by Amie Nichols
"Go to hell, you fucking asshole!" I yell in his face, making the girl he's wrapped around take notice. She looks drunk off her ass, her eyes half open. She smiles a very content happy smile.
"Don't be so pleased, that hard on he is sporting didn't come from you." I sneer at the girl.
"Oh really," she slurs, taking her hand she moves to cup his crotch, Liam turns his head away from me, as if he is ashamed. "Shows you how much you know, he's limp," she scoffs, like she is proud. This is sick, such a sick unhealthy game.
"Harper, I was doing you a favor!" Liam yells at me as I start to walk away. I turn staring at him again. He doesn't look so happy anymore. He walks away from the idiot drunk girl toward me. "I was saving you from having to come up with an excuse to get away from me," he says taking a step closer.
"Oh you have it all figured out!" I shout. "Poor Liam thought he was being rejected, can't have that. No worries, I am fully aware that I am replaceable," I am yelling, getting madder and madder as he stares at me. "You want to do me a favor, never look in my direction again. Also, go fuck yourself, or that girl, or whoever..." I'm trembling now I'm so hurt, mad, sad. I rush down the stairs and out of the club searching for a cab. Tears prick my eyes, I am fighting them so hard but they win. I stand on the curb waiting for a cab, men and women walking by, oblivious to me as I sob into my hand.
"What did you mean?" Liam's soft voice is next to me his hand on my back.
"What?" I stare at him dumbfounded, sniffing and wiping. I'm sure my mascara is running and I look like a total basket case.
"You said 'Liam thought he was being rejected'. You weren't rejecting me?" It's like the dense fucker's light bulb just turned on.
"I wasn't, but I am now. Leave me alone," yelling now, I can't believe how stupid he can be. His fucking ego is like a fragile egg, the slightest movement will crack its thin shell.
"Harper, please tell me what just happened. It's like you couldn't get away from me fast enough." He guides me away from the curb toward an alcove of the building away from prying eyes.
"You are one gigantic asshole," I sigh, exasperated from my long day, the mental shit with Jax and now this. "I got up because we had an audience. I was getting very turned on and so was your friend Simone. I was going to tell you that, but Tara dragged me to the bathroom and it took you all of five minutes to find a replacement." I'm leaning up against the building as Liam stares, horrified. He just realized how bad he fucked up and it is very obvious on his face.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck," he shouts, running his hands through his hair. "Oh my God, Harper, I'm so sorry." He's frantic, trying to touch my face, but I swat away his hands.
"You did do me a favor. You showed me this isn't going to work." My voice is weak, I'm just so tired.
"NO!" He's shaking his head, refusing to accept what I am saying. "I didn't do anything with her. I'm sorry, it was a misunderstanding."
"So now every time we have a ‘misunderstanding’," I use my fingers in quotations, for emphasis, "I get to be worried that you are out fucking another girl to inflate your large ego? What if we have an argument or something? Are you going to have a threesome?" I throw at him which makes him wince.
"No, I am new at this, Petal. Please, you have to give me another chance." He goes to grab my shoulders. I know he is new at this, and I also know exactly what happened, but Jesus Christ, the more I get invested into this man the more I'm going to have to pick up the pieces of my broken heart.
"Liam, don't touch me. Those fucking hands were just on another girl's ass!" I screech at him, moving away. "I'm going home. I can't do this right now." I walk toward one of the waiting cabs.
"Harper, please," he begs, following me. "Let me take you home, let's talk this out." He stands in front of the cab door not letting me open it. "Please, Petal, I'm so sorry." He is not touching me, but I can tell it is taking every ounce of strength he has not to do so.
"I know you are sorry, I even know what you thought. I have the image of you touching that girl in my head and the last thing I want right now is you touching me." My stomach is turning and my head is dizzy. I want him to suffer a little. I want to give in too. I want him to hold me and kiss me in that expert way that says I'm the only girl in the world to him. Instead, I get to imagine him all over that drunken floozy.
