Standing in front of the mirror, I made sure I had my armor on for what was to come. Back in the bedroom, I could hear his phone tinkle and I held my breath and listened."Hey, yeah, I'm bringing my date for lunch so you can meet her."I stilled. I stared at my minimal makeup and nodded. All I put on was a coat of lipgloss and some mascara. Anything else felt like I was trying too hard. I redid my French braid and walked out of the bathroom.He smiled at me as I walked out and I gave him a tight smile back. My stomach was all twisted and I was getting nervous by the second."Ready?""As ready as I'm going to get.""Are you nervous?"I looked at him and he smirked. "Don't be. I've got you. If things start to get hairy, we'll leave.""Define hairy.""Awkward. Angry. Sad. Any negative type feelings."I sigh and nod. "Okay. Safe word?"He grinned then, showing off his p
"No," James said quietly. He was looking at the table but he shook his head. He looked up at Liam and shook his head again. "No. I don't know what games you're trying to play here, but that's not happening.""James." Sarah chided. "Why are you being rude?"I lifted my chin and continued to stare at him. I knew it would be a hard lunch, but hearing him deny me at his wedding kind of hurt. Like I was the one who was the bad guy here.""Sarah said I could bring anyone. I didn't think this would be a problem." Liam retorted, seeming relaxed. He laid his arm across the back of the booth and I felt the heat of it behind my neck. "It's not," Sarah said quickly, giving me a reassuring smile. "Really, you're welcome to come. Actually, it makes me so happy that you're supportive, just like Liam."I smiled at her then. Yeah. Supportive. I crossed my arms over my chest and nodded. "Thank you, I appreciate it, but if he doesn't want me to come, then
After lunch, he took me back to my hotel room so I could unwind and relax before I'd have to go back to his apartment. He left me for the afternoon, needing to run some errands.Which was more than fine for me. I was still reeling from seeing James and the looks on his face and the way he had said 'no' about me going to his wedding. And his eyes. And how I couldn't even look at him without my heart hurting. And Sarah. How average she looked, but sweet. But something about her just didn't feel right and maybe I was biased because she had taken him from under me, but I just didn't like her.I laid down in bed and I did sleep for a few hours, thankfully. When I woke up, I showered and put my hair up in a bun then put on a pair of shorts and a plain blue t-shirt. When Liam knocked on my hotel door at six thirty, I felt my nerves flare.My stomach kicked up butterflies at the prospect of actually talking everything out and I didn't know now how this e
My heart stopped and even Liam sat up and looked at both of them. Sarah's face turned pink and I felt those stupid tears burn in the corners of my eyes."Wait, back the f*ck up.." Liam was glaring at them and Sarah looked down at her hands. "You slept with him before we broke up?""It was the night of that Christmas party. You left in the middle of it without telling me anything and we were drunk and...It just happened.""Sex doesn't just happen, Sarah. Sticking your d*ck inside of someone doesn't just happen."Both James and Sarah's faces were pink and I clenched my fists. He cheated. "You left! You didn't even say a word! You were so busy that you just left!""So that gives you every right to go and f*ck someone else? I apologized for that! You made me feel like sh*t over it up until the day you broke up with me."Sarah began crying and I bit my lip to keep from laughing at how ridiculous all of this was. I was surpri
No one spoke after we finished eating. James and Sarah packed up and left and Liam and I were both too tired to talk it out, so he took me back to the hotel.The next morning I awoke to a light knock on my door. I opened the door to Liam carrying two coffees and a box of donuts.My hair was crazy and I was only in my nightgown. Today, Liam was wearing a set of glasses, a regular t-shirt with a band name on it, and khaki shorts. "Morning." He moved past me into my room and I shut the door and rubbed my eyes."Good morning," I grumbled back and moved back to my bed. I climbed back in and laid down. "Sit up. Coffee. I didn't know how you like it, so I have creamer and sugar in here too." I sat up like he asked and took my coffee from him. I wasn't a big fan of it, but I wouldn't tell him that. He was nice and brought it.I sugared mine up and tossed a sh*t ton of creamer in it and sipped on it and watched him."
When we're out shopping, he doesn't act irritated or bored. He smiles and talks and points out different dresses and shakes his head at a few choices I try on. I settle, in the end, for a black wrap dress that hits right above my knees and accentuates my chest. I pick out a pair of heels to go with it and when we're done, we go out to lunch.We sit in the same Italian restaurant as the day before, but this time by ourselves and he grins as he peruses the menu."You're happy.""Hell yeah, I am. You know how good the breadsticks are here?""No. I didn't get to eat before I got pissed yesterday."He nodded. "I remember. They're good. So are you satisfied with how yesterday went?""No. I...I felt like we couldn't talk because of Sarah being there. It kind of sounded like they talked over everything and it's kind of bullsh*t."He nodded. "I felt that too. Maybe not the part about her cheating, but everything else fe
After the aquarium, I went back to the hotel and stayed for the rest of the evening. Even when Liam laid on my bed and practically begged me to come, I refused. I had enough of James and Sarah until the wedding, so after he left, I changed into comfy clothes, ordered some food for dinner, and laid in bed and watched movies.I also cyberstalked Liam. I couldn't help myself. After that small kiss, I couldn't stop myself from doing that. Neither of us had commented on it after we gave each other our gifts and I had to admit, I was a bit bummed about it.I wanted to know what it meant to him. I mean, I know he did it for the pictures, but thinking about it now made my heart flutter and the butterflies in my stomach rustle.So I ate some pizza and scrolled through pictures of Liam on his social media pages.I didn't know what to make of him. He was sweet. And I honestly had not seen him even grab his phone for work at all since I'd been here. Just to a
My stomach was in knots. I got dressed in my black dress and heels and got armored up today with red lipstick, and a smoky eye. Liam left last night around midnight after our second movie was over with a warning to be ready by noon since the wedding started at one. I sat on my bed put on my earrings and wiped my sweaty hands on my dress. I shaved everything in the shower that morning and felt ready. I could face this. Liam arrived at twelve on the dot and when he saw me in the lobby of the hotel, his eyebrows raised and he whistled. "Looks like you're all decked out for a funeral." I scoffed at his comment and stepped back. "Does this look okay?" "Yeah. More than okay. I don't know how many times I have to tell you for you to believe me, but you're gorgeous. I'm sure it'll be hard for James to say his vows with you in the room." I roll my eyes and he laughs. He leads me out to his SUV and I ta