by Dale, Tracy
"I don't think I want to know."
"Probably not. You've got a two hour time limit--"
"Dad!"
"And every hour over you pay for it out of your allowance."
Liv knew Dad expected her to be angry, or outraged at the very least, but she only wanted to laugh. He always knew how to play things to his advantage. "It's worth it to share this special experience with you, Dad."
He grunted.
Connor put his hand over his heart. "I don't think I could respect you more, sir."
They took their time eating breakfast before heading out to the mall. When they got there, Dad made a show of setting his timer but Liv had already been looking online. She went straight to the store that had the dress she liked most.
Now she just needed to find it. "Go pick out dresses for me," she told Connor.
"What? No way! You pick 'em out, I tell you what I think." He looked around. "But I'm not seeing any nun-wear so it's not looking too good to me."
"Time limit is your fault. Now you gotta help."
"I stick with you." He wouldn't budge.
"Mom? Pick out dresses and meet back at the fitting room in fifteen?"
"Done." Mom took off.
Dad stood there, just inside the store entrance.
Liv grabbed Connor's hand and dragged him around the racks of dresses.
Her dad still stood there.
"Hey, there's an ugly dress!" Connor tried to make her stop to look at it, but she yanked him so hard he nearly stumbled. "Whoa. Woman on a mission."
She dragged him around the store for ten minutes without stopping. He decided to just enjoy holding her hand, zipping around a bunch of chick stuff. It was strangely enjoyable.
He would never admit that to anyone.
She stopped so suddenly he bumped in to her. "If you wanted a hug, I would have happily supplied."
He might as well have been talking to air. She dropped his hand and dove for a rack of dresses that all looked weird to him. There was lots of material in them, though. The more material, the more coverage, and the less Jackson got to touch her...see her...have her.
"Yeah that one," he said.
"I knew you had good taste."
Her fingers twined through his and they were off again. This time through, he thought she was grabbing whatever dresses looked about her size.
They passed her dad a couple times. He was still standing in the same spot, with his arms folded over his chest and a frown on his face. After another pass, he said, "Stop looking like you're enjoying yourself, Connor. It's embarrassing."
"Tell him you're a progressive," Liv whispered as she pulled him back into the sea of dresses.
Connor did, and didn't really care that he wasn't sure what it meant.
Mr. Jones harrumphed. "Bullshi--oot." A woman with her kids walked by him. "Sorry, ma'am." He waited until the woman was out of earshot. "Stop putting ideas in his head, Livvy."
Liv appeared in front of him. She stopped abruptly and Connor bumped into her again. The pile of dresses he held in his free hand slipped out of his grasp. Mr. Jones made a quick grab. In that moment when all the dresses were in his hands, Liv whipped out her phone and snapped a picture.
"Total blackmail photo," she said.
Her dad stared at her. "You set that up?"
"Connor helped."
Connor grinned. "Liv promised blackmail wasn't progressive."
Mr. Jones started laughing. His I-can't-believe-I'm-doing-this attitude relaxed. "Go try these on. Your fifteen minutes are up."
They went to the fitting rooms where Mrs. Jones was waiting with a mountain of dresses. It looked like she'd brought in as many as she could possibly manage to hold.
"Sit there," Liv said, pointing at a couple chairs right outside the dressing room.
She blitzed it. She must have thrown on whatever dress her mom handed her. Some were so awful she barely stepped out of the fitting room. With the good ones she put on a show, like a model.
At almost every one, Connor or her dad said, "Next."
"Why?" she demanded after the third pretty reject.
"Too tight," Connor said. Mr. Jones nodded.
Fourth reject was too short.
Fifth and sixth had too much cleavage.
Seventh was just too...everything. Connor had to shift and look away, enormously uncomfortable to see her in such a skimpy little dress with her dad right there.
The final dress was the one she'd searched for. The moment she tried it on she knew it was perfect. Fitted around the bust, the rest loose and billowy, it had that bohemian chic style she loved so much. The fabric pattern had bold colors of gold and red, and there was little gold beading on the bodice and scattered across the skirt.
"That's the one, isn't it?" Mom said.
"Oh yeah."
"You could wear those strappy beaded sandals you have."
"One less stop."
She stepped out to show Connor and Dad.
"No way," Connor said.
"I like it," Dad said. "Not too much of anything. What's your problem with it, Connor?"
"Too short."
Dad looked again. "Not too bad though."
"Too much--" Connor gestured over his shoulders and chest. "Too much skin is showing."
"Then don't look at the back," Liv murmured.
Connor heard her. "Turn around."
She did a slow pirouette. "C'mon, look at that!" Connor said to Dad. "Her whole back is practically bare."
Dad nodded. "Not crazy about that."
They critiqued the dress some more. Liv thought it was funny, listening to them argue. She wasn't worried for the outcome. It was in the bag. She'd deliberately tried this dress on last so Dad's time limit would make him feel pressured. She'd also made sure to show him the skimpiest dresses first so this one would seem mild.
Connor liked it too. She could tell with the way he was looking at her.
Dad said to Connor, "There's nothing...skanky?...that's what you called it, right? There's nothing skanky about that dress."
