Page 34 of Puck'n Bully
Another look of surprise passes through his face. “You don’t?”
“I don’t like the idea of losing control of both my mind and my body,” I say in a grim tone. “I’ve seen how reckless people become when they’re drunk since I was in high school. I never want to be like them and make a mistake I can’t take back.”
“You keep surprising me,” Liam says, resting his hands on the table. “You’re not as callous as you pretend to be sometimes. I like it.”
Warmth bubbles inside me at those words. Liam is finally starting to see the real me behind the mask I keep on at all times.
Our server comes back and expectantly waits for our orders.
“I’ll have the salad, the calamari platter, and pasta with lamb ragu,” Liam says without missing a beat. “Oh! For dessert, I’ll have tiramisu.”
I smile inwardly, high-fiving myself for choosing an Italian restaurant for our date.
“What would you like, Sir?” the server’s voice breaks me out of my thoughts.
“I’ll have whatever he’s having,” I say, handing him my menu card.
“Would you like something to drink while we get your food ready?”
“Coke,” I say.
“Same for me,” Liam adds. “Thank you.”
When the server leaves our table, I fix my attention back on Liam.
“So,” I say, leaning forward with a curious smile. “Are you enjoying your time at Knightswood U?”
Liam grabs a bread roll and tears into it. He nods, dipping a piece in a bowl of olive oil. “The faculty at the Physics department is amazing. They’re all experts in their fields and are always willing to help out even if you’re not one of their students. Even though I miss the beach, I’m glad I decided to transfer here.”
“You love Physics that much?”
“Yeah,” he says, chuckling and chewing bread. “I love conducting experiments and feeling like a wizard in the lab.”
“Does that beach house belong to you?” I ask, wanting to know more about him. “Did you live there alone?”
Liam chuckles, shaking his head. “I wish that gorgeous house belonged to me. But, no. It belonged to my gram’s late partner. It’s been years since he passed away but Grams has kept it the way he left it. She likes to travel, so she left me in charge to look after the place. I’ve been the caretaker for the past three years now.” His shoulders slump as a sigh escapes him. “I miss that place terribly. It was my home, you know?”
I want to nod and tell him I understand what he means, but I have no idea what a home is supposed to feel like. Unlike Liam, I have no warm memories of my grandparents. I don’t even miss the house I shared with my dad growing up.
“How long have you been interested in Physics?” I ask before Liam can ask me about my home and my family.
“I wanted to be a scientist ever since I was seven or eight,” Liam says with a faraway look in his blue eyes. “All the superheroes and villains I read about in my comic books were exceptionally talented scientists. I wanted to be just as smart and powerful as them!”
A proud, gleeful grin brightens Liam’s beautiful face. “Did I tell you I love being a scientist?”
An easy chuckle escapes me. “I believe you mentioned it earlier.”
It feels wonderful to see Liam relaxing and having fun. He’s always so closed-off and tense at the university, worried someone will discover him having feelings for the hockey player he’s tutoring.
Seeing Liam happy sends a rush of warmth through me. Once again, I pat myself on the back for bringing him to a restaurant that’s far from the university.
Liam takes a sip of water, unaware of the feelings building in my chest.
“I wanted to be a scientist so badly, I rigged my gram’s microwave to generate plasma when I was thirteen,” he says, meeting my gaze.
An amused grin blossoms on my lips. “Don’t tell me you burned down the house and they had to build it back again.”
Liam chuckles. “Nothing like that happened but Grams did throw the microwave away. We didn’t have one for over a year. We had to heat every little thing on the stove.”
