Through The Dark

by Jae

  “I cannot wait to eat these.” Taylor practically drools.

  “Amen to that, sister!” Ella agrees, causing all of us to laugh as we walk into Red through the back entrance.

  “Why do you think they never schedule anyone else to work with us four?” Zoie questions after we finish off the doughnuts and our coffees with five minutes to spare.

  “It’s probably because we’re the only four who get along with each other.” I offer while Taylor unlocks the front doors, all of us laughing and agreeing with my answer. “Not that I mind. That just means more hours that we get to spend together while making money.”

  All of the girls nod their heads in further agreement.

  “Okay, Daisy and I on the registers first and then we’ll switch half way through?” Ella suggests.

  “That’s fine with me.” Taylor complies.

  Zoie and I agree with them just as the first group of customers walks through the doors.

  “So what happened after you left the party last night?” Ella questions me while we watch Taylor and Zoie greet the customers and offer them their help.

  “We drove in complete silence to my house.” I sigh, turning my full attention to Ella after leaning my hip against the counter. “When we got to my house he kissed me.”

  “Are you serious?” Ella scoffs as her eyes grow wide. “Is he at least a good kisser though?”

  “I don’t know.” I shrug my shoulders. “I didn’t kiss him back.”

  This makes Ella laugh.

  “Oh, before I forget – what were you and Liam yelling at each other after he picked me up? I couldn’t make out anything you guys were saying.”

  “I told him to put you down and he told me not to worry and that you were safe with him.”

  “And you believed him?”

  “Well, I was hoping he meant it because the look on his face told me not to mess with him.”

  I roll my eyes at her, which only makes Ella laugh again.

  I smile when a couple of customers make their way over to us. Once we’re done ringing them up, Ella and I continue talking about what happened between Liam and me and then she starts telling me about this guy who gave her his number after I had left. The store remains pretty busy for most of the afternoon, giving me very minimal time to let Liam cross my mind. At 3:00, when Ella and I switch the registers with Zoie and Taylor, it has finally died down quite a bit.

  “I’m going for a drink run.” I inform the girls after I pull a ten dollar bill out of my wallet and stuff it in my back pocket. “You guys want anything?”

  After the girls shout their orders at me, I slide my sunglasses back on and push the front doors of the shop open. As soon as I turn to walk down the sidewalk, I smack into someone’s chest and stumble back a little bit.

  “Oh my God! I’m so sorry!” I exclaim, my eyes widening when I look up at the person.

  “Are you okay, Daisy?” Liam asks with concern in his voice and quickly reaches out to steady me.

  “I’m fine.” I respond, stepping out of his touch and narrowing my eyes on him through my sunglasses. “What are you doing here, Liam?”

  “I came to bring you these.” He says, pulling a bouquet of red and white daises from behind his back.

  “Oh, umm… Thank you.” I respond, completely shocked as he places the bouquet in my hands. “These are… They’re gorgeous.”

  This makes Liam smile that heart stopping smile he gave me in my kitchen a couple days ago. “I’m glad you like them. The lady at the flower shop told me that the color red represents desire and passion and the color white represents purity and innocence and by combining the two colors, it sends a signal of harmony and excitement, and that together, these two colors transcend their original meanings and offer a promise of adventure wrapped in elegance.”

  I blush at his words. I can’t believe this is happening. It’s extremely unexpected and a little questionable. Where did the Liam who looked like he could kill someone with his bare hands go? Not that I mind, I definitely prefer this nicer Liam.

  “Are you blushing?” Liam asks as his smile somehow manages to grow wider, which only makes me blush even more.

  “What you said, that was beautiful.” I tell him and look away, starting to feel slightly embarrassed. “And, well, a boy has never done something like this for me before.”

  “That’s too bad.” Liam responds, causing me to look back at him. “Were you heading somewhere?”

  “Oh, yeah!” I exclaim, realizing I’ve probably been gone a lot longer than the girls were expecting. “I was just walking to the soda shop down the street to get something to drink.”

