When Liam got back into town, a week later, he didn't even stop at his place. He drove the extra half hour to see Genny. He needed to make things right with her. If he did like her, he needed to tell her. He needed to see if she liked him back. He was sure she did. He thought. He hoped. He'd been such an ass to her. Sure, she was a brat and she needed to hear the truth, but she'd stopped annoying him weeks ago and he was still being a jerk. He should have told her Sophia wasn't his girlfriend right away.
The store was closed by the time he got to town, so he knocked on the back door, feeling nervous, hoping someone was still awake to answer. He heard clomping on the stairs as he stood there, biting his lip, nervous to see her. The door opened and she stood there, holding that damn dog, he thought, and looking beautiful, bathed in a pool of light from the apartment. "Liam?" she said, confused.
"Uh..." he didn't know what to say. How could he say everything he wanted to say?
"Do you know what time it is?"
Liam nodded, trying to find his courage. He stepped forward, put his hand on her cheek and pulled her close, lowering his full pink lips onto hers. He put slight pressure, waiting to see if she responded. She took her free hand and put it on the back of his neck, pulling him closer. He smiled, breaking the kiss and looking into her eyes. "It's 11." he said. She smiled back and pulled him back to her, kissing him again, this time, letting herself relax, enjoying the feeling of his lips on hers. He kissed her once more, moving his tongue into her mouth, making her knees weak, again. She'd been waiting a long time for this kiss.
Finally, Carl started to wiggle, demanding to be put down so Gen broke the kiss, stepped back from Liam and did just that. "So," she began, grinning up at him, while Carl ran into the yard, chasing bugs. "When did you get back?"
"I haven't been home, yet. I came straight here, drove right by my place. I needed to see you. I needed to tell you that Sophia isn't my girlfriend. I should have told you right away, that first night, but I thought you liked Harry."
Gen shook her head. "I was trying to make you jealous. I wanted you to pay attention to me. Immature, uh?" she said, blushing. Carl ran back over to Gen and went up the stairs. "Do you want to come in and talk?" She nodded her head up in the direction the dog had gone. Liam nodded. She took his hand, leading him up the stairs and into her bedroom. Carl had already jumped into the bed, waiting for Gen.
"You shouldn't let that dog sleep in your bed." Liam said.
"Are you going be mean to me again? I thought you came here to kiss me?" Gen said, giving him a shy smile. Liam grinned back at her, leaning down to kiss her, once again. This time he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to his body. He let his hands wander up and down her back as he worked his mouth over hers. When he stopped, he leaned his forehead against hers, looking down at her feet.
"I came here to be mean AND to kiss you." he said with a grin. Gen rolled her eyes at him and flopped herself onto her bed. She pulled Carl onto her stomach and patted the bed. Liam pulled of his jacket and shoes, laying next to her. "This puppy is going to be 50 pounds of muscle. This will be his bed and not yours if you keep letting him sleep here."
"He cries if I put him on the floor." Genny said.
Liam leaned in to kiss her again. "I'd cry if you put me on the floor, too." he said, teasing her.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him to her lips. Her lips moved against his, over and over while he let his hands rub her back and arms. Liam rolled her onto her back and hovered over her, moving his kisses to her neck. That was when Carl decided that he was being left out and climbed in between Liam and Gen, licking both of them. Liam rolled off her, laughing. "Told you not to let him in the bed." Liam said, laying on his back. Gen settled herself on his chest. He put an arm around her and rubbed her arm before squeezing her. "It's a good thing I like you." he said, closing his eyes. "and your dog, too."
"I thought we were going to talk?"
Liam tried to nod. "I'm just resting my eyes. I've been driving all day. So, do you like me back or do you still think I'm a jerk?"
"I still think you are a jerk, but you are a great kisser, so you'll do." she said, grinning to herself. Liam just mumbled and began to snore softly. Gen smiled, and let herself fall asleep, happy that he'd finally decided to kiss her again.
Bob was having his coffee and reading the paper, bright and early the next morning, when Liam came down the stairs. Liam froze as Bob looked up. "Uh, Morning, Bob?" Liam said.
Bob set his paper down and looked up. "What in the world..." Bob started to say, but didn't know what to ask or how to ask what he wanted to know.
"I was just..." Liam pointed up the stairs. "We didn't..."
Bob held up his hand. "I don't want to know. I'm going to pretend I don't see you and you are going to leave. And the next time I see you, you will be coming through the front door, asking permission to date my daughter."
