myself from falling into that awful place where all I do was cry my heart out.
There was a message from an unknown number that was time-stamped from an hour ago.
Unknown:Why’d you have to bring Nina over to the party tonight? Didn’t I tell you I have a weakness for brunettes?
Me:You better sort your shit out with Miss Attitude Problem before you get anywhere near Nina. She seems excited, and I don’t want you to hurt her, Liam. I’ll go after you if you do.
Unknown:Note taken, I guess.How’d you know it was me? ;)
Me:I could almost hear your voice through that text.
Liam:Aw! Aren’t we cute? We’re like besties now who threaten each other.
Me:Yeah, yeah. You’ve been warned.
Liam:So, I guess we both lost the bet lol. I swear to God I thought William was going to be the one to jump me first.
Me:I guess so. We’re both losers then.
Liam:Why am I sensing a wee bit of disappointment in our experiment’s results? Is it William you want?
Me:No.
Me:I don’t know.
Liam:Now, now. There’s plenty of fish in the water. I mean, William’s one hell of a good-looking bluefin tuna, if you ask me.
Me:NOBODY asked you.
Liam:Haha! I guess I deserved that. Anywhoooo, we’re on for the US open, yes? I’ll text you. That’ll give you a few weeks for you to miss me. ;)
Me:Sounds good. I had a great time tonight, Liam. Thank you. For cheering me up and all.
Liam:Don’t get sappy on me, eh. We’ll get that horse to the finish line, you’ll see.
