Page 40 of Until We're More
“You’d be surprised the things I can get access to.”
I threw my arms around him, and after he got over what I assumed was a second or two of shock, he reciprocated, hugging me tightly to his chest. “I’m sorry,” I said.
“You don’t have anything to apologize for.”
I did, but I appreciated that he let my bizarre behavior slide so easily. And with him thinking I’d be on my period for the next week or so, silver lining, I could tell myself he wasn’t interested in crossing lines because of that.
So…score?
“Are we going to stand around hugging, or are we going to play?” Finn asked, and Brooklyn smacked him upside the head and I’m sure scolded him for not letting us have our moment. Too bad this was a different kind of moment.
Even though I was super glad to have it.
A big shadow blocked my sun, and I cracked open an eye. Liam always seemed huge, but with me lying down and him up, up, up, he seemed even bigger than usual.
He squatted next to the beach towel I’d spread on the sand and handed me a chocolate-dipped ice cream cone.
“You didn’t have t—”
“Just eat it before it melts.” He sat down, halfway on my towel, and hooked his arms around his knees.
I nibbled at the crunchy outer shell, more than happy to obey. “For future reference, this is much more my style. No disastrous attempts to play sports, just soaking in the sun and eating ice cream.”
“You played well.”
“I constantly ran into the net and fell a ridiculous amount of times.” The one time I’d completed an impressive play was because Liam had boosted me on his shoulders to block Finn. Using the extra height, I managed to spike the ball right back at him. Pretty sure it was cheating, but no one called us on it.
“That’s what beach volleyball’s all about. Getting sand in places you didn’t even know you had.” Liam’s gaze dipped to my tiny bikini bottoms, but he quickly jerked it back up and cleared his throat. “I mean…Well, when I scooped you up, your thighs were covered, and I…” He shook his head, and I swore his skin hadn’t been that red a moment ago. “It’s just when you dive and fall in the sand like that… You know what I’m saying.”
For once, he was the one rambling, and since he was clearly embarrassed about it, I couldn’t pass up the chance to tease him. “I’m not sure I do. Please, tell me more about these places I didn’t know I had.”
He jerked his chin toward my cone. “Eat your ice cream, smartass.”
I broke off a piece of the chocolate shell and tossed it in my mouth. Then I extended it to him, and he leaned in and took a bite. I focused far too much on the way his tongue darted out to catch the ice cream, and speaking of those hidden places…Shut it down.
After I finished off the cone, I wiped my hands and grabbed my phone. “I haven’t taken nearly enough pictures since I’ve been here. Scooch in.”
Liam scowled at the screen. “Are you serious? The filter with the flower crown?”
“It makes my skin look all awesome and glowy,” I said, my most winning smile in place. “Plus, sparkly eyes, and who doesn’t want sparkly eyes? Or maybe you’d prefer the one with hearts?” I swiped, and animated hearts appeared over our heads. That would probably bemypreference, but I was leaving the town of Denial and living in the real world from here on out. “Or do you want to be a”—I swiped again—“pig-bear thing?”
He made a low noise, half grumble, halfthis closeto giving in. “How will any of my opponents take me seriously if you post a picture of us like that?”
“Um, you’ll punch them in the face?”
“Right. Good point.”
I flipped back to the flower-crown filter. Maybe I couldn’t get him to see me as more than a friend, but an odd sense of pride filled me at convincing him to breach a few boundaries I knew he wouldn’t with anyone else, and that helped fight off the dejection that’d tugged at me since last night.
Of course he scowled at the camera, but joke was on him, because like I said earlier, he gave good brood.
Over the past several months, I’d sent him a lot of crazy pictures, and I could never talk him into sending any back. He’d send one of the gym or the beach, but never a selfie. Occasionally we’d used FaceTime, and his conversation skills were slightly better with video, although he kept commenting about how much he hated staring at himself while we talked.
Funny, because I loved staring at him while he talked.
A group of women in tiny bikinis strolled past, clearly hoping to gain his attention, and I’ll give it to him, Liam kept his eyes on me.
The warm sand felt nice against my toes, and I dug them in deeper. “You know how you, uh, get in the way of me meeting guys?”
