She saw Liam make a face. “Yeah, I remember Rachel.”
Angela laughed. “I think she had a micro-crush on you, until she realized we were…that I’d…where I’d spent the night.” Angela was glad the car was dim; she could feel her cheeks growing hot.
“After you spent the night in my bed, you mean?” His voice was low and he finally turned to look at her, pulling her close, his lips brushing against hers.
“A night I’ll never forget.”
His hand caressed her cheek as his mouth claimed hers. The kiss lasted until the driver opened the car door, light spilling across them. Angela jumped, pulling away from him.
Liam was smiling at her, that charming smile that curled the corner of his lips, the one that made her heart flutter and her stomach do little flips. He held his hand out to her and she took it, sliding across the seat out of the car.
They were in front of a large three-story brownstone. She could hear the sound of laughter and music coming through the open door, spilling out into the warm summer night.
“Mark’s parents are at the Hamptons for the summer, so he throws big parties while they’re gone.” Angela was heading up the stairs. She felt Liam put a hand on her arm and she stopped.
“What?” He hesitated on the step below her.
“Nothing. Let’s go.” He seemed distracted. Maybe he’s just tired…
Angela heard Rachel’s voice before she saw her. Rachel was bearing down on them from across the living room, enveloping them in a wave of Miss Dior perfume.
“Angela! You’re here. And Liam! How nice to see you. Although there’s no one here you need to beat up tonight…most of these guys are better behaved than that scum from the other night.”
Angela smiled weakly at Rachel’s joke, looking anxiously at Liam. He was trying to smile, but not doing a very good job.
“Liam, this is Mark.” Rachel was pulling a tall blonde man over to them. “Mark, this is the guy I told you about…Angela’s new boyfriend.” Rachel played up the word boy and Angela cringed.
“Hi, Liam. Nice to meet you.” Mark extended his hand and Liam shook it.
“Let’s get you all something to drink. What would you like? We have a pretty good wine selection. Angela, if I remember, you like a nice imported Chardonnay. Liam, what’s it going to be for you?”
“I’ll take a beer.”
“Nothing stronger?” Liam shook his head. Mark moved off, returning with a chilled glass of wine for Angela and a bottle of beer for Liam.
“I’m afraid all we have is domestic. Hope that’s okay for you.”
“Yeah. No problem.” Liam tipped the bottle back, taking a long swallow.
“So, Liam. Rachel tells me you saved the girls the other night from some kind of robbery?”
“I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”
“Liam’s just being modest. He was quite…aggressive. Drove them off.” Rachel was hanging on Mark’s arm, her eyes bright.
Laura and her boyfriend Aaron had joined the group; Laura still shooting dirty looks at Liam from beneath lowered brows.
“It was vulgar. Uncouth and barbaric.” Laura was looking at Liam over the rim of her wine glass. Angela caught Liam’s scowl and involuntarily tightened her grip on his arm.
“Liam, did you go to Columbia with Angela?” Aaron had his arm wrapped around Laura’s waist, holding her against his hip. Her dirty looked turned into something a little more sinister.
“Yes, Liam, tell us where you went to school.”
Angela shot Laura a look but got only a catty smile in return.
“I didn’t go to Columbia.” Liam took a drink of his beer.
“Laura…”
“Oh, state college then?”
“No college.”
“What high school? Private…or no, you look like a public school kind of guy.”
“Laura! Enough.”
“I’m just making conversation, Angela. I didn’t realize Liam’s educational background…or lack thereof…was an off limit subject.” Laura took a demure sip of wine, smiling over the edge of her glass.
“It’s okay, Angela. No, I didn’t go to college and I didn’t finish high school. There were…”
Liam was interrupted by a piercing female scream from the foyer. Angela looked up as another group of people came through the front door. Rachel was tugging on Angela’s arm.
“Leslie’s here…she got engaged to Chad yesterday. Come on. Let’s go see the ring.”
