Love a Thousand Miles Away

Chapter 5 - Cold Bonfire Nights (Part 1)

Poppy follows silently behind the grumpy man as they make their way back to the house. How does this stranger know Josh? Wait, is this Liam, his brother? She has a silent battle with herself, wondering if she should talk to him or walk back in silence and let him be, considering the bad mood he's in. Curiosity winning over, she decides to break the awkward silence between them. "Well, this is a coincidence. How do you know Liam?"

"He's my brother. I'm assuming you're Mila's friend?" Liam responds with a grunt and continues marching, not even waiting for an answer.

Okay, kind of rude. She can't tell if his grumpy attitude adds to her attraction to him or slightly annoys her instead.

Like a man on a mission, Liam walks in through the sliding door and goes straight to the bathroom. He plops Penny down on the tiled floor and motions for Poppy to follow. She does so silently, and he walks right back out of the bathroom.

"Wait here," he commands before he disappears down the hall.

"Wow, bossy." She mumbles to herself and decides his attitude does in fact annoy her. She gets to work trying to comb through her soaked hair. At this point, there isn't a dry spot on either of them, Penny included. She gives up on her hair and opts to tie it up in a messy bun instead.

Liam strolls back in and pushes a bundle of clothes into Poppy's unsuspecting arms. She clutches them and blinks up at him in surprise.

"What's this?" She asks, unfolding the items to examine them. She holds up a black, oversized hoodie and sweats. The size on both says XXL, and she usually wears a Medium. She looks down and notices Liam is now crouching on the floor working to dry Penny down with a towel. "Oh, wait! You don't have to do that for me. Here let me.."

He looks up at her and cuts her off mid sentence, ignoring her request to take over. "Is that a rhetorical question? You're soaked. I assume you need something dry to change into?"

Slightly embarrassed, she nods her head and looks at the clothes again. Did he give me his clothes? She thinks to herself and wonders why she couldn't have asked Mila for some.

Having dried Penny sufficiently, Liam stands up and glances at Poppy again. "Are they okay? If they're too big, I can find something else."

"No, no! This is perfect, thank you," she blurts out a little flustered. She feels a blush of embarrassment begin to spread on her cheeks. Why is he being so nice all of a sudden?

He stares at her intently and silently for a long moment. It seems like he wants to say something else, but eventually, he turns and heads for the door.

"I'll let you get changed," he mumbles before closing the bathroom and leaving a stunned Poppy behind.

What just happened? I was just annoyed with him a moment ago. And now he's drying Penny and taking care of us without anyone asking him too. I don't know how I should feel. Poppy thinks to herself for a moment before finally peeling out of her wet, cold clothes into the dry ones Liam gave her. She can't help but smell his cologne on the hoodie as she snuggles into the fabric trying to warm herself. Yes, these are his. She smiles to herself at that thought. With one last look in the mirror to make sure her messy bun looks okay, she finishes up and heads out of the bathroom.

She steps out and spots Liam leaning against the wall in the hallway nearby. She realizes he's waiting for her and heads over to him. He's also changed and is now wearing a matching olive green sweats and hoodie combo. Poppy can't help but admire the way that color goes so well with his dark curly hair and golden brown eyes.

"Thank you for the clothes. And for helping with Penny. I really appreciate it, you didn't have to go through all of this trouble for me," she says suddenly feeling shy. She looks up at Liam over the rim of her glasses, and she notices he gives her outfit a once-over before his intense eyes search out her own. Why is he being so nice? My first impression of him was that he's too bossy and rude, but now he's being so kind. And he didn't need to give me his clothes or help with Penny, but he did without me asking him to. We both know that I could have borrowed Mila's clothes, but the way his eyes roam over the sweats and hoodie on me makes me wonder if he has another reason for giving me these.

"You're welcome. I'm glad I was around to help. You're shivering, are you cold?" Liam asks gently. Mindlessly, he places his hands on her arms and rubs up and down, trying to give Poppy some warmth. "Would you like to warm up by the bonfire? I noticed they keep it under the covered patio so it's out of the rain. I was just thinking of going out there myself."

"Oh, I mean if you were already going to start it. I wouldn't want to make you do all of that extra work otherwise," she replies quietly.

They seem to have stepped closer without noticing it. Their faces are only a few inches apart when he responds in almost a whisper. "It's not too much. I was already going to do it." Confusion flashes on Liam's features and he can't help but wonder to himself why she seems to bring out his protective instinct so much. What is it about her that makes me want to stay close? She's gorgeous, that's for sure, but a gorgeous woman is a distraction I really don't need right now. There's something else about her that draws me in.

"Okay, I'll go make some tea for myself then. Would you maybe like some, too?" Poppy asks, snapping Liam out of his thoughts.

Liam notices his hands are still on her arms and lets them fall away. "I would actually, thank you. I'll go get started on the fire." With that, he turns abruptly and walks toward the door. "Meet me outside when you're done?"

"Sure, I'll be out in a few." She responds just before he disappears into the cold, dark backyard. She stands there for a moment dumbfounded at his hot and cold emotions. I don't understand this man. One moment he's Mr Grumps and all attitude, and the next, he's taking care of Penny and me. He didn't need to help me and especially did not need to lend me his clothes. And yet he did, and I can't seem to want to stay away, bossy attitude and all. I want to go outside and figure him out, but I just need to remember to not trust men and open my heart for anyone who catches my interest. We can be just friends and nothing more, remember that.

Poppy squares her shoulders and builds her walls up high. With a new determination, she walks towards the kitchen and begins prepping two mugs. She grabs the black and mint tea boxes and takes out two bags each, remembering Liam's order from the coffee shop.

While the water boils, notices that Faith and Bruce have left already. She's not sure where Jessica and Mila have gone, but both Zach and Josh are passed out on the couch. She walks closer to them to grab a blanket from the couch, thinking it's more than big enough where her and Liam can share if he's also still cold like she is. With Zach snoring loudly, she pauses and looks at the men. Zach's head is resting on Josh's shoulder and a bit of drool dribbled down onto Josh's shirt. Poppy chuckles at the ridiculous image. The tea kettle clicks, notifying her that the water has boiled. She fills both mugs and walks outdoors with her supplies.