by Jae
“Please, come back anytime, Daisy.” Coach tells me.
“Thank you. I definitely will.” I accept as we shake hands.
“I assume you’ll be at the game Friday?”
“Yes, I will be!” I confirm with a bright smile and he nods his head with an amused look at his face before walking away.
“Did you have fun today?” Liam asks as he loosely wraps his arms around me.
I nod my head, placing my hands on his still shirtless chest and looking up into his beautiful green eyes. “This was really awesome.”
Liam nods his head in agreement, kissing the tip on my nose. “How’s your knee?”
“Not that bad actually.” I shrug my shoulders. “Just a little sore; nothing I can’t handle.”
“We’ll have to put some ice on it when we get back to your house.” Liam suggests, pulling his arms away from around me and linking our hands together instead.
“That sounds like a good idea.” I agree as we walk over to the bleachers to retrieve my phone.
“I have to go to the locker room to get my stuff really quick.” Liam informs me after we walk out of the gym. “Wait for me by the front doors we walked in, okay?”
I nod my head and then we part ways. I take in the random award plaques, trophies, and other sports related memorabilia hanging on the walls while I walk down the long hallway. Even though I shouldn’t be all that surprised, I can’t help but be anyways when I see Liam’s name on some of the ‘record breaking’ plaques. An overwhelming sense of pride fills me as I finish my journey to the front doors where I’m not left waiting too much longer before Liam appears next to me.
“What do you think of spaghetti and meatballs for dinner tonight?” Liam asks after we get in his car.
“That actually sounds really good.” I respond as Liam reaches over and laces his fingers with mine while he drives.
“Good.” He says with a smile. “I’ll start making it when we get back to your house.”
“You can cook?”
“Don’t sound so surprised.” He laughs, glancing over at me.
“Sorry,” I apologize, letting out a giggle. “I didn’t mean to. I’ve just never had a guy cook for me before.”
“I guess you better get used to it then.” Liam playfully winks and squeezes my hand, making me smile.
I let my arm hang out the window, moving my hand in a rollercoaster motion through the air. Every now and then I glance over at Liam and silently admire how good he looks with a pair of black Wayfarer Ray Bans covering his eyes. I think back to our scrimmage and how badly I wanted to pounce on him when he took his shirt off, sweat glistening on his lightly tanned skin. God, he’s so beautiful.
“We smell.” Liam comments after we pull into my driveway, dragging me out of my thoughts, and puts the car in park.
“I call shower first!” I exclaim, jumping out of the car and racing inside.
“You do realize there are like five showers in your house, right?” Liam asks from not far behind me.
I don’t respond, instead rolling my eyes and continuing to run into my bathroom and turn on the shower. I quickly strip down and get in just as Liam comes walking in.
“Liam!” I shout when he opens the sliding door and gets in behind me. “Get out!”
“No way!” He laughs while wrapping his arms around me and burying his face into my shoulder. “A couple who sweats together, showers together. It’s obvious logic. We’re pretty much saving the planet right now.”
“Oh, so we’re a couple now?” I joke, playfully rolling my eyes at his other comments.
“Well, yeah.” He responds, his voice becoming serious. “At least, I thought we were?”
I stay quiet, not sure how to respond.
“Do you not want to be?” Liam presses as he spins me around in his arms.
“Of course I do.” I reassure while looking up at his worried face. “You just never really asked me, you know?”
“Oh.” Liam responds before pulling me closer to him. “Well, then at the chance of sounding super cheesy right now - Daisy, will you be my girlfriend?”
“I’d love to!” I exclaim with a grin and Liam’s cheeks start to turn red. “Oh my God, you’re totally blushing!”
“I am not.” He instantly denies, swatting my hand away as I poke his cheeks and they grow redder.
“You so are!” I giggle. “But it’s okay because you look adorable.”