Angela cast an apologetic smile over her shoulder at Liam, mouthing the words ‘I’m sorry’ as Rachel pulled her across the room.
Angela was quickly surrounded by a group of giggling girls. She had her head down, looking at the huge diamond on Leslie’s hand when she heard raised voices and then the sound of breaking glass. The room went suddenly quiet and she heard Liam’s voice through the silence, calm but with an edge.
“…You really don’t want to do this.”
Angela pushed her way through the group of girls, all staring back into the living room. When she finally got herself free, she saw Liam standing in the middle of the room, in a stance she instantly recognized: body tensed, hands curled into loose fists. The rest of the guests were pressed against the walls or standing behind the furniture.
Standing across from Liam was Adam, wavering slightly, obviously drunk, holding a broken beer bottle by the neck. He was waving the jagged edge in front of Liam’s face.
“You’re not…good enough for her. You’re just a punk.” He took a step forward, one hand against Liam’s chest, pushing him back.
Angela caught her breath. Liam was hardly affected, barely moving as Adam staggered backward.
“You’re just a punk. A nobody.” Adam took one more step forward, his arm coming around, sharp glass slicing in front of Liam’s face.
Liam ducked beneath the wild swing. Adam was carried forward by his moment, slamming into Liam. Angela watched in horror as Liam brought his fist up, hitting Adam in the stomach. Adam grunted, falling to the floor. Liam was over him instantly, his fist slamming into Adam’s face.
“Liam!” Angela finally found her voice, crossing the floor, pulling Liam from the prostrate form of Adam.
“Liam! Stop!” She could hear the strangled breathing from Adam, watched the blood streaming from his nose onto the carpet.
Liam’s face was impassive, but she could feel the muscles bunched beneath her hands. The paralysis of the group broke and they started milling about, some bending over Adam, helping him sit up as he coughed, trying to catch his breath. A towel appeared and someone pressed it to his nose, the white terry cloth quickly turning scarlet.
Small knots of people formed around them, the guys looking edgy, the girls whispering among themselves. Angela caught a brief glimpse of Rachel, her face pale, clutching Mark’s arm. Mark broke away from her, striding toward Liam.
“Listen…I think you better leave now. You’re out of control. Angela…I’m sorry…”
“Liam…” Angela grabbed his arm. “Come on. We should go.” She guided him toward the door.
Liam strode off down the sidewalk, Angela struggling to keep up. The night had turned cloudy, the scent of rain in the air.
“Liam! Wait…slow down.”
He stopped, his back to her. She caught up to him, reaching for his arm. He jerked away, taking a few more steps. Then he turned to her, his face closed, emotionless.
“Liam…what happened?”
“Nothing.” He started down the sidewalk again, more slowly, hands jammed in his pockets.
“Liam! Would you stop walking away from me! I’m trying to talk to you.”
He stopped again, his back straight, head up. Then he spun around, closing the gap between them in a few long strides. Angela took an involuntary step backward.
“What do you want to talk about? Your ‘friends’? My behavior? You want to talk? Fine…talk. Tell me what I did wrong in there.”
“I’m trying to understand what
happened…not judge you.”
“You know what happened? I’ll tell you. I was told that I wasn’t good enough to be there. That I didn’t fit in, that I wasn’t one of them… one of you. And not just by Adam. At least he had the balls to come out and say to my face what everyone else was saying behind my back.”
“No one was talking behind your back. They aren’t like that…” But even as she said the words, she knew that really wasn’t true.
“Really? ‘Can he even read?’ Heard that minutes after I walked in. ‘Bet he sells drugs’, ‘punk’…but you heard that one yourself. ‘Angela’s charity project.’ ‘Count the sterling.’ Do you want me to go on? That’s just what I overhead from the ones standing close enough, the ones who didn’t even bother to whisper.”
“But what happened with Adam? Why did you hit him?”
