“Did I do something to piss Jade off?” I asked as we jogged along the beach at a moderate pace the following weekend.
I adjusted my sunglasses against the afternoon glare, grateful to have this stretch of sand to ourselves. SoCal was definitely showing off today. It was a glorious early-March day…seventy degrees with pink and purple streaks across the sky.
“Huh? Why?”
“She’s kind of arctic to me.”
“Hmm. She doesn’t mean it. She’s just”—Liam came to an abrupt stop—“Look.”
He set one hand on his hip and pointed at the horizon. A deep orange swath cut through the streaks of pink and purple as the sun made its descent.
“It’s gorgeous,” I said reverently.
“Yeah. I love when the sky looks like an artist poured paint over a canvas and smeared it around. It’s messy and amazing at the same time.”
“Like life.”
“Exactly.” Liam nodded, turning to me with a serious expression. “I quit.”
“Excuse me?”
“I gave Derek my notice this morning.”
“Oh.”
Oh. Fuck.
Wait a second. That shouldn’t bother me. He’d stayed on at the bistro almost two months longer than he intended. It didn’t matter if we worked together. We’d still see each other and—
“Jade was grumpy about it. But when Colin told her the other half of my news, she understood.” He raked his fingers through his hair, oblivious to my internal freak session.
“What news?”
“I got into grad school.”
“What? Oh, wow. Congratulations!” I launched myself at him, crashing my mouth over his in an impromptu kiss.
Liam grinned as he gently untangled himself. “Thanks. I’m still waiting to hear from UC Irvine and UCLA, but I was accepted at Long Beach State, so one way or another, I’m going.”
“Fuck, I’m proud of you,” I gushed. “That’s amazing. Why are we jogging? We should be naked celebrating. Ugh. I’m working tonight too. Maybe I can get someone to cover for me so—”
“My friends are taking me out,” he intercepted.
“Oh, right. Okay.”
“I wanted to tell you first, but Colin was there when I opened the email. He went a little nuts and organized a pub crawl.” His forehead creased over the rim of his sunglasses when he continued. “He called Jade, who was working at the bistro.”
“And she’s hurt that you never told her you were applying,” I finished.
“Yeah. I’ve been a pretty crappy friend,” he sighed. “She’s known about us all along.”
“She has? I mean…you said she suspected. You didn’t say she knew.”
“Relax, Drew. She wouldn’t say a word. She offered her support, and I shut her out. I feel like an ass. She’s not angry with you. She’s frustrated with me. Nothing is fucking easy, is it?”
I swallowed hard. No, it wasn’t. I’d spent the past few weeks savoring every minute with Liam, aware that my time would be up before I knew it. He’d quit the bistro, graduate from college, and prepare for the next chapter. And at some point, I’d have to let him go. I wasn’t ready. I selfishly wanted whatever we had to go on and on, but…I didn’t want him to sacrifice friendships.
“You should talk to her tonight,” I said softly, lacing my fingers with his as we walked along the beach.
“She’s not coming to the pub crawl. But…Derek overheard the conversation and offered to host a get-together after we close tomorrow. Heads up, he’ll probably call you about it. Act surprised or—don’t. I don’t know the rules about that. Maybe you can tell him that you ran into me on campus or…something.”
“Hmm.”
I didn’t like that idea. I didn’t like the outright lies or the lies of omission. I felt like a heavy cloud was looming on the horizon, moving slowly but surely our way. I had to say something. Anything. Tell him how I felt. Tell him I was willing to take a risk if he was.
I glanced down at our joined hands, pleased that he hadn’t let go. I took it as a positive sign. When the young couple walking toward us passed by, I’d man up and tell him how I felt. I cast my gaze between the fireball sunset and the pretty brunette as I planned my speech in my head. She was very pregnant, I mused. They were a good-looking couple, starting a new life. She was pretty and fit, and he was tall, blond, muscular, and—
The man stopped in his tracks. “Liam?”
“Pete. Hi.” Liam acknowledged his secret ex with a slight tilt of his chin. “How’s it goin’?”
“Um…good.” Pete turned to the woman. “This is my friend, Liam. He played water polo at Long Beach. Liam, this is my wife, Mara.”
Liam smiled politely and shook her hand with his right one without dropping mine. In fact, he squeezed my fingers before introducing me. “Nice to meet you. This is my boyfriend, Drew. Looks like you’re expecting soon.”
“Our due date was last week. We’ve been walking the beach every day. I’ll do whatever it takes to speed the process along,” she said with a laugh.