by Jae
“Hey, I can’t really talk right now.” He quickly says into the phone.
I shrug my shoulders, choosing to ignore it and go back to eating my food. When Liam wants me to know, if he wants me to know, he’ll tell me. Not realizing how close my glass cup is when I turn back to the table, I accidently bump it and it falls the tiled floor with a loud crash.
“Daisy!” Liam immediately exclaims, rushing over to me.
“I’m fine.” I reassure him while scooting my chair back.
I faintly hear the person, who sounds distinctly female, on the other end of the phone frantically ask what’s wrong as I stand up to get a towel. I listen to Liam try to calm down whoever he’s talking to while watching my every move.
“Daisy, stop.” Liam says when I bend down to soak up the lemonade that was in my cup off of the floor.
“Knock it off.” I tell him, swatting his hand away. “I’m not going to have this argument with you again.”
“You cut yourself last time.” He says sternly.
“I guess it’s a good thing you invested in a broom and dustpan then.” I reply sarcastically, moving to the pantry and pulling said objects out of it.
“Yeah, I know she is.” Liam grumbles into the phone. “And a major pain in my ass too.”
I roll my eyes at his words while picking up the towel and shaking it into the trash can just in case there’s any glass stuck to it then toss it into the sink. By the time I’ve finished sweeping up my mess, Liam has ended his phone call and made sure I didn’t miss any glass. We go back to eating our meal, Liam answering my previous question about work and me dodging as many questions about what I did today as possible.
“Who were you talking to on the phone?” I ask Liam later, my curiosity getting the better of me, when we’re lounging on either side of the couch watching TV with our legs tangled together in the middle.
I watch Liam shift somewhat uncomfortably at my words.
“You don’t have to tell me.” I add, untangling my legs from his and pulling them up to my chest after sitting up. “It just seems like whoever it is makes you happy when they call.”
I turn my head back to the TV, putting my attention on the silly reality hunting show Liam and I have become obsessed with watching when it’s on every Sunday night. When the episode ends twenty minutes later, Liam reaches over and pulls me on top of him.
“It’s my Mom and Grandma.” He says softly.
“What?” I ask, sitting up to straddle his waist.
“Who I’m always talking to on the phone,” Liam slowly smiles, his dimples becoming prominent. “It’s my Mom and Grandma.”
I stare at him wide-eyed, feeling completely speechless and blown away by his confession. Liam trails his fingers up my thighs until they reach my hands resting in my lap. He takes my hands in his much larger ones before lacing and squeezing them tight.
“It’s all because of you, Daisy.” He tells me happily, his eyes lighting up even more.
“When?” I somehow manage to ask.
“I called a few days after you told me I should reconnect with them. My Mom was so happy to hear from me; especially from it being so out of the blue. Unfortunately my Grandma had been out when I called, but my Mom had her call me back later in day.”
I nod my head, silently signaling for him to continue.
“We all went for lunch the next day and it was...” Liam trails off his smile growing impossibly bigger. “I don’t even know how to describe it. We talk on the phone almost every day now and we’ve gone to eat a few times too. I honestly thought they never wanted to see me again and only called on the holidays because they felt like they had to, but that isn’t the case at all. They’ve missed me just as much as I’ve missed them, Daisy; they just didn’t know how to say it after all this time either.”
I stay silent, still feeling completely speechless. I can’t believe this is really happening.
“Are you mad at me for not telling you sooner?” Liam questions softly, his smiling face fading into a worried one.
“Mad?” I ask in disbelief. “No! Of course not! Liam, I am so happy for you!” I exclaim before leaning down and pressing a kiss to his forehead, nose, and then lips. My eyebrows pull together in confusion after I pull back and see the worried look still on Liam’s face.
“I really wanted to tell you sooner, but I just couldn’t bring myself to say anything because I was scared I would jinx it or something and everything would get messed up.” Liam whispers, tears forming in his eyes. “I’m so happy to have them back in my life, Daisy. I don’t know what I’ll do if…”
“Hey, don’t you worry about anything.” I whisper, squeezing his hands. “I promise everything is going to be fine.”
