Between Us

chapter nine

"Don't worry, I will," he replies, winking. I can't help but grin at him. I sit cross-legged and pull my dress over my knees to make sure I'm not flashing my underwear at Liam.

"I don't know you very well," I realize out loud. I turn my head towards him and tuck my hair behind my ear as it tries to fall in front of my eyes.

"Same with you," Liam says, thinking for a moment. "How about we play the questions game?"

I shrug. "Sure, why not? You start."

Liam leans his head back against the wall, humming before he asks the first question. "Favorite color?"

I laugh. "Really? Favorite color?"

"Yes, now answer the question."

"Blue. Dark blue," I say. "Birthday?"

"August fifth," he tells me. "Yours is December.....first, right?"

I my eyes meet his, surprised. "Yeah. How do you remember?"

Liam shrugs, looking off to the side. "I have a good memory," he says. "My turn. Who was your first crush?"

I think back, trying to remember. "It was Damien Wilson, second grade. Now that I think about it, he was a real ass," I tell Liam, unable not to laugh. "Who was yours?"

He raises his eyebrows. "Is that your question?"

I nod. "Yeah."

"Okay, let's see," he says, closing his eyes. After a few seconds he opens them again and chuckles. "This is going to sound really weird, and it kind of is, but it was you."

I freeze. Me? For some reason, my power to speak is somewhat nonexistent. "Me?" I choke out, willing myself to remember how to breathe.

"Yeah. When I was around nine and you were like five. I don't remember exactly why I had a crush on you, it was so long ago," Liam says, smiling back at the memory.

"Come on, you must have had crush before you were nine," I say, not believing a word he was saying. I shake my head, knowing he's probably just going to say something like just kidding, I could never like you.

He smiles wryly. "Okay, so maybe my first 'crush' was Bailey Newman in kindergarten, but it was only for a day because she moved to Colorado. That doesn't count."

"Yes it does! You fed me false information, Evans. I'll let it slide this time," I warn.

Liam rolls his eyes. "Whatever. What's the most embarrassing thing you've ever done?"

I groan. "Okay. It was when I was thirteen. I was in the kitchen, making a bowl of cereal, I think, and Reed was feeding Sophie baby food. It was spinach and peas, I believe. I looked over right as Sophie spit a huge mouthful of baby food right into Reed's face, and I laughed. Like, really hard. So hard I peed my pants. There was literally pee everywhere, and Reed called me Flash for two months because he said it was like a flash flood."

Liam laughs, his eyes wrinkling at the corners and his smile so wide I'm surprised he hasn't gotten a cheek cramp. The deep rumble of his laughter makes me start laughing. I lean over, putting my forehead on his shoulder as I laugh uncontrollably.

Once we finally get our laughing under control, I lift my head and meet his shining blue eyes. It's silent as we simply stare at each other, a ghost of a smile on Liam's face. My body unconsciously shifts forward, closer to him.

I'm overcome by the sudden urge to find out how my lips would feel against his, and I try to slow my racing heart as I blink up at Liam. He leans forward slightly, his breaths heavier than before. If I leaned in just a little more-

"Taryn! How long do the rolls have to bake?"

I'm snapped back to reality, out of my trance. I clear my throat and stand up, smoothing out my dress and tucking my hair back.

"Eighteen minutes!" I yell back, knowing my mom was probably standing at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for my response.

I sneak a glance at Liam, watching how he sighs and runs his fingers through his hair. "Um, sorry about that-" he starts, but I interrupt.

"It's fine. Heat of the moment, right?" I say, forcing a smile onto my face.

"Yeah," he agrees. "It's not even legal."

"Yeah," I repeat. "Let's just...forget that, okay?"

I only say that because Liam seems to want to forget it. "Okay," he says, sliding off my bed. He slips his shoes back on. "So, are you still going to help me move tomorrow?"

I nod, trying to put our previous encounter in the back of my mind. "Sure, if you still want help."

He smiles. "Yeah, absolutely."

I smile back. "Okay." I head into the game room, where the kids are all watching Woody talk to Buzz Lightyear. I take a seat in one of the two recliners and try to focus on the movie. Liam follows a minute later, sitting in the recliner next to me. I find it hard to focus on Toy Story because of a certain guy and certain things that almost happened.

I came very close to kissing Liam Evans.

And I still want to.

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edited june 19, 2018