Growing Up and Other Tall Tales

Chapter 39

I'm disappointed by how the new batch of punch is still not spiked.

"Hi," I turn around to find Liam standing awkwardly behind me in his pirate costume and eye-patch holding out a flask. A small smile prickles at his lips. "I thought I could help."

I cautiously took the flask he is offering and took a small sip. Whiskey dissolved in my tongue harshly making me wince. I smile my thanks at him through the sourness.

"You look great." He offers and then purses his lips like he hadn't meant to say that out loud

"And you have the only half decent Halloween costume I've seen in the past hour." I say taking another swig before handing him back the flask

"Did you see Adam?" he snorts and I nod exasperated

"I think method acting is his calling."

He laughs and relaxes into his posture. "I'm glad we see eye to eye."

I pause.

"Was that a pun?"

"No," he says hurriedly, the smile slipping off of his face when he winces

What the hell. I shrug. "You are lucky you are cute."

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"I told you you'd get laid. You are such a tease, you are going to break the child." Nick beams at me and I pull on his nose without looking. He very nearly shrieks before gripping my arm pleading.

"What have I told you about poking around my love life?" I ask

"That you don't have one." He parrots nasally and I let go

He looks down at his nose frowning and then immediately gives himself a headache. I lean against him and watch as Liam converse with one of the cheerleaders with an easy smile and sweet words.

Aiden's smile is different, I notice absently, especially when he's talking to other people. His smile is disarming and dangerously subtle in its manipulation. Buttery words that slide off his tongue like water on a knife.

But not with you.

I can feel Nick's eyes on me. And I feel slightly caught out. I clear my throat.

"Stop looking so smug. You don't have the bone structure for it."

"Liam's a nice guy." He says and I roll my eyes

"I won't break him." I drone before he could continue and Nick holds up his hands defensively before continuing

"He's being dancing around you for like months now." He tells me and then proceeds to air how there is not a football practice that goes by without him talking about me and admittedly, it is flattering. Nick finishes up with what he does usually, and hopefully, "Give him a shot."

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I give Liam his shot a little past midnight.

We leave the party center to weave our way around drunken couples and the stoners to a more isolated corner apparently reserved for moonlight clandestine. Liam pushes himself against the railing chattering about the stupidest shit the football team gets up to and I tell him a bit about my flat mates. Soon, we wind up talking about favorite colors and music and now we've safely crossed over to the real of courtship. And he bloody well knows it too.

He swallows down some of the whiskey in his flask and clears his throat. I take the container from him and watch entertained as he flustered around his words.

Bouncing on his feet he asks, "I know this is kind of crazy but do you think we can go out sometime? For dinner?"

I smack my lips and avoided his heavy pulsating gaze and then shrugged. "Movies, too?"

A loud breath escapes Liam's open mouth as he slumps into himself plucking the flask off my hands and chugging down what is definitely the last of it. I stuff my knuckles into my mouth to hold back a smile at his rather dramatic display of relief.

At some point of the night, his hand had been in mine.

"I'll pick you up on Friday? Around five?" he asks before mulling over it and then correcting himself. "Maybe, five thirty? I think the movies start around six,"

"Great." I nod before looking down. Nick's right, Liam is a good guy. He is sweet, maybe a little too obsessed with kicking a ball around in muddy field, he is good-looking and he'd be good for me. Something claws at the back of my head and I physically reach up to flick it away before—

"It's a date, then." Liam exhales and I smile

He leans in, an unfounded confidence stretching out through him like a lazy cat. Holding back a smirk, I let him. His breath splays over my eyes making me blink but also crane my neck toward him. He is bending down to meet me halfway when I pull away making him kiss the side of my temple and not my mouth because of-fucking-course I am a tease.

I take a step back making him stagger a bit because of his uneasy posture. It's too dark and I'm too far away for me to read his expression.

"Friday." I call out walking backwards and Liam's gleeful laughter stays with me all the way home