Liam nods his head before taking a deep breath to clear his teary eyes. I release our hands and lay on top of him again, tangling our legs together. I slide my hand under his shirt and graze my fingers over his side, something I‘ve learned helps calm him down and relax. I feel my body easily falling into the same state while he runs his fingers through my hair and down my back.
“Thank you, Daisy.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
I stir at the sound of an alarm clock blaring by my head. I slowly reach up and hit the snooze button on top before sliding my fingers over the side and switching it off so it won’t go off again. I slowly turn over to find Liam still sound asleep next to me. Sometimes I wonder how he ever wakes up in the mornings. Bombs could be going off and I swear he still wouldn’t wake up. Liam lets out a grown when I sit up, the covers moving with me only to reveal his bare tattooed chest and toned stomach. He doesn’t seem to mind though, still fast asleep and looking absolutely adorable.
I slip out of the bed and move into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me as quietly as possible. After doing my business and brushing my teeth, I strip out of Liam’s t-shirt and my underwear before getting in the shower. I let the warm water beat down on my back, reveling in the relaxing feeling. An uncontrollable smile spreads on my face when I think back to what Liam had told me about his Mom and Grandma last night. I still can’t believe Liam took the plunge and contacted them. Deep down I know this is a huge step for him, making it all the more sweet. I am so proud of him.
After getting out of the shower, I dry off and then tightly wrap a towel around my body. I flip the bathroom light off when I exit and let out a small chuckle when I see Liam is still sound asleep in the exact position I left him in. I climb onto the bed next to him, watching his chest rise up and down. I lean forward and press a few kisses to his hip before slowly moving up his stomach. By the time I hit his belly button, Liam starts to stir a little bit. I glance up to see his eyes are still closed. Smirking, I keep pressing kisses up his body. Not being able to contain it any longer, I let a small giggle out once I reach his chest. I feel Liam’s hands slide into the crook of my bent knees on either side of him when I reach his neck.
“What are you doing to me, silly?” His sleepy voice inquires.
I press gentle kisses to Liam’s cheeks before rubbing my nose against his, encouraging him to open his beautiful eyes.
“Hey.” I smile.
Liam gives me a sleepy smile, taking in my wet hair and towel covered body.
“You’re naked under there.” He says, slowly moving his hands up the back of my thighs. “I like being woken up like this.”
I giggle and swat his hands away when I feel them brush against my butt.
“You’re being a tease.” Liam whines, flipping us so he’s hovering above me now.
I let out a squeal when I feel his hands start tickling me through the thick towel. I try my best to get away, but his much larger body has me pinned in place.
“Liam!” I laugh, hitting his chest. “Stop it!”
“Fine, fine!” He smiles, resting his hands on either side of my head. “I love you, Little Miss Daisy.”
I giggle at the silly face he makes before reciprocating the words he just said to me.
/> “It’s time to get up.” I tell Liam when he drops his body onto mine and nuzzles his head into the crook of my neck.
“I don’t want to.” He whines like a child. “Can’t we just stay like this all day?”
“I wish, babe.” I smile, running my fingers through his messy curls.
Liam lets out a heavy sigh a few minutes later, pressing a kiss to my forehead and then rolling out of bed.
I stay laid in my spot until I hear the shower turn on. Slowly getting up, I rummage through Liam’s underwear drawer until I find a pair of mine. After I’ve put them on and the bra I was wearing yesterday, I curse myself for not wearing plain jeans or shorts that I could easily get away with wearing two days in a row. I move into the laundry room in search of some bottoms that I’m praying I left here. I let out a victorious ‘Whoop’ when I find a pair of black destroyed jean shorts. I quickly shimmy into them before moving back into Liam’s room and making a beeline for his closet. I flip through the t-shirts hanging up, eventually deciding on a dark gray t-shirt that says ‘Hipsta Please’ in big white letters on the front. I somewhat tuck the front of it into my shorts and roll up the sleeves a little since it’s a bit big on me.
