Page 27 of Hate To Love You
The two stare into one another’s eyes in wonder, each of them as stunned as the other.
“I didn’t realize …” murmurs Liam, frozen in place.
“I, uh, didn’t plan that.”
A moment passes as the two catch their breath. Teague’s body is still very much pressed against Liam’s. Every breath they take fills their ears, no other sound or noise able to penetrate them.
“I didn’t, uh … go too hard, did I?”
Liam blinks. “What?”
“The kiss. I didn’t want to hurt you, considering your braces.”
“Oh. Uh, no. It was … fine.” But was it fine? Did it hurt? Liam could barely form thoughts while it was happening.
“Okay, good.”
Then Liam’s mind takes a different direction. “Are you … Are you messing with me?”
“Messing with—? No. What?”
“This isn’t some kind of prank?”
“Liam …”
“Because if this is some kind of prank …”
“I have wanted to kiss you for a long,longwhile now.” Teague stares pleadingly into Liam’s eyes as he speaks. It’s as if their game on the couch never ended. “But you kept hating onme so much, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get the chance. Maybe you really didn’t want anything to do with me. Maybe you still don’t. But I had to try. Even if it was just a ride on an old country road. Or a bite at a burger joint in little dusty Spruce. I couldn’t let this summer go by without at least … trying.”
Liam stares at him in wonder.
Nothing about Teague’s face looks false.
He means every word.
Finally, Teague takes a step back. “I should probably, um …” He clears his throat, appearing awkward for the first time in human history that Liam has ever paid witness. “I should go. You should stay and … hang with your friends. All those gingersnaps Gracie made you will go to waste, which is honestly pretty tragic. She’s, like, devastated. Well, kinda-sorta. Actually she’s probably gobbling them up right now. Never mind.” After one last moment of gazing at Liam with unmistakable longing, he turns to go.
Liam doesn’t let Teague get two steps away before he chases a totally insane impulse: “Hey, why don’t we blow this off together and, like … hang out.”
Teague stops, dazed by the question.
“J-Just to hang out,” Liam adds in a panic. Wait. Is he really asking this? Are these really his words? Has something taken over his body? “Chat. Talk. Uh … y’know. Whatever.” He takes a breath. “To … start over, like you wanted.”
Teague peers into Liam’s eyes for the longest while. “I … I …”
Liam lifts an eyebrow, worried.
Then Teague’s lips curl. “I … like the sound of that.”
Liam stuffs his hands in his pockets. “That’s … good. Great.” Then he stands there awkwardly, unsure what comes next.
Teague takes the lead. “My place or yours?”
Liam can only imagine the delightfully intense interrogation they will both endure at the hands of his nosy parents, who might very likely still be awake. “Yours …?” he suggests.
“I can drive us.” Teague nods at his truck.
Liam glances back at the vehicle they just made out against. “Oh. I didn’t recognize it.”
