Page 15

Chapter Fifteen

S itting in the backseat of Liam’s car was a wild place to be on a Friday night, considering I’d only agreed to go out so he could have his apartment to himself for the first time since I’d moved in.

If I’d known that he had plans to go out for the night, I would’ve gladly stayed tucked up in his apartment, safe and warm from the horrors of the world.

Going out had never been my thing, but I couldn’t think of a time that I wanted to go less than when I woke up from the coziest nap of my life, only to see Maggie standing there waiting for me.

I wasn’t in any mood to be out in public. I didn’t drink, so it wasn’t like I could nurse my broken heart with alcohol.

The only reason I said yes was because I knew that Liam probably needed a break from me, but here he was anyway. I’m not sure if Maggie asked him to come or if he’d been going anyway, but it didn’t matter. Now the three of us were sitting in the silence of his car while Liam’s fingers thrummed anxiously against the wheel as he maneuvered in and out of Boston traffic.

“So, where are we going?” Maggie asked, her eyes glued to the Instagram feed she was scrolling through.

“The Trap,” Liam replied tersely, his body far more rigid than normal.

“No way!” Maggie instantly dropped her phone on her lap. “Are you kidding? That place is always so hard to get into!”

“I told you, the guys are already there.” He shrugged. “It’ll be no problem.”

I stared at his profile, softly illuminated by the glow of the city outside the car. I wasn’t imagining it. He was definitely tense. But why?

I tried to focus on something—anything else, rather than being caught staring at him like a creep that he would be forced to bring home with him at the end of the night.

His car was clean with black leather seats and the unmistakable scent of Liam filling the small space. How do I know what he smells like already? But I did. He smelled like cedar and ice and cold winter mornings. It was comforting.

But for some reason, he certainly wasn’t. At that moment, he looked anything but.

“Liam, are you okay?” I couldn’t help but ask after a few more minutes of watching him drive with a tight jaw.

At my words, Maggie looked over to examine her brother, scanning his face for whatever she thought I had seen in it.

He looked back at me, startled as if he hadn’t expected me to notice him. But how could I not?

“I’m fine,” he said before returning his eyes to the road. Somehow, he looked a bit lighter than before.

Maybe I put him on edge. Maybe now he thinks he has to pretend.

“He’s fine,” Maggie agreed. “Liam just hates going out.”

“Why?” I asked. At the same time, Liam said, “I do not hate going out.”

“Because he gets swarmed by women. The horror.” She giggled. “Though I don’t know why anyone would try. He’s like the most unapproachable guy in the world.”

Something twisted in my stomach. I really didn’t want to spend the night watching that. Not that it was any of my business, but it would only exacerbate the feeling of loneliness in the pit of my stomach.

He scoffed but didn’t bother denying Maggie’s comment as he pulled into a parking lot that had a valet ready to take the keys from Liam.

We all got out, me fumbling awkwardly with my seatbelt while Maggie and Liam hovered, waiting for me.

“Are you cold?” Liam frowned, looking down at the outfit Maggie had picked out for me.

“It’s fine,” I lied. “We’ll be inside in a minute anyway.”

“Come on!” Maggie pulled me toward the door, leaving Liam trailing after us with his hands in his pockets.

As soon as we got inside, the stench of alcohol hit me, and I wished we hadn’t come at all. It was dark, loud, and, most of all, crowded.

Music boomed from every corner as bodies swayed under the dim lights. Maggie looked dazed, staring in each direction. I’d known since college she was a partier, but my party days had started and ended with that infamous night when I first met her.

Now, I wrapped my arms around my body, feeling totally out of my element.

“Come on,” Liam said, as I felt his hand come up to my lower back. “Let’s go find the guys.”

My body tingled from the sensation of Liam’s guiding hand, but I mentally reminded myself that it was only there so I wouldn’t get lost in the crowd.

I focused on anything else, taking note of how many people, inebriated states and all, stopped in their tracks to stare at Liam.

“Brynn!” multiple guys called out, attempting to stagger their way toward him.

But he was quicker. As if practiced, he had us lost deeper in the crowd before they could get to him.

