6. CHAPTER SIX - FANNING THE FLAMES
Lily’s POV
The sound of the incessant ringing of the doorbell woke me up from my sleep. I groaned, throwing my feet off the bed, and stood up.
I threw on a robe to cover my nightwear and made my way to the front door. Jake was probably still sleeping, and I had to make breakfast before he had to leave for work, so maybe the doorbell waking me up wasn’t a bad thing.
As I got to the door, I saw Jake already standing with the door wide open, and a look of shock was written all over his face.
“Cole?” I heard him say, and a wave of panic washed over me.
Jake turned to look at me, his eyes locked onto mine, and they said one thing and one thing only. Fuck.
I covered myself with the robe properly and waited for Cole to step inside the house.
“Hey, man!” I heard Cole yell and he lunged to hug Jake. He sauntered into the house, and his eyes caught sight of me.
He was still wearing his military uniform, and his face looked tired like he had had a long trip. I smiled as he let go of Jake and slowly made his way to me. “Hey Cole.”
“Lily,” he said, pulling me into a hug. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here to protect you.”
“Protect me?” I laughed. “It was a house fire. There’s nothing you could have done.”
I glanced at Jake and let out a soft smile. “Thank God Jake got to me when he did though. I don’t know what would have happened if he didn’t.”
Cole let go of me and looked back at Jake, gratitude evident in his eyes. “Thanks again man. You’re a real brother.”
I noticed the flash of guilt in Jake’s eyes, but he masked it with a smile. “Of course, man, I would never let anything happen to Lily.”
Cole nodded in appreciation at Jake, snapped his head back around to look at me, and grinned. “I’ve got a surprise for you, Lil.”
I rolled my eyes at the silly pet name he always called me. I had told him countless times I didn’t like it, but Cole was still as stubborn as ever.
“What’s this surprise?” I asked, as he wriggled his eyebrows.
“It’s outside.” He nodded to the pickup truck outside and threw his hand over Jake’s shoulder.
I rolled my eyes again, clutching my robe even tighter, and walked out of the house toward the pickup truck. As I got closer, I caught sight of Cole’s so-called ‘Surprise’and stopped dead in my tracks.
“Oh, good God.”
“Well, hello there, Lily.” The door of the truck swung open, and he stepped out. Liam Henderson.
Liam was Cole’s army buddy and someone I had been involved with before he left with Cole a couple of months ago.
He was a striking figure with the rugged charm of a man who had seen the world. Tall and broad-shouldered, he carried himself with a confident ease that commanded attention wherever he went. His piercing blue eyes, framed by a chiseled jawline and a dusting of stubble, gave him an air of mystery and authority. But despite his imposing presence, there was a distinct warmth and sincerity to Liam that instantly put me at ease.
“Liam,” I gasped. “What the hell are you doing back?”
“Well, your brother told me about what happened to you,” he said, gently taking my hands into his. “I couldn’t stay back at the base knowing something that terrible happened to you.”
“Did you really request for unofficial leave for my sake?” I asked.
“Well, to be fair, my grandmother had a heart attack so that was the only way they would let me follow Sergeant Cole. But I’m here, right?” Liam laughed, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
I couldn’t help but giggle. Liam had always been so easy to connect with.
He looked behind me and scrunched his brow. “So Cole tells me you’re staying with his best friend?”
As Liam said that my mind raced back to Jake and the recent tension between us. I glanced over my shoulder to find Cole and Jake standing on the porch, engaged in a conversation.
Cole was clearly engrossed in the conversation, but Jake”s gaze kept flickering between Cole and me. Our eyes locked for a moment, and I saw Jake”s gaze shift, his expression unreadable.
“What do you say we go say hi?” Liam said, and panic surged through me.
“I, uh... I don”t know, Liam,” I stammered, but he was already striding toward Jake, leaving me no choice but to follow, my heart pounding in my chest.
When Liam reached Jake, he extended his hand with a friendly smile. “Hey, I”m Liam. Nice to meet you,” he said, his voice warm and sincere. “Cole has told me so much about you.”
Jake shook Liam”s hand, his expression still unreadable. “Nice to meet you too,” he replied curtly, his eyes darting between Liam and me.
“I have to say, the fact that you rushed into a burning building to save your best friend’s sister. That’s almost as heroic as fighting for your country.” Liam smirked.
