"What'd you order?" I smiled, tucking my thoughts away for later.
"Chicken and waffles. You'll love them," he answered with confidence.
"Oh, I don't like chicken or waffles," I joked.
"Humor me," he winked, preparing a bite and handing it over to me.
"You don't mind if we eat in your fancy car?" I asked, eyeing the nice leather upholstery.
"It can be cleaned and this meal is more than worth it."
Because it was with me or because he really liked chicken and waffles?
After I tasted the bite I feared it was the latter.
"Holy shit, that's good!" I exclaimed, stealing the next two bites after that as well.
"Well, I guess I know where to take you to fatten you up," he laughed before finally taking a bite of his own.
We ate in silence for a bit. Well, he was silent. I moaned and groaned in bliss about the maple honey butter they'd used to coat the waffles.
"You know it's probably not a good idea for us to be seen together at those house parties anymore," Liam announced, catching me off guard.
I chewed the rest of my bite. "You're probably right." I agreed with him even though his announcement made me feel sick. Was he regretting everything, again? No. He was being smart.
"I don't really enjoy them much anyway," he continued, staring out his front windshield.
"Why do you live in that house then? I don't get it, not to be rude, but it seems like you have enough money to move out of the Animal House."
Liam smiled. "I own that house and let some of the guys from the team pay rent. My other place is being renovated, so I’m staying there for now. It's usually a lot of fun, but they've been throwing a ton of parties lately."
He owned the house? It was massive.
"Do you mind that they throw parties in your house?"
"It's not so bad, and that's kind of the point: Party hard now before settling down."
Of course. They were all young, attractive athletes. Liam was still in the partying hard phase.
I dropped my fork back into the bag and cleared my throat. "I’m kind of tired," I said, sitting back against my seat.
He concentrated out through the front window as his eyes narrowed. Finally he spoke. "Yeah, it's getting late anyway."
I thought I could push my negative thoughts away until I got home. I’d been wrong. The feeling had sank in as soon as he brought up the fact that we shouldn't be seen together. And it only hurt worse because he was absolutely right. We'd been careless, trying to push the bounds without weighing the consequences.
When we got to my house, Liam put the car in park a few houses down so that no one could see us. We sat facing out through the front windshield, completely silent as the night crept on around us.
When he turned his head toward me, I could feel it. I could feel his eyes rake over my skin. I swallowed and stared at the black dashboard, trying to get my head on straight. This was all so confusing. I knew Liam wasn’t good for me, so why couldn’t I get out of his car? It was no use; feeling his eyes on me was like feeling his fingers glide over my skin. I bit down on my lower lip, trying to quell the desire flowing through me.
One second I was in my own world, and the next Liam had unbuckled my seatbelt and pulled me onto his lap. Every consequence that had been flitting through my mind only seconds ago no longer seemed relevant as our lips melted together. His mouth tasted sweet from the syrup as I wound my fingers through his tousled hair.
With us it was always 0 to 60 in three seconds flat.
His hands dragged up under my skirt to the edge of my spanks.
Everything has a consequence.
I bit down on his lip, spurring him on.
Everything has a consequence.
His finger skirted the material, making my spine curl.
He pulled back, separating us by an inch, just enough to stop the chemical reaction ricocheting between us.
“You need to get some sleep,” he murmured so that his breath fell across my lips.
“No.”
The edge of his mouth curled up.
“Yes.”
I swallowed, trying to regain my composure.
“I’m sorry this isn’t easier,” he murmured, lessening my worries enough that I could answer his apology with an edge of playfulness.
“Nothing to apologize for… that was the best goodbye kiss I've ever had."
When I was with him, there were no consequences.
Chapter Thirteen
"What did you and Penn talk about last night?"
"Marriage mostly. Where we wanted to buy a house and raise kids," Becca answered flatly. We were lounging around after she woke me up by jumping on my bed a few minutes earlier. I'd pulled the comforter out from under her and she'd fallen back and hadn't gotten back up.