Page 21 of Rock Strong

There was that word again. I wasn’t scared. I was terrified.

But then I thought about how this moment would be over soon, and I’d have to go back and tell Rosemary one of two stories. One, how I kissed Liam Collier, and he wanted more, but I left him high and dry by chickening out. Or…how I kissed Liam Collier, and he wanted more, so I leaned in and gave it to him…like a boss.

Girls high on confidence intimidated the dickens out of me, but here was my chance to be one of them. I couldn’t pass up this opportunity. Tentatively, I stepped toward him and slowly sank my butt onto the stone bench again. I took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

You can do this. It doesn’t have to be serious.

Liam scooped up my hand. His other slipped into my hair behind my head. “It’s okay.” He leaned in just a little, chin tilted, eyes studying me. He wasn’t asking for another kiss, but he was making it clear he was ready for one if I wanted more.

Which I did. Never before had one kiss driven me so close to unraveling. I felt it in every pore of my body, the tingling of being alive, turned on. Every inch of my skin ached for it. No! Terrible idea! my brain screamed.

Just do it, Abby, my body sighed.

At war with myself again. But my brain had ruled me for way too long. It was time to listen to my body for once. So I did. I leaned in, and we kissed…again.

This time, it wasn’t so innocent. His tongue met mine as our lips explored in a tangled, delicious kiss. The more we kissed, the more my body gravitated toward him, the more I wanted to wrap myself around him until we were one. Was this what it meant to really want someone? I’d never felt this way with Samuel before, a scary thought I might explore later. I wasn’t sure.

Then again, Samuel never kissed like this.

With Liam, I thought I would feel like one of a thousand women he’d been with before, but I didn’t. I felt beautifully alone in this honor and privilege. He made me feel as though I were the only woman ever in his life, which of course, was just silly. His hands cupped my head, and my body pushed into his until I was almost in his lap. We sat there, wrapped up in each other’s arms, for a long time in the summery garden surrounded by fountains, flowers, and butterflies.

Surreal.

Finally, he pulled away and pressed his forehead against mine. “That,” he said, “was amazing.” His strong hands gripped my head and kept it from lolling on my shoulder like I’d lost consciousness.

Wow.

I kept my eyes closed and hung on to his smooth hands—a man’s hands—that cupped my cheeks, struggling for something to say, but there were no words. He was right. That was amazing. I was almost afraid to look into his eyes for fear that I wouldn’t see my same utter astonishment reflecting back at me, but when I opened them, there were grin lines around his eyes and on either side of his nose. A dimple in his cheek stood out from how hard he was smiling. His honey eyes melted into mine.

Liam Collier, smiling big after kissing me. “Or wasn’t it?” he asked, his grin dampening a bit.

“Yes!” I cried, then a bit lower, “Yes.” I squeezed his hand, running my fingertips along his arms, over the thick veins and tribal tattoos roping over them. I had kissed a man with tattoos. Good Lord, Abby…

“Do you want to kiss me again?” he asked.

It was difficult to suppress the giggle in my throat. Didn’t most guys ask if they could kiss you, not if you wanted to kiss them? He put the ball in my court, making sure the decision was mine.

I couldn’t speak, only nodded, leaning in and stealing the kiss from him this time, putting my signature on it, impressing on him, in no uncertain terms, that I wanted him. I was so doomed it wasn’t even funny. I was fairly certain there was no way on earth I would be making it through this entire summer without more of him.

A new voice suddenly startled me out of my skin. “There you are.”

I looked up to see a girl, the same girl I’d seen a few times before, with straight brown hair, straight eyebrows, and a look on her face like she was Liam’s babysitter and he’d crawled out of his crib again.

Liam ripped out of the kiss and whipped his head around. “Hey, babe. Um, I’m busy?”

“Babe?” I craned my neck.

He glanced at me. “Helen. We’re old friends.”

“Oh.” Automatically, I stood, and he followed my lead.

Babe/Helen perched her hands on her hips. “Sorry, but Robbie’s looking for you everywhere. He says you had a pre-show meeting with a fan club at two, and they’re waiting. Have been waiting.”

Liam’s shoulders dropped. He held out his arms in open surrender. “Makes the meeting all that more rewarding, doesn’t it?” He looked at me and winked. “Right, Ab?”

I said nothing, but I wasn’t oblivious to the stare I was getting from Babe/Helen. Old friends, as in they’d hooked up before? She seemed like a jealous ex-girlfriend to me. A preview, I thought, of things I could look forward to if he and I were to ever be together.

“So, are you coming?” Helen prompted.

---