We immediately jump apart, the trance broken. She clears her throat, looking everywhere except anywhere near my direction and I get up from the couch to go answer the door. When I open it my guilt only grows. Because standing right in front of me is Liam.
"Hey Harry. Is Liv here?" He asks casually. For reasons I still don't understand, I consider lying and telling him she's not there. But she pops up behind me before I have a chance to say anything.
"I'm here. I was bored after you left. And everyone else was busy." She explains quickly with a nervous laugh. I catch it but I don't think Liam does.
"Sorry love. I'm done for tonight. I promise. Hey who's shirt is that?" He asks, finally noticing the huge t-shirt hanging off of her.
"Oh yeah. It's Harry's. I spilled wine on mine." She explains.
"Of course you did. What am I going to do with your clumsy self?" He asks, laughing.
"Oh I think it's too late to do much now." She counters back at him. He laughs at their banter and we both join in but neither one of us are fully into it. I can see her smile doesn't quite touch the worried look in her eyes.
"Well I'm gonna head to bed. I'm completely beat. Are you ready?" He asks.
"Yeah, sure. Let's go." She says, reaching out and grabbing his outstretched hand.
"Thanks for keeping her entertained Harry. I owe you one."
"Yeah no problem." I tell him with a small wave before they make their way down the hall.
I stand in the doorway watching them make their way towards their room. Watching Liam put his arm around her and her leaning into him. Just before they disappear behind their door I see her turn around and look at me with an expression on her face I can't quite interpret.
When they leave I strip my t-shirt off and get back into bed. Where I should have stayed. I'm so confused about what just happened. I thought she wanted me to kiss her. I could feel it. But then she goes and leaves with Liam. If she wanted me wouldn't she have just stayed? I was more than prepared to lie for her. That thought alone, that I would have lied to Liam so I could be with her, scares me more than anything. But it doesn't matter anymore. The more I think about what happened, the more doubtful I get. I must've imagined all those signs I thought I saw. She just felt sorry for me after my confession. That's why she didn't push me away. She didn't want me to be embarrassed any more than I already was. She wouldn't have let me kiss her. It must have been all in my head. That's it. I wanted her to want me so badly, I completely misread the situation. I continually repeat this to myself as I fall asleep.
The next morning, I wake up to the sound of another knock at my door. I figure it must be Mark. We have a training session this morning. So I get up and trudge to the door, trying to wake up all the way. I'm just about to curse at Mark but when I open the door it's not him, it's Liv.
"We need to talk." She announces, pushing past me and into the room.
"Good morning to you too." I say sarcastically. I'm still not fully awake. She must have just woken up too. She's still wearing my t-shirt from last night and these short sleep shorts. I can't help but notice how good she looks even completely makeup free in her pajamas. She's such a natural beauty. It makes it hard for me to be mad at her for waking me up.
"First of all, what the hell happened last night?" She asks and I can sense the nervousness in her voice.
"What do you mean, what happened? You were here." I remind her.
"Yeah well, I had a lot of wine. And everything is sort of fuzzy and jumbled. I just need to know what's real and not real."
"You have the worst drinking amnesia I've ever seen in my life." I comment with a shake of my head.
Chapter 1
Start from the beginning
