Brave Bold Belle (ft. Liam Payne)

Chapter 27 - A Good Kisser

Liam stays silent for a few moments, watching me intently and I try to smile. It’s not difficult to be nice to him or caring when he’s being honest and we listen to each other. Even if I push myself to be like this because I know I’m pretending to be his girlfriend, it’s not that hard to show affection when I see him like this. Actually, it’s easier for me to be like this, it’s less exhausting. I feel like the two of us are working on making this work as smoothly as possible now, like it should’ve been from the beginning.

With my other hand I grab his and then put both of his together and wrap them with my small ones. I can barely do this, but I try, then I raise them to my lips and give him a kiss on his knuckles. This reminds me of the final scene in North and South, when Margaret kisses Mr Thornton’s hands. When I look at Liam his expression shows the surprise my actions have brought upon him.

“You don’t have to pretend to be like someone else and you don’t have to supress who you really are because people’s acceptance is overrated. You don’t need the world to love you when you can have one person who really accepts you and loves you,” I tell him because I feel this is really the problem with Liam. The reason why he acts like he does, why he changes so easily and gets so annoyed when I don’t accept his superficial ways.

“What if no one accepted me as I am? What if no one wanted me as I was?” he questions but I shake my head.

“Don’t be foolish, Liam. You have a wonderful family and I know for certain they have always accepted you and they love you to death. Even if you don’t have anyone else, you do have them. Don’t take them for granted.” I see him swallowing hard so I smile as kindly at him as I can. “And I’m sure more people would really accept you if you show them who you are and not what they want to see.”

“Would you accept me if I showed you that?” he questions ever so softly and I stop to think about this, putting aside the whole contract thing. I pretend we are not in this situation, that we are just two strangers meeting for the first time.

“When you’re like this, Liam, I really like you. Even if it makes you look vulnerable, it shows your humanity. When you’re all pompous and, well, a jerk I see you more like a beast than as a human,” I chuckle at my own wording but I don’t think he understands why I find this so ironic. “It’s good to know the jerk is not who you are but just a side of you. It means it can be controlled.”

His eyes bore into my very soul, making me feel weak inside and like there’s not enough air in the shop. I swallow hard when one of his hands escapes my grip and cups my face tenderly, his thumb caressing my cheek and sending chills down my spine. Then he takes a step closer, our hands trapped between us and I don’t move when I see him leaning down, his face getting closer to mine. I hold my breath and close my eyes when I notice he’s leaning for a kiss and instead of stopping him, I wait.

His lips are finally on mine, soft and warm, tender and careful, and the hand he keeps on my cheek makes me tilt my head a bit so we can kiss more comfortably. I kiss him back without reservation, finding the taste of his lips familiar and sweet, but then I remember we’re still in the shop and pull back before this turns a bit more heated. Plus, that’s not appropriate not only for the place but also our situation.

“Just for your information,” he says with his forehead pressed against mine, his hand still cupping my cheek and keeping me close. I feel his breath tickling my lips and I have to wet them with my tongue because they feel so dry now that Liam is not kissing me. “I’m really enjoying this place, so I’m glad I brought you here. It has very interesting things.”

“I know right?” I reply, smiling brightly. “Wanna be like in one of those films and try the hats and clothes?”

Liam chuckles and as our bodies are pressed together, except for that point where our hands got trapped between us, I feel his chest vibrating with laughter against mine and it feels quite exquisite.