Page 115 of The Tape Job
“Well, you obviously don’t have to put a label on it, but would you consider seeing other people?” Ryan says.
“No, but—”
“So, what are you doing, then? This is exactly what I was referring to.”
“What?” Confusion hits me now.
“Ry, keep out if it. It’s none of our business,” Jen says.
“It’ll be my business when Vicky calls it all off again at a moment’s notice.”
“Excuse me—!”
“That’s enough.” Jen, the voice of reason, interjects, and we’re saved by the bell as Danny and Hutch arrive with one of those mini keg machines. But it’s bugging me. What are we doing? I don’t want to be seeing anyone else. Does Vicky?
Vicky
“Does it bother you? That we haven’t put a label on it?” Liam says as soon as my bedroom door is closed.
Yes. Yes, it does. But the fear of scaring him off forces me to lie. “No. Does it bother you?”
“No. But just so you know, I’m not seeing anyone else.”
I climb into bed and wait for Liam to get undressed. There’s just something about the way he moves that just keeps me wanting to look at him. But right now, I’m fixed on the muscles of his arm. My eyes navigate to the tattoo of a camera.
“Nor am I,” I say. He’s standing there in his underwear now, and I suddenly feel really self-conscious. “How do you not look like you’ve eaten your body weight in food today?” I ask.
He shrugs. “Dramatic change of subject there, Vic.”
“I’m just saying, you look like you’ve just come from the gym!” And then a thought flashes into my mind. “Oh, my God. You know I’m never watching our tape, don’t you?”
“Why are you being so random? What’s going on?”
“When are you going to the gym next?” I ask. My mind is whirling.
“Vic, you’re making no sense. Start from the beginning.” He slides into bed next to me and rolls over so he’s looking at me.
“Don’t look at me!”
“What the hell is going on?”
“I’ve definitely eaten too much today,” I say.
“Everyone has, it’s Christmas. But what are you getting at?”
“I’ve definitely put on a few pounds since college. And you look like a chiselled masterpiece.”
“You have not!”
“I have, and now—”
He kisses me. “Calm down. You’re beautiful, and I’m still just as attracted to you now as I was when I first saw you.”
“You were attracted to me when you first saw me?” I blink at him.
“Why are you so surprised?”
“You avoided me for a long time.”