“I love when you wear my clothes.” Liam tells me when I walk out of his closet.
“I love when you don’t wear clothes.” I say out loud without thinking, making Liam burst into laughter. A heavy blush fills my cheeks while I move over to his dresser again and pull out a pair of socks.
“I love when you don’t wear clothes, too.” Liam whispers in my ear, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind.
A small smile forms on my lips at his words. I can feel his bare body pressing against my back, making me itch to participate in actions that we definitely don’t have time for this morning.
“Liam,” I whine when he presses a kiss to my neck.
“What?” He mumbles innocently.
“I’m going to be late for work and you’re going to be late for practice.” I tell him while gripping onto the edge of his dresser.
“I know.” He sighs, pulling away from me.
“Finish getting dressed.” I say as I walk out of his room, knowing if I stay in there a moment longer nothing good will come of it.
I sit down on the couch and put on the socks I took from Liam’s dresser before slipping my feet into the black loosely tied up combat boots I wore yesterday. I decide to leave my hair down and let it air dry into its natural waves and apply a minimal amount of makeup on my face with the scarce amount of supplies I have in Liam’s bathroom. Once I’m satisfied with my appearance, I move into the kitchen and pour myself a bowl of Lucky Charms cereal that Liam now buys because he knows it’s my favorite. Halfway through my bowl Liam walks into the kitchen wearing a yellow cut off t-shirt with a maroon colored design of USC’s basketball logo on the front, black basketball shorts, and athletic sandals over black Nike socks that stop at his calves. I continue to eat my breakfast while Liam pours himself a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios before sitting down at the table with me.
“Do you have any plans for your birthday?” I ask Liam after I’m finished eating and rinse out my bowl.
“No.” He shakes his head. “I was thinking we could just hang out. Maybe go to dinner and a movie.”
I nod my head, leaning my hip against the sink. “What do you think about bowling?”
“Yeah, that sounds cool.” Liam agrees, continuing to eat his food.
A small smirk forms on my face when I walk out of the kitchen to finish gathering my things. I pick up my phone off of Liam’s nightstand and find my purse sitting on the floor beside the couch.
“Liam, I can’t find my keys!” I shout to him after dumping out my purse on the coffee table and rummaging through everything that’s fallen out. “I’m going to be so late!”
“There in here!” Liam shouts to me form the kitchen and I faintly hear my keys jingling.
“You’re a lifesaver!” I exclaim, taking the keys from his hand and pressing a kiss to his lips. “I have to go. I’m going to be late!”
“See you later, babe.” Liam chuckles, giving me one more quick kiss before I race out of the kitchen. “Drive safe, I love you!”
“I love you, too!” I shout back before shutting his front door behind me, slipping into the elevator as soon as the doors open, and then full on sprinting out to my car once I reach the lobby.
“How are the invites coming along?” I ask Ella when I get to work in record time.
“Great! I talked to Tony and he’s going to spread the word to the basketball team. Zoie and Taylor are going to tell their parents. You and I obviously have our parents. The only one I’m going to have trouble with is Liam’s work.” Ella rambles off.
“Oh, I can cover that one. Logan, from The Ouch Shop, trains at and is friends with the guys at the gym Liam works at. I’m sure he’d be willing to help out.”
“I love how we’re pretty much putting that saying ‘killing two birds with one stone’ phrase to work with this.” Ella laughs.
“Party! Party!” Taylor shouts as her and Zoie move over to us.
“Taylor, you better not blow this.” I say as all of us give her hard looks.
“Seriously, you guys, I won’t.” She rolls her eyes. “I swear!”
After we harass Taylor a little bit more about not ruining Liam’s surprise party, I inform them that Liam has agreed to go bowling for his birthday, so our plan is officially in the works. Later, when Zoie and Taylor aren’t around, I tell Ella about Liam reconnecting with his Mom and Grandma and how I really want to invite them to the party, but don’t know how. I suppose I could get his Mom’s number out of his phone, but I feel like that would be crossing some sort of line and a total violation of his privacy. I don’t even know if Liam is ready for me to meet them yet, let alone talk to them. I just feel like it would be really nice if they were there, but I don’t know any other way to get in contact with them without telling Liam about the party.
