When I woke up the next morning, we were in New Orleans and had the day off. I dragged myself into my hotel room to shower and to find a way entertain myself for the day. I was used to being alone. Everything would be fine.
I was becoming an expert at finding tours and I found a tour of the swamps of New Orleans that would take 4 fours. I just had to take a taxi to the French Quarter to meet the tour. No problem. I bought a ticket, braided my hair, hoping to hide the fact that it was blue, grabbed my hat and headed out. I really missed my brown hair.
The taxi dropped me off and I waited for the tour bus. As I was waiting, someone sat next to me and handed me a coffee. I didn't even want to look up. "I knew you'd be here. Swamp tour, right? I watched you leave and I just knew. I've got a ticket, too. Bought my own this time. Cafe Mocha, extra shot of chocolate, only one shot of espresso." Liam had a smug look on his face. I grabbed the coffee, turned away and crossed my legs. Liam just sat back, arms in the back of the bench.
When the bus pulled up, I got on, Liam following me. I sat down and he sat next to me. I looked out the window, Liam looked at me. We got on the boat, Liam again, sitting next to me while I refused to talk to him. The tour guide talked to us about the swamp, the people who lived there and the animals. Alligators started to show up and we could feed them. I walked over to the edge and looked down. Liam went and got a stick with food stuck on it and brought it over. I was afraid, but Liam stood behind me and held the stick with me. The alligator snapped the food off the stick causing me to scream and jump. Liam wrapped his arms around me, laughing. "This is why I love you." he whispered in my ear. "You are funny." I just huffed, pushing him away.
Later, we got to hold baby alligators. Liam took pictures of me and I took pictures of him. By the end of the tour, I was giving in and having fun. He was good company. Being with him was easy and natural. There was just no denying it, I loved him, being around him, spending time with him. Life was completely unfair.
When we got back to the French Quarter, Liam took me to dinner and insisted that we try fried alligator tail. He liked it. "It tastes like chicken!" he declared, eating almost all of it, leaving me only one piece that I didn't want anyhow. Liam paid the bill while I went to find a cab. He returned to me, carrying a giant stuffed alligator. "For your collection." he said, grinning at me. I smiled at him and leaned in, letting him kiss me.
When the cab pulled up to the hotel, I got out and went in, straight to the elevator. Liam had to run to catch me. He jumped into the elevator, just before the doors closed. He pushed me up against the wall, trying to kiss me. "Someone will see us. Get off." I said. "I was nice to you all day, but for all you know, Sophia has spies. Just please, please. Stop."
He leaned his forehead against mine. "Do you want me to stop?" I looked into his eyes. I couldn't lie to him, to those eyes. He leaned down, kissing me, softly at first, then deepening the kiss, leaving me weak in the knees. The elevator arrived at the floor, dinging as the door opened. I ducked under his arm and hurried out the door and into my own room, not looking back.
I went to sleep that night, clinging to my alligator. I'm not sure what time it was, but Liam climbed into bed with me, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me to him. I was groggy and disoriented. "What...?" I started.
"Shhh...." he said. "I just want to hold you. Max let me in. I caught her sneaking into Harry's room and made her give me the room key. I told her I would tell Benny. She folded." he laughed lightly in my ear.
"Max? Harry?" I said.
He pulled me under his chin, putting his nose in my hair. "She hasn't told you because she feels bad. She doesn't want to be happy when you are so sad. I don't want you to be sad. I'm not worth being sad over. Stop being sad."
"How can I stop being sad when I see you all the time. How can I stop being sad when you keep getting into bed with me?" I turned so I was facing him. "How can I stop being sad when I know you aren't happy?"
"This isn't your mess. It's mine. Just because I ruined my own life, doesn't mean you should ruin yours."
I sighed. "You don't have to be unhappy, Liam. Tell someone. I am sure your manager would know what to do. You can't be the only celebrity who has had this happen."