“You pretty much saw the whole thing. He was drunk, decided he wanted to make sure I knew you were still his…to make sure I knew exactly what he thought of me. And I hit him because he took a swing at me…with a broken bottle.”
“You could have walked away. You didn’t need to hit him while he was down.”
“Yeah…I probably could have…but I don’t turn my back when someone’s coming at me, especially with a broken bottle. I did that once in my life…never again. As far as the others…whatever a bunch of rich assholes think shouldn’t make any difference to me. Those kind of people I can walk away from.”
“But…those are my friends.” Angela felt tears well up in her eyes.
“Then go back to them. I really don’t care. I gotta go.” He turned, walking away from her.
“Wait…” Angela grabbed his arm. He tried to shake her off, but she held on.
Liam spun around. “Look. I told you before, if you want out of this, leave. Stop feeling sorry for me, or whatever else you’re feeling. You’re better off just walking away…or letting me walk away.”
“Stop telling me what to do…stop trying to get rid of me.” Anger flared inside her, sharp and stinging. Anger at Liam, herself…pretty much everyone and everything.
“Everyone is always telling me what to do….my parents, at school…my friends. And now you! I can make my own decisions, make up my own mind damn it.” She was standing toe to toe with Liam, breathing hard.
“You said you don’t walk away from a fight. I’m not walking away from you. You may think you’re not worth the effort, but I do.”
It had hit Angela he was just as much out of his comfort zone as she had been in the Bronx. It hadn’t occurred to her that her friends would treat him any differently than they treated anyone else she might have brought to the party. But they had. And Liam was the one suffering for it.
“Liam. I’m sorry.” Her anger began to fade. “I didn’t realize…”
“Why are you apologizing? You’re not going after me with broken beer bottles. You’re not calling me names…judging me…or at least not yet.” He was scowling at her, the anger in his eyes still there, but less intense.
“I’d never do that. You know that.”
“Do I?”
There was a sudden flash of lightening; a rumble of thunder and chilly raindrops began spattering the sidewalk.
“Liam…” She took a step toward him. He didn’t back away this time and she wrapped her arms around his waist, laying her head against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her but didn’t return her embrace.
“It’s raining…”
She felt more than heard his brief laugh. “Yeah, it is.”
“Take me home.” Angela looked up at him.
He frowned at her. “Call your car service. I can take the subway.”
She shook her head “No, not my home. Take me to your apartment.”
“You’re sure that’s where you want to go?”
Angela could feel the tension in Liam’s body as he finally hugged her against his chest, his arms stiff against her body.
“It is. I know what I want…” She looked up at him, the pain in his eyes making her heart hurt.
“I want you, Liam.”
* * *
Liam was silent on the cab ride to his apartment. His mind was spinning, his emotions out of control. It had been a long time since he’d let himself get this upset over something somebody said, especially a bunch of spoiled bastards who should mean absolutely nothing to him.
And then the ex-boyfriend with the broken beer bottle. That was the end of his patience. The guy was in his face, going on about how Angela was with him, how Liam was nothing but a low-life scum who didn’t deserve her attention and would never be what she needed. It wasn’t anything Liam hadn’t heard before, but this time was different; this time it involved his relationship with Angela. And it struck a nerve.
On the street, it was different. Fighting on the street made sense. But there, with Angela’s friends, he was trapped and everything quickly spiraled out of control.
She was sitting quietly beside him now, staring straight ahead, holding his hand. Her grip was firm, steadfast. And he wondered again how he’d ended up here, with this beautiful girl, in over his head. Way over his head.
“Angela…I…”
“It’s okay. Not now. Later.” She squeezed his hand and for a moment, it was okay, sitting in the dark cab with Angela.
He let them into his apartment, tossing the keys on the table.
“You want a beer? I’m going to have one.” He went to the kitchen, caught her nod, bringing back two bottles. She was sitting on the sagging sofa and he dropped down next to her, propping his feet on the coffee table. He took a long swallow of the cold beer. Domestic beer…
“Angela…I’m sorry. I lost control.” He turned to her. She was watching him with a serious expression.