"Hey, are you in or out?" The cabby yells out the window.
"Move, Liam," I demand, hesitantly he turns and opens the door of the cab for me. I slide in just about to tell the driver my address when Liam gets in next to me.
"I'm not leaving until we are okay again," he scoffs, not giving me an option because he shuts the door and tells the driver to drive.
"I don't get you. One minute, you are confident take charge. The next, you are insecure, needing anything to stroke your ego," I grate, wanting to yell but can't now in the tiny cab.
"Ever since I met you I don't know who I am, either. I want to take you, have you, and make you mine, but then I think that will drive you away so I hold back."
"Not sure when you've held back." Remembering the locker room where he gave me the best orgasm of my life.
"Trust me, Petal, I've been holding back," he half chuckles. "I don't know why I did what I did tonight. Kind of like you don't know why you did what you did last night with the British guy."
"I know why I did it, Liam. I just can't believe I did do it," I correct him. "You also know why you did what you did. I get it, Liam, I do. You remember I told you last night that I wanted to go a week without seeing a girl plastered to you. It has barely been twenty-four hours, what does that say?" I just stare at him leaning up against the door of the cab.
"That since you've entered my life I've gone crazy." He half smiles, I can tell he is trying to lighten the mood. "Please just give me one more chance." He scoots toward me and I give him a warning look which makes him stop. "Please?" he begs as the cab stops outside of my apartment.
"Fine, I will call you tomorrow." I get out of the cab and slam the door before he even has a chance to say another word.
Chapter 11
I don't sleep worth a shit that night. When I do finally fall asleep, it's not long before I'm awakened by my alarm. I hit the snooze, rolling over cuddling into my blanket. I still don't have my phone, and even though I am a little grateful for the peace and quiet, I still feel a little cut off from the world.
I decide to go work out again to clear my head before going to the library to meet with the group. I told Liam I would call him today, but I don't know what I am going to say. It really hurts what he did, it's still so fresh in my mind the way he was touching her. Then again, he wasn't hard when he was touching her. Even though watching her cup his crotch was like a knife to the gut, the fact that he was no longer hard did give me some satisfaction.
When I open the door to my apartment there is an envelope sitting outside my door. In it are the keys to my car and an invoice marked paid with an itemized bill that is three pages long. What they didn't replace on my car would have been easier to write.
I lock my door and in the parking lot is my car. It looks brand new. In fact it has a new paint job. It's been reupholstered, and according to the invoice, has a whole new engine. The sneaky bastard bought me a new car without buying me a new car. Fuck, how am I going to get around this? I can't accept this, but how do I return my own car, demand they put the old parts back in?
Walking in the gym, it is busier than it has been the last couple of times I've been there. I have yet to see any other waitresses from The Guardian. I go in the locker room and stow my bag, jacket, and change my shoes.
I swing open the door and look down at my iPod as I turn the corner, running straight into a hard chest. The chest is so hard that I get a bloody nose instantly. I don't even have time to register what is happening, when Liam is holding my shoulders as my hands go up to my nose.
"Son of a bitch!" It fucking hurts like I was punched.
"Oh my God, fuck I'm sorry, Petal." I look up at his e
yes filled with concern as I feel the blood coming through my fingers. He guides me quickly back into the locker room, grabbing a towel, he moves my hands and starts to wipe the blood. He takes control by grabbing my waist and with the towel over my nose he tilts my head back.
"Just relax, I've got you, Petal," he whispers in a soothing voice. I do, I relax into his arm as he holds me up with my head back. "I'm sorry. I figured you would be paying attention. I should know better by now that you don't." He laughs. How many times now has this man scared me or caused me to do something terribly stupid?
"Shut up," I sniff, sounding like an idiot with my nose being plugged by the towel in his hand.
"What was that?" He laughs at the sound of my voice.
