The Boyfriend (The Camgirl Part 3)

Part XXXV: She Makes You Happy

Liam stuck his tongue out at her.

"Oh, stop," Kiki said, flicking Tasha's arm. She looked at Liam, "Come on, what's going on with Blake? So far, we like her, so we want to help you with anything that's going on with her."

"And she makes you happy," Tasha added, "Happier than I've seen you in a while. We've got a while till the movie, so tell us what's going on."

Liam sighed, "Okay."

He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair.

"It's kind of about Blake," he said, "But mostly about her ex."

The girls' eyes went wide. They gazed at him for a moment, then each other, then back to him.

"Does she still have feelings for him or something?" Kiki asked.

Tasha's lips grew to a thin like, btu she stayed silent. Liam wanted to reach over and take her hand, but knew that might not be the right move. Tasha didn't have a problem with being comforted or vulnerable--not with him, at least--but anything that could be considered pity pissed her off.

Liam shook his head, "I don't think so. She ran into him, though, and sounded really...not okay when she called me. She said that nothing really even happened, but that there's some baggage she didn't realize was still there and that she was really shaken up over it."

Tasha's eyes widened, and Kiki looked at him with outright concern.

"Do you think he's just a dick?" Tasha asked, voice hard, "Or that he hurt her when they were together?"

Liam had thought about that possibility a few times, and had to take a deep breath, clenching and unclenching his fists, before he could push down that anger.

"I'd like to think she would have told me about that if it happened," Liam said, "But..."

He sighed, "I know that that can be a lot, so I didn't ask. If she has anything to tell me, I'll let her do it when she's ready, and just make sure she knows she can trust me with that."

Tasha frowned, and the fire behind her sparkling eyes, actually frightened Liam a little, but she nodded.

Kiki reached under the table and squeezed his hand, which helped him relax a bit, "You know that you can't try to find and beat the shit out of the guy if you're ever visiting her, right?"

Liam clenched his jaw, then nodded, squeezing her hand back, "Yeah. Yeah, I know."

"What?"

Liam glanced at Tasha, and blinked, leaning back. She looked even angrier than before.

"Why the fuck not?" she demanded, glaring between the two of them.

Liam glanced at Kiki, then looked at Tasha.

"Because then he gets to be the victim," they both said.

Tasha's lips parted, and as she looked between them, Liam could see the gears in her head turning and stopping and discombobulating the same way his had the first time someone had made that point to him and he'd tried to process it.

Her mouth opened wider and wider, and her eyes burned hotter, until Liam saw it finally click, and she sat back in her chair, folding her arms beneath her chest, "Fuck!"

Liam snorted, then bit his lip and covered his mouth when Tasha glared at him, "Something funny?"

Hesitating a moment, cheeks hot, Liam shrugged, then shot her his best grin, "A little. That's just about the same way I reacted when someone made that point to me."