Page 34 of Lexi Lets Go

She looked over at him and he had a small half smile on his face. It was a smaller version of the one that fills the cover of magazines, but it was still there.

"That was my brother. He was just reminding me about dinner at his place. Do you still want to go? If I didn't scare you off being an emotional mess."

"Of course, I still want to go. And you weren’t an emotional mess. I still plan on spending every second with you until I have to leave on Sunday, that is if you still want to."

"Of course, I do.”

She tried not to smile as big as she felt inside, but the way his own face lit up at her made her stop caring. She leaned over and kissed him. He slid his hand up into her hair and kissed her slowly. They hadn't had a kiss like this before. Their previous kisses had been passionate and surprising and new. This kiss felt different. The magic that seemed to dance between them shimmered as he sipped at her mouth kissing her with such tenderness. His mouth explored hers as if he was trying to learn her physically the same way he had just learned about her emotionally. This kiss felt like a kiss to build a lasting love with, but that wasn’t what this was. He had been clear. He could only offer this weekend, and she would take it. She would take anything and everything he was willing to give.

Chapter13

Liam

Lexi's car had just pulled up to a huge house. It was just off the town square and looked to be an old colonial house. It was white with black shutters, and it was beautiful.

"Is this your brother's house?" he asked.

"Yeah. He bought it last year. It was a whole thing. He had been saving for it because before the owners passed. It had been a big part of the town. They always held parties and haunted houses and all sorts of stuff. This corporate Airbnb place tried to swoop in and get it, and Poppy arranged this whole town event, and they ended up getting the house."

"That sounds like a Hallmark Movie," Liam said with a smile.

"You'd be surprised how much of Mystic Falls feels like a Hallmark movie."

"Are all these cars people who are here?" he asked.

"I think so. That truck is Sam's. That's Poppy's brother, he is probably here with his husband Jackson. And if I'm not mistaken, that car belongs to Hannah. She is one of Poppy's closest friends. She just moved here sometime last year with her husband Graham. But everyone here is cool, no NDAs necessary."

He smiled and shook his head, and to her surprise he leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. "Let's head in."

He wasn't quite sure what he was headed into, but it felt normal. And that was a better feeling than he could have ever realized. At the same time, there was a part of him who didn't know who to be. Liam James or Liam Sheffield. They were both good guys, but he was out of practice letting his guard down and being who he truly was. That had all been stripped away little by little with each scandal, with each magazine cover questioning his sexuality, with each time the paparazzi scared someone he cared about, with each time he pushed someone away because he wanted to protect them from scrutiny. He decided he was going to try to show up as himself. The real him.

As they walked up to the door, he squeezed her hand. She looked up at him and smirked. Liam wasn't very tall, he had dated many people taller than he was, so having her look up to him made him smile.

"What are you smiling at?" she asked as she knocked on the door.

"Just how short are you?" He asked jokingly with her. Her eyebrows drew together with disapproval, and she elbowed him.

Poppy answered the door. She was much taller than Lexi and probably had a few inches on Liam. Today her long dark hair cascaded down her back.

"Come in! Josh will be so glad you are here! Hi Liam, nice to see you again. I’ll try to act like a functioning human this time. Jackson and I are in the kitchen finishing up a few things and everyone else is out back. Let me take you. Do you guys want anything to drink? We got soda and beer in the coolers out back but if you want anything else just let me know."

"It looks great Poppy, you guys have really got a lot of work done in the past couple months," Lexi said as they walked through the gorgeous old home.

"Thank you, we just finished painting the living room last week, Josh had to patch some of the plaster and the downstairs is just about done. I’ll have to show you the kitchen later. He put in new counter tops a month ago, it is really coming along."

They walked out onto the back patio and Liam was overcome with nostalgia. He didn't know these people, but he had grown up with cookouts just like this. There was a game of cornhole going on in the big backyard, and Josh was manning the grill. He used to have cookouts like this with his family, his mom busy in the kitchen while his dad was at the grill and cousins playing games. He hadn't been to a cookout like this in a long time.

"Lexi!" Josh came over and gave her a hug. "I'm so glad you finally came over. Liam, welcome, grab a drink from the cooler."

"Hey, one of you come be on my team. Josh keeps leaving," called one of the voices from the yard.

"Come on, I'll introduce you," Lexi said to Liam.

They walked off the steps of the patio. "Everyone, this is Liam. This is Hannah."

A short blond woman reached out and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you. This is Graham." The towering man with red hair behind her nodded once.

"And this is Sam, Poppy's brother," said Lexi.

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