  “Could I walk with you?” Liam asks while stepping out of my way, his voice hopeful.

  “Sure.” I tell him with a nod and our feet instantly fall in time with each other as we walk down the side walk. “So how long did it take you to memorize that little speech?”

  “I’ve been saying it over and over again for the past hour and a half.” Liam chuckles.

  I smile and glance over at him.

  He’s wearing a black swoop neck t-shirt with a pocket on the right side of his chest that’s a little loose on his body but hugs his biceps perfectly, dark jeans, a pair of black Canvas Era Vans shoes, and the same black Wayfarer Ray Ban sunglasses that are covering my eyes.

  “You look beautiful, by the way.” Liam says after he reaches for the door of the soda shop and holds it open for me.

  I tell him thank you before I walk inside and head over to the coolers to grab the four different drinks I need.

  “Thirsty?” Liam chuckles while I place the drinks in his hands since mine are currently occupied by the bouquet of flowers.

  “Yes, but they’re not all for me.” I inform him while we get in line. “The other three are for Ella, Zoie, and Taylor.”

  Liam nods his head in understanding while he places the drinks on the counter. Before I can pull my money out of my back pocket, Liam has already paid for them.

  “You didn’t have to do that.” I tell him as he takes the bag from me when we walk out and head back to Red.

  “I know.” He shrugs his shoulders. “But I wanted to.”

  “Thank you, again.”

  Liam just nods his head.

  I’m still finding his nice behavior to be really weird and suspicious, but in an oddly good way. If he can be like this all the time, then maybe I could actually grow to like him.

  “Hey, Daisy.” Liam says softly once we’re standing in front of the entrance to Red. “I would really like to hang out with you again, even if it’s just for a little while like this.”

  I ponder this thought in my head for a moment before answering him. As much as Liam scares me, maybe taking the time to get to know him better wouldn’t be so bad. If all else fails, I can just run again. “Sure.”

  “Great!” He smiles and hands me the bag from the gas station. “I’ll see you soon then?”

  I nod my head, a small smile creeping onto my face at how excited Liam’s become. I hold my breath and close my eyes when he steps closer to me, our bodies practically touching.

  “Goodbye, Little Miss Daisy.” He whispers in my ear before placing a gentle kiss to my forehead.

  I keep my eyes shut for a moment longer after Liam pulls away from me. When I open them though, he’s already gone.

  “Dang!” Ella shouts when I walk into Red, causing the few people in the store to look at her. “Where did you get those flowers and how can I get some?”

  “Believe it or not, Liam just brought them to me.” I tell her after I set them on the counter.

  “Maybe he’s not so bad after all?” Zoie suggests.

  I shrug my shoulders in response and dish out our drinks before returning to work.

  For the rest of my shift, all I can think about is how Liam is beginning to become a complete mystery to me. How can he go from being a cocky asshole, to completely terrifying, to super nice and sweet in a matter of a few days. It just doesn’
t make sense.

  “Do you want to hang out tonight?” I ask Ella after I pull out of Zoie and Taylor’s driveway. “We could make some food and watch movies? I have to go to the grocery store first though.”

  “Yeah, that’s fine.” Ella agrees, smelling the flowers Liam gave me for what I’m sure is the hundredth time. “I still can’t believe Liam, of all people, brought you these.”

  “No kidding.” I shake my head, still in disbelief myself. “When he gave them to me, it was like he was a completely different person. He was so sweet and nice. It was really weird.”

  “I think he really likes you.” Ella smirks while I pull into the parking lot of the grocery store. “That’s probably why he’s trying so hard.”

  “Well, considering he already told me he likes me, I think you might be right.” I agree, making us both laugh.

  “We should make lasagna and garlic bread.” Ella decides once I’ve grabbed a shopping cart and we make our way down the first isle.

  “Oh, yeah, that sounds really good!” I agree, my stomach growling a little. “I’ve never made lasagna before, though. I’ve only watched my mom do it a couple of times.”

