Sweet Swell

Chapter 8

Liam led me by the side of his house, following a lush garden-path lined with garden-lights and leafy growth. The path started leading down several wooden steps, slightly overgrown by ferns, into a deep overgrowth. The booming sound of the party became damped by the sheer thickness of the  bush surrounding us, and was reduced to a mere thumping noise in the distance. Tea-light candles lined our soft sandy path and lanterns were hung on some of the palm trees and hibiscus trees close to the path. A warm, orangey-green light enveloped us, and the sound of crickets and the sea roaring beyond the thicket soothed my pounding eardrums.

“Is this for real?” I asked incredulously. The place was magical. I could have sworn I’d been kidnapped by Peter Pan and landed in Neverland. Liam smiled, “It’s great isn’t it? Vera’s idea. She planned this whole party by herself.” He walked on, lifting monstera leaves out of the way for me, eventually revealing a meadow-like clearing where a swinging bench made of bamboo bark was hanging, suspended from the branches of a large hibiscus tree, with lanterns and candles placed around it, throwing a pool of warm light over the small clearing. I couldn’t help but laugh a little at the sheer ridiculousness of he situation.

“Liam, what the hell! Explain to me how I got myself mixed up in the social circle of Durban’s elite. What the hell did I do right?” I said in a dreamlike state, twirling around as I took in my surroundings. “First off, you’re all like ‘howzit’, cool as can be in the lineup, the most down to earth guy possible back at Leeu’s, and then you disappear into thin air. Only to reappear like a phoenix rising from the ashes as a fucking billionaire’s kid! At your own Gatsby-esque bash, nonetheless,” I laughed, completely baffled by what had happened so far, staring at the cool-as-a-cucumber expression on Liam’s face next to me on the swing-bench. He pushed away from the edge, swinging us slightly back and forth. 

“So my parents are rich, big deal, that doesn’t make me special,” he smiled, “just lucky.” 

I rolled my eyes at him. Could he be any more perfect? Modesty, smarts, charisma…

“And my disappearing act, that was lame, I know. I got your number through Tristan later on after I’d realised I didn’t ask for it. I asked him to invite you, by the way. I’m really glad you’re here after all, I didn’t know if you’d actually show. I would have invited you to this personally…”

“But?” I asked, anxious to hear his reason for making me feel like I’d lost all my chances with him. That moron Tristan was in deep shit for not letting me in on any of this.

“I was playing hard-to-get,” he winked, smiling that gorgeous half-smile or his. I sighed loudly, “Yeah right! You forgot all about me, now you’re bored and looking for a game,” I joked, jiggling my head at him, but I actually meant what I said, as it probably had some truth to it. Liam caught up on this and opened his mouth in shock.

“Baby, I could never forget a hot piece of ass like you,” he joked, licking his lips tauntingly, but he soon lost his cool as he burst out in laughter. “God, that sounded so sleazy, don’t run for the hills just yet okay?” he said, composing himself this time, holding his hands in front of his chest defensively. I couldn’t help but burst out in laughter myself. 

“No, but honestly, I was too nervous to ask for your number at Leeu’s,” he admitted, looking embarrassed, “I was about to, but I just though why would this girl want to see me again?” I found it rather hard to believe that Liam was the type to get nervous about asking a girl for her number, but he seemed sincere. The thought of him made nervous by me totally caught me by surprise, but flattered me immensely. 

“So you decided to throw a huge party to show me how rich and cool you are so you could get the girl!” I taunted, clutching my chest, “Well it worked, let’s make out,” I joked, giggling like an idiot, probably very unattractively. Liam shrugged, “You caught me, you know us rich boys, we like pretty things, and once we have our eye on one, we usually get it,” he played along, slowly leaning in to claim his kiss. I fought the urge to give in to the temptation, and pushed him away. It was a bit too early on in our short relationship for a make out session, even though I really wanted to. I wanted our first kiss to be for real, not induced by joking around, even if it was flirtatiously. He frowned and hesitated, blinking his clear green eyes, looking slightly confused, “I thought my plan worked?” he said after he’d recovered, smiling deviously, faking a disappointed pout. I shook my head, smiling. “Tell me first, Mr Brits, what we’re celebrating here,” I said, referring to the insane party going on a few hundred metres away. 

“Freedom,” he simply stated. I rolled my wrist around, motioning that I needed more than “Freedom” as an explanation. Liam sighed, biting his lip before finally telling me, “It’s the anniversary of an occurrence that has certain significant importance to both Vera and I,” he said in an almost bored voice, “Let’s just say it’s the anniversary of the graduation of both of our lives,” he smiled warmly. I looked at him curiously, “And what was this mysterious occurrence, if I may ask?” I inquired, leaning closer to him. Liam chuckled, “I’d rather not get into the gory details, but basically, tonight signifies the end of a rather tight situation we got ourselves caught up in years ago, with the wrong crowd.” I nodded, left disappointed and yet terribly intrigued. Liam’s reputation wasn’t so spotless after all.

“You’re a bad boy deep down, I knew it,” I stated, lifting my eyebrows at him. He laughed the comment off, “Not as bad as you, party girl. I saw what you did to poor Trent. Broke his heart right in half.” 

I waved his comment away,“You two seemed close?”

“Not really, we graduated together. Went surfing together a few times too, but we’re not big pals…” he drifted off, “Just don’t go running off with him and forget all about me, hey?” he smiled sweetly. 

I grinned back, “Just buy me something shiny and I’m yours.” 

Liam cracked up, standing up from the swing. 

“Shall we?” he asked, holding his right arm out for me. I hooked my arm into his, and we walked the grassy green pathway back to the party, now going on even louder and wilder than I remembered. 

“We have to dance!” I yelled over the noise at the suave-looking Liam on my arm.

“Good! I wasn’t going to give you a choice in the matter anyway,” he yelled back, winking. 

When we reached the dance floor, Liam trudged over to the DJ and called something into his ear. “A slow one, for all the couples out there. Guys, grab your woman, girls, grab your man, and come on over to the dance floor,” the DJ announced in a typical radio-DJ voice. Liam smiled at me brightly and folded his arms around my waist gently as John Mayer’s “Gravity” poured over us. 

I felt like I was among the clouds in Liam’s arms, floating around almost as if we were surrounded by zero gravity. It seemed to me as if every other person at the party disappeared and became quiet, as if Liam and I were the only ones for kilometres, just swaying in each others arms. I’d never felt so comfortable in another person’s arms, and it felt as if my body fit perfectly into Liam’s as we stood in a close embrace, swaying lightly as a single feather. 

Liam smelled ridiculously good. A woodsy fresh, aquatic fragrance lingered on his skin, and as I closed my eyes I imagined us dancing by a blue lagoon, underneath tall trees and twinkling starlight. 

“I think I’ve found the perfect dance partner,” Liam murmured into my ear, brushing his cheek to mine. The touch was electric, giving me tingles down my spine. I was already falling for him! And the bad news was that I didn’t want to hold back. Falling for him just felt so natural, and I wanted more than anything to stay in his arms for the rest of eternity. That would have made me happy as can be. I smiled back at Liam, and he twirled me around once, lacing his arms around me again as I came closer to him. After the song ended we just stood there for a moment, not fully ready to let go of each other, staring at each other. 

Raindrops had started dripping down on us after the song ended. The feeling of the cold water on my hot skin gave me an almost electrical shock, waking me from the dance and touch-induced daze I was in. Liam picked me up by my waist, laughing giddily as he spinned us both around in the trickle-turned-shower of a rainfall. What a night.