Chapter 8 Wishes
Wishes
Liam can’t make a lick of sense out of it.
Not the birthday cake itself, of course. That well-meaning but nosy lady clearly overheard them mentioning Teague’s birthday and caused that whole scene just to seal the deal on her fantasy of winning them over and adding two additional lovebirds to the population of Spruce.
What Liam can’t make sense out of is the way Teague gazed at him over the table.
Like Liam was the thing he wanted for his birthday.
Like Liam was the wish.
Even after they swing by the ranch, pick up the order (which takes four trips to get all of it onto the bed of the truck), and are heading back to Fairview, Liam is still turning it over and over in his head.
And what was all that nonsense with Teague teasing about the two of them being a couple? Walking a dog together? Holding hands? Liam can’t care less what Teague’s dog is named.
When they reach their first drop-off, pulling into the parking lot of Nadine’s, Teague and Liam are spared the work of carrying in the supplies, as a couple of burly employees are sent out by the manager.
Teague keeps insisting on helping, but the workers at Nadine’s don’t let him, doing the carrying themselves, leaving Liam and Teague lingering by the truck.
“Despite living here all my life, I’ve never been here before,” admits Teague with a sigh. “A bit out of my price range.”
Liam is still bothered. He can’t shake these intrusive thoughts. Still, he makes himself calmly respond: “Me neither. My big group wanted to go here for prom senior year, but then someone’s mom booked another place at half the cost.”
“No idea what would inspire me to pay all this money to come here anyway.” Teague kicks at a spot on the ground. “Unless I … maybe had a … special person to take here.” He gazes over at Liam across the hood of the truck. “I would spend every cent I had to make my better half happy.”
“That doesn’t sound very economical. Or smart.”
“Love isn’t economical or smart. It just is, Peanut. Last time!” Teague quickly cries with a lift of his hand, seeing Liam tense up. “Last use of my birthday present, promise, cross my heart.”
Liam sighs, quite suddenly unable to practice the patience he just mustered up. “What the hell is it with you today?” He spins on Teague. “Why are you messing with me like this?”
“Messing with you like what?”
“Stop acting so innocent. You’ve been playing games with me all day.
Forcing yourself into the errand Mr. Michelson assigned to me.
Taking me out to Spruce for lunch. Talking about boyfriends and walking dogs and …
” Liam paces away from the truck with a scoff.
“Are you that desperate for everyone in Fairview to love you that you’d stoop so low as to flirt with me? ”
Teague’s eyebrows are lifted so high, his messy bangs take them away. “Pea—urgh—Liam, I swear, I’m not trying to—”
“You’ve held me hostage all day. Toying with me and … and my feelings. Maybe you just need to face the fact that some people you meet in life aren’t meant to fall for you and your charm,” Liam finally states, coming to a stop in front of a frozen Teague. “Some people, you will never win over.”
Teague doesn’t say anything to that, staring back at Liam, a glint of the evening sun in his eyes.
Even that glint makes him look so handsome.
It’s crushing, truly, to be standing this close to someone who, in another reality, might be exactly the kind of guy Liam needs, and to feel nothing but resentment and hurt for reasons that Liam cannot possibly in this state of mind surmise.
Not a moment later, the employees come out for the final load from the truck, and then the two are on the road again, heading back to the store.
No more words are said.
When they pull into the parking lot of Gary’s Grocers at long last, Teague kills the engine and flicks off the radio at once. “Hey,” he starts to say to Liam, “listen, I … I really didn’t mean—”
“I’m sorry.”
Liam’s apology appears to surprise them both.
He’d been thinking about it ever since they left Nadine’s.
He’d been torturing himself every mile of the way, thinking how awful he seems to become in Teague’s presence.
Is he being possessed by a demon? Does he need to go to therapy or an exorcist?
Why does he turn into a monster when it comes to Teague Jenson?
Teague didn’t even do anything all that bad, other than inserting himself into Liam’s errand, which in all honesty did lend far more help than if Liam had gone on his own.
“I’m sorry,” Liam says again. “For being so awful today.”
“No need to apologize!” insists Teague with sudden cheer, as if overwhelmed and grateful by Liam’s scrap of self-accountability.
“Really, I still had the best afternoon with you. And weren’t those burgers to die for?
I’ve never been there. And my first memory of that place is now with someone I care about.
” Teague grins. “No harm, no foul, right?”
It’s honestly more annoying, how forgiving Teague is.
But Liam decides to accept a pardon where it’s given, even if it feels less like forgiveness and more like a giant eraser to his huge parking lot tantrum at Nadine’s.
“Thank you,” he says awkwardly back. “And … maybe I’ll …
make it up to you or something. Buy you a proper birthday cake from our bakery department.
Get you an actual set of … of twenty candles.
” Liam nods generally in Teague’s direction and even allows himself a little smile.
“I never did sing Happy Birthday to you, I just realized. It’s probably for the best. I’m a terrible singer.
Anyway, I’d better grab a couple of people to help us bring in this load. ” Liam opens his door.
“Oh, um … right, about the birthday thing …”
Liam stops and looks back. “Yeah?”