Liam gulped and nodded. He hurried out the backdoor and dashed to his truck. Bob stood and walked up the stairs. He entered Gen's room and looked over at her bed. She was sound asleep, fully dressed, with that dog next to her. He sighed in relief. He didn't want to explain anything like that to her mother. On the upside, he thought, at least Liam was a nice kid. He knew his family and his values. Lord knows what kind of guys she was seeing at that college of hers. He watched as she stirred and reached out her arm. "He just left." he said.
Gen shot straight up. "We didn't do anything! I swear! I would never...I mean I have never...You didn't kill him, right?"
Bob laughed. "He's fine. I think I scared him. Listen," he said, sitting next to her on the bed, "You mom told me why she sent you here. She told me everything. I just want to make sure that you are being...careful? Is that the right word? I've never done this before..."
"OMG, Dad! Stop! I've told her a million times that it wasn't mine! Please, let's not have this talk! I'm 20 years old! I'm an adult. STOP!" Gen covered her ears with her hands.
"Okay, Okay, I get it. Maybe I'll talk to him. That would be easier."
Gen moved her hands over eyes. "Please don't, Dad. Please."
He sighed. "Just tell me that you are safe. Your mother was so worried. And if I didn't ask, she'd kill me." he said.
"GOD, DAD! I'm a virgin, ok? It wasn't MINE! I had two roommates! Please get out! Stop looking at me!" Gen cried out. She laid back down and covered her head with her pillow.
Bob grinned. "Well, you just made me a happy man. I'll leave now and pretend that I somehow did something right in my parenting even though it was long distance." He stood up. "Store opens in an hour. I expect to see you down there." He hurried out of the room, glad to be free of that talk.
Gen: Sorry
Liam: I'm scared of your dad now.
Gen: I'm sure you aren't.
Liam: He could still shoot me. Speaking of, I want to see you today. I'm going hunting.
Gen: You want me to go hunting?
Liam: Yes.
Gen: Are you going to shoot stuff?
Liam: Yes.
Gen: Cute things?
Liam: Do you think moose are cute?
Gen: No
Liam: Okay, then I'm not shooting cute stuff.
Gen: Can I bring Carl?
Liam: He's not a hunting dog.
Gen: Do you want to kiss me again?
Liam: Yes, please.
Gen: Then Carl is a hunting dog.
Liam: I'll pick you up in an hour
Liam pulled up to the store, parked and hopped off the four wheeler. He headed into the store to look for Bob. Gen greeted him at the door, ready for her kiss. "Wait!" Liam said. "I need to talk to your dad. And you need a darker coat. Bright white and hunting don't mix." Liam looked around and spotted Bob in the back of the store. He walked over, hand out. Bob took his hand and shook it. "Asking to date your daughter. Is it okay?" Liam asked.
Bob chuckled. "After the talk me and her had this morning, yes. No worries."
Liam breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought you were serious."
"I was. But it's good now."
Liam wasn't sure what he meant, but he was sure he didn't want to know. He just smiled and hurried away. Gen was standing near the front the of the store, holding a picnic basket. "You made a picnic?" She nodded. "You know we are going hunting, right?" She nodded again. "This isn't us, laying in a meadow, eating food. This is me, shooting food while we try to stay hidden." She shrugged. He grabbed her around her waist, pulled her close and kissed her. "Okay. Let's do this, then! First date, right?"
"Our first date is hunting?" she asked.
"Well, there is no movie theater or restaurant within a three hour drive of here, so it's this or watching me chop wood." Liam laughed.
She sat behind Liam, arms around his waist and cheek resting on his back, while he drove to his hunting spot. He parked the ATV away from where he wanted to hunt and they walked for about twenty minutes until they came to a clearing. He was carrying a backpack and his rifle. Gen had insisted on bringing the basket, despite Liam telling that her you didn't hunt while you ate peanut butter sandwiches. She just kept smiling and said, "We'll see."
He walked around, looking for signs that animals had been there. Gen spotted a flat area by a tree and stopped following Liam. She opened the basket, took out a blanket, and spread it out on the ground. Liam wasn't even paying attention to her or what she was doing. By the time he decided to check on her, she was sitting on the blanket eating a sandwich and Carl was asleep in the sun. He sighed and rolled his eyes, walking back to her. "We are hunting. Don't you want to see what life it like here?"
"Nope." she smiled. "I just want to be with you. Go, shoot things. I'll watch." Gen said.
Liam stood there, gun over his shoulder, not believing her. "You have to be kidding me. You having a picnic is not going to scream "HEY MOOSE COME HERE!" It's going to warn them at we are here!"
Gen looked up at him with innocent eyes. "I guess we will have to have a picnic then."
"This was your plan the entire time, wasn't it? Your dad hunts. I know you know about hunting."
