22. I Trust You
I TRUST YOU
DEEPIKA
I wondered if I could have just kept my mouth shut that night.
We were watching a reality show on TV that neither of us cared about when he turned to me and asked, “Wait, are you still afraid of water?”
I stopped mid-bite, chewed my popcorn and replied, “I’m not afraid. Just... cautious.” Lies. I was still afraid.
“That’s my fault,” he said earnestly. “The ring and... scaring you.”
“We were kids.”
“Let me make it right. Let me teach you.”
I tried to wave him away. “That’s not necessary.”
“Come on! I’m an Olympic swimmer. I’m literally the best person to teach you.” He grinned and continued, “There’ll be no cameras, just us. So... let me make up for ruining your childhood pool experiences?”
“No cameras?” Because I didn’t trust him not to record me while I’m drowning and post it on his Instagram.
“Scout’s honor. This is just us.”
I narrowed my eyes and pointed out, “You were never a scout.”
“Fine,” he rolled his eyes. “Swimmer’s honor.”
And now here I was, standing at the edge of an Olympic-sized pool, wearing a dark one-piece that hugged every curve, feeling more exposed than I had in any designer gown.
More exposed than that bikini.
Liam was already in the water, and he swallowed when he saw me. His throat bobbing, his stormy gray eyes going dark before he looked away.
“Are you ready?” he asked, extending his hand.
I stared at the clear and deep water. “What if I panic?”
“Then I’ve got you. I promise.”
I took his hand and paused. “If you murder me, Kiara will kill you,” I promised.
“I know,” Liam said gravely, with a nod. “And Ethan will help her dig my grave.”
With a deep breath, I got into the pool, holding his hand.
The water was warm. It wasn’t hot-tub warm, but comfortable enough, like a bath that had cooled to the perfect temperature. It came up to my chest in the shallow end, lapping gently at my collarbones.
Liam’s hands found my waist immediately, steadying me.
It didn’t feel sexual. At least, not yet.
“First rule,” he said, his voice calm and professional. “Trust your body. It wants to float.”
“My body has never done what I wanted.”
His lips quirked. “Then trust me to tell it what to do.”
The double meaning wasn’t lost on either of us.
I fumbled, hands gripping his shoulders. “I’m scared.”
“I know.” His hands remained firm on my waist. “But you don’t have to be scared anymore. I’m here and I’ve got you.”
“Liam, I am—”
“Trust me.”
“I…” I swallowed.
“You said it on the podcast. Say it to me now,” he said, his hands tightening around me.
“I trust you.”
“Good girl.” His eyes softened. “I trust you, too.”
Heat flooded through me that had nothing to do with the water temperature.
“Lie back,” he instructed. “I’ll support you.”
“I don’t think—”
“Hey,” he said, his voice softening and becoming gentle. “I’ve got you. I won’t let go.”
I leaned back slowly, every instinct screaming to stay upright and to keep control. But his hand was solid under my back, supporting me so I let myself fall.
The water closed around me, and it was cool against my ears, my hair floating like seaweed. I could hear my heartbeat, amplified and strange. I felt the gentle current from the pool’s filtration system brushing my skin.
Above me, the ceiling arched high. Skylights let in an afternoon sun that dappled across the water’s surface, making everything shimmer gold.
“See?” Liam’s voice was muffled but clear. “You’re doing it.”
“Only because you’re holding me.”
“So? Still counts.”
His hand stayed steady, and I could feel his fingers spread across my spine, warm through the thin fabric of my swimsuit.
We practiced for an hour and, surprisingly, without trying to drown each other.
We did kicking exercises, breathing techniques, and he taught me how to tread water without panicking. With each drill, I relaxed more and more.
Liam moved through the pool with effortless grace, demonstrating strokes, adjusting my form with gentle touches that lingered just long enough to make my breath hitch.
He could have made a great merman, I thought. I need to read merman books so I can imagine—
Stop that train of thought.
“Your hips need to rotate more,” he said at one point, his hands on my waist, guiding the movement. “Like this.”
I bit my lip. “Okay.”
“You’re tensing up again.”
“I wonder why,” I mumbled.
He grinned, poking my side. “Focus, Sharma.”
Finally, I was floating on my back again, his hand barely touching me now, just his fingertips under my spine.
I swallowed hard, staring at the ceiling. “I think I hated you because you made me feel invisible.”
He went still. “What?”
“Kiara was your focus, and Ethan was your best-friend. And I was just... the annoying cousin visiting. I never felt like I belonged in your group.”
He didn’t reply at first.
“You were never invisible to me,” he whispered.
I turned in the water, finding my footing and facing him. We were close, so close that his breath brushed against my cheek. Water dripped from his hair, down his face, and caught in his eyelashes.
“Really?”
“You were terrifying. You saw right through me, even as a kid,” he said. “You saw me loving someone I couldn’t have. You saw my insecurities, my fears, and I hated that someone could see me that clearly.”
“And now?” I whispered.
“Now…” He stepped closer as the water rippled around us. “I think maybe being seen isn’t so bad.”
We stood in the shallow end, faces inches apart, water dripping between us. I could smell chlorine mixed with his cologne. His pupils dilated and his breathing changed.
“Liam…”
“Yeah?”
My heart was pounding. Not from fear of the water, but… him.
“I don’t think I hate you anymore.”
“Yeah?” His hand came up, cupping my face, thumb brushing water from my cheek. “I don’t think I hate you either.”
The space between us felt charged, like the air before a lightning strike.
His eyes dropped to my mouth and stayed there.
I leaned forward, and that was enough for him to close the distance.
The kiss was slow and soft. Nothing like the desperate, hungry kisses we had shared before. This was different. Like he was teaching me, memorizing the shape of my mouth and tasting chlorine on my lips.
His other hand found my waist, pulling me closer. Our bodies pressed together, wet skin against wet skin. His chiseled chest solid against mine, his heart beating as fast as my own.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, fingers threading through his damp hair, and kissed him deeper.
He groaned, low and rough, and backed me against the pool wall. The tile was cool against my shoulders as his hands slid down my sides, gripping my hips, and I gasped into his mouth.
“Deepika,” he breathed against my lips.
“Yeah?”
“We should stop.”
“Probably.”
Neither of us moved.
He kissed me again, harder this time, and I arched into him, feeling every inch of him pressed against me. He was hard, I could feel him even through the water, through our swimsuits as heat pooled low in my stomach.
“We’re in a pool,” I managed.
“I’m aware.”
“Anyone could walk in.”
“I bought it for today, don’t worry.”
“Of course you did.”
He pulled back just enough to look at me, eyes dark and hungry. “Tell me to stop.”
I could have, and then we would shower in separate locker rooms, drive home, eat and… go back to normal. Blake had said we could end it early. So we could do that.
Because I had to remember that this was fake, temporary, and ending in less than three months.
Instead, I pulled him back down and kissed him until we were both breathless.
“Fuck me, Liam,” I said, staring at him and daring him to.