Liv had to laugh. "So that's how you got him to come along." With tales of trashy dresses. Genius.
Connor knew defeat when he saw it. He looked away. Of all the dresses she'd tried on, he thought this one the sexiest. It was subtle, it made you wonder, it made you look again and again.
The thought of her wearing it for Jackson made him want to pound his fist into a wall.
Before Liv went to change, she suggested her parents meet her and Connor at the accessories store.
"With the right amount of gratitude for your dad paying for this dress and me hanging up all the rejects, sure," her mom said, but she was smiling.
"Thank you, Mom. I really do appreciate it."
They both went into the fitting room, Liv hurried out a moment later. "Time to accessorize," she said to Connor.
He grimaced.
"You promised," she reminded him.
Mr. Jones was obviously enjoying his discomfort. "The things we do for our loved ones."
Connor heaved himself out of the chair. Liv took a hold of his arm and dragged him along. He waited until they were out of sight of her parents before he strategically slipped his hand into hers. When she looked at him in surprise, he said, "You were holding mine before."
They walked to a shop decorated with feathers, sparkle and way too much pink and purple frilliness. Connor wanted to close his eyes. Maybe he wouldn't remember it when it was over.
In the time it took him to tune out the neon pink vomit on the walls, she had three necklaces, three pairs of earrings and two bracelets in her hands. He separated them so he could get a look and picked his favorites.
She kissed him on the cheek. "You're being such a good sport."
"Only for you, Liv."
Think of the Chocolates.
Except thinking about them didn't help her plight. Not when she was melting again. The formula was just bad.
Melt + Chocolate = Devour It
>
Einstein would have to agree.
"Why did you kiss me last night?" The question tumbled out before she could stop it.
Connor stared. "I--uh. I--uh... I--"
"Are you trying to say, Iacocca?" Dad drawled as he walked up. "He was a brilliant businessman."
"Got the dress," Mom held up the bag. "Pick your jewelry already?"
Liv had to tear her gaze away from Connor. She showed her mom.
"Ooh, perfect." As Dad was paying for the jewelry, Mom said, "You have twenty minutes left, what's next?"
"This isn't going so bad," Dad said. "I should set time limits more often."
Liv loved her parents. She really did. But right now, she wished they'd go away.
"To MAC."
"What's that?" Dad said.
"Makeup."
Dad slapped Connor on the back. "Coffee break?"
Connor reminded him of his promise.
Dad grumbled. They went to buy makeup.
The young man at the makeup counter wore an apron full of brushes tied around his waist. His eyes were shaded with beautiful colors of blue and silver, and shimmering blush highlighted his cheekbones.
"Can I help you?" But he was looking at Connor.
Liv pulled her dress partway out of the bag and held it up at eye level. "Need some eye color."
"Homecoming, right?" He picked up some shadows and quickly demonstrated the colors. All the while he was trying so obviously not to look at Connor again, she felt a little bad for him.
Connor had given the guy a polite nod of acknowledgement, and then acted like nothing out of the ordinary was happening.
Liv loved him that much more for being so decent about it.
"Six minutes 'til it's your allowance," Dad said.
"I'll take these two," she told the artist.
Mom paid with one minute to spare. Dad herded them out of the mall and to the nearest burger place. When they got home, Connor looked up movie times for the scariest film Liv never wanted to see.
* * * *
"The next showing is at 9:10," Connor said. He and Mr. Jones were alone in the den. "If we go straight there and straight home afterwards, would that be all right with you?"
Mr. Jones stared at him for a moment. Connor felt as though his measure was being taken.
"I was never crazy about the way you behaved about Ana."
Connor felt blindsided. He didn't know what to say.
"I'm proud of you," Mr. Jones continued, "proud of the kind of man you're growing into, but Ana wasn't your finest moment."
Shame washed over him. "I know."
"I figured you were learning. Didn't want to step in."
"Thank you, sir. I won't make the same mistakes again."
Dad nodded. "You and Liv..."
Blood surged through Connor's body as his heart started pounding.
Mr. Jones leaned back and tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair. "Not presuming anything here. But if things become more than friendly between you and Livvy, I expect you to show her the honor and respect I see in you every day."
Relief flooded him. He'd been given a stamp of approval. "Yes, sir."
"Good. The late movie is fine." Mr. Jones went back to watching TV.
Connor slumped into the couch and blindly followed suit.
Liv came in a little while later, holding Darcy's leash. She asked him to go on a walk, but he said no. He needed time to figure out how he was going to tell her how he felt.
He couldn't mess this up.
The thought unnerved him, kept him in a cold sweat all day. He didn't say much through dinner. And by the time they finally left for the movie, he was practically mute, a little bit pale, and so anxious he felt sick to his stomach.
Liv's quick smile when he opened the passenger door calmed him a little, but he still felt like he couldn't speak. He was backing out of the driveway, desperately trying to figure out how to begin to tell her how he felt, when her phone rang.
"What happened?" Liv said into the phone.
Chelsea could win an award for speed talking. "He went to the bathroom I had to call but only real quick because it's important, 'kay?"