“Liam, I’m sorry, too…”
“What for? Like I said, you have nothing to apologize for.”
“No, but…I should have…”
“What? Known that I wouldn’t fit in with your friends?” He tipped the bottle back again.
He heard her draw a deep breath, heard the slam of her bottle on the coffee table. Here it comes, the kiss off. She’s out of here.
“Why do you leap to the worst conclusion in every scenario? No, that’s not what I’m sorry for. I’m sorry my friends were jerks. Not that I took you to a party. I’m not afraid of being seen with you, Liam. Even if you try your hardest to put up all these walls between us, to make yourself unlovable, to try to drive me away. Because I’m not leaving, until I decide I want to.”
Liam was still. Waiting. Finally he turned to her.
“Why are you still here, Angela? Why?”
She reached out, running her fingers down his cheek. “Because under all that swagger and hard-ass exterior bullshigt, behind all that tough-guy façade, there’s a really great guy. And I’m waiting patiently for him to meet himself, to finally figure out he’s worth knowing, that he’s worth loving.
“Liam, your parents threw you away. That doesn’t mean you’re worthless; it means they were. They had issues and you suffered because of that. You didn’t do anything to deserve that. It’s shaped who you are now. For wrong or right, good or bad. But at some point, you’re going to have to let someone in. You can’t go through life doing it all by yourself.”
Angela leaned forward, kissing him softly. “Whatever they thought, it doesn’t matter. What matters is being who you really are…not someone else you feel that you need to be to protect yourself from everything that haunts you.”
Liam looked into her eyes and saw something that he’d never seen in any woman’s eyes before; something that resembled love. Or at least genuine acceptance.
His mind was a mess, his emotions torn. Instinct told him to run, bolt…or throw her out. His head…and maybe his heart…told him to listen to her. His body…the most predictable of the three…wanted her. But that’s what got him into this situation in the first place.
“Angela…I can’t. Or…I don’t know how to do what you want
. I can’t be the person you think I am.”
She was shaking her head. “No…Liam. You already are. You have to trust me on this.”
Now Liam was shaking his head. “I don’t trust…anyone. Maybe Frank. But it’s business with him. This is…different.”
“I know…I know.” Angela slid across the sofa, curling up next to Liam, her head on his shoulder, her fingers wound through his.
“Everyone in your life has let you down, not been worth your trust. I get that. And I know you told me things you’ve never told anyone else. You trusted me the other night with those things. And I think you know I’m not judging you by what you said…by your past. Just let us have a chance, okay? Just because something happens, like tonight, it doesn’t mean the end of whatever this is. We just need to figure it all out together…”
Liam shifted uncomfortably. “Like I said, this is hard. I don’t talk…about any of this kind of stuff…feelings, why I do things…”
She lifted her head, looking up at him. “It is hard. It can’t be easy. I’m not expecting anything with you to be easy.” Her voice was teasing, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth
He shook his head. “You’re not letting up on this, are you?”
“No, I’m not. You think you’re stubborn? Just wait.”
Angela shifted on the sofa, resting her head in his lap.
“Tell me about fighting…not like tonight. But in the gym. The good stuff, the stuff you like about it.”
She was looking up at him, trusting and calm. He sighed. Time to get out of this rut…think of something else other than how I screwed up.
“I like the discipline…the daily routines, the challenges. Training is hard…very hard. Frank is tough. He pushes me beyond what I think I can do, every single day. And then he wants more. But he knows how much I can take.
“There’s a beauty in fighting. It’s not all blood and violence. A lot of it’s mental. There’s a rhythm…timing is important. Anticipating what your opponent is going to do next and then beating him to the punch. Knowing what your own body is capable of, reaching your limits and then pushing past.”
He looked out the grimy living room window, at the apartments across the alley; absently watching an elderly couple sit down to dinner.
Fight For You Page 8