“Huge fan, man.” Another drunken guy attempted to dab him up as we passed by.

“Liam Brynn,” A girl cooed, reaching out as if to grab him and steal him away.

I bristled, immediately uncomfortable by the audacity of people. I knew we were in the Harbor Wolves’ home city, but I found myself shocked by how recognized he was in the darkness of a bar. And what surprised me more was how he didn’t pay them any mind. Like he was used to it.

“Wow,” I breathed out, looking up at Liam. “You’re like a big deal.”

“Not really,” He brushed off my comment, his sea-glass eyes looking down at me.

“There they are!” Maggie yelped in excitement, staring at a group of guys at a high booth table in the backroom.

“Do my eyes deceive me?” one of the guys called out with a mocking, open-jawed stare. “Or did Liam Brynn deem to join us for a night out?”

“And he brought some lovely ladies,” another commented, despite the fact that they were already surrounded by a handful of girls on the sidelines attempting to chat them up.

“Hi!” Maggie waved, apparently thrilled to be immersed in what appeared to be the busiest bar in Boston.

“Knock it off,” Liam ordered, taking his hand off my back to pull a chair out.

I waited for him to sit, only realizing when he looked down at me that he was waiting for me to take the seat.

“Oh, thanks.” I flushed, hoping it wouldn’t be seen in the darkness. Once I was settled, he pulled out the chair next to me and took his place.

Maggie had already taken it upon herself to drag a chair over and was chatting animatedly with the guys, who all stared at her with looks of captivation.

“His little sister,” I heard her yelling over the music. “And she’s my best friend.”

Not knowing what else to do, I waved at them all, uttering a soft “Hi” that I doubted was heard over the thrumming bass.

“Hey, Maggie!” the guy across the table from her said. He extended his hand, nearly sending his beer toppling as he did so. “It’s nice to see you again, I’m Brody.”

The guy, Brody, stared over at Liam and mouthed what looked like a “thank you” before giving his full attention once more to Maggie.

“So, best friend.” The bulky blond guy across the table turned to me. “Do you have a name?”

I felt Liam’s arm slink around the back of my chair while I stammered out an awkward, “I’m .”

“, huh?” He smirked. “We saw you at the rink earlier tonight. And on behalf of all of us, may I say we’re all thrilled that Liam finally found someone to put a smile on that pretty face of his. Makes the guy a little more bearable to be around, you know what I mean?”

The table laughed, and I was highly aware of Liam stiffening beside me. I felt bad, knowing that these guys probably had the wrong idea about us and how that fact probably bothered Liam more than he let on.

Of course, he was too much of a gentleman to deny it in front of me, but I’m sure the last thing he wanted was for his friends to think there was anything going on between us.

“Oh,” I said, not able to hide my blush. “It’s not like that. We hardly know each other, really. I’m Maggie’s friend.”

I pointed to the brunette sitting down at the table, listening intently to something Brody was explaining with dramatic hand movements.

He followed my gaze. “Yeah, he mentioned that,” he responded, looking between us, eyes settling curiously on Liam.

I didn’t dare look at Liam’s expression, but I hoped that my clarification would help show that I didn’t expect anything from him.

The bulky blonde across from me downed the rest of his drink in a way that made me shudder before inclining his head toward the open space in the middle of the bar.

“, why don’t you come with me to get another? On me.” He flashed a grin.

Oh, great. The worst part of any night out.

Someone would insist on buying drinks, I would politely decline, and we’d then proceed to spend the next handful of minutes discussing why I didn’t drink since no one could ever leave it at ‘No, thank you.’

But when I opened my mouth to speak the words anyway, a deeper voice responded before I had the chance.

“She’s fine,” Liam’s voice said with little room for discussion.

“But you said—” The blond guy was ready to protest.

“I said she’s fine,” Liam repeated, and when his friend’s eyes landed behind me, I became hyper-aware of the arm draped casually against the back of my chair.

“I get it.” The blond guy smirked, holding his hands up in defeat. “No worries.”

And even if he didn’t really get it, I was grateful to Liam, nonetheless. I didn’t exactly want to go off with some drunken hockey player in a bar I wasn’t entirely comfortable in.

