Crestfallen

25: Birthday Bumps

Liam held the ice to my elbow while he glared at Jeremy and Tiffany's retreating backs. I hadn't said anything, I wasn't even sure there was anything to say. Liam began applying more pressure and I winced in pain. "Sorry," he muttered, "I'm just... really mad right now."

"You shouldn't be, I should have been more careful," I told him with a small smile though we both knew I was lying. Here's the gist of what happened:

We started off with the salsa. Liam taught me the moves and I caught on quickly though it seemed that Tiffany and Jeremy were also listening in on our impromptu lesson. They began at the same time we did and tried to mirror our moves though Tiffany seemed to be moving a little too close to Jeremy and caused him to nearly lose his balance on several occasions. We tried to ignore them to the best of our ability since we were just here to have fun but they made a point to follow us wherever we went. I still have no idea why.

We switched to a slow waltz and Liam managed to lift me off the ground for one of the spins. I squealed and started laughing into his chest once he put me down. His chuckles met mine as I felt his chest vibrating against my fingers and a little grin fell onto my lips. That was the first time they bumped into us.

Just as I pulled away from Liam, I felt a large presence knock me straight back into him. When I turned around, I saw Jeremy staring dazedly into Tiffany's eyes though for a moment I saw them flicker over to me. Confused, I continued dancing with Liam.

We were about to start jiving--something I had never done before--when Jeremy approached us with Tiffany on his arm. "Hey Liam," he called, a charming smile on his face. "Why don't we switch partners for one dance?"

"I'd rather not," he replied with a wry smile.

"Oh c'mon, don't be rude to Tiffany," Jeremy said with mock concern. Clearly Tiffany wasn't aware of this switch as she gaped up at him.

"No, I want to keep dancing with you," she interjected with a flirtatious smile as her index finger trailed down his chest.

"We're switching," Jeremy stated as he grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him. There was quite a bit of force in that pull and I barrelled into his chest, narrowly avoiding hitting my head.

"Careful! She's concussed," Liam told Jeremy with anger burning in his blue eyes. Jeremy ignored him and gave Tiffany a light tap, encouraging her to move over to Liam. With a final soul-wrenching glare towards me, she walked towards him. I took a step back from Jeremy and looked around awkwardly.

With his eyes on Liam, he grabbed me the way Liam grabbed Tiffany. I listened to Liam's explanation though he was giving it slightly louder this time, most likely to make sure I could hear it. Finally, Jeremy and I got dancing.

I was a little sweaty since it was an upbeat dance and Jeremy simply stared at the wall behind me. Jeez, why did he even want to dance with me in the first place? I gazed over at Liam only to lock eyes with him over the head of his partner. He gave me an apologetic smile and I waved it off, looking back at Jeremy.

"So, how has your birthday been so far?" he asked suddenly. Birthday? Oh, right! Jeez, Casey.

"Uh, it's been like every other day I guess, nothing special," I told him truthfully. On a side note, I was starting to get seriously out of breath. This is a whole lot of skipping for a dance. How is he doing this with his leg all torn up?

"You seemed pretty excited this morning, what changed?" he continued though I wasn't sure why.

"I wanted to be eighteen and now I am. That's pretty much it," I answered as he spun me out.

"Fair enough," he said with a small smile on his lips that gave me an odd sensation in my stomach. I was about to wonder what that meant when suddenly I was flying towards the floor. Brace, Casey, brace.

I extended my arms to land on my forearms though once I hit the floor, I bounced once. That was probably the most painful part. I grimaced and once I felt orientated enough, I rolled over to see Tiffany standing over me with her arms crossed, accompanied by a devious grin. I frowned in confusion but relief flooded through me with Jeremy and Liam appeared at my side. "Are you okay?" Liam asked immediately, reaching for my arm.

I looked over at Jeremy who said nothing though his eyes seemed to say he knew everything. The instructor was at my side in a moment with a bag of ice which Liam applied to my elbow. Abruptly, Jeremy stood up and grabbed Tiffany by the arm, nearly dragging her out of the studio.

Currently, Liam is staring at me with the most disbelieving expression I've ever seen. "You should have been more careful? Casey. I spun her around, she let go of my hand on purpose, and slammed into you with her shoulder. I wouldn't be surprised if Jeremy used that move on the football field." I looked back at the door where they had left and suddenly remembered how I had felt when he smiled at me. Nope, nope, nope.

"These are just my birthday bumps," I said with a half-hearted laugh. Liam's eyes widened for a moment.

"Today is your birthday?" Liam asked angrily, "I am going to skewer that bitch and serve her at her own lake cabin." There was a moment of silence after the words left his mouth before I burst into laughter. A few seconds later, Liam's anger started to dissipate and he joined me in laughter.

"Sorry, I get a little carried away sometimes," he rubbed his neck awkwardly and he began applying less pressure to my elbow.

"It's fine," I told him truthfully, "it was funny." He looked like he was about to say something more when suddenly my phone started going off in my bag across the studio. I barely heard it over the music that was still playing. "One second," I said before getting up and weaving through the remaining dancers. I pulled my phone out of my bag and answered it.

"Hey, Casey! When are you coming over? The party already started!" Macy yelled from the other side of the phone. Loud music flooded through the speakers and I already felt my headache coming back. For a moment I considered telling her I wouldn't make it but she spent the whole day planning this for me, I had to go.

"I'm on my way right now," I said. I was about to say good-bye when I caught Liam out of the corner of my eye. "Can I, um, bring a friend?"

"A friend? Other than me? Hell yeah, Casey! See you soon!" I was about to reply when she hung up abruptly, replacing her loud voice with silence. I removed the phone from my ear and stared at it for a moment, confusedly. I turned to where Liam was, prepared to ask if he wanted to come, only to find him towering over me.

"I'd love to," he said with a teasing smile as I held my fast-beating heart. Once I finally slowed my breathing, I rolled my eyes and grabbed my bag.

"Let's go then."