Take My Heart (Liam Payne)

Chapter 18: Take the Leap

Take the Leap

I woke up to a text at about 3 in the morning from Ed. It was long enough to be 4 different messages. He was explaining that after I left, he told the boys that I was lying – which is not what he was supposed to do – and tried to tell the whole story, but Liam wouldn’t have it, and he stormed out of the house. Apparently Ed continued the story to the rest of the boys, and nobody was mad.

I didn’t care about their anger because I just wanted to be done. But they weren’t mad, and they all tried calling Liam, but his phone was off. They even went to his house, but he wasn’t there. Ed wanted to know if I’d seen Liam. If I knew where he was. And oddly enough? I did.

I didn’t tell them that, though. If Ed was being the fucking martyr he was, telling everyone the truth, then he could. But I wanted to be the one to explain myself to Liam. If he was going to hear it from anyone, it might as well be me. Maybe I could fit in a quick goodbye.

I called up the taxi, and while I was waiting, I searched for the address I’d need in my previous texts. Although, when the taxi did arrive, I realized that maybe driving to East LA at 3 in the morning for some dumb pop star might be dumb. But then again, when was Isyss Tyler ever smart?

I got to the restaurant I’d only ever been in once. In fact, the one time I had been in there, Liam decided to pull an ass move on me. Remember? Trade Favors? Sound familiar?

Anyways, I got to the restaurant at about 3:45. Three. Forty. Five. In the morning. I hope Liam knows how much of a pain he is. And guess what: I just made a pun, and I don’t fucking care.

I spotted him the second I walked into the restaurant. He was sitting at the bar, ignoring the bartender that refilled what I hoped was only his second drink. I can’t drive, and I don’t trust him driving.

I didn’t say anything to him as I took the seat next to him, but I did order a sprite. The bartender complied easily before going back to talking to a patron that was somehow more somber than Payno here.

“The boys are looking for you,” I told him. He didn’t answer. Of course he didn’t. I didn’t know how wasted he was, but no alcohol is enough to deal with me, apparently. “It’s selfish of you to just ignore them.”

“Like you can talk about selfish,” his rather clear voice managed to say. There was no slurring, meaning he wasn’t drunk. There was, however, contempt, meaning he was definitely angry. He did have a right to be.

I didn’t say anything else, not really knowing what to say. What could I say? I pulled a real IceBitchTyler back there. And if I giggled at my own joke, just ignore me.

After what felt like 10 minutes of pure silence from his end, Liam finally spoke up. “Just tell me why you did it.”

“I just wanted to-”

“Not why you made the bet,” he snapped, getting the attention of the patron and bartender down the bar. “I meant: why did you lie?” And I think maybe the whole time he wasn’t upset that I bet on him, but that I lied about it. “We both know you have feelings for me.”

So what if it was a little cocky, he was right. I did like him. I’ve liked him since before even I knew I did. I figured I’d tell him the whole story, starting with the Teen Choice Awards.

“Back at the beginning of August, when we met up after the month and half of not talking, there was some noticeable tension between us,” I paused taking a long drink of sprite. Not quite liquid confidence, but close enough. “Ed noticed it, and told me that if I was given the chance, I’d sleep with you. I obviously disagreed because I have self-control.”

And maybe Liam laughed at that. I wouldn’t mention it. “So we made a bet that by the time you guys go back to the UK, I’d end up at least half naked for you. The payoff was that the loser had to make a video announcing the defeat and saying some weird stuff.

“I didn’t make a bet that I could make you have one-sided feelings for me. I may be a bit cold, but I’m not an Ice Queen.” Liam tensed a bit at that, but I put my hand on his shoulder. “Back at my place, I did stop you because of the bet. I didn’t want to lose, but I also stopped you because I’m such a virgin it isn’t even funny. I was honest to God scared of going any further. I kicked you out because-”

“I know why you kicked me out,” he interrupted. “And I wanted to apologize. That was right barmy on my part.” And maybe I smiled at that word a little bit. “I was out of line, and you had every right to kick me out-”

“Oh I know I did.”

And maybe we both laughed at that.

We were silent for a minute, but then words came flooding out of my mouth. Words I’ve had prepared since before Liam’s birthday. Words I wasn’t even going to say until he was boarding his plane for the UK. “I really like you, Liam. I’ve liked you for a while. All through my career, I’ve met lots of people and had opportunities for relationships, but I just wasn’t interested. But with you…”

I trailed off a little bit, denying any eye contact to be made. This was embarrassing enough to be said. “Being in a relationship with somebody as kindhearted as you wouldn’t be such a bad thing, but I just don’t want any backlash to hit you.”

“It may be difficult at first, seeing how badly the publicity hit us both back in April, but I like you too much to let it get in the way.”

And maybe I smiled a little too brightly at those words. “The reason I lied about the bet, was because I was afraid of the possibility of being with you. If there’s so much drama without our fans, imagine with our fans.”

“It’s worth it, though, isn’t it?” he asked. “Risking it.”

And maybe it is.