In fact, the only thing grounding me at that moment was the fact that Liam was sitting there beside me.

His teammate got up, no doubt in pursuit of some other girl who would gladly jump at the chance to have him buy her a drink, and I sank back in relief.

Sometimes, I felt defective. I was in my twenties; wasn’t I supposed to enjoy nightlife and bars and alcohol? Why, then, did it feel like the only place I wanted to be was curled up in the apartment of some guy I didn’t know, who probably didn’t want me there?

“Thanks,” I mumbled, looking up at Liam, who was already staring at me.

“You don’t have to thank me,” he said. “I know no girl likes to be hit on by drunk, persistent guys, and Ryan is about the most persistent guy in Boston.”

I held back a shudder, grateful to have escaped a scenario like that. That was exactly why I didn’t go out. I hated having to dodge guys like that, even if they meant well. Well, that, plus the way being surrounded by alcohol and drunk people always set off my fight-or-flight response.

This brought my attention to the drink in Liam’s hand, which looked surprisingly like… water?

“You’re not drinking?” I asked with furrowed brows.

“I’m not a big drinker.” He shrugged as if it were no big deal. “Especially not when I’m driving you home.”

I shifted uncomfortably. I didn’t want him to resent the fact that he was driving me or let it get in the way of the night out he wanted to have with his friends.

“Right, but a drink only takes, like, what, an hour to get out of your system? Which means you could have a few beers and be good to go in a few hours,” I tried to justify, even though I felt immensely safer being next to someone sober.

“What if you want to leave before then?” he said.

“I can always Uber,” I responded. “You don’t have to base your night around me. I really don’t want to get in your way.”

“,” he said, looking at me intently.

“Yeah?” My breath hitched.

“I’m not going to drink,” he said. “I wasn’t planning on it, and I was telling the truth when I said I really don’t do it often.”

“You don’t?” I asked, feeling a weight off my chest.

Everyone our age seemed to, and it felt like a reprieve to find someone who could handle a night being sober.

“I don’t.” He shook his head. “I never have. I like being in control of myself too much for that.”

I felt myself sag in relief. It shouldn’t matter if he liked it or not, but it did. It made me feel safer in a way that I could never admit without sounding crazy.

“That’s good.” I nodded.

“Is it?” He smirked, raising a brow at me.

“Well, yeah.” I blushed. “I mean, drinking is objectively bad, right? So it’s good that you don’t like to do it a lot?” I fumbled for an explanation, feeling foolish as I rambled.

“Well, I think you’re the first person I’ve met who hasn’t called me boring for it, so thanks.” He laughed softly.

There was a pause before he said, “So, what about you?”

“Me?” I asked.

“You don’t drink at all?”

“No,” I admitted almost shamefully. “I never have.”

“Why?” he asked softly. “Not that you need a reason not to. But is there one?”

“Uh,” I said hesitantly. “I guess I figured my entire family drinks enough to make up for the fact I don’t.” I chuckled nervously. “In fact, even if I wanted to, there probably wouldn’t be any left for me if they were around.”

He nodded as if understanding. But I was sure he didn’t. He couldn’t. Not the full extent of it, at least.

“I always thought it was overrated anyway,” he said, changing the topic to himself in a way he must’ve known I wanted.

Somehow, he was able to pick up on little cues from me. Knowing when I was uncomfortable, tired, or cold, without me having to say anything at all.

“I mean, if you need to be drunk to have fun, then maybe it’s more of a you problem.”

“Right!” I exclaimed, practically jumping from my seat. I settled back down, embarrassed, before continuing, “I mean, like, why can’t we do anything else besides go to a bar? The bookstore, or the beach, or whale watching—”

“Whale watching?” He smirked. “Do you want to go whale watching, ?”

“I’m not opposed to it.” I made a face at him. “I’m just saying that there are so many things to do, but all anyone in our age bracket wants to do is get drunk.”

“Well, don’t worry,” he said. “I’ll take you whale watching, and we can freeze our sober asses off on some boat in the middle of the ocean.”

“Yeah, it’s getting a little cold for it,” I agreed. “More of a springtime activity.”