  “Yeah, me too. I’ll look up a recipe.” Ella says and pulls her iPhone out of her purse.

  I reach around her and toss a couple loaves of bread into my cart. This is how it normally goes when we’re at the grocery store, even when Ella is the one who has to get groceries. I maneuver around her body while she messes around on her phone or flirts with a cute guy that happens to be in the same isle as us.

  I bust into a fit of laughter when I see Ella walk right into a display at the end of the isle we’re in, causing her to stumble backwards and look up from her phone.

  “Don’t laugh at me!” Ella whines while she looks around us, making sure no one saw.

  “I’m sorry, but I can’t help it. I mean, you just smacked right into it.” Saying this only makes me laugh more and tears to start forming in my eyes.

  “Whatever.” She grumbles while rolling her eyes, her lips curling up into a small embarrassed smile. “I found a recipe though.”

  The rest of our shopping experience goes by rather quickly and Ella manages not to walk into anything else. The drive home is pretty quick too, the music playing on the radio filling the comfortable silence between us. When I pull into my drive way, I’m surprised to see Liam’s Range Rover there.

  “Liam!” Ella shouts when we get out of my car and a few seconds later he appears in front of us.

  My eyes widened when I see him and Ella lets out a low whistle before she starts pulling groceries out of the trunk of my car. He has on a blue cut-off shirt with the symbols of his fraternity on the front; the sides of the shirt dip in deep, causing some of his chest, hips, and more of his tattoos to easily show. He also has on white basketball shorts and blue and white Nike basketball shoes with white Nike socks that come up to his calves. When he walks past me to help Ella, I can completely see his sides and then some of his broad shoulders and back. I knew just from looking at him in a regular t-shirt that he’s muscular, but I was not expecting this.

  “That’s everything.” Ella says as they walk past me, causing me to snap back into reality.

  I quickly run up to my front door and unlock it for them to walk in. Ella instantly starts putting the groceries away while I set my flowers down on the counter. After letting Ella know that I would be right back, I walk back outside with Liam following closely behind me.

  “You know, when I said I would see you soon, I was thinking more like in a couple of days.” I joke after I close the trunk of my car and lean against it.

  “Yeah, I figured that much.” Liam lets out a small chuckle and rubs the back of his neck, this simple action making him look sexy and adorable at the same time.

  “What are you doing here, Liam?” I question, my lips forming into a small smile.

  “Well I just got out of basketball practice…” He begins, unknowingly explaining why he’s dressed like he is and why he smells like a mixture of cologne and sweat.

  “Isn’t basketball season’s over?” I interrupt him, scrunching my face up in confusion.

  “It is. Well the regular season is. I play for a summer team also.”

  “Oh.” I nod my head in understanding. “That makes sense.”

  “Yeah, so anyway, my first game is on Friday and I was wondering if you wanted to go?” He asks while pushing his curls off his forehead.

  “You drove all the way over to my house just to ask me that?” I smile more and let out a soft chuckle, letting Liam know I’m just messing with him. “You know you could’ve just text or even called me.”

  “Well, yeah, I know that.” He says, a small blush creeping into his cheeks, before opening the trunk of his car and digging around in his gym bag. After a few moments he pulls out four tickets and hands them to me. “I wanted to give you these though; if you’ll go. I got four of them so you can bring Ella, Zoie, and Taylor too.”

  “That was very thoughtful of you.” I smile, moving around to the front of his car.

  “So, will you go?”

  “I’ll be there.”

  “Great.” Liam smiles while placing a kiss to my forehead and then getting in his car. “See you Friday, Little Miss Daisy.”

  I wave goodbye before walking back inside. I show Ella the tickets as soon as I enter the kitchen. I smile when I realize she’s already started making dinner. We talk about how excited Zoie and Taylor are going to be when they find out we’re going to the game and how drool-worthy Liam just looked.

  Even though I would never admit it out loud, I have to say that I am also a little excited for this game. I have officially decided that I want to solve the new mystery that is Liam and I think that this basketball game is going to be a good start.

