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“What do you want?” he asks in a quieter tone this time.
“I need to talk to you about Hollis.” I take a seat next to him.
“What do you want to talk about?”
“Why the fuck areyoucheating on her, for starters.” If Liam had any color left in his face, it’s gone now.
“Shit,” he whispers.
“You’re lucky I’m not trying to go to jail, because I should fuck your ass up right now for even thinking about being disloyal to her,” I threaten. And he hears me, because he perks up a bit and straightens himself out.
“Wait, who are you?” His question throws me off guard a bit, never really thinking that he might not truly recognize me as more thanthe guy from the other night.
“Try harder.” I signal the bartender for another beer, and she nods her head.
I try to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. I'm covered in tattoos but other than that, you think you'd recognize the face you had spit in even if it was a long time ago.
“No, I-” he cuts himself short, really examining my face and I see the moment it clicks.
“Shit,” he whispers again.
“It’s your lucky day today isn’t it, asshole?” I mock him, relishing in the way that he’s squirming right now.
The tables have really turned.
Back when we were kids, Liam was a few inches taller than me, a little bigger and had no problem being a confrontational little shit.
But now, I’ve got the height advantage. And I wear black and leather where he wears collared-polos and khakis. Right now, the only thing the guy has on me is the fact that he got the girl.
How the fuck did he even get a chance with Hollis?
It’s like insurance paperwork meets the devil’s assistant. He’s Shooter McGavin and she’s Catwoman.
“Dude, listen, I’m sorry for-” Liam starts to apologize but I cut him off.
“Save it. I could care less about your apology to me. I wanna know what the fuck you did for Hollis to forgive you after all the shit you put her through.” I’m gripping the handle of the glass that was set down in front of me, feeling anger at the mere thought of these two being together at all.
I don’t think he expects me to ask him what I do because he rubs his hands together and cogitates a second too long before he can tell my patience is running thin.
“It was you,” Liam says, after deciding whether or not he was going to answer me at all.
He lowers his head to the bar top as I face him on his left side, elbow holding me up on the marbled countertop. I have to take a deep breath before I speak because I think he’s being funny, and I’m about to lose it on him.
“Say that again,” I demand.
“I said, you’re the reason why Hollis and I are dating.”
Liam picks his head up and turns to look at me, I’m sure he can see the stroke of confusion on my face.
“You really have no clue what I’m talking about do you?”
I shake my head.Me?What the fuck does that mean?
“Bro, look. I love the girl. I do. She’s got the kindest fucking heart and I swear she’s the only reason anyone gave me a second chance after high school.
“We were at a party a few years back, and I noticed she was looking super depressed about something. At first, I was just going to ignore it because who the fuck was I to ask her what was wrong. But she was sitting in a corner all by herself and I couldn't take it anymore, so I walked over and asked her if she was okay. She and I hadn’t had much interaction before then, so she gave me the fucking stink eye." He chuckles and I practically snarl.
"I decided that it was probably a good time to apologize, which was something I had wanted to do for a while. So, I did and told her I regretted my actions from when we were kids because I realized I was a jerk." I roll my eyes when he says this. "Okay, maybe more than a jerk. Anyways, she listened to me, which shocked the hell out of me. But what shocked me even more is that she opened up to me and she told me the truth about what had her so down that day. I know there’s more to her story, she didn’t tell me much other than what she was feeling in that moment. But since then, we just kind of got to know each other better. Soon, I asked her out and…well, you know.” Liam’s admission settles in my stomach like a flu. It makes me feel sick to know thatmy Hollihad rough days at all while I was gone, and that I wasn’t the one who got to comfort her like I used to.
