Page 73 of False Confidence

“Drink up, darling. It’ll hurt less in the morning if you do.”

Jazz grumbled, but accepted the water tumbler and circled the straw with her lips. At least she had a good show while she sipped at the water, watching Liam undress and fold his clothes on the chest at the end of the bed.

She sighed happily. “God, I love your body.” She reached out a hand in a gimme motion, and Liam obliged her, stepping forward with an amused smile. He let her run her hands all over his torso. She wanted to lick his stomach, but she wasn’t quite drunk enough to justify that. “You’re so hot. I hate it,” she whined. “How am I supposed to resist you when you look like this and you’re so nice?”

“Who said you had to resist me?” Liam asked. “Arms up.”

Jazz set her tumbler aside and raised her arms so Liam could pull her shirt over her head. “Do you want a t-shirt to sleep in?”

“I want to sleep naked.”

“Fine, but I’m not touching you while you’re this wasted,” Liam warned with a laugh, pressing the tumbler back into her hands. “Drink and get ready for bed.”

“Boo,” she muttered, kicking off her leggings and underwear while she sipped the water. “You’re so fucking good. Can’t you just have one red flag?” She stomped to the bathroom, then turned in the doorway and gasped. “Oh my God, what if your lack of red flags is the red flag and you actually have a bunch of bodies stashed somewhere?”

“That’s confidential,” he answered with a wink.

Jazz hurried through her nighttime bathroom routine, skipping her skincare. By the time she was done, Liam had turned down the bed. She climbed into her usual side and he kissed her on the forehead before heading into the bathroom to get ready.

“Did you have fun with my dad tonight?” he asked when he returned, climbing in beside her and offering his arm out for her.

“I thought you weren’t going to touch me.”

“Don’t be a brat. Get in here.”

Jazz wanted to cuddle too badly to argue further. She snuggled into his side, and Liam switched off his bedside lamp, plunging the room into darkness.

The darkness sobered her slightly, sleepiness settling into her bones. “We had fun,” she told him with a yawn. “Although your dad was pretty pissed when his favorites didn’t end up staying together. How was your dinner?”

“It was good. The food was just okay, but the restaurant did a quiz thing and that was fun. Maggie is scary competitive, though.”

“Yeah, she’s a lot. She always wins too.”

“Not tonight,” Liam said. “Nadia got literally every question right.” Jazz tensed. “What?”

“It’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing. You don’t like Nadia?”

“I don’t really know Nadia.” It wasn’t a lie, and it sounded better than letting the jealousy coursing through her spew out.

“You should try to get to know her. I really think you’d get along. She’s intense, but she’s nice.”

“I’ll think about it,” she lied. “I’m tired. I missed you tonight,” she added sleepily, nuzzling into the crook of his neck.

“I missed you too, darling.”

“We should go out again soon, like we did a couple of weeks ago. Grab dinner, maybe go bowling or to an arcade or something. Next week?”

“It’s a date,” Liam said, and she could hear the smile in his voice.

She was on the precipice of sleep when his words really registered.

“Liam?”

“Yeah?”

“Was it a date? Last time, I mean.”

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