Chapter 25
Liam
Iboard the private plane, my stomach in knots as I look at Kendall.
She’s standing a dozen feet in front of me, smiling as she talks to Micah. They put their bags in the overhead compartment and slide into their seats.
Right as Kendall sits down, she catches eyes with me. Her smile drops. Pain flashes in those big brown eyes. My heart sinks.
A second later, she looks away and nods along with whatever Micah is saying to her.
Regret stabs through my gut. Even just the sight of me hurts her.
And why wouldn’t it? After what happened last week, I don’t expect her to look at me any other way.
I think back to that night when Kendall and I shared that hot-as-fuck kiss in the alley.
My dick twitches just thinking about it. Her lush lips, the way she moaned into my mouth, the way she hooked her leg around me and pressed her pussy against my hard cock, the way she pulled my hair the more turned on she got…
And then that paparazzi scumbag came along and fucked it all up.
Except he’s not the one at fault. Yeah, he interrupted us and ruined the moment. But I’m the one who ruined everything because of the way I answered him when he pried into my personal life…
She’s not anything to me. We’re just friends.
I grit my teeth when I think about what an asshole I am for saying that.
I didn’t mean for it to come off that way, like Kendall means nothing to me. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
I think about her constantly. Her laugh, her smile, the way her eyes light up when she’s talking about books and poetry, the way her hair falls around her beautiful face, the way she teases me and gives me shit. Fuck, I miss her.
I only said that to the paparazzi dickhead because I wanted to protect Kendall. I didn’t want him to know that she meant anything to me because if he knew that, he’d go after her too.
I’ve been playing hockey professionally for years so I’m used to getting hounded by those annoying paparazzi dicks.
They’re fucking vultures. They follow me and my teammates around the city and when we’re traveling for away games.
And it’s not just the players that they harass.
They go after significant others and kids too.
And it’s fucked up because it’s not illegal.
Paparazzi can pretty much do and say whatever they want to get a photo or film us.
I didn’t want Kendall to go through that. Just the thought of those scumbags trailing her and harassing, especially when she’s out with her aunt, makes me want to rage. So that’s why I said she didn’t mean anything to me. It was the only way I could think to get rid of the guy and protect Kendall.
And I was going to explain it to her, but she stormed off.
My chest aches when I think about how hurt Kendall looked that night…I could see the tears in her eyes. I could see her struggling to keep it together in front of me.
That ache morphs into a stab. Fuck. Seeing her like that, knowing that I made her feel that way…it’s the worst feeling in the world.
I’ve texted her and called her, asking for a chance to explain myself, but she hasn’t replied. She clearly doesn’t want anything to do with me. And I don’t blame her. She has every right to hate me. I just wish I knew how to fix things.
Someone claps a hand on my shoulder. I turn and see Aidan next to me.
“Thanks again for planning all this, man,” he says.
I force myself to smile. “No worries. Happy to do it.”
I shove my backpack in the overhead compartment and slide into my seat, just a few rows ahead of Kendall.
Aidan sits down next to me. Jason, his friend who is also a professor at the same college, walks by and points at me, gigantic grin on his face.
“You’re a legend for planning all this, Liam,” Jason says as he sits in the seat across the aisle from us.
I tell him it was no problem. A few more of Aidan’s friends board the plane. Jordan is the last one. She rushes on, tosses her giant shoulder bag in the overhead compartment, and sits down next to Jason.
The door closes and the flight attendants go through their safety presentation. Once the plane takes off and we’re in the air, I hear Jason cheer.
“Who’s ready to get wild in Cabo?” he hollers
Everyone cheers.
“Why wait? Let’s get wild now.” Jordan holds up a giant ziplock bag of mini tequila bottles. The cheers get louder.
She grabs a couple of bottles for her and Jason, then passes the bag to Aidan. He fishes out two bottles and hands one to me before passing the bag behind him.
Once everyone has a bottle, Jordan raises hers in the air. “To the most epic bachelor-bachelorette party ever! And to Liam for planning and paying for the whole thing!”
Everyone cheers. I force a smile and raise my tequila bottle in the air.
Everyone downs their shots. Aidan looks at me. “That’s the most subdued I’ve ever seen you during a toast.”
I silently scold myself for being such a drag. Yeah, I feel like shit. The last thing I want to do is party. All I really want to do is apologize to Kendall and do whatever it takes to make her feel better.
But that’s not gonna happen.
I shove aside the regret and disappointment pulsing through me. Now’s not the time to be a fucking sad sack. This is my brother’s bachelor party and I don’t want to ruin it.
I reach over and grab another tequila shot from Jordan. I unbuckle my seatbelt and stand up in the aisle.
“I just wanna take a moment to toast the guests of honor. Aidan and Micah, we’re all excited to celebrate with you. We’re gonna make sure you have a hell of a time in Cabo. Now let’s get fucked up!”
Everyone laughs and hollers. I purposely avoid eye contact with Kendall and down my shot. And then I sit back in my seat, determined to make this an epic getaway for them despite the fact that I feel like garbage.