Falling in the Dark | ✓

21 | Click

The mellow music pouring into my ears through my earphones sends a shudder running down my spine. This feeling is a reminder of Liam's touch, it leaves a trail of whispers, kisses and colors flashing behind my closed eyelids. I straighten against the inside of the closet, my legs stretching marginally until my toes come in contact with the opposite side.

I open my eyes when the song fades to an end. Thin slivers of dull afternoon sunlight fall into the closet through the gaps between the doors. Leaning forward to rest my head against my knees, I press replay on my phone. I quickly glance at the top of the screen to keep track of the time I have left until my next class. I let out a comforted sigh; I have another hour.

The inside of the closet smells of fresh, clean clothes. It reminds me of the laundry room back home where Vera and I used to load the washer and dryer in the afternoons, then sit cross-legged on the floor, just sharing candy and listening to the rumble of the machines. I smile fondly at the thought of going home with her for the approaching Christmas break. I make a mental note to remind her to start packing at the earliest when we meet for dinner tonight.

As the chorus approaches, I hum along quietly. Shutting my eyes again, I let my hair fall over my face, shielding me from the chillness inside the closet where the heater can't reach. I find myself feeling a kind of calmness that I haven't felt in a long time.

But this serenity is shattered the very next moment as the closet door is forced open with a loud creak. I give a gasp of surprise, clumsily rising to my feet. My phone falls to the floor in the process, wrenching my earphones out with a painful tug.

"Ow," I mutter, rubbing my ear with one hand and using the other to shield my eyes from the sudden onslaught of light.

My shock only intensifies when my vision finally adjusts and lands on a very confused Liam standing in front of me, holding a rolled-up notebook high in one hand. It takes another moment for my eyes to travel down his wide hazel irises and parted lips to his bare chest, finally stopping at the dark blue jeans snugly fitted to his hips. I blink and avert my gaze.

"God, Carmen," he breathes out in relief, lowering his hand. "It's just you."

"What? Who'd you think it was?" I ask, baffled and flustered. "Wait, why are you here?"

"I suddenly heard singing coming from the closet, and," he laughs shakily, "I thought it was . . ."

A small giggle escapes my lips. "You thought there was a singing ghost inside the closet?"

I dissolve into full-blown laughter when Liam lowers his head, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly.

"And you were going to defend yourself with that?" I ask, gesturing to the rolled-up spiral-bound notebook in his hand. "What were you going to do, swat me like a fly?"

"Hey!" He furrows his eyebrows indignantly. "It's a pretty effective weapon."

"If you say so," I say, pursing my lips to muffle my laughter.

"Why are you in the closet?"

"Oh." My cheeks burn at the realization that Liam isn't aware of my 'quirky' habit. "It's just . . . a good place to think."

"Yeah?" He arches an eyebrow questioningly, and I nod. "Well, I'm going to have to test that."

Without waiting for an answer, he steps into the already cramped closet, closing the door behind him. The top of his head touches the wooden roof, the warmth of his body swallowing all the coldness that was here. His eyes are so bright, our chests are touching, I can barely breathe.

"Um," I say, now discomfited by the smallness of the space that I formerly found comforting. "You didn't really tell me why you're here."

"Oh, Vera said she left the door unlocked this morning. So, I came to change," he explains. "I kept one of my shirts here somewhere."

"Well, then," I say, clearing my throat. "You should probably put that shirt on."

My chagrin is so obvious, it's no surprise that it doesn't escape Liam. My heart beats faster when he steps closer, his torso flush against mine. His breath tickles the top of my head when he says, slowly and softly, "Why? Are you . . . uncomfortable?"

"No, of course not!" I scoff, raising my chin to feign confidence. "I'm perfectly fine."

A corner of Liam's lips curves upward in a hint of a smile. He raises his hand — the blue notebook still held in the other — to my face, cupping my jaw in his palm. It's both an involuntary action and a conscious choice when I lean further into his hand. Our eyes don't leave each other as his fingers slide down my neck, stopping and resting flat just over my pounding heart.

Liam considers the heavy, uneven thump behind my ribs for a moment before murmuring, "If this is what you call perfectly fine . . ."

I turn away from his teasing smirk in an attempt to hide my crimson cheeks. At the very back of my mind, the realization that this is dangerous rings like the wail of a distant ambulance. But my attention snaps back to Liam when he pulls his hand away to grab mine. The sight of our fingers wrapped around each other fills me with that all-too-familiar craving. He raises our hands, pressing my palm to his chest. The erratic rhythm of his heart is not unlike mine.

". . . then I'm perfectly fine, too."

I shake my head, smiling despite myself. When I glance up at him, my eyes following the brown and green flecks splashed around his pupils, everything else fades to blissful nothingness in the rich, delicious way that it does when I'm with Liam.

Only Liam.

"Carmen?" He hooks his index finger under my chin, lifting my face and lowering his own so our eyes are level.

"Yeah?"

"Will you ask me to go if I kiss you now?"

"I probably should."

"But is that what you want to do?"

My voice is barely above a whisper when I say, immediately and truthfully, "No."

There is a single beat of silence when Liam just looks at me before our lips meet and our eyes close. His hands are warm and reassuring on my shoulders as he steps forward until my back is pressed to the side of the closet. Winding my arms tight around his neck, I wrap my legs around his waist, bringing myself closer to him than I've ever been before. Eyes still closed, my hands roam down his back and up the soft, muscular ridges of his torso. But when Liam's lips break away from mine and start trailing down my neck, my fingers curl into fists at the hem of his jeans.

All the air leaves my lungs in a shallow exhale when his teeth ever-so-slightly graze the skin at the base of my neck. I can feel the fabric of my loosely fitted t-shirt slipping off my shoulder as Liam pulls his hands away and runs them along my thighs. My resistance and self-control are no match to the power and temptation of this moment. Breathless, flustered and charged, I wonder if anything else will ever feel this good.

"Carmen," he sighs into my collarbone.

At the sound of my name on Liam's lips, goosebumps erupt all over my arms. His messy dark brown hair is soft against my cheek, the sweet citrusy scent of his aftershave filling my lungs. My toes are curling into themselves when a vaguely familiar click-click registers in the back of my mind. The muffled, metallic sound — lasting no longer than four seconds — echoes around the space outside the closet.

The recognition hits like a hard slap. My heart drops to my stomach, my spine stiffening with a painful jerk.

It's the sound of the dorm room door clicking open.

❅❅

Thank you so much for reading this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, press that little star to vote! Each vote means a lot to me.

Truth be told, I'm a bit of an awkward potato when it comes to writing the steamy bits, so I want to know if you thought it was too much or too little. Please don't hesitate to share your thoughts with me. I love hearing from all of you!

Hugs,

Amethyst