As Zach is questioning the lunch specials, I feel my phone buzzing against my lap. Liam.
Liam: Hello, Mariah. Nice to see you again this summer. (That’s how you say hello.)
I smile and text him back.
Mariah: Hello, Liam. (I know how to say hello.)
Liam: Are you going to attempt to avoid me this summer?
Mariah: Depends.
Liam: On what?
Mariah: If I feel like you’re going to be a good friend or not.
Liam: I’m technically your best friend ...
Mariah: I’m pretty sure that’s Kelsey ...
“You three decide what you want to try yet?” The waitress makes me look up before I can finish my response. I decide to go for me and Liam’s favorite dish from last summer — as does he, and Zach orders enough for five people to eat, so he can “try it all at once.”
As him and Zach start talking about the upcoming summer scrimmages between their opposing teams, I start finishing my text, but Liam has sent me another one.
Liam: You look pretty as hell today.
I stare at his words for a long time. A really long time.
Then I forget whatever I was intending to say in my last text message because I suddenly feel his hand clasping mine under the table. He entwines his fingers in mine and keeps my hand on top of his thigh.
“Something wrong, Ryah?” Zach asks. “You look weird.”
“No, just hungrier than I thought I was.”
“I feel you,” he says. “Liam, did I tell you our mom made us switch to a vegan diet for an entire month? I’ve never had to order so much delivery pizza in my life. I feel bad because I was doing it behind her back, but it’s impossible for me to practice as hard as I do by eating grass every day.”
“Understandable.” Liam’s fingers caress the back of my hand. “Is she switching Dawson’s to vegan products, too?”
“Hell no.” He sips his water and shoots me an ‘Are you sure you’re okay?’ look. “She knows to only torture her own family, not her customers.”
I nod and mouth, “Yes” to Zach and he and Liam change the subject, catching up on all the things they’ve missed over the past few weeks.
Liam doesn’t let go of my hand until our food arrives, and it takes me until the end of dessert to look at my phone again and see that he’s texted me once more.
I wait until it’s time to leave, until I’m snug in the backseat, to open the text.
Liam: Meet me at our spot by the lake at 9.
***
Later that night, I pull a hoodie over my head and head out to our spot by the lake. I’ve made sure to spend an hour flat-ironing my hair so it won’t look as terrible as it did hours ago.
At exactly nine o’clock, I sit on the bench and don’t see any sign of Liam. Ten minutes pass, and I start to head back since I assume something came up, but I hear the sound of grass crunching behind me.
“Ryah....” He says, taking a seat next to me.
“Liam ...” I don’t look at him. “Can I ask you something?”
“After I ask you something first.”
“Okay ...”
“Can you look at me while I ask?” He laughs softly and I’m grateful it’s dark out, so he can’t see how easily I blush when I’m around him.
“Sure.” I look at him. “What’s up?”
“Do you like me?”
“What?”
“You heard me.” He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “Do you like me?”
“I mean ... I ...” I’m speechless and I’m not even sure where he’s going with this. “You mean as a person?”
“Do you like me?” He repeats the words slowly, enunciating every syllable. “You know exactly what I mean.”
“I think so ...”
“You think so?”
I don’t answer him.
“Ryah ...” He moves closer. “Answer me.”
“Yes, Liam.” I sigh. “Yes, I like you.”
“Thank you for being honest.” He pauses for a long time. “What was your question?”
“It was nothing. I forgot it.”
“You don’t have to lie to me.” He takes my hand in his, sending my heart into a tailspin all over again. “I think we’re better than that. At least, we should be ...”
“Yes, well ...” I clear my throat. “I was just going to ask why you held my hand at the diner like that, when I heard you have a girlfriend. And also because we haven’t spoken to each other in months.”
“The only reason we haven’t spoken in months is because you hold a grudge better than anyone I know,” he says. “You really need to stop giving yourself reasons to hate me. And who told you I had a girlfriend?”
