The President's Daughter (Liam Payne) Book 6

Chapter 36

Elodie's POV 

“Heyyyy, you guys made it!” Harry says, approaching us when we get to the club. He’s well on his way to being drunk by this time and tries to put an arm over my shoulder which I easily evade. He was a nice guy and all, but since the ‘incident’ the only person who I’d really had any physical contact with was Liam and he was so overly cautious about that it was almost funny. I’m not sure Harry even notices though, quickly slapping an arm around Liam’s shoulders as we get into the VIP section. “Where’s Louis and Lauren?”

“They went back to the hotel,” Liam says while I take a seat on the couch next to Michael, taking his drink from his hand and finish it off.

“Lame…” Harry responds while Liam goes to the bar and gets himself a drink. I half expect him to come back and take the seat next to me, but instead he stays up near the bar talking with the group of people over there. So instead Michael and I talk about Australia and his life before touring with the boys. I tease him about changing his hair color for the hundredth time while he jokes about the fact I’d just gone to see a Disney movie in theaters at 18 years of age. As we talk and drink, I’ll glance around the room and occasionally Liam will catch my eye from wherever he is in the room and give me a smile. Maybe about an hour later, he takes the seat next to me and I halt mid-conversation to look over at him.

“Here, give me that flask thing I got you,” he says, sticking out his hand. I grin, realizing what he’s doing and pulling it out of my pocket. He takes it and tries to pour one of the shots he brought over into it, spilling about half of it onto the table. I hold back a laugh as I watch as he screws the cap back on and hands it back with a proud grin.

“There,” he announces, proudly presenting it back to me.

“Thanks,” I say with a laugh as I take it, wiping the excess liquor off on my jeans before sticking it back in my pocket. He grins before turning his attention to the people on his other side and I look back at Michael.

“What was that?” he asks with an amused grin, having watched the exchange.

“He got me a keychain flask earlier today,” I explain with a laugh.

“Nice,” he says with a laugh. I nod with a smile, our conversation shifting back to whatever it was we were talking about before Liam sat down. I had a nice, familiar buzz going by now. It felt weird to just be sitting down in the club and not out on the floor dancing, but it was weird in a good way. I was having fun sitting here, talking with people I knew, not hooking up with anything with a penis. I nudge Liam’s knee with my own, like he had done in the theater, trying to ignore him and keep the smirk off my face when his eyes dart over. Instead of nudging it back like I’d expected though, he smirked and, without looking over again, rested his hand right above my knee, giving it a light squeeze before just leaving it there. It stays there for another 15 or so minutes before I stand up, excusing myself to the bathroom.

 

Liam’s POV

 

Today had been a good day. A much needed break. I’d hung out with the lads in the morning, went out for a bit of shopping with Niall. And Elodie seemed in a much better mood. When we’d first left for the movie, she’d been a bit standoffish, but had quickly warmed up again when I’d given her the keychain. It had just been a joke gift. I’d seen it and thought she’d get a laugh out of it, which she had and that made it worth getting. When we got to the club, she started talking with Michael so I figured I’d give them some space. No need to do anything to spur angry Elodie. So I talked with some guys who helped with the songwriting from our last album. They were cool guys, but eventually I made my way back over to the couches and took the seat next to her. I liked the contact. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I’d found myself reaching for her all night. My hand slips off her leg as she announces her need for the bathroom and I watch her slip out of the VIP section, heading towards them before resuming my conversation. Ten or so minutes later, she’s not back yet so I glance back over, stilling at the sight before me. At first, I think she’s just back to her usual club tricks when I see her with some guy. But it doesn’t take long to see it’s unwanted attention. She looks so uncomfortable, trying to brush off his touches as he leers over her. I jump up, abandoning the conversation mid word as I push through the crowd, out of the VIP section and over to her.