“Hi!” A girl with long bleach blonde hair who looks like she can’t be any more than 16 years old greets as she approaches the counter towards the end of the day. “I’m Kayla!”
“Hi!” I smile at her. She’s short like me and dressed in the most adorable floral patterned spaghetti strapped sun dress that stops at her knees and a pair of white flip-flops. “I’m Daisy. What can I do for you?”
“I know you guys are getting ready to close soon, but I was wondering if I could fill out a job application. I had to wait all day for my brother to get home from work so he could bring me here, otherwise I would’ve came earlier.” She pauses gesturing to her brother who’s standing by the front doors aimlessly looking around. “I just turned sixteen and I’ve wanted to work here since the first time I came in. The clothes are so cute and you guys seem really nice.”
“Oh, well thanks.” I chuckle, loving the compliment and enthusiasm. “Just give me a second to go grab an application.”
Kayla nods her head, shooting a smile back to her brother when he looks our way. I move to the back room and unlock the file cabinet that holds our store’s job applications. Once I’ve fished one out, I lock the cabinet back up before moving out of the room.
“Here you go.” I smile, setting the application and a pen in front of Kayla.
“Thank you!” She beams while letting out a small squeal.
“Not a problem, just let one of us know when you’re done.” I tell her, pointing out Ella, Zoie, and Taylor. “And don’t worry about rushing to get done, just take your time. We have no problem waiting for you.”
After Kayla nods her head, I move away from the counter and help the girls clean out the dressing rooms and reorganize the clothes on the racks. The girls ask me what Kayla is doing and I fill them in, being sure to mention that she seems like a really nice girl. I look at my watch fifteen minutes later when I hear the front doors open and close and then glance over to see Kayla is still working on her application. It takes me a second to r
ealize Kayla’s brother is nowhere in sight. After telling the girls I’ll be right back, I walk outside to find him leaning against the building beside the doors lighting a cigarette.
“Hi, I’m Daisy.” I smile. “You’re Kayla’s brother, right?”
I watch him nod his head as he takes a drag off his cigarette then blowing the smoke away from me before sticking his free hand out. “Yeah, I’m Kayden.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” I say after we release hands. “Your sister seems like a sweet girl.”
“Yeah, she’s kind of like a never ending ball of sunshine.” He chuckles, a small smile growing on his face. “It can get a little annoying sometimes, but she means well.”
I nod my head, taking in his appearance while he takes another drag off his cigarette. He’s looks to be as tall as Liam, but not nearly built the same way; he is a lot lankier and his muscles aren’t quite as defined. He has short golden blonde hair and the lightest color of green eyes I’ve ever seen in my life; they almost look like they have somewhat of a yellow tint to them. His eyebrows are a little bushy and his nose is slightly big, but they suit his stubble covered face very well. The faint dimples in his cheeks when he smiles makes him looks a tad boyish, but in a good way. From the mint colored Young & Reckless tank top he’s wearing, I can see he has large tattoos on each of his shoulders. He’s also wearing dark denim jeans and a pair of all black Vegan Old Skool Vans shoes. I like the multiple colorful bracelets that are stacked messily on both of his wrists.
“Where are you guys from?” I ask after he puts his cigarette out and tosses it in a trashcan.
“What makes you think we’re not form here?” Kayden smirks, leaning back against the wall.
“You both have small accents that I can’t quite place.”
This makes him laugh. “We’re from Kansas.”
“Oh, that’s cool! Have you been living here long?”
“We moved over at the beginning of summer. Our Dad got a new job, so we had to relocate.” Kayden explains. “I got a job at Ocean View, the surf and skate shop on the boardwalk, the first day we got here, so I haven’t really been able to see much.”