“Doesn’t matter who the source is, if the facts are true.”
“Well that’s the thing.” He looks into my eyes. “Those facts aren’t true. I don’t have a girlfriend ... And to answer your first question, I held your hand at the diner like that because I’ve missed you, because I’ve been waiting for you to talk to me again. And because I obviously like you.”
“That’s not obvious.”
“Then let me make it clearer for you.” He leans close and presses his lips against mine, erasing everything I thought I knew about first kisses. Putting every fairytale and girl gossip magazine to shame.
When he finally pulls away from my mouth, I can only wish that he’ll kiss me again. And then he does.
I keep my eyes closed as I kiss him back, as my heart beats a brand new rhythm. I’m not sure how long we kiss like that, but the sudden sound of thunder roaring in the distance is the only thing that forces us to stop.
He pulls me up from the bench and sighs. “I’ll walk you back to your room.”
“You can’t come inside with me. I don’t want to have sex.”
“What?” He suddenly stops walking and looks down at me. “Where is that coming from?”
“I mean, I like you but ... If that’s the only reason you kissed me because you think ... I know what you boys are all thinking about at your camp ...”
A smile slowly spreads across his face and he struggles to keep his laughter inside. “I would never attempt to have sex with you while we’re at summer camp, Ryah.”
“But you would attempt to do it elsewhere?”
He laughs, unable to hold it in anymore. “Can you please stop believing everything Kelsey tells you?”
“You’re not answering the question.”
“I’m aware.” He’s still laughing. “I’ve known you for years and we just kissed for the first time. You honestly think I would assume sex is the next step? Within the same day?”
“No ...”
“Good, because it’s not.” He lowers his voice. “And we don’t have to have sex ever, Ryah. Wouldn’t change how I feel about you.”
“You’re just saying that. Besides —” My sentence ends on his lips, and before I can kiss him back, sheets of sudden rain fall over us.
We both laugh as we break apart and we run back towards camp, towards what I hope will be just the start of the best summer of my life.
The next day, I wake up to a soft knock on my door. Liam.
“Hey,” I say, only opening the door halfway. “You know it’s seven o’clock in the morning, right? Breakfast isn’t even this early.”
He smiles. “I just came to return this.” He hands me my phone. “You dropped it last night.” He steps back, smiling. “Interesting texts.”
He walks away and I open my text inbox, noticing that he must be referring to the last few texts I sent to Kelsey.
OMG...
15
Liam
This week has been one hell of a blur. I’ve met recruiter, after recruiter, and given bullshit answer, after bullshit answer. I’ve sat with my dad at multiple breakfast and lunch meetings, holding back the need to say that “I’m done with this shit after high school.” But I can’t say that because my dad would be devastated.
All I want to do right now is go
home and go to sleep. I really just don’t want to be bothered. As soon as I have that thought, I hear a familiar voice call out from behind me in the hallway. This is literally the last person I want to see right now.
“Liam.”
“Ashley, I’m kind of busy right now.”
“No, you’re not, you’re walking.” She smiles. “I can walk with you.”
“Fine, whatever.”
“Are you ready to take me back now?” She reaches out to rub my shoulder, but I grab her wrist and move her arm away.
“No, never.”
“Never as in this week, or should I try again next week?” she tries to hold my hand and I snatch it away too.
“Ashley,” I stop walking and put my hands on her shoulders. “I need you to listen to me very carefully.”
“I’m listening. Do you want to put your hands on my waist instead of my shoulders?” She says smiling.
“Listen to me.” I roll my eyes. “You and I are over, forever. We cannot be friends. We’ll never be friends. I’m done.”
“But you’re still not really saying if this ‘forever’ is this year or when you go to college, too?”
I finally give up on this conversation and take a step back, realizing that trying to convince her of anything she doesn’t want to hear, is just pointless.
