Behind the Mic (Liam Payne fanfic)

Chapter Sixteen

a/n: ummm sorta smut towards the end?

The concert was the best one I've seen yet. I quickly took the boys' mics and earpieces back and helped out with striking and taking down their set and packing up equipment. As I was loading it into the truck, I saw that Liam was the only member who had stayed behind to help. I wasn't sure if it was to wait for me or to actually help, but either way, it made him seem a lot more attractive to me. I shook my head at myself. I needed to not fall for him any more than I already had because it would just make tomorrow hurt more.

Eventually, everything was packed up and I was in the booth getting my stuff together. Brandon said bye to me and closed the door behind him. Immediately afterwards, it opened again. I turned and saw Liam leaning against the doorframe.

"Hey," I broke the silence. I zipped my bag and grabbed my phone and keys and walked up to him.

"You hungry?" I nodded. "Let's grab some takeout and go back to my place?"

"I don't think I'm welcome at your place. Let's go to mine," I offered. He nodded and opened the door for me. I lead him down the stairs and out to the back entrance.

"I can call my driver instead of an Uber if you want," he offered, but I shook my head.

"You took me out last night, now it's my turn." I pulled out my phone and ordered an Uber for a Chinese restaurant that was in between the Hollywood Bowl and my apartment. "Chinese sound good to you?" He nodded enthusiastically.

The Uber took about a minute to show up and the drive was quiet and awkward between Liam and I. He grabbed my hand at one point but we didn't talk at all. I asked the driver to wait for us when we went in and ordered and got our food. Liam offered to pay multiple times but I wouldn't let him. The drive to my apartment was quiet and awkward as well. He held all the Chinese food as I lead him up to my apartment and opened the door.

"You can set all that on the counter," I said to him, walking into the kitchen. I pulled out two forks and two plates. "What do you want to drink?"

"Water is fine, thanks," he said, starting to unload the box of food. I poured both of us glasses of water and set up the kitchen island where he had laid out all the food we got. "You're going to have leftovers." Liam commented. I laughed softly.

"Yes, that's the point," I said. "I know the best restaurants around the area that don't charge a lot for the amount they give you, so it gives me meals for the rest of the week if I really stretch it out."

"That's really smart," he said, his eyebrow raised. "You can serve yourself first."

"No, you go," I offered, taking a small step back. He shrugged and put rice and meat on his plate, leaving a considerable amount of space in between each item from the menu. "Do you not like having your food touch?" I had to hold back my laughter.

"No, I don't. They weren't cooked together, they don't belong together." He defended himself. Liam looked at my face and laughed at himself. "It is silly, but it's how I've always eaten. I can't imagine doing something different." He finished and walked around the island and sat down. I served myself, purposely making things mix. He rolled his eyes at me.

"Does this not bother you?" I asked him, coyly.

"It's your plate, so it's your messy problem," he sassed me. I chuckled and sat down next to him. Our conversation continued through dinner and was casual and fun. Not at all like our silence in the car. I wondered what changed in his mind from then to now to make him open up and seem okay. Or maybe something changed in my mind. Whatever had clicked in whoever's mind, I was grateful for it. He started to wash our dishes as I put the food in glass containers and in the fridge. When I was done I started to dry dishes he had just cleaned. I turned around from putting a plate away when Liam splashed me with soapy water from the sink.

"Liam!" I shouted out of shock. "What the hell?" He simply cracked up in response, his head thrown back, his eyes crinkled and shoulders bouncing as he laughed. I splashed him back and he stopped laughing. His jaw dropped, looking from his wet t-shirt to me in with a look of shock, and almost like he was impressed.

"Is that how you want to play this game?" He asked, pretending like he was really about to come at me. He scooped water up with his hands and dropped it over my head. I squealed because it was cold and moved around him to the sink to try to reciprocate, but he caught me halfway and pushed me against the counter. "I don't think so." He said in a low voice. We had a weird second of heavy breathing and looking deeply into each other's eyes. His eyes darted down to my lips and I had a great idea pop in my mind. I licked my lips to distract him and as he leaned in to kiss me, I carefully moved my arm behind me and dipped my hand in the water that had filled the sink. Before he got close enough to kiss me, and in one swift movement, I scooped up water with my hand and slid out of his grasp and splashed him. I pulled away as he stepped back in shock and laughed when I saw that I had drenched his shirt and gotten his pants wet, too.

"Oh, man, you should've seen your face," I laughed. He just stood there, his mouth open.

"My clothes are soaking," he said. He reached out and splashed me too, getting me just as good. I doubled over in laughter. My shirt clung to me and I peeled it off, revealing the tank top underneath, that was just as soaked.

"C'mon, I have dry clothes from my ex-boyfriend that might fit you," I said. I lead him into my room and opened the closet door, pointing to Riley's box of clothes he had in case he spent the night.

"Why do you have these?" Liam asked cautiously.

"I haven't had a chance to clear all his stuff out yet," I said. "But it's so over. Ridiculously over." He nodded and took his shirt off. His arms flexed as he tossed it in the hamper where I tossed my wet shirt. I stared at his abs, unashamed.

"You're staring," he called me out. I looked up at his eyes, that were crinkled from his smile.

"And?" I asked, my voice rough, raising an eyebrow. "What are you going to do about it?" He dropped the t-shirt he was holding and took hold of me. His firm torso pressed against my wet tank top, chilling me. I felt goosebumps raise on my arms as he held me around the waist with one arm, his other hand holding my head as he tilted me back slightly and kissed me. It was desperate and it heated up quickly. We stumbled back onto the bed and he leaned over me as I yanked the tank top off. I pushed him back and straddled him, hooking my fingers in the loops of his jeans. His hands roamed all over my body as I moved my hips on top of his and kissed down his neck and back up to his mouth. He unclasped my bra and pulled it off, his breath catching when he looked at me, sitting on top of him, exposed.

"You're beautiful," he whispered.

"I know," I responded, unbuckling his belt. He laughed good heartedly at me, and helped me undress him. He undid the button and zipper of his jeans and I climbed off him to pull my own pants off as he pulled his off. He pushed be back against the bed and leaned over me, the veins in his arms bulging out as he balanced himself in a plank position. I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist and pulled him in closer. He moved my hair out of my neck and started kissing the spot right above my collarbone. He started biting the area and sucking on it, surely causing a big hickey to form. I moaned softly in his ear and he pushed his hips into mine as a response. He gave me soft kisses up to my mouth and slowly moved his hand from behind my head to my torso, tracing circles until he reached the top of my underwear. He started to move further down, but he pulled back and looked me in the eyes.

"Is this okay?" Liam asked, his voice soft.

"Absolutely," I responded, moving my hips to meet his hand. I gasped at the sensation of his hands pressing where I wanted it most. He continued to kiss me when a loud knock on the door caused us both to freeze.