Authors: Layla James
I feel his fingers pick up the strand of hair on my shoulder and I snatch away from him. He looks pleased. “Hands to yourself. What’s your whole name?”
“Liam Erickson.” He smiles and I see the row of white teeth below his lips. “Like you didn’t know.” I guess he is trying to be charming. It’s not working.
I do know his whole name but I’m not going to let him know that. “What do you like to do for fun?”
He strokes his chin with his long index finger. It’s covered with scruffy hair. It makes a light sound when he scratches it. He looks way older than eighteen.
Maybe he flunked a few years?
“Hmmm, that depends on your answer to going out with me is?”
“The answer is no.”
“Awe, I could show you a good time, sweetheart.”
“What do you like to do, Liam? Is all of this nonsense necessary?”
“Say necessary again, your mouth looks sexy when you do.”
“Ugh.” I slam my notebook closed shoving it into my bag. “Look, I haven’t had a good week, so if you’d like to talk about the paper, you can meet me at the library tonight at seven. If not, don’t show up. I’ll make up a bunch of things about you. I don’t have time for stupid shit.”
Liam wipes the corner of his mouth with his thumb and laughs.
“What’s so funny?”
“You said shit. You don’t seem like the type, is all?” He gestures toward me. I give myself a once over. I look…normal.
What is he talking about?
He holds back a laugh.
Oh, I want to say more than shit right now
. The bell rings and I pull the strap of my bag over my shoulder. “Well, I guess I am the type. See you at seven.” I look back at him, his dark smile crawls up his heavy jaw. “To study.” I dart out of the classroom, in a mad run for sanity.
Darn you Mr. Fringe, can’t you just give me a normal partner?
“You have the worst luck,” Jennifer says, catching up with me at my locker. “Liam Erickson, the school’s own bad boy. Every school has them,” Jennifer says, opening her locker and checking her lip gloss. “Although, he is kind of--,”
“Don’t say it,” I say, stopping her with my hand.
I don’t want to hear it.
We both go toward class. It looks like I’m stuck with Liam. Great.
“Don’t look,”
Jennifer says into my ear. I keep my eyes on my food, knowing why she doesn’t want me to look up. He is here, in the cafeteria. He must be with
her.
I push my peas around my plate for a few seconds until my eyes betray me. They just flicker up without my permission. I wince. “I told you not to look,” Jennifer says.
Hayden is walking into the cafeteria with Holly. He is tall, lean and perfectly perfect. His green eyes are bright and on her full chest. I look down at mine, disappointment is an understatement. He wraps his tanned arm around Holly’s slender waist as they walk toward their lunch table. He seems so at ease, so perfect, so comfortable with her, like they’ve been together for years.
“That sucks,” I hear from behind me. “No wonder you’re so bitter.”
I look over my shoulder at Liam. He is shaking his head back and forth. “Shut up, Liam. Get away from me.”
He smiles, leans down and flutters his eyelashes. “Oh, you sure know how to sweet talk, don’t ya, sweetheart.”
Jennifer snorts beside me, almost choking on her drink.
I send her my best
death
glare.
I sigh, turning completely toward him. “
What do you want, Liam?”
He straddles the bench next to me, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “Just wanted to say that tonight isn’t great for me.
I have plans. So, the lovely reading, writing and boredom will have to wait until later.
”
I exhale, closing my eyes. “Liam, I have a feeling every night is going to be bad for you. Look, tonight is the only day that I can do this. Saturday I help my mother in the garden and Sunday I have church. So, that means break your plans.”
Liam laughs, it’s raw and hard. “
You work in the garden? How old are you? Ninety? And why can’t it
be changed, sweetheart?
Is pulling weeds that important?
”
I grit my teeth. He is making fun of me. “No, it can’t. What do you have that is so important tonight
, then
?”
He shrugs. “There is this party tonight at Aaron Mitchells. I want to go.
I have to go, it’s expected.
”
“A party? That seems so important, Liam.”
He
rolls his eyes
. “Would you like to come with me, partner?
It’ll be really fun.” He wiggles his eyebrows.
I
scowl and
throw him a
yeah the hell right
look. “I’ll take that as a no.”
“I’m not going and neither are you because we have plans.”
I cross my arms. “I’m not getting a bad grade because of you.”
“I like the sound of that,” he whispers, leaning toward me. I catch a smell of him. He smells like sandalwood and the ocean.
“Go, Liam. I’ll see you tonight. Bring paper and a pen.”
I
shoo
him away with my hand.
“I’ll bring ya something, sweetheart,
but it won’t be pencil or paper.” I make a gagging noise.
He smiles. “M
aybe, if I have time to come that is.” He stands up and starts to strut off.
“Liam!
Wait! You better come,” I yell, looking after him.
He waves his hand over his shoulder and continues to strut away from my table.
Damn it.
I look over at Jennifer and she shrugs. “Looks like he is going to be a piece of work.”
Looks like it.
“Oh. Looks like someone is a little jealous, too,” she says, pointing her fork with a green bean on it in front of her.
I look up. Hayden is staring at me from across the room, his green eyes intense on mine. His jaw is tight but I can’t help notice his arm on Holly’s shoulder.
I shake my head slightly.
Jerk. What’s it to him
, who I talk to
?