“That’s a better plan. We’ll go then instead.”

I smiled, not wanting to break the comfort of the joke to remark on how we probably wouldn’t really know each other better by the time spring came around. Certainly won’t be on hanging out terms by then, but it felt nice to share a moment with someone.

Cue Maggie.

“Why are you looking at each other like that?”

She looked between us suspiciously.

“We weren’t!” I rushed to defend, though I was sure that the blush covering my cheeks made me look a lot guiltier than I was.

Liam, for his part, looked pissed.

I didn’t know how he could do that. Look so soft and open one moment and totally hardened and closed off the next.

“Don’t mind my sister. She’s always been nosy,” Liam said, but I noticed the way his chair was pushed slightly farther than it had been.

“It’s not being nosy when it’s my best friend and brother,” she countered before pulling on my arm. “Come on, I need you.”

“For what?” Liam and I said at the same time.

“Karaoke!” she squealed.

“Noooo.” I resisted her tugging. “No, no, no. I think I’ve been humiliated enough for this week.”

“It’s not humiliating!” she whined. “It’s fun. And I’ll let you pick the first song.”

I scanned around the room, noticing how engaged people were in their own conversations. I was sure no one would pay us any mind, and if they did, they’d probably be too drunk to remember.

“Fine,” I said, letting her pull me off my seat. “But we’re doing ABBA.”

“I knew you’d say that.” She sighed as if in disappointment, but the smirk on her face was all-encompassing.

“Save our seats for us,” she called over her shoulder to Liam, who was watching with a smirk of his own before she pulled me away toward the stage.

Maggie sashayed up to the stage, looking far tipsier than I’d seen her in a while.

“DJ,” she called out to the guy swaying his head to the music he was projecting into the bar. “We want to do the karaoke!”

Her words were slightly slurred, but I never felt nervous around her the way I sometimes did around drunk people.

Maybe it was because Maggie was never an angry drunk or a sad drunk and never got to a point where I really had to take care of her. She just got silly and laid back, even more so than usual.

He asked for her song request, and she made a dramatic tiptoe across the stage to whisper in his ear.

“Hey, I thought you said I could pick.” I laughed when she returned to me, picking up one of the microphones.

“I know what song you’d pick.”

She put a hand on my shoulder as if to reassure me. Her eyes looked so much like her brother’s in color and shape, but the expression they held couldn’t be any more different.

Liam’s gaze was sharp and intense as if it could cut through any bullshit, no matter how thick someone was laying it on. Whereas Maggie had an open, uncaring ease to hers, making her far more approachable than her brother.

The opening beats to SOS by Abba came on, and I grinned at Maggie, shaking my head at how cheesy her choice was. But she was right. It was my pick. It healed something in my heart to know that she knew me so well.

Maggie swayed across the stage like she didn’t have a care in the world, singing, not always correctly, to the lyrics of the song. I didn’t have the same drunken courage that was coursing through Maggie’s veins, so the idea of singing into a microphone in a bar full of people seemed less than appealing.

Maggie noticed and made her way over to me at once, singing loudly while offering me a disappointed pouty face at my lack of voice.

I looked into the crowd, relieved to see that no one was really paying us any mind. The hockey guys were mostly engaged in trying to chat up women around the bar. There were a few couples already engaged in more than chatting, and everyone else who occasionally glanced our way seemed entirely disinterested.

There was only one person who sat alone with eyes glued to us the entire time.

Liam.

I told myself I didn’t have to be embarrassed by what he thought. I was with his little sister, and he probably just viewed me as an extension of her. Little sisters did embarrassing things all the time, didn’t they? So why shouldn’t their friends? It wouldn’t reflect on him in any way.

Maggie pleaded with her eyes, reaching out her hand to me until I finally sighed, found my courage, and started singing along with her. It took a few moments to ease into it, but by the chorus, we were full-on belting, holding each other up to support each other from falling off the stage in a fit of laughter.

Sometimes, life felt like it was falling apart. Sometimes, I didn’t know how to move forward when the future I’d envisioned seemed so far out of reach. But moments like this—when a good song played, and a friend stood beside you—made it feel like maybe, just maybe, everything would be okay.