Page 75 of Pressure Point

Wordlessly, Liam twisted the cap off the bottle, bringing it to his lips and taking a long gulp. The cheap American ale tasted like watered down weeds rather than the robust flavors he preferred, but right now he didn’t care. Beer was beer in a moment like this, and he just needed something to take the edge off.

“Dude, you okay?” Elliot asked.

No, he wasn’t. He’d been this close to telling Avery how he felt. To letting her know that he had feelings for her. Really, really strong feelings. Forever kind of feelings.

Even at the height of their relationship, he’d never felt like this about Orla. Everything that was going on in his head, and more importantly, his chest, was exactly what he’d seen that night on O’Reilly’s face when he was looking at his fiancée at their engagement party last year. Happy and so in love nothing else mattered. Something Liam had always wanted to feel. But now, the object of that affection was on the dance floor, in the arms of someone else.

And he’d helped her get there.

He closed his eyes, letting out a ragged breath, trying not to let his emotions show. Now was not the time for a pity party. He’d known this moment was coming. This was what she had asked him to help her accomplish. And like a dumbass, he’d agreed. He’d just thought that something had changed over the last few weeks. It certainly felt like it had. Or was he imagining the look in her eyes when she’d kissed him yesterday, or how she’d held on to him as the bed collapsed underneath them? Had he just misinterpreted everything from the other night on the pitch? Her putting on his kit for the photo shoot? Certainly seemed that way now.

“Want to tell us what’s going on?” Chance prodded.

“Not really.”

“Okay, let me rephrase. Tell us what’s going on.”

Liam huffed. He knew he needed to talk about it. He just wasn’t good at this shit.

“She’s with Dash. He asked to cut in.”

“And you let him?”

“That was…her getting to dance with him was part of what tonight was about.”

“I don’t follow,” Elliot said.

“She likes him. And she’s been working on ‘finding her sexy’ ever since he told us about this party so she could impress him. So that he would dance with her and whatever.”

“Oh, she found her sexy,” Chance muttered, taking a sip of his own drink. Liam threw him a glare, knowing he had no right to be protective of her but doing it anyway. His teammate simply shrugged, giving him an unapologetic look.

“I thought you two were kinda together,” Elliot added, making a weird gesture with his hands.

“No, I’ve just been…helping…with the finding.” It felt awkward to say out loud, but he didn’t know how else to put it. You know, I’ve been playing gal pal and fuck buddy so she could hit on someone else…

“And was the er, ‘helping