I sit up to see if I can still feel blood running. When I don't, I take the towel and go to the mirror over the sink. Wetting it, I wipe off all the blood. The towel is bright red. It seems as though it was bleeding very well because I feel light headed. I hold myself up with the sink feeling very weak.
"Jesus, Petal." Liam is next to me holding me up. "You are white as a ghost."
"I'm fine, just give me a second," I tell him, willing myself to stop the spinning of the room.
"Have you eaten today?" he asks holding on to my waist for dear life.
"Ummm ... no." Come to think about it, I don't remember the last time I ate. Oh I had a muffin yesterday morning.
"Come on, I'm taking you to get you something to eat," he orders, and I'm about to object when he sighs heavily. "Please, can I take you to get something to eat?" he asks this time, glaring at me with aggravation. What can I say, he is being really sweet right now.
"Yes," I answer, still using him to lean on.
I have to lean on him all the way to his car. Once I get seated in his Viper I start to feel better. Liam gets in the driver's side and leans over me to grab my seatbelt. I think I should swat him away, I can do this, but don't. The side of his face right in front of me drives my senses wild. God how does he smell so good all the time?
"Where are we going?" I ask as he starts the engine and we start speeding around the corners of the parking garage. I hang on to the door handle for dear life because I feel like we are going to go careening over the edge. He looks over at me lifting one eyebrow in amusement at my fear.
"For the love of God, keep your eyes on the road!" I squeal when he has looked at me too long.
"Calm down, Petal," he smirks, shifting gears with confidence. He does seem to be doing a very good job as he drives with ease around the sharp corners.
"So where are you taking me?" I ask again when we are out of the death trap parking garage.
"My place," he pauses then glances at me. "What, no objection?"
"Are you going to cook me something?"
"Yes."
"Then no objection." I give him a weak smile. Truthfully, I don't have it in me to object. I think his chest may have given me a concussion.
"So basically I just need to knock you out and then you do what I want." He laughs, but stops abruptly realizing what it sounded like. "I mean, I would never do that on purpose of course," backtracking his words immediately.
"I know, but don't pretend you're not a caveman. I need to stop at the library. I think I left my phone there yesterday." My head is starting to pound so I lean back resting my head on the back of the seat.
I hear Liam's frantic voice, "Petal!" That is the last thing I remember.
Chapter 12
I wake up feeling like I am floating on a cloud. It is so comfortable and relaxing. I open my eyes to see that I am in a very large bed. It is dark with a dim light on in the corner. I sit up on my elbows, searching the room. Over toward the light is Liam sitting in an overstuffed chair in gray sweatpants and no shirt. He has his feet on the ottoman staring contently at a laptop propped on his knees.
I look down at myself. I am still wearing my work out clothes. I don't feel panicked, but relaxed and hungry. He was bringing me here to get something to eat. I sit up completely, the movement catching his attention.
"Hey you," he whispers, placing the laptop on the ottoman and coming over to the bed. "How you feeling?" He sits on the edge next to me, one leg on one leg off. Damn, does he look good. I want to reach out and just touch that amazing chest, and run my fingers over those chiseled abs, but my mind kicks in.
"I have to use the restroom." All of a sudden I feel like I haven't peed in forever. It's starting to hurt the more I move around. I'm scrambling to get up, Liam points to the direction of the bathroom.
"You're not feeling nauseous are you?" His voice is filled with concern as I run to shut the door fast before there is an accident.
"Harper, I need to know if you vomit. The doctor said that vomiting is bad after a head injury," he says at the door. Doctor? I swear it takes me five minutes to empty my bladder, the whole time Liam is at the door asking every couple seconds if I'm all right.
"Yes, I just had to pee," I finally say after the third time he asks. After washing my hands, I look in the mirror. Oh shit, both corners of my eyes at the bridge of my nose are bruised black and blue. His fucking chest gave me two black eyes. My hair looks wild, so I comb it out with my fingers. I stand back looking at myself in the mirror. Don't think I have to worry about fighting him off looking like this.