I start walking towards the library again, but when I look up, I see Mariah standing at the end of the hallway. I can tell from the way that she looks at me and rushes off, she definitely saw that whole thing with me and Ashley.
16
Mariah
I walk into the library, holding back tears, my heart sinking with every step that I take. I head towards the back where the classics aisles are long abandoned, but as soon as I turn down the literary nonfiction aisle, I feel someone grab my arm and pull me back. Liam.
“What are you doing, Liam?” I pull away from him.
“Mariah, I’m sorry that you saw that.” He steps close to me. “Ashley caught me off guard.”
“I’m sorry I saw that, too, but it helped me make up my mind. I don’t want to be your girlfriend, Liam.”
“Mariah, I said I’m sorry.”
“I think you still have feelings for Ashley.”
“I never did.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“What do I have to do to prove to you that I only want you?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think there’s anything you can do.”
He cups my chin, slowly turning me around so I’m looking at him again. He stares into my eyes for several minutes and then he sighs.
He takes out his phone and taps a few things on his screen. And then he shows the screen to me. It’s his Facebook page and he’s changed his status from “single” to “in a relationship.” Not only that, but he’s changed his profile picture to one of us. Granted you can’t tell it’s “us” per se, but the picture is from our kiss last week, when we asked a tourist in Green Bay to take our picture while we were watching the sunset. He’s wearing his letterman jacket and I’m wearing a black dress and boots.
I stare at our picture long enough to see four comments pop up.
“You have a gf?” “Ooh la la ...” “Congrats man! What school does she go to?” “When did this happen?”
“Better?” He looks down at me.
“Yes.”
“If you give us a chance, I promise you won’t have to worry about Ashley anymore. That will never happen again.”
“Okay.”
“I think we need some rules, a list of things that we both agree not to do, so we both won’t get hurt.”
“Fine. I’ll go first. You can’t talk to Ashley anymore.”
“Agreed.”
“Really?”
“Yes, but you can’t talk to any other guys anymore.”
“Liam...” I roll my eyes.
“I’m serious. I don’t want you talking to other guys.”
“That’s not realistic.”
“Okay, you can talk to them, but only about school stuff.”
“I think I can manage that.” I smile.
“What else should there be?”
“We can’t tell Zach or anyone else about us right now.”
“Okay.” He nods. “I agree with that. You’ll also need to kiss me after every game.”
“In front of everyone?”
“I’d like that, but I don’t think you’d do it, so I’ll settle for in my car.”
“Okay.”
“Good.” He wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me close, kissing me as the fifth period bell rings.
17
Mariah
I close the last box of brownies at Dawson’s and secure it with a bright, pink ribbon. Days like today — inventory days — are the moments I enjoy the most. We shut the shop down for most of the day and only accept preorders.
As I’m filling out my hours’ sheet, my phone buzzes against the table. It’s a phone call from Liam.
“Hello?” I answer.
“Hello,” he says, his voice low. “What are you doing right now?”
“I’m at work.”
“You mean Dawson’s?”
“Yes, but my mom is paying me now, so this is a ‘job,’ thank you very much.”
He laughs and I can’t help but join him.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“I just got out of practice. I’m headed home to shower, and then I have to go back to the gym to watch some post-game film with Coach later.”
“Sounds fun.” I’m not sure what to say to that and I don’t know why he’s randomly calling me.
“Do you have plans tonight?” he asks.
“Not yet. Maybe.”
“Which one is it, Ryah?” There’s a smile in his voice.
“It’s a no,” I admit. “I don’t have any plans.”
“Can I come over?”
I can feel my cheeks turning bright red. He’s asked me that question hundreds of times before in the past, but it always led to the remaining, “to wait until Zach comes home,” or “to eat dinner with you guys?” Yet, Zach is out of town this weekend for a visit to Duke and I’m pretty sure Liam wouldn’t want him there with us, even if he was in town.
“Mariah?” He interrupts my thoughts. “Can I come over?”