“I’m not supposed to look adorable, Daisy.” Liam huffs as he squeezes some shampoo into his hand and then starts to massage it into my hair. “Babies are adorable. I’m a man, and men aren’t adorable”
“Then can you be cute?” I ask, squeezing some of his body-wash into my hand and rub it onto his chest.
“No, that doesn’t sound manly either.” Liam responds, shaking his head. “Tilt your head back.”
I do as I’m told and he gently washes the shampoo out of my hair. When he’s done, I tilt my head back up and he starts to massage conditioner into my hair.
“This smells really good.” He comments before I wipe some bubbles onto the tip of his nose. “Oh, thanks.”
“Anytime!” I say with a wink which makes him laugh. “So, what sounds manly then?”
“I don’t know.” He answers before making me tilt my head back again. After my hair is rinsed out, we trade spots so he can wash his hair.
“How about something like, ‘Damn Liam, you look bangin’ when you blush?’” I joke while rubbing my body-wash on my arms.
“I don’t know if I would go that far with it?”
“Then, how about sexy?” I offer.
“Hmm…” Liam contemplates before looking down at me. “I like that.”
“Me too.” I smile, leaning up and kissing him.
We get out of the shower a few minutes later and walk into my closet. Even though I was just standing completely naked in front of Liam in my shower for what I’ve just realized is the second time now, I can’t help but suddenly feel a little shy and blush when I notice he’s watching me get dressed.
“I’m going to go start the food.” Liam tells me a few minutes later, patting his stomach for emphasis.
I nod my head and tell him I’ll be down in a second. I finish towel drying my hair, making sure it won’t drip at the ends before hanging mine and Liam’s towels up in my bathroom. When I walk into the kitchen, I lean on the doorway and watch Liam move around the room like he’s lived here his entire life. This thought makes me smile. I wonder what Liam was like growing up and if we would’ve been friends in school. I’m pulled out of my thoughts when Liam walks over and takes my hand in his, pulling me further into the kitchen and having me sit down on a stool at the counter. I help out whenever he needs me to, which isn’t very often. When the food is just about ready, I set the table; even lighting a few candles to make it seem a little more romantic.
“Nice touch.” Liam compliments, referring to the candles when he brings the finished food over to the table.
We both put heaping piles of noodles and sauce and two huge meatballs on our plates. After pouring us each a glass of milk, I grab a piece of homemade garlic cheese bread and dip it in my sauce.
“It’s not bad so far.” I tease when Liam raises his eyebrows at me.
After taking a drink of my milk to clear my taste buds, I cut a chunk off of my meatball and spin it around in my noodles and sauce.
“Holy crap!” I exclaim after swallowing the bite. “This is amazing, Liam!”
“Thanks.” He chuckles and that ‘sexy’ blush creeps into his cheeks again.
“Where did you learn to cook?”
“My Mom and Grandma taught me. Growing up, I remember them always being in the kitchen together making up new recipes, redoing old ones, and sometimes they would let me help.”
“That’s really cool!” I smile, feeling glad he’s starting to share something personal about his life with me.
“Yeah, it was.” He agrees. “I think they would r
eally like you.”
All I can do is smile.
“What about you?” He asks. “How did you learn to cook?”
“Ella’s Mom loves to be in the kitchen too, so it’s mostly from her.” I respond, shrugging my shoulders. “My mom was always too busy with work, but every now and then she would be home long enough to cook a real meal and I would just sit at the counter and watch her.”
“You’ve known Ella a long time then?”
“Yeah, we grew up together; our parents go way back.” I respond. “It’s always been really cool though because neither of us have siblings, so we’ve just become each other’s sister.”
“That’s nice.”
“Do you have any siblings?”
“No, I’m an only child also.” Liam replys with a hint of sadness in his voice and I suddenly feel like I’ve struck a bad cord.
“Well, I guess we’ll just have to start an only child club and make t-shirts or something like that.” I joke, trying to cheer him up.
“Yeah,” He agrees with a genuine laugh. “That would be funny.”