“I do the best I can.” Jake forced a smile. “Like I’ve said before, I’ll always do my best to protect Lily.”
“Really?” Liam scoffed. “That’s very noble of you. But there’s only so much a firefighter can do.”
“At least I was there. So much for protecting the country and its citizens.” Jake squared up to Liam, and I realized that Jake was subtly bigger than Liam.
Liam scoffed, casually draping his arm over my shoulder, and I felt Jake tense beside me. His jaw clenched with restrained emotion, but there was nothing he could do. Cole had no idea about Jake and me, and if he were to find out, he definitely wouldn’t approve.
It wasn’t like Cole didn’t want Jake and me together. He was just scared that because of Jake’s track record with women, he would hurt me, and frankly, I feared the very same thing.
“Come on, Liam, let”s go talk,” I interjected, eager to escape the tension between Jake and Liam. I led Liam to the backyard, hoping for a moment of privacy.
Thankfully, Cole intervened, pulling Jake into the house. “Coffee?” he offered, steering Jake away from the awkward encounter on the porch.
Jake hesitated for a moment before nodding, his eyes lingering on me for a brief moment before disappearing into the house with Cole.
Alone with Liam in the backyard, I sat on the massive swing set Jake had in his backyard.
“A fucking swing set, and a pool. Who the fuck does this guy think he is?” Liam mockingly laughed.
“Just sit down, Liam.” I pulled on his shirt, and he shrugged, sitting on the swing beside me.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm the fluttering nerves in my stomach. “So, Liam,” I began, searching for how to explain things to him.
“Let me guess, you and flame boy over there have some history?” Liam said coldly.
“History is a strong word,” I sighed. “He’s someone who is very dear to me and I would appreciate it if you could ease up on the teasing.”
“Ease up?” Liam scowled. “All I did was try to have a conversation with the man and he dared to step up to me?”
“In his defense, you did look down on the fact that he’s a firefighter. You literally just called him flame boy.”
The scowl on Liam’s face grew, but he didn’t say anything.
“Liam?” I reached out to hold his arm.
“So, what are you trying to say to me right now?” he asked sternly.
“I’m saying that all that we are is a simple fling. We only ever see each other when you come back from active duty.”
“Last I checked, you were the one who told me that you didn’t want any kind of relationship. So what’s changed?”
“Nothing’s changed —”
“Bullshit.” Liam said, cutting me off. “I see the way he looks at you, and the way you defend him. That’s definitely not someone who is just a friend.”
“Jake is my brother’s best friend and that’s all there is to it.”
Liam scoffed. “Do you really believe that Lily?”
“Liam, I’m not going to lie to you. I think you’re an amazing person.”
“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” Liam exclaimed. “How stupid do you think I am?” He stood up from the swing and turned to face me. His usual warmth and calmness disappeared into thin air.
I began to fidget with my fingers as he raised his voice. I wasn’t really a fan of confrontation.
“Do you really think I’m going to sit here and listen to your bullshit ass excuse of a breakup speech?”
“Liam, please try to understand me,” I pleaded.
“I’m not going to do shit. You know, at first I kept talking to you because I wanted to get closer to your brother. But now, it’s definitely not worth it.”
“How dare you talk to me that way!” I spat, standing up from the swing as well. “I wanted to be nice and explain things to you, but now you’ve pissed me off. You can never be half the man Jake is so how about you just get the hell out of here!”
“Or what?” Liam glared at me as he spoke.
My mind raced with what to say to him, but unfortunately, I kept coming up short.
“Or I’ll have to throw you off my property,” came Jake’s voice from behind us.
Liam turned to face Jake and growled. “You can’t do shit.”
“How about you wait while I count to five and you’ll find out,” Jake said, clenching his jaw and folding his fist as he stared down at Liam.
“One. Two. Three.”
“Fuck this,” Liam scoffed, brushing Jake’s shoulder with his as he walked past. “You can have the fucking bitch.”
As the words left Liam’s mouth, I watched Jake grab Liam’s uniform and pull him back. As he staggered, Jake flung his fist, catching Liam square in the nose, causing him to stumble and fall to the floor.
“Don’t you ever disrespect her like that ever again. Now, get the fuck out of my house.”