“To do what?”
His laughter comes over the line again. “To watch that movie you were supposed to see weeks ago, Autumn Falls. You suggested I buy it, but I didn’t want to see it without you.”
Oh, right.... “Um, well. I have to ask my mom. I’ll call you back and let you know.”
“See you at eight, Mariah.” He ends the call and I’m pretty sure my heart is seconds away from jumping out of my chest.
I immediately shoot Kelsey a text message.
Me: OMG. O.M.G. O.M.F.G! Liam asked to come over and watch a movie tonight! Like ... just us. This isn’t a big deal or a date, right? (And why haven’t you been answering my texts today? I know you’re not studying on a Saturday!)
Her response is immediate.
Kelsey: My parents BOUGHT ME A CAR! A BRAND NEW CAR! You get off at 3 and I’m outside, so hurry up so we can discuss Liam (Wait, he just randomly called you and asked to come over? Are you sure you’ve told me EVERYTHING? Hmmm....LOL)
I laugh and head toward the back of the bakery, knocking on the door of my mom’s office.
“Come in, Mariah,” she says.
I step inside and see her reading over last month’s profit reports. She’s tapping her bottom lip with a pen and humming, a habit she definitely picked up from my father.
“Hey, Mom?” I say.
“Yeah?”
“Can Liam come over later and watch a movie?”
She looks up from her desk, raising her eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t he be able to do that?” She pauses. “Are you secretly plotting to kill him or something?”
“No, no. I was just asking.”
“Liam’s welcome to come to ou
r place any time, Mariah. Could you two try not to argue so loudly, though? I doubt my migraine will be gone by the time I get in.”
“We won’t.” I grab my bag and head outside, to what I hope won’t be my death.
Kelsey honks the horn at me as soon as I step outside and I gasp as I take in the sight of her white BMW convertible.
“Okay, seriously.” I slide into the passenger’s seat. “What were your parents thinking by getting you this for your first car?”
“What they always think.” She motions for me to buckle my seatbelt. “That their money makes up for not spending time with me. What time is your date tonight?”
“It’s not a date, Kels. We’re just watching a movie and my mom will be home.”
She laughs as she pulls out of the parking lot. “First of all, it is a date. He asked you if he could come over. Two, I highly doubt either of you will really be watching whatever movie you put on. And three, your mom probably thinks you two are sworn enemies, so she’s not going to put herself anywhere near you two, even if she is home and you know it. It’s a date.”
I don’t argue.
“What are you wearing?”
“Jeans and a T-shirt.”
She looks over at me as we approach a red-light. “A cute T-shirt and jeans that are sexy and easy to unbutton, correct?”
“No, one of my Blue Harbor T-shirts and some comfortable jeans. It’s just Liam.”
She blinks, looking utterly confused.
“It’s. Just. Liam.” I say.
“You’re so lucky I’m your best friend.” She makes a U-turn while the light’s still red and I hold onto my seat. “Before I take you home, let’s stop by my house. You will not wear a basic T-shirt and bad jeans tonight. I would never allow it and you’ll thank me later.”
“I don’t think that’s really necessary, Kelsey.”
“Oh, trust me.” She gives me a look. “It’s more than necessary.”
***
At 7:30 I can barely stop myself from shaking. I’m not sure why I’m so nervous about seeing Liam, or why I think him coming over is different from normal, but my heart is racing and my palms are kind of sweaty.
Pacing my bedroom floor, I walk over to my window and notice that his car still isn’t in his driveway. Deciding to kill some time, I head downstairs and into the kitchen. I take out a large blue bowl and fill it with chips. Then I pop a few bags of popcorn and empty them into a different bowl. Since Coke is his favorite soda, I take out a few cans and carry them out to the living room. I set out some candy we both like — Skittles and Starbursts, and double check to make sure the DVD player is working again and again.
Mr. Popular: A Falling For My Brother's Best Friend Romance Page 12