“Is your family from here?”
“Yeah, sort of.” He answers, finishing his plate. “I grew up about an hour away from here.”
“Oh, that must be nice for your Mom then.” I comment, finishing my plate also. “You not being so far away from home, I mean.”
Liam nods his head before clearing his throat and then standing up, clearing ending the conversation. I watch as he grabs our plates and glasses, his jaw firmly set as he carries them over to the sink and rinses them off before putting them inside the dishwasher.
“Come on.” I say, grabbing ahold of his hand and leading him to the basement where the ‘entertainment’ room is. “I want to show you something.”
“Wow!” Liam exclaims as he looks around, taking in the large room and just as large entertainment center. “This room is insane!”
“Yeah, my Dad designed it himself.” I inform him while picking out a movie and then putting it in. “It’s like his man cave. Well, his second man cave. His office is his actual man cave.”
“When I have my own house, I will definitely have a man cave like this.” Liam declares after he pulls me down onto the couch with him.
“I hear they’re pretty cool to have.” I giggle, Liam tickling me on and off while we watch the previews that play before the main menu of the movie appears.
“I really like you, Daisy.” Liam suddenly tells me just before I start the actual movie.
“I really like you too, Liam.”
After the movie is over, Liam and I move upstairs to my room and climb into my bed. Laying my head on Liam’s bare chest, I lazily graze my fingers up and down his side. I think back to when Liam and I were at his apartment and I try to recall the pictures on his nightstand. I remember there being three black frames with pictures of Liam and two older women in them, but I can’t quite recall what they looked like.
“Hey, Liam?” I ask, hoping he’s still awake.
“Yeah?” He mumbles.
“Can I ask you something?” I question hesitantly. “But you have to promise you won’t get mad or anything.”
“Sure.” He answers softly.
“You have to say you promise.” I press.
“I promise.” Liam reluctantly answers with a sigh.
“Are the women in those pictures next to your bed your Mom and Grandma?” I ask, instantly feeling his body tense beneath me.
I prop my head up on his chest when I feel him move his arm from around and run his hand over his face. I tilt my head forward and press a kiss to the space in the center of his chest and then let out a soft, relieved sigh when I feel him slowly begin to relax again.
“Yeah, they are.” He answers after a few more silent moments.
I nod my head while reaching up to grab his hand away from his face and wrapping it back around me. Once I’m satisfied, I lay my head back down on his chest.
“Liam?”
“Yeah?”
“Will I ever get to meet them?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why not?” I press and begin to graze my fingers over his side again.
It’s a long while before he answers me again. So long that I could’ve sworn he’d fallen asleep.
“I haven’t seen them since those pictures were taken three years ago.” He explains. My fingers pause when I hear the evident pain in his voice. “The only time we talk is on the holidays and our birthdays.”
I stay quiet, absorbing his words, while waiting in the hopes that he’ll continue.
“My Dad used to beat my Mom when I was a kid.” Liam says softly, the more than obvious tears filling his voice. I close my eyes, not expecting him to say something so horrible. “When I was ten, my Mom found out she was pregnant. She was so happy and so was I because I was finally going to have a brother or sister. My Dad on the other hand felt the complete opposite. A little less than three months into the pregnancy, my Dad just snapped, raged on and on about how they already had one ungrateful brat and didn’t need another one, and then started to beat the crap out of my mom; worse than he’d ever done before. I tried to stop him, but I was too small. He just pushed me aside every time. When he was finished, he packed up and left while my Mom lied unconscious on the floor. I crawled over to her and held her head in my lap, crying and begging for her to wake up. My Grandma came home from work a half hour later and called 911 as soon as she saw us. The entire time I prayed to God, asking him over and over not to take my Mom and unborn sibling away from me. There was so much blood though; I was drenched in it by the time an ambulance arrived. There was no way the baby would’ve survived. And, well, they didn’t. ”
I press my body closer to Liam’s when he takes a deep, shaky breath before continuing to talk.
