Chapter 6
This is probably a bad idea, but I’ve been having fun tonight. Something I can’t exactly say for the last few months.
Liam’s flirty smirk makes me hesitate, but I nod anyway.
“I win and I take you out for coffee,” he suggests.
“We just had coffee,” I say, shaking my nearly empty cup at him.
“You know what I mean.” He leans in closer to me.
“Liam, I’m not going out for coffee with you.”
“It’s the most innocent type of outing, Dem. Three shots—if I make all three, we get coffee.”
“Awfully confident, thinking you’ll make all three shots.”
He gives me a cheeky grin and places both hands on the surface of the table as he stands to reach for the cup. This party is filled with people, but somehow Liam makes me feel like I’m the only person here with the way his attention is so laser focused on me and our conversation.
“I’m determined to spend as much time with you as you’ll let me. All my focus will go into making these three shots.”
“I think we spend enough time together.” I shrug, twisting my earring with two fingers.
“Hardly,” he mutters under his breath, but I catch it.
His eyes are leaning toward a bluish hazel tonight and I don’t miss every time he runs them across me. But it doesn’t feel invasive when he does. I don’t feel the need to shift myself in my seat when they linger on my lips. It’s like, in my bones, I know he’s a safe person.
Aside from his player stats, the only things I truly know about Liam are the bits and pieces I see on social media or things I hear from other people.
He dates around. He likes attention. Commitment isn’t a word he’s interested in.
I respect Liam, I always have. But there’s a reason I’ve always brushed off his endless flirting—aside from being married.
Liam Evans is a thrill-seeker. I see it every week. The extravagant plays. The “how the hell did he pull that off” wins. He likes chasing those highs, and it’s easy to see his little crush on me is nothing more than just that. Something to chase.
“And if you miss even one, there’s no more talk of coffee dates or any other kind of date, right?”
“No more talk ever? Or just tonight? Be specific.”
I roll my eyes. “You know what I mean.”
“You roll your eyes at me a lot, and I’ve been meaning to tell you I like it.”
I pull my mouth into a firm line, biting the inside of my bottom lip as I do. “This party is packed with other women you could be flirting with.”
Sparring with Liam is fun, I’ll give him that. Although I don’t think I should enjoy it as much as I do, but Liam’s a good distraction from everything my mind has been wandering to lately.
“Is it?” He doesn’t bother looking around when he shrugs his shoulders. “I guess I’m only interested in flirting with you.”
With barely any aim, I watch as he tosses the quarter against the table at the perfect angle. Causing the coin to land right in the beverage and it quickly floats to the bottom.
“One down.” His stare becomes playful as his teeth bite his bottom lip.
“Fine. Harmless coffee,” I concede. “If you get all three in.”
“When I make them, where should we go? And when? There’s a new cafe where the old diner used to be right over here by Harris Island. Sundays are hard for both of us, as you know, but I’ll make anything work for you.”
“Liam,” I say his name with a sigh and a chuckle.
He’s insufferable sometimes, but it’s also entertaining, I suppose.
Leaning myself back in the seat with my arms over my chest, I cross my right leg over my left knee and watch as he sinks quarter number two in the glass.
I’m waiting for him to make a comment, but my attention snaps to the sound of his chair scooting back against the patio flooring. When I look back toward him, his index and middle fingers are waving back and forth in that come here motion as he gestures to my shoes.
“Lift your foot.”
“Huh?” I ask as I glance down again.
When I see the untied shoelace, Liam’s hand is already outstretched. His hand palms the back of my ankle in a possessive gesture and he rests my foot on his knee.
“Oh, you don’t have—” I begin, but he cuts me off.
“I like these. They look good.” His smile widens as he loops the bunny ears and finishes tying the laces.
“They seem like your style.” He taps the side of my shoe twice with his left hand, but doesn’t let my leg go as he keeps his hand firmly on my ankle.
I can feel his warmth on the exposed skin of leg, and I glance up at him at the same time he closes one eye and holds the quarter up with his right hand, carefully focusing on the glass.
Liam turns his focus from the glass and looks directly at me as he bounces the quarter on the table and a boastful smile spreads across his face when he hears the sound of it dropping into the glass.
Never bet against an NFL quarterback in an aiming contest, Demi. You know this.
Pulling my ankle off his knee, I swiftly stand.
“Well, look at that,” I state in a more chipper tone than normal. “Three for three.”
Pulling the waist of my jeans up, I fluff the bottom of my top as he stands to face me.
“Hey, Dem.” His finger gently grazes the back of my hand. He doesn’t hold it there, but I feel the heat from his touch even after they’re gone. “I’d actually love to get coffee with you. I know this was a fun little wager, but I’d really love to, if you’re up for it.”
“We made a deal. I’ll honor it. But it’s not a date. It’s just coffee.”
His lips form a firm line as he nods and dips his chin.
“Well, I’m ready for our ‘not a date’ whenever you are.”
The people around us became nothing but muffled noise during that little game and it isn’t until Alyssa approaches me that I fully hear the noise from the party again. Like I was in some kind of bubble with Liam just now.
“You have to see this cake that Abby just brought out.” She pulls at my arm. “Oh, hey, Liam. Sorry, can I borrow her for a minute?”
Liam grins at me and then moves his attention to Alyssa. “She’s all yours.”
I walk closely next to her as everyone from the party is making their way into the dining room where Abby just lit the candles on this extravagant cake. It’s in the shape of Captain America and looks like it’s an actual statue of Steve Rogers himself.
“I take it he’s a superhero fan,” Alyssa whispers to me as we stand with everyone.
I hear her, but don’t answer because all I can think about is if agreeing to go out for coffee with Liam was a huge mistake.