04
"This is pretty amazing," I comment, looking around. We're on a well known bridge just outside of town. It's a popular place here, but not so much when it's eight o'clock at night and dark. The street lamps are reflecting off the lake below us.
"Yeah. I like it better at night," Liam says. We sit with our legs dangling through the railing and over the edge of the bridge.
I grab a makeup wipe from the new package we bought at a convenience store on out way here, along with a six pack of beer and a party size bag of Cheetos. I start to wipe my second face off.
"You were there because Aaron's your step brother, right?" I say, already having to grab another wipe.
"Yup. Why were you there?" He asks, popping open a bottle of beer. Liam takes a sip.
"Whitney is my sister's best friend. I've known her since I was eight, because they became friends when they were eleven. I'm like her little sister, so she wanted me to be her bridesmaid," I explain, rubbing my eyelid with the wipe. It's almost completely covered like the first one.
"I see," he says, loosening his tie so it hangs low. "And don't tell anyone I bought you beer, okay? It's kind of illegal."
I smile. "As far as I'm concerned, you bought yourself beer and I snuck one."
Liam smiles. "Such a bad girl. Stealing beer."
I shrug, playing along. "What can I say?" I say nonchalantly. "I'm a delinquent."
He snorts. "I have a hard time believing that."
I think about it. "Yeah, I'm really not. Drinking on the weekends at parties is as far as my delinquency goes."
Liam laughs. "That's more believable."
I laugh too, and finish taking off my makeup. "Did I get it all?"
His eyes scan my face. "Yeah. Damn, they really caked that on, didn't they?"
I nod. "Yeah, I thought my real face was lost forever," I say. I grab a beer and pop the cap off, taking a swig from the bottle. The strong taste hits me right away.
Liam smiles and shakes his head, taking another drink. "You're a lot different than the Taryn I used to know," he says. "More fun, to be honest. You were so shy and quiet, you would never talk."
"Now you can't get me to shut up," I joke. "I don't know what happened. I got into high school and suddenly I was more outgoing and talkative. It's probably because my acne disappeared, I got my braces off, and I became fit from soccer."
"I never saw anything wrong with the way you looked," Liam says truthfully.
"Everyone says that," I say, taking another gulp of beer.
"But I mean it. You've always been pretty to me," he tells me. My heart almost stops and I definitely stop breathing.
"Really?" I force out, hoping I don't sound strangled.
"Yeah," Liam says. He opens the bag of Cheetos and grabs a few the puts them in his mouth.
I copy his actions, trying to focus on something other than what he just said. "Well, um, thanks," I say awkwardly.
Liam just laughs and drinks the rest of his beer. "You don't take compliments very well, do you?" He asks.
"What was your first clue?" I ask lightly.
"Maybe when you said, 'Well, um, thanks'," Liam says, making his voice high in his impression of me.
I almost spit my beer out. "I do not sound like that," I tell him.
"It sounded pretty damn close," he tells me.
"Not even in the same ballpark," I say, rolling my eyes. I drink the rest of my beer and open another.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night," he says lazily.
I shiver as the cold wind nips at my skin, and I realize I'm only wearing a dress. "Here," he says. I feel his jacket drape over my shoulders.
"Thank you," I say gratefully. I put my arms through the sleeves and take another drink of my beer.
My phone rings beside me, and I see Beth's name across the screen. I pick it up and click 'answer'.
"Hey Beth," I say. "What's up?"
"Where are you?" She demands.
"Hanging out with Liam," I tell her. "Why?"
"Oh okay. I'm not mad at you then," Beth says. "So? Is he good?"
"Good at what?" I ask, confused. I take another sip.
"Sex."
This time I really do spit out my drink onto the bridge next to me. Liam looks at me like I'm crazy, but I ignore him.
"That's not what's happening, Beth! We're drinking beer and eating Cheetos on the bridge outside of town," I say. "Where the hell did you get that thought from?"
I can imagine her shrugging. "I dunno. You get more action than I do."
I blush a deep shade of embarrassment. "Let's not talk about that, okay? It's called privacy, look it up."
I hold my beer bottle to my cheek, trying cool them off. I look over at Liam, who mouths, What? to me. I shake my head and return back to my conversation.
"So what do you want, Beth?" I ask.
"Whitney was wondering where you went. Should I tell her you and Liam are hooking up?"
"Do it and I'll put Nair in your shampoo."
Beth laughs. "Okay, okay, I won't. I like my hair, thank you very much. What do I need to tell her?"
"Just say Liam took me home early because my ankle was hurting," I say. "And nothing more."
"Okay. Bye Tare-Bear!"
"Don't call me that!"
She's already hung up by the time I tell her that. I set my phone down and groan.
"What was that about?" Liam asks.
"Beth was making crazy assumptions, as usual. Nothing new," I say vaguely, leaving out all the...other parts.
He nods in understanding. "Gotcha."
It's silent for a moment before I ask him a question. "Why did you stop coming back here after you left for college?"
Liam shrugs. "I don't know. Got busy with school, I guess."
"Is this just a pit stop for you, then?" I ask, downing a little more beer. I can feel a slight buzz in my system, but I'm still fully aware of everything I do and say. I can hold my liquor, let me tell you.
"No, actually," he says, eating more Cheetos. "I just finished with college, so I'm staying with my mom until I find my own apartment, which will probably be soon because I have my eye on a place."
I look at him, surprised. "Really? I would have thought you'd leave this place the second you could. Like with college."
Liam shrugs, smiling a little. "I realized I didn't like being away as much as I thought I would. And who knows, maybe I will leave this place some day."
I run my hand over a ruffle on my dress. "I understand. So what's this place like? The one you're looking at?"
I try to keep him talking, because somewhere in my mind, I'm thinking, I love his voice.
He looks out at the lake. "It's small, just a bedroom, a bathroom, a small kitchen and living room. It's nice, though. Downtown," Liam tells me.
I smile. "Sounds great. Do you have any plans now?"
Liam just laughs. "No, of course not. I'm a broke twenty-two-year-old living with his mom and step dad. I wanted to open a restaurant with a friend of mine, but neither of us have the money," he says. "What are your plans? For after high school?"
"Oh, I don't know," I say, looking up at the sky. "I guess college. I really want to be a labor and delivery nurse."
"That's sounds like you do know," Liam tells me. I shrug.
"I suppose."
Liam looks at his phone, and let's out a low whistle. "Damn, it's ten o'clock. We've been here for two hours."
"Shit," I say, laughing.
"I should probably take you home now," he says.
"Probably," I say.
"You know, you're pretty cool. I never got to know you very well when we were younger."
"I was a shy and introverted person. A lot of people never got to know me very well," I tell him, yawning.
"If it's okay with you, I'd like to get to know you more," Liam says. I raise an eyebrow at him.
"I thought you said you were too old for me," I say.
He rolls his eyes at me. "I never said it had to be romantic."
I smirk. "That's what they all say."
* * *
edited june 19, 2018