Page 60 of Lovestruck at Sundown
“Of course. I love you too.” I handed the phone to Tobias. “Hewants to talk to you.”
Tobias said, “Uh-huh” a few times and ended the call.
“Let’s go,” he said, getting up reactively from his stool. “Drop those spoons. Both of you.”
“What? No!” I hissed, but Tobias reached out and seized the bowl from my grasp.
“You finished the whole thing?” Tobias said to Liam, who held the bowl in front of his face, slurping up the last drops of his soup.
With a chuckle, Liam set the empty bowl on the counter. “The lime-chili combo was actually pretty good.”
“Get up, Billie.” Tobias grabbed my arm and pulled me out of my seat. “We’re going to get some real food. William’s orders.”
“That was a waste of a perfectly good soup!” I complained as Tobias dragged me out of the kitchen. I was exhausted. All I wanted was to eat my soup, shower, and go to bed.
“I beg to differ.” Tobias grabbed my bag from the foyer table and gave it to me. “We’re going to Bernie’s Burgers.”
“Oh.” Well, that didn’t sound like a bad idea at all.
“That’s right,oh.” Tobias opened the door with a chuckle. “Wipe the drool off your mouth, lock up, and let’s go. Are you coming, Liam?”
“Nah, I’m full.” He stepped out, placing a hand on his belly. “I think I’m gonna call it a night. But thanks, though.”
After locking up, I pulled out my phone and said, “Let me call Nina and see if she wants to come.” But all I did was text Aaron to let him know I’d see him downstairs.
“Wait-you-what-Nina?” Liam blurted out, and I threw my head back in laughter. “You evil, evil woman.” Liam shook his head, realizing I was teasing him.
“Nina’s mom and her brother are in town for Thanksgiving,” I explained as we stepped inside the elevator, “so unfortunately, she’s unavailable all through the weekend.”
“Yeah, she told me.” Liam leaned back against the elevator wall, stuffing his hands inside his pockets.
“My goodness.” Tobias rolled his eyes. “Why can’t you admit you like Nina and ask her out on a fucking date already?”
“We’re friends,” Liam said. “And I just ended things with Belén. I don’t want her to think she’s a rebound. I know what I’m doing, okay? So fuck off.” He chuckled, but he sounded irritated, too.
“You act like a malfunctioning robot every time someone says her name in front of you,” Tobias responded, “but sure, you know what you’re doing. Stop being a coward.”
Men. If Liam knew how much Nina liked him. But I couldn’t meddle, especially when Nina specifically asked me not to. They had to figure things out on their own.
We stepped out of the elevator, and Liam said, “At least I’m not stuck having to share the girl of my dreams with one of my best friends because I’m too chicken-shit to claim her as my own.”
Whoa!
“Excuse me?” I shrieked. The last time I talked to Cecile, she said she was done with Jordan and Tobias because she couldn’t stand the drama. She liked them both too much to decide.
Unless … Oh.
“Liam.” Tobias’s neck flushed, the color spreading quickly up to his neck. “Walk away, or I swear to God …”
“Orwhatare you going to do?” Liam taunted. “Pray tell.”
“Boys.” My voice was more of a warning. Thankfully, Aaron walked out of the emergency exit and joined us since he usually came down to the lobby using the stairs. Everyone remained silent, but his trained intuition must’ve told him something was off when he felt the palpable tension between Liam and Tobias, whose faces were inches apart.
“Everything okay here?” Aaron asked, his voice thundering in the lobby.
“Leave,” Tobias said to Liam again, ignoring Aaron’s question, which basically served as an answer. Everythingwasn’tokay.
“Goodnight, Red.” Liam took a step back, but his eyes remained on Tobias. I’d never seen them fight like this before. Sure, they would constantly bicker and tease each other, but it’d never escalated into something as serious as this. “Thanks for dinner.” He turned on his heel and walked away.
