Page 37 of Flirtatious

“We’ll talk tomorrow. Okay, Ains?”

I grab everything I need to have a fantastic Brady Bunch marathon with Liam and start heading back upstairs. Ainsley follows me, as she has with every step I’ve taken in the past five minutes and grabs me by the shoulder just as I hit the first stair.

“Are you and Liam hanging out together up in your room?”

This time her voice is full of all the judgment I’m not interested in dealing with tonight. Or any night, for that matter.

I don’t lie to her when I shake my head and hurry up the stairs without saying another word. We aren’t hanging out in my room. We’re in his. It’s a technical difference, but a difference, nonetheless.

By the time I reach his bedroom door, I’m just about to lose my hold on the iced tea jug and the bag of pretzels, so I slam my shoulder into the door hoping he’ll get the hint and answer it. Then again, he might be so engrossed in episode three of The Brady Bunch that he may not get to me in time.

“Liam! Help!” I say just loud enough for only him to hear, hopefully.

Barely a second later, the door opens and he rushes out to help me as the iced tea starts to fall to the floor. He catches it and the bag of pretzels as they slip from my hold too.

“I would have helped if I knew you were bringing up the entire kitchen,” he says with a smile as I push past him into his room.

“Close the door. I think Ainsley might be following me,” I say as I sit down on the bed and set the bowl of chips and the glasses on his nightstand.

“The life coach? Why? Does she want to watch lame TV too?”

I turn to look at him knowing my expression shows how hurt I am. “Lame? You didn’t like that Cindy didn’t want to choose between her mom and her new dad so the school set up a special dress rehearsal for the whole family to see?”

Liam stops dead in front of the bed and looks over at me. “Jeez, you really do like this show. Okay, not lame TV. Old. Old TV. That’s fair, right? I mean, this show is like fifty years old.”

“The classics never go out of style, Liam. That’s another sign you need more culture in your life.”

He walks around the bed and takes one of the glasses from me. “What’s next? Are we going to head out to some museum? I’m thinking that’s where we’d find some true classics, right?”

As he pours the iced tea, I roll my eyes at his suggestion. “Stop being such a Philistine and sit down. The next episode is coming up soon. By the way, I wanted to bring up popcorn, but we don’t have any in this house. We don’t have any soda either. So all we get are the second tier snacks and drinks tonight. Sorry about that.”

We settle in at the head of his bed, me next to the nightstand with the jug of iced tea and my glass and Liam beside me with the half-eaten bag of pretzels in his lap, his long legs stretched out in front of him. In between us, the big blue plastic bowl full of chips sits where both of us can reach it.

“So onto the next episode?” Liam asks as he takes a handful of chips.

I grab the remote and shake my head. “I think I want to go to one of my favorites. This one is focused on Tiger, so no saying anything negative because anyone who doesn’t like a family’s beloved pet would be a monster.”

He chews for a few seconds and says, “Well, never let it be said that I’m a monster, so let’s watch another one and see what Tiger’s up to.”

I can’t help but smile at his change in attitude. “That’s the spirit.”

Liam can pretend like he doesn’t enjoy this, but he’s having a good time. I think it’s possible he just doesn’t know how to enjoy himself since he’s Mr. Rules and Regulations, but I’m happy to give him help with that.

CHAPTERFIFTEEN

Liam

Three hoursof watching Brady Bunch episodes and I have to admit this show doesn’t suck as much as I thought it did for the first half hour or so. The episode about the dog was cute, but even better was seeing how teary-eyed Mia got when they finally found him at a neighbor’s house. I suspect she’s watched that show at least a few times in the past, but it still makes her get emotional when everyone gets their happily ever after.

She aims the remote toward the TV and turns to face me with a determined expression. “This one is about when the family goes to Hawaii. It’s actually a three-parter, so get comfortable. I think you’ll like it.”

I want to ask why since nothing about this show seems on the surface to have anything I’ve ever mentioned liking, but I don’t say a word. She wants to give me more culture, so more culture is what I’ll get tonight.

The show follows the formula I’ve noticed it always follows, even after only watching a handful of episodes, and by the time the youngest Brady boy finds some relic rumored to be cursed, I know how it’s going to end. Nobody’s going to end up dead, for sure. This isn’t that kind of show.

“Have you ever been to Hawaii?” I ask, turning to look at Mia while I wait for her to answer.

She shakes her head. “Not yet. I’d like to go, but I’ve never had a show there, and when I’m off, I’m usually too beat to do much traveling.”

---