The Enemy Lives Next Door (bxb)

Part Fourteen

Part Fourteen

•••

I'm exhausted.

Like, beyond tired. I just want to faceplant into my bed and sleep for a year. Liam pulls his car into his driveway and kills the engine. Then, instead of letting me stumble out and crawl into my house, he turns and fixes his gaze on me.

Under his stare, I feel a sudden heat creeping up my neck. I try not to smile. "What?" I ask, rolling my eyes. "Need a beating?"

Liam's grin widens, and he leans an arm on the back of my seat, almost touching the nape of my neck. "Whoa, that's sexy," he chuckles. "You keep surprising me, you know that? I like it. You don't just show your cards; you show people what they want to see. I dig that."

I open my mouth to say something snarky, but nothing comes out. Damn. He figured something out about me. Of course, I'm not going to admit it. His ego is big enough already.

"Yeah, well, I'm just protecting myself," I say, looking away from him. "I don't like being vulnerable."

Liam furrows his eyebrows and licks his lips. "Protecting yourself from what? Is that why you hate the world so much? Because someone broke your heart?"

I sigh, running a hand through my hair. "I'm protecting myself from the things I fear—like the damage of a broken heart. I don't want that anymore." I exhale sharply. "And I don't hate the world. I'm just different, and that intimidates people."

His gaze intensifies, and I swear he inches closer—or maybe it's just my imagination. I hope it's my imagination. His eyes flick to my lips, and my heart does a weird little flip.

Oh God. Is he about to kiss me? I should move. But my limbs refuse to cooperate.

I can smell his cologne—strong and intoxicating. I can feel his breath on my face. And just as his lips are about to touch mine, his elbow hits the horn.

I jump, clutching my chest. "Holy shit!" I curse, sighing heavily. "That scared the crap out of me."

Liam laughs, completely unfazed by what almost happened. "Always with the language," he teases, grinning way too widely. He clears his throat, all serious now. "I'm sure things will work out with Adam."

I meet his gaze, and there's no mischief there. He's being genuine. I smile, glancing down at my sweatpants. "Thanks, Liam. Wow, I can't believe this is the first time I don't actually want to kill you."

He grins back. "If you ever did kill me, you'd follow soon after because you couldn't live without me," he flirts, and I roll my eyes.

I chuckle, slapping his arm playfully. "Don't be so cocky. It's disturbing."

When our laughter dies down, I grab my backpack from the car floor. "I'll see you never, and I hope you have a terrible night."

Liam laughs, shaking his head. I shut the car door and bend down to look at him through the window when he calls my name. "You just said you're warming up to me, Dalley! Also, I sent you a song. Listen to it. It's called 'Found' by Ella Mai."

I give him a mock salute and turn on my heel. His car starts up again as he reverses out of the driveway, heading off to God knows where.