"Yea--"
"Jayden told me he saw Jackson with some chick last night. Making out was just the beginning of the show, he said."
"What!"
"At the skate park. That's what he said."
"He's sure?"
"Yes, he's sure. That's not all. Connor set us up."
"Wh--what do you mean?"
"Me and Jayden. Liv, he did it for you. Oh, I gotta go. Call you later!"
Liv slowly put the phone back in her purse. She knew Connor kept glancing over at her, but she couldn't say anything. She was still trying to understand.
"Everything okay?"
When she didn't respond, he cursed and pulled to the side of the road. They were beside the park she'd played in when she was little.
"What happened, Liv?"
"I..." She thought of his Man Code and had to force herself to meet his eyes. "Did you know Jackson was cheating on me?"
His face tightened with fury.
"He's cheating on you? That dick. Tell me where he lives. He needs to be taught a lesson. I'm gonna tear him limb from limb for hurting you, Liv--"
"Stop," she said, almost absently, "violence is never the answer. I don't really care about him anyway."
"You don't?"
Her pride was hurt, but that was all. "Did you get Jayden to ask Chelsea out?"
He hesitated before saying, "Yes."
"Why?"
"It was something I could fix. I thought it would make you happy." She just stared at him.
"I've known Jayden for a while. That day I wasn't around, when Ana got in your face, I was talking to him about finally doing something about Chelsea. I knew he had always liked her too but I couldn't say anything because of, you know, the code and all that. She's important to you, so I thought if I helped her it would--"
"Make me happy," Liv said. "Like the latte."
He nodded.
"Why did you kiss me?"
His mouth opened. Nothing came out.
She waited endless moments, feeling like she couldn't breathe. Her heart seemed ready to burst in her throat. The longer she waited for his answer, the more the roiling, churning emotions inside her threatened to break free.
The silence in the pickup cab got to her. She opened the door and walked toward the park without looking back.
He caught her just as she stepped onto the grass. "Why do you think I kissed you?"
"I don't know, Connor! Because you were lonely? You needed comfort? Or maybe you just wanted to test me--"
"No. That's not why."
"Then tell me."
"I--" His face was tense, his expression closed as if he didn't want her to know what he was thinking.
"Why, Connor?"
His jaw clenched shut.
She started to turn away.
He grabbed both her arms and forced her to face him. "I kissed you because I think I'm in love with you."
* * *
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
When It's Not A Dream
Liv couldn't move, couldn't breathe.
"If I'm not already there, I definitely will be," he continued. "You're the only girl I could fall in love with. You mean so much to me and I can't lose you, and if you just don't feel like that for me that's okay, I still want what we already have--"
Tears spilled from Liv's eyes.
It was like a punch to the chest. He'd messed it up.
He felt like his legs were going to give out from under him, like he was going to topple from a crushing blow. "Please don't. I'll hide it. You won't know how I feel. Just pretend like this never happened and we can go back to the way we were."
"No."
"Please, Liv."
More tears. "Never in a million years." She wiped her eyes. "God, Connor, I love you so much I've been crazy with it."
He coul
dn't have heard her right. "You--?"
"I love you. I think I always have."
He crushed her to him. Held her so tightly he swore he could feel her heart beating in rhythm to his.
He found her mouth. Everything he felt for her, he poured into that kiss. He savored the feel of her, the softness of her lips. He nudged them open with his bottom lip, and groaned when she sucked it into her mouth. This time he didn't pull away. His tongue swept in and stroked against hers. He pulled her so tightly against him, her head arched back. He wanted to absorb her. It was the most amazing kiss of his life.
When he pulled away he felt like gasping for breath. She was trembling. "I didn't make you uncomfortable, did I?" he said.
"Only when you stopped."
Connor wanted to laugh with utter joy, but she pulled him down for another kiss. Their tongues tangled, his fingers gripped her hair to hold her head in place, her hands held tight around his neck. Until she started to explore. First over his shirt. Then under.
He broke away.
He wanted to kiss her again.
He took two steps back. "We should go to the movie."
She stared for a moment. "Huh?"
"The movie. I promised your dad I'd take you straight there and straight back."
Liv looked confused, and then smiled, so beautifully he didn't think to breathe.
"You're so freaking beautiful," he said.
Her eyes misted, but still she smiled. "You're so sweet. Worrying about my dad. I've been dreaming about this for years and you want to force me to a scary movie to keep your promise."
"Really? For years?" Pride made his chest swell, but the feeling didn't last. "It's been Hell watching you with Jackson. I'm sorry you had to see how I was with Ana."
He took two steps toward her and stroked her cheek. "I'll always treat you right, Liv." He brushed his lips against hers and almost got lost in her again.
Two steps back. "Movie." He tried to sound stern but he knew the loose grin on his face ruined the effect. He'd never been happier. The girl he wasn't good enough for loved him anyway, and would soon be clinging to him to protect her from the scary movie. Bliss.
Liv had to laugh. "Because you promised." But she knew how important her dad was to him, understood his need to keep his word.
He took her hand and walked back to the truck.