He didn't speak. He just held me, running his fingers over my hair and skin. I was nearly asleep when he leaned down and kissed me, first my lips, then my cheeks, my ears, behind my ears. He moved back to my lips, kissing me softly, over and over until I was kissing him back. "Let me make love to you. Please." he said. I didn't answer. I just wrapped my arms around his neck, running my finger through his soft, brown hair. He rolled me on my back, pulling off my shirt. "Is this my shirt?" he asked.
"Yes. I wear it every night." I said.
He moved his hands down, rubbing his hands on my bottom. "And these are my boxers." He ran his hands inside the fabric, rubbing my hips and buttock. I was panting, moaning, begging him to stop and to not stop at the same time. His shirt came off and I pushed on his shorts. My hand ran up his muscled back and I wrapped my legs around him. "I love you, Lizzy." he said.
"I love you, too, Bean."
He rested his forehead on mine, looking into my eyes as his manhood slid into me. His eyes never left mine as he moved in and out of me, bringing me to the edge of bliss. We went over together, clinging to each other as we cried out in ecstasy. He kissed me again before rolling onto his side. I laid my head on his chest, sighing. "This is how it's supposed to be, Liam."
He didn't say anything, but I could hear him sniffing and I knew he was crying, I just didn't know what to do about it. I couldn't solve his problem, no matter how much I wanted to. He needed to fix his own mess.
"Wake up, you two, it's over." I heard Max say. Then something hit me in the head. I opened my eyes, a stuffed alligator laying on my chest. Max must have thrown it at me. "Grab your phone, now. You've been outed. #LiamisaCheater, #Lynx, and #BethisStyx are trending. Someone took a picture of the two of you yesterday. Beth's face with Styx's hair. Look."
I reached over and grabbed my phone. Liam was looking for his pants while trying to not get out of bed. I started to scroll though my feed. People had put my picture next to 'Beth' pics from when I was photographed with Liam. Half the fandom seemed happy and the other half was furious. I was getting messages wanting to know why I had lied, why I was trying to steal Liam, wanting to know if we were broken up or together. Liam had found his phone and was going through his feed. Then his phone rang. A look of fear crossed his face. He answered it, putting it on speaker.
"Hello?" he asked.
"You are a dead man, Liam Payne. I warned you to stay away from the whore. I want those girls off the tour, Liam or so help me, the pictures get released." Sophia shrieked through the phone. Liam looked at me, his eyes wide. "Answer me!"
"Did you ask a question?" Liam said.
"Don't be dense, Liam. Stay away from that tramp or your mother can see that picture of you getting a blow job by two whores, got it? Or maybe that sex tape of you and I? Or what about that video I took of you and that girl, screaming for your to pound her in the ass? Your mother would be so proud to see her perfect angel fucking a slut in her asshole, don't you think?"
"Stop, Sophia. Okay? I hear you." he said.
"Great, because if that doesn't stop you, you, Lou and Zayn snorting coke off a hooker would make a great front page story for the star." Sophia hung up the phone.
"Holy Shit." Max said. "Holy fucking shit. You? Cocaine? Hookers? Threesome? WTF?"
"Get out, Max." I said. She held up her hands and turned, walking out.
Liam was laying on his back, eyes closed, hands over his eyes, shaking his head. "Why. Why why why." he said, over and over.
I grabbed his arm and pulled it down. "Bean, it will be okay." I pushed myself onto his chest, kissing his chin. I moved up, kissing his cheeks, noses and lips. "Just, go talk to your manager. Please? If you love me, like you say you do, you will try it."
"I don't know. I don't know. It would be so..."
I sighed and finished. "Embarrassing, I know. You told me. Get out." I yanked the sheet off the bed, wrapped it around myself and walked into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door.
Liam knocked on the door, begging me to open it, to understand. I just turned on the shower and got in, not wanting to hear it. I just kept walking back into this, over and over. This time, it was my fault if I was hurting. I wanted to smack myself and remind me that NO was a word most people knew how to use. Liam and those damn eyes of his. They made me dumb and I needed to smarten up.