Cookie

17

An hour later, Liam steps out of the house alone. His hair is dry, and he doesn’t look as troubled as he did earlier on the stairs. He scans the crowd, and I can tell right away he’s looking for me. Just as I brace myself for him to spot me, his face lights up, and he starts walking toward me.

"Can we talk?" he asks, grabbing my arm and turning me to face him.

I know this is childish, stupid, and whatever else you want to call it, but I don’t want to talk about what happened. I don’t need an explanation, because honestly, there’s nothing to explain. We’re friends, we had a moment, and now it’s over. Back to reality. Hell, he’s the one who snapped back to reality quickly, if you ask me.

"There’s nothing to talk about, Liam."

I say this, trying to act like nothing is eating me up inside, as I place my hand on his chest and force a smile. I want him to believe I’m fine. I don’t want him to think I’m hurt, because that would only make both of us feel worse.

Without warning, Liam pulls me against his chest, wrapping his arms around me. The girls gasp, and some of the boys glance over at us. I push against his chest to free myself, attempting to laugh it off, but his expression is far from playful. He's angry.

"You can either come inside with me and talk, or I can carry you in," he says, his tone low.

"There's nothing to tal—"

Before I can finish, he lifts me over his shoulder like I weigh nothing, to the amusement of everyone around us. People are laughing, making jokes, but I can’t make out their words. I try to fight him off, but he just keeps walking, carrying me like I’m a sack of potatoes.

"Let her down!" Logan yells from somewhere in the crowd, but Liam doesn’t listen.

"Mind your own girl, bro, and I'll mind mine," Liam calls out with a voice I don’t recognize, as we head inside.

He locks the door behind us and then sets me down. As soon as my feet hit the floor, I slap him hard across the face. The sharp sound of my palm connecting with his skin makes me feel a bit better.

Liam’s face twists in shock and anger as he steps forward, pushing me against the wall. I know what he’s trying to do, and somehow, I’m sure he wants to kiss me. That realization only makes me angrier, and before I can stop myself, I speak.

"If you dare do what you’re thinking about doing right now, I swear to you, Liam, I will never talk to you again."

My voice is low and gravelly, and it’s enough to make him step back, his hands falling away from my body. For the first time, I see fear in his eyes.

I take a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself and get back to the friendly Nataly I was just moments ago before he acted like this.

"What do you want to talk about, Liam?" I ask, my voice forced as I pretend nothing happened between us.

"You know what I want to talk about," he replies, his voice serious.

I shrug like I don’t know what he’s referring to, not wanting to provoke him further. I just want to move on and pretend that nothing has changed. We almost kissed, but it didn’t happen, so let’s forget about it. Everything should go back to normal.

"I almost kissed you back there, Nataly," Liam continues, stepping closer and placing his hands on my waist. "And you... you would have let me, if we hadn't been interrupted."

I look at him, standing so close again, his eyes locked on mine, his lips a breath away from mine. His hands are warm against my skin, even through the fabric of my clothes. I’m frozen, unable to say anything because what could I even say to that?