  Chapter Five

  The rest of the week feels like it drags on forever. I absolutely love my job, but the closer Friday gets, the more excited I become for Liam’s game, and the more work feels like torture. I think I’m slowly becoming less afraid of Liam – or that’s what I’m trying to convince myself anyways. I can’t get how sweet he was being when he brought me flowers and how nervous he got when he asked me to go to his game out of my head. I’m really hoping I get to see more of this side of Liam.

  “I don’t care what you guys say about Liam,” Zoie declares after she flops down on my bed. “He is awesome for giving us these tickets.”

  “And still extremely hot.” Taylor adds with an eyewink before she walks into my bathroom and shuts the door.

  I just roll my eyes and walk into my closet to find Ella looking over herself in the mirror. She’s wearing a black high-low hem shirt with a sheer back, maroon colored jean shorts with gold studded embellishments on the front pockets, and a pair of black Glitters Toms shoes. Her hair is in soft curls and her makeup consists of a light smoky eye.

  “Hey, you look great.”

  “Thanks.” Ella laughs, turning away from the mirror so I can look myself over also. I’m wearing a light gray t-shirt that has the logo of a summer camp I went to years ago on the front with a black and white plaid button up flannel over it, dark skinny jeans, and a pair of black Chuck Taylor Shoreline Converse shoes. My hair is straight and my makeup consists of a shimmery eye shadow and a thin winged eye.

  “Are you guys ready yet?” Zoie whines when Ella and I to walk out of my closet. “We need to leave in like five minutes.” “Zoie, calm down.” Taylor says, tossing a pillow at the back of her sister’s head.

  Taylor has on a purple tank top with a white design of a pizza on the front, black leggings, and a pair of white Canvas Classics Toms shoes. Her hair is straight and her makeup consists of a light shimmery eye shadow. Zoie is wearing a white muscle tee with an allover Technicolor cross design on it, white jean shorts, and a pair of coral Neon Authentic Lo Pro Vans shoes. Her hair is up in a messy ponytail and her makeup looks a lot like Taylor’s.

  “I’m sorry.” Zoie smiles. �
�I’m just so excited. I love watching sexy boys play basketball!”

  “We know.” Ella, Taylor, and I say at the same time.

  “Hey, are you excited?” Ella asks me quietly after we’ve gotten into Zoe’s bright white Jeep Patriot and put on our seatbelts.

  “A little bit.” I smile at her while Taylor turns on the radio. “Oh, I love this song!”

  We scream along to the radio the entire way to the game.

  I can’t believe how packed the arena is when we walk inside. I guess summer basketball in college is a much bigger deal than it is in high school. This thought causes a slightly uncomfortable feeling to rise in my chest.

  “Are you okay?” Ella asks me when we get to our seats.

  “I just miss it.” I answer, motioning towards the court, where both teams are shooting around.

  “I know you do.” Ella sighs while she gives my shoulder a loving squeeze.

  I’ve always been an athletic person; playing sports my entire life. As much as I love volleyball, softball, and soccer – basketball has always been my passion. There is just something about hearing the bottoms of my shoes squeak on the court during practice or a game that makes my pulse race and my heart pound in my ears. I love the energy in the gym and the cheering of the crowd during every game. Standing on a basketball court is where I’ve always felt the calmest and at home.

  I’m brought back to reality when Zoie nudges me in my side and points at something on the court. Following her finger, I realize she’s pointing at Liam who’s dribbling a basketball between his legs while he talks to a few of his teammates. A few seconds later a buzzer goes off and the teams start their warm ups and then twenty minutes after that another buzzer goes off to signal the start of the game. Zoie starts cheering like a crazy person with the rest of the arena when the teams line up for the tip-off. After all the players shake each other’s hands, Liam finally looks up at me and gives me one of his crooked smiles, his right eye dropping in a quick wink. I can’t help but let a small smile spread across my face.

  “Oh my God!” Taylor exclaims as she leans over Zoie to look at me. “Did you see that?”