“After my Dad left, everything got better for my Mom and me. I mean, we weren’t living a luxurious life by any means, but it was a steady one and we were happy. I focused hard on my studies and got really serious about basketball; my Mom and Grandma behind me one hundred percent. By the time senior year came to an end, I had multiple scholarships, college coaches begging me to come play for them, and graduated with high honors.
“My mom always dated but none of them ever turned into anything serious until my senior year. She was constantly going to see some guy but every time I asked her who he was, she refused to tell me. She would just say that I would find out when the time was right. Looking back on it, I figure I should’ve been more suspicious, but I just told myself it was her life and left it alone. A couple days before my graduation, my Mom told me that the guy she’s been seeing was going to come to my graduation ceremony. Personally, I thought it was kind of weird because one, he didn’t even know me. And two, why wouldn’t he go to my graduation party the day before so we could be introduced? But my mom was excited so I just played along.
“After my class walked out at the beginning of the ceremony, I looked around like an idiot trying to find my Mom and Grandma. As soon as I spotted them, I saw my Dad sitting with them. At first I was confused about why he was there considering I hadn’t seen or talked to him since I was ten, and then I realized that my Dad was the guy my Mom was dating and it literally made me feel sick to my stomach. He tried to talk to me after the ceremony, but I brushed him off, not wanting to hear anything he had to say. When we got home, something just snapped inside of me and I started to beat the hell out of him; like all those times he beat my Mom.
“I’ll never forget the look on his face after I threw my first punch. It was like before he still saw the small ten year old kid I was when he left and then was suddenly seeing the 18 year old man I had become. I remember hearing my Mom and Grandma screaming at me to stop from the back porch as I punched him in the face over and over again in the yard. I didn’t stop until he was unconscious, and even then kept going a little bit longer. We were both covered in blood, just like the last time I had seen him.
“I really don’
t know how I stopped, how I didn’t kill him, but somehow I did. I remember turning around and seeing the terrified looks on my Mom and Grandma’s faces; it wasn’t until then that I fully realized what I had done. I quickly rushed past them and went to the upstairs bathroom and tried to wash off as much of the blood as I possibly could in the sink. Then I packed all of my stuff, loaded up my car, drove here, found myself a place to live, signed up for classes at USC, joined my fraternity and the basketball team. I haven’t been back since.”
When Liam finishes, I sit up and plant kisses all over his face.
“I’m so sorry, Liam.” I whisper, feeling my heart completely break for him.
After Liam falls asleep, I press one final kiss to his forehead before snuggling back into his side. I patiently wait for sleep to overtake me, but the information Liam just gave me keeps playing in my mind over and over again. So instead I start to graze my fingers up and down his side again while I try to completely process everything. I shudder at the image of a little Liam watching his Mom getting hit by his own Dad and not being able to do anything about it. Then I picture Liam now, but with his build a tad smaller, beating up his Dad and taking out all of his anger on him. Everything about why Liam is the way he is makes so much more sense now.
Chapter Ten
I decide to go to practice with Liam for the next couple of days since I start working again next week and won’t be able to go very often. After every practice, Liam and I go for runs around the track outside the gym and lift weights in the weight room. I try my best to spot Liam when he’s doing the bench press, but we both know that if he drops the bar there’s no way I’m going to be able to save him. I like spending time with Liam like this though. We’re in his own element where he feels comfortable. I’m learning a lot more about him too; like how he originally joined his fraternity just for the parties, but he’s glad he did it because he’s been able to meet a lot of really cool people and make some great friends. He loves all different types of music, but his favorite is rock, like The Rolling Stones and The Ramones. He doesn’t mind doing girly things like watching chick flicks and going shopping. His full name is Liam Michael Jones. His favorite color is green, but he also really likes blue. If he could only eat one thing for the rest of his life, it would be pizza.