Teague sucks in his bottom lip, appearing to trouble over his words. Then, in a tiny voice, he grimaces and says, “Would it be … like … maybe the worst thing in the world … if I … make the tiniest little confession … that today, um … isn’t … my actual birthday?”
Someone pulls the pavement right out from under Liam’s feet.
Pulls the air right out from in front of Liam’s face.
“Another week or two from now,” Teague goes on, his voice becoming more and more strained the longer he squirms. “So … not entirely a lie. Just, um, not today. Not exactly today. You just seemed a bit tense ever since we left the store, so I thought I could distract you a little, and … and hey, didn’t it sort of work?
” He lets out a nervous laugh. “Isn’t that funny?
How it all worked out? Um, Liam …? Your eyes are doing something weird. ”
Liam is gripping the handle of the car door so tightly, he could crush it like an aluminum can. He just might grind his teeth into bone meal if he stands here any longer.
In lieu of saying another word, he simply lets himself out of the truck—while Teague says, “Liam? You’re not mad, are you?”—and then makes his way back to the store.
Perhaps Liam shouldn’t have given any concession to Teague and just stuck with his original conclusion.
Teague is a schemer. A well-intended schemer, possibly, but he plays games with people’s feelings, manipulates everyone into liking him, and then saunters through life like he’s in the happiest most undeserved dream.
And Liam can’t stand another minute of being part of it.
It’s time to wake the hell up.
Liam, against all odds, makes it through the rest of his shift without seeing Teague.
He clocks out at the computer, and thanks to some unknown god or goddess of luck, it gives him no trouble.
He peels off his apron, decidedly done with this day, and folds it over an arm before heading for the door.
Until he’s stopped by Gracie. “Liam! Glad I caught you! Bernie, Zeke, and Deena are coming to my place to hang out. Just a small nothing thing at eight o’clock or so. Can you come?”
Of course Liam’s gut reaction is to decline the invitation. After the long day he’s had, he really would rather go home, enjoy one of his mother’s home-cooked meals, then get lost in another long and entertaining conversation with his dating app obsession, who just might restore his faith in men.
On the other hand, some nights Hate2LoveU isn’t responsive, which is understandable, as they both sometimes are busy with their day-to-day offline lives—of which neither has divulged much about, admittedly—so it’s possible he might have a free night.
“Please?” Gracie asks again. “If you’re there, I’ll even bake a plate of my famous gingersnaps. Fresh, hot, tasty gingersnaps.”
Liam glares at her. “You had to mention the gingersnaps.”
“Don’t make me beg.”
Admittedly, a relaxing evening away from home also has an appeal he can’t easily resist, with or without Gracie’s gingersnaps.
And she’s a friend from school he hasn’t spent any time with this summer.
With there being no guarantee of a conversation tonight with Hate2LoveU, what harm can one evening out do? He has his own offline life to live.
“Fine, I’ll come,” he gives in. “No further bribing required.”
Gracie squeals and throws her arms around him. “Yesss! It’s gonna be so much fun!” She lets go. “Um, do I still have to make the cookies, or—?”
“Yes,” states Liam flatly, then the two of them laugh.
And it all would have gone perfectly, had the voice not come from behind, startling them both: “Cookies? Fun? What’s gonna be so much fun?”
Their laughter dies. They turn to find Teague standing there appearing curious, gripping his apron in a ball hanging from his fist, eyebrow quirked, giving a charming, cockeyed smile.
The audacity of this guy. Liam can’t believe, after everything, that Teague would still dare to intrude like this. Is the guy insane?
“Oh, nothing,” says Gracie with a shrug. “Just a little boring thing at my house.”
“Boring thing? I love boring things! Can I come?”
Gracie’s mouth opens and closes like a fish, over and over.
Liam should have expected this. Whatever happened between them today, it’s far from over. Teague has more games to play.
But would it really be so bad to let Teague join?
Liam doesn’t have to speak a single word to him, and all of Gracie’s friends will act as the perfect buffers.
Besides, if the night goes south, Liam can turn to his secret lightning-bolt-farting comfort as an excuse to leave. Isn’t it basically a win/win?
Liam turns to him. “Of course. Why not? More the merrier.”
Teague is naturally surprised. “Really? Wow, thank you!” He comes right up to Liam’s side and throws an uninvited arm around his back. “Thanks for letting me in on the fun, guys!”
Liam instantly regrets his kindness.
Has he seriously forgotten what Teague did to him today?
This isn’t an act of forgiveness. This is Liam being weak. He caved when he shouldn’t have. Didn’t he learn this lesson already?
A storm brews inside him. It’s a wicked storm. And within its clouds of pettiness and malice, a bad idea materializes. Suddenly, Liam can’t help himself and lets out the idea in the form of words: “But if you come, you should know that it’s a costume party.”
Gracie stares at Liam, stunned and confused.
“Costume party?” asks Teague, similarly surprised. “In July?”
“Yep. Right, Gracie?” he asks with a smile.
She doesn’t answer. “It’s a fun Theatre thing Gracie throws together.
Everyone likes to outdo each other, too, so, y’know …
go all out. Be creative. Crazier the better.
” Satisfied, Liam slips out from under Teague’s arm and gives Gracie a cheery wave. “See you tonight!” And off he goes.