I come out of the bathroom and Liam is sitting on the edge of the bed with his arms crossed. I come over to sit next to him and he turns looking at me with concern. "When did I see a doctor?"
"After you passed out in my car I carried you up here and called my cousin."
"Tony?" I screech, horrified at the thought of him looking at me.
"No," Liam laughs. "My cousin Selina. She's a family practice M.D." He shakes his head in disbelief. "Do you really think I would let Tony near you?" He is still chuckling.
"I'm really glad to hear you say that." I can't help but laugh with him.
"Anyway, she examined you. She thinks you may have a concussion, so she said to let you rest, but if you started vomiting I needed to get you to the hospital right away." Explaining his need for knowing exactly what I was doing in the bathroom.
"Thank you for taking care of me." I give him a half smile, then my stomach makes the loudest feed me rumble I have ever heard.
"Something tells me we should feed that thing before it comes out." Liam laughs loudly at the sound. He takes my hand gently in his to help me up. "You are cold, here put this on." He hands me an oversized Chicago Cubs sweatshirt to put on over my sports bra. I know I have clothes in my bag, wherever that is, but I can smell Liam's scent on this. I quickly put it on, feeling warm all over. Not just from the sweatshirt, but from the absolute look of concern he has in his eyes right now.
He takes my hand again, guiding me down the hallway of his apartment into an open living room. Off to the side is a galley-type kitchen, and a room that looks like an office on the other side. One whole wall is windows overlooking the Chicago skyline. That's when I notice it is dark out.
"Shit, what time is it?" I look around for a clock.
"Just a little after 9:00. You've been out for a while." He walks into the kitchen leaving me to look around the massive living room. I hear him clinking away with pots as I walk to the window. I've never seen Chicago like this. We are high up, it's gorgeous looking out at it all lit up.
I walk across the living room that would fit five of my apartment and sit at the bar that separates the kitchen and the front room. I watch Liam's back as he warms something up on the stove. He has broad shoulders that come down to a thin waist. I feel like I'm about to drool watching him. He hasn't even tried making a move on me, not a kiss or anything. Is it because I look hideous or is it because he has decided I am not worth all this trouble?
"Crap, I still don't have my phone." I realize all of a sudden.
"I called the library. They said no one turned one in," Liam says, turning around he leans on the counter across from me. "I'm afraid you may have lost it for good." He slide
s his hands over the counter taking my hands in his. Duh, you idiot, he hasn't made a move because you just woke up from a coma.
"Thank you," I tell him looking down at my hands in his. He's rubbing his thumbs along my knuckles softly. I smell whatever he is warming up and it smells like heaven.
"You're welcome." He smiles when I look up at his dark eyes. "I like taking care of you, I mean I don't like that you were... " he stumbles with his words. "I mean, I like you being here with me," he says softly, it's like he is so scared to say the wrong thing.
"Relax, Liam," I tease. "That smells so good, what is it?" I change the subject. He lets my hands loose and stirs the steaming contents in the pot on the stove.
"Pasta e fagioli," he says in a beautiful Italian accent. The way he says it, I don't care what it is, all I know is I want to eat it, then eat him.
He sets a bowl of warm soup in front of me. I see white beans and pasta and some kind of meat with lots of vegetables in a broth.
"Did you make this?" I take the spoon, blowing on the bite before I put it in my mouth. "My God, it is delicious." He puts some bread in front of me next then leans his elbows on the counter watching me. "Are you going to eat?"
"Yes, I will in a minute, and yes, I made it. Last weekend, it's been in the freezer. It's my aunt's recipe; she is back in Italy now. It's about the only thing I can make though," he says resting his chin on his hand. At this minute, I don't even care if he is not eating or that he is watching me. I am so hungry that I just keep eating.
"Okay, now I'm getting self-conscious," I blurt after about five bites of him still staring at me.
