Page 23 of Liam
“This isn’t high enough. I need to get higher.”
Liam’s eyes meet mine, a mischievous glint in their blue depths. “Well, Dr. James, I suppose there’s only one solution.”
Before I can protest, he’s guiding me to place a foot on his bent knee. I wobble, my hand grasping his shoulder for balance.
“Ready?” he asks, his voice low and close.
I nod, not trusting myself to speak. In one fluid motion, he lifts me onto his shoulders. I gasp, finding myself much higher than expected, my thighs pressed against either side of his neck.
“Steady now,” Liam murmurs, his hands gripping my calves to stabilize me. His palms burn through the denim of my jeans.
“I need... I need several more inches,” I say, my voice breathy. “Can you stand on your toes?”
As Liam rises onto the balls of his feet, I stretch upward. My fingers brush at the clue, but it’s just out of reach. Without thinking, I thread my free hand into Liam’s hair for balance.
The silky strands slip through my fingers, and Liam takes a sharp intake of breath.
“Almost there,” I whisper, more to myself than to him. I lean forward, grasping the clue.
As I settle back onto Liam’s shoulders, I become acutely aware of our position. The warmth of his body seeps into mine, his steady breathing a rhythmic movement beneath me.
“Got it,” I announce, my voice higher than usual. “You can, um, let me down now.”
Liam’s hands slide from my calves to my waist as he lowers me to the ground. For a moment, we’re face to face. Close enough for me to see flecks of darker blue in his eyes and count each of his eyelashes if I wanted to.
“Well done, Dr. James,” he says, his breath fanning across my cheek.
I step back, my heart pounding like I’ve just run a marathon. “Right. Well. Let’s see what this clue says, shall we?”
I unfold the paper and try to convince myself that the flush spreading across my skin must be from exertion, nothing more. But the lingering warmth where Liam’s hands had been argues otherwise.
“‘To proceed, you must decode. Let science and logic be your mode,’” I read aloud. “Well, at least they’re playing to our strengths.”
The challenge presents itself as a scientific riddle. My eyes scan the question, a grin spreading across my face.
“‘I’m a number that never ends, yet I’m not infinite. My presence is crucial in curves. Take the number of letters in my name, followed by the digits after the decimal in my value. What am I, and what is my code?’” I continue reading. “Oh, come on. This is child’s play.”
Liam quirks an eyebrow. “Is that so, Dr. James? Please dazzle us with your brilliance.”
I roll my eyes. “It’s two hundred and fourteen, obviously. The answer is pi. The number of letters in pi is two. The first two digits after the decimal are one and four. Elementary, my dear Valeur.”
“Elementary?” Liam chuckles. “I didn’t realize we were auditioning for Sherlock Holmes. Though I must say, the hat might be an improvement on your usual lab goggles.”
“Ha ha,” I deadpan. “At least my brain isn’t cluttered with stock prices and corporate jargon. I bet you dream in spreadsheets.”
Liam’s eyes twinkle with amusement. “And I bet you whisper sweet nothings to your petri dishes. ‘Oh, E. coli, you reproduce so beautifully.’”
A snort of laughter escapes before I can stop it. “Please, asif I’d be caught dead sweet-talking E. coli. Now, tardigrades on the other hand...”
“Tardigrades?” Liam’s brow furrows. “Isn’t that some kind of sauce?”
I gasp in mock horror. “Sauce? Valeur, your ignorance is showing. Tardigrades are microscopic animals, also known as water bears. They can survive in space.”
“Ah, of course,” Liam nods. “How could I forget the space-faring sauce bears?”
We both burst into laughter, the sound echoing through the forest. As our chuckles subside, I realize that this is the first time we’ve laughed together with no underlying tension or competition.
“Well,” Liam says, wiping a tear from his eye, “I may not know my tardigrades from my tartare sauce, but at least I can recognize a worthy opponent when I see one.”