Gen patted the ground next to her. He rolled his eyes and set his things down. He decided to join her on the blanket. "Fine. You win." He flopped down next to her and grabbed her, pulling her on top of him. Smiling, he put his hand in her hair and pulled her down, pressing his lips to hers. She kissed him over and over, lost in the moment, allowing him to roll her onto her back. She had her legs wrapped around his and her hands tangled into his hair. Liam moved his kisses to her neck and his hands under her shirt. "I'm sorry I ever made you feel bad about yourself. You are beautiful. I swear. I nearly lost my cool when you dropped your towel at my house. You were just so...I don't know how to explain it..."
"Explain what?"
"Why I didn't like you. Why I was so mean to you. I feel like I need to apologize." Liam explained.
Gen pulled him back down to her lips. "You don't. I was a brat. I get it. I don't think I liked me very much. You really have made me a better person. You were right about Carl. He has made me see what a mess I have made of my life. I even looked into being a vet? But I can't. I've messed up. I'm here because I'm being punished, Liam. My mom said she couldn't even look at me, she was so mad at me. I failed all of my classes. I spent the entire spring drinking and partying. I will never get into a vet school now. I'm a mess."
Liam looked down at her and ran his thumb down her cheek, leaning in, kissing her softly. "You are not a mess. Everyone has that time in there life. You made a few bad choices. Big deal. If you hadn't, you'd never have come here. You wouldn't be with me. You wouldn't have gotten Carl. Everything will work our how it's supposed to." He kissed her again. "Now, where was I?" he said, returning his kisses to her neck and his hands went back under her shirt. His rough, calloused hands ran up her rib cage, stopping just under her bra. "Can I touch you?"
Gen moaned. "Please." she said. Liam's hand moved up and cupped her breast, massaging it as he returned his kisses to her lips. "You were right about your kisses, Liam. They are amazing."
"And it will only get better." he whispered in her ear.
Gen pushed him up so she could look into his eyes again. "I need to tell you something else."
Liam sat back, moving off her. She laid there, looking up at the sky. "What else could there be?" he asked. She sat up and wrapped her arms around her legs. He pulled her over to him and into his lap, kissing her again. Gen wrapped her arms and legs around him, kissing him back. "I'm not going to able to control my hands today." Liam said as he ran them back up her shirt and unhooked her bra before moving his hands back to cup her, now free, breast. He kissed her over and over while his hands explored her, making her pant, trying to catch her breath. "I'm just going to take this off. It's in my way." Liam said, tugging on her shirt.
"Wait." she said. "It's just...well...I've never actually...I mean, I've done stuff. Just not..."
Liam laughed. "Seriously? But you offered...?"
"Well, I said you could join me. I never said what would happen if you did." she grinned.
Liam kissed her again. "You little tease." he laughed. "Now can I take off your shirt?" She threw her arms around his neck, pulling his lips to hers. "Is that a yes?" he said, when she let him breath.
"You first."
Liam pulled off his shirt and then hers, before pushing her back down on the blanket, kissing her while his hands explored her. His kisses moved from her mouth, to her neck and down to her bosom, using his lips to make her nipples stand erect. "Your skin is so soft." he said, his hands rubbing around her waist and up her sides. He wrapped his arms around her and laid his head on her stomach. "I could lay here forever." he said. She laughed and ran her hands through his soft brown hair. He sighed in pleasure and rolled his head to put his other cheek on her mid section.
As they lay there, just enjoying being together, Carl woke up and sniffed the air before whining and moving close to Gen. Liam looked up to see what had upset the dog and froze. "Don't move, Gen. Caribou. We barley see them this time of year." Liam backed up and reached for his gun. He lay on his stomach, looking through the site on the gun. Liam pulled the trigger once and the gun went off with a bang. Gen covered her ears and jumped. Liam cocked the gun again, reloading the chamber, and pulled the trigger again. "I got them!" Liam cried out. Gen sat up and watched the small herd run, leaving two members behind, bleeding on the ground.
"Are they dead?" she asked, pulling her shirt back on.
Liam nodded. "I think I got two clean shots, but I'll go look. Stay here." He stood and grabbed Carl. "Let's teach you to be a hunting dog, Carl. Whatta say, buddy?"
Gen sat and watched Liam as he checked over the Caribou. He was moving around them and showing Carl what to do. She shuttered. She understood why people hunted and she knew that Liam would use every part of the animal, but she still didn't want to see it. She sighed, thinking that maybe she'd learn. It wasn't the first time she'd been hunting, after all. It's just that her dad normally missed, she giggled.