I look down and continue eating. It hurts too much to look.
Chapter Two
I tap my pencil on the woo
den desk in the library. I even added to the decorations the other students left carved on the desk. It says,
I hate Liam.
I hope he sees it one day.
I glance down at my watch.
Seven thirty. I grit my teeth and write furiously on my paper.
Doesn’t show up on time, doesn’t care about his grades or his future. A butthead! Uses cheesy inappropriate lines to lure in girls, too!
I slam my notebook shut and shove it in my bag.
I can’t believe him! He seriously isn’t going to show up.
“Argh,” I whisper. I’m going to kill him. I can’t do the freaking paper without his help. I don’t know anything about him, other than he is a supposed man whore of Avalon High.
Geesh.
What did I do to deserve this kind of punishment?
I glance around the l
ibrary one more time.
I don’t see Liam anywhere
.
I grab my bag and
sling it over my shoulder. The l
ibra
ry is empty besides me and the l
ibrarian who is reading some romance novel
and
doesn’t even see me leave.
It must be pretty steamy.
At least someone is enjoying themselves.
I
walk out into the vacant parking lot and throw my bag into the backseat.
I watch the shadows, someone could come out and murder me, I bet Liam would care then. I jump into the front seat.
Furious, I reverse and start toward my house. I can already see the disappointed look on Mr. Fringe’s face Monday morning when my paper is turned in with a bunch of crappy lines about Liam’s awfulness. I hit the steering wheel and sigh.
Why am I being punished? I study. I clean. I am nice to people. Why is the Heaven’s reigning down on me?
I drive, passing the water until I see the school where all my problems started, being partnered up with Liam
. If I can just get Mr. Fringe to change his mind.
I drive a few miles down and notice a large group of people gathered around a house settled by the water. Santa Catalina Island, California is a great place to live if you’re tanned, a surfer or have a beach body. I’m none of these.
I look closer and see the high school aged kids and remember Aaron Mitchell’s party. I smile. This is where Liam wanted to go.
Should I go? Hell yeah.
I pull against the road behind a Jeep. The music is blaring and I flinch. It’s so loud; I can barely tell what song is playing. The house is beach front and large. Aaron is the son of a gynecologist and an attorney. They have stacks of money. He throws these kinds of parties at least once a month, when his parents are gone on conferences.
I haven’t been to a party like this in a while. Hayden and I went together to a party on the beach a few months back. They’re all the same. Swimming, drinking, eating and sex. It gets old.
I wade through the sand to the front door, its wide open. I fight the urge to knock
but judging by the vast majority of my drunken piers, I’m sure no one would notice. It
smells of smoke, ocean water and alcohol when I walk in. There are teenagers everywhere. I’m surprised they aren’t hanging from the very large and expensive chandeliers
in each room
. I see a few familiar faces, but not Liam. It looks like the zoo in here, during mating season. The kitchen is cluttered with beer cans, spilled drinks and teenagers in each other’s faces. I scan the room and narrow my eyes when I see Liam. He is leaned against a counter, his feet crossed and holding a beer.
I start toward him and he glances over at me. “Yikes,” he says. “You look scary, sweetheart. Want a beer,” he says, offering the beer he is holding.
“Do I look like I want a beer, Liam?” I ask, the guy standing beside Liam widens his eyes and makes his escape. I’ve seen him a few times around school; he seems to be Liam’s best friend. How he has friends, beats me.
He scoffs. “No, but you look like you need one. Ease up, sweetheart,” he says, bumping his arm into mine. He smiles down at me.
“You scared off Billy. I will admit you are a little scary sometimes. When you go all ‘leave me alone,’ ‘do what I tell you.’”
“Are you ignorant, or just deliberately avoiding me? We were supposed to meet tonight, Liam. We have the project this weekend,
ring any bells up there?” I ask
, pointing toward his head.
He
grabs my hand and squeezes it. I snatch my hand away. He
smirks. “I told you that I had plans or you wouldn’t have known to show up here.
” The song changes and he bobs his head up and down to the music.
“
Wanna’ dance?” he asks, wiggling his dark eyebrows.
He grabs my waist and starts to sway us back and forth. He has the attention span of a Kindergartener.
I shove him away from me and
grit my teeth
. I
feel the heat rushing toward my cheeks.
Really? Is this guy serious? “
No!” I yell.
“I didn’t come to dance with you. I came to remind you that you’re not only throwing my grade away but yours, too!”
“Wow, you’re grouchy, is it your time of the month?” he leans in and whispers.
“Fine, Liam. I’ll do the project myself.” I start to turn away and he grabs my arm.
“Oh come on, I’m joking with ya. Get a sense of humor, will ya?” He smiles
down at me. It actually looks semi genuine.
Semi
. He
looks
up, over my shoulder and stops moving.
I look over my shoulder, following his glare and see Hayden and Holly walk into the room. Holly stops and starts talking to someone while Hayden scans the room. His eyes meet mine and m
y heart aches. His brows furrow
and he sets his jaw.
I want to run my finger over his brow and straighten out the wrinkle.
“Looks like
your
ex is a little jealous, sweeth
eart,” Liam whispers in my ear. I keep still, watching him watch me. I want to run to him, for him to hold me tight. He doesn’t.