Superficial Introductions

Chapter 11

Liv walked into the entrance to her house, forcing herself not to turn around and smack Brad as soon as she did.

In and out... in and out...

Liv counted to ten and took deep breaths, trying to clear her mind and figure out how she was going to deal with this. She knew that she had to figure out what she was going to do, and she'd have to think quickly to get herself out of the mess.

"So what did you have in mind."

"Ya know my parents are actually coming home soon," they spoke at the same time. Brad laughed at the coincidence, but Liv laughed with nerves- the humor not quite reaching her eyes.

They both took a beat and stood in the foyer of their house, neither knowing which way to take the conversation, but hoping for very different outcomes.

"I was actually wondering if you would want to do something this weekend."

Liv was taken aback by the suggestion, not sure why the sudden change in attitude occurred.

"What do you propose?" Liv asked, plastering a flirty smile on her face.

"Well I know that I haven't always been the nicest, but I feel like I owe it to you to make up for everything I've done. I would also like to get to know you better."

Was he being... nice?

"Okay what I'm getting at is that I want to spend time with you. And I'm sorry for the douchey way that I was acting before, it's all a front but I'm trying to... well I'm trying to change my ways. Maybe you could help with that?" He ended as a question, completely throwing Liv off of her game.

So of course her response was only that of the most articulate and eloquent type. It went something like: "Ditsuhh ah."

She could feel the heat rise to her face as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She had to regain her composure before she could have the courage to continue.

"Sorry, I always get cotton mouthed after I workout," she said with a giggle, "but what did you have in mind?"

He gave her a smirk before quickly wiping it off, attempting to cover his misstep. "I was thinking maybe we could go to the movies or maybe we could do a picnic or some shit- I mean if that's something that you would like."

Liv calculated how he was moving and studied his expressions, he seemed to be honest. But there was something that was still rubbing her the wrong way.

"Hmm I don't know... I might have to get back to you on that," she told him with a sly smile. She could feel her skin crawl, but she couldn't let that stop her.

"But," she began again as she appeared to reconsider, "I think that I would be able to fit into my schedule."

She could already imagine the million things that JJ would say to her when he found out, but she had to stay in character and she had to follow through.

A familiar light shined in Brad's eyes as he leaned forward, suddenly closing the space again between him and Liv. He put an arm against the wall, again creating an almost invisible space between them.

Suddenly their breath was mixing as one, and the hot air between them was making Liv's hair stand on end.

He lowered his face down to her neck, whispering into her ear things that she wished she could completely forget.

"Trust me, I'll make it all worth your while."

She cringed as she tried to hold herself together, but she quickly pushed him off. Telling him that her parents were almost home, sending him off in a hurry.

As she closed the doors she felt a tear spill down her cheek, the first sign that she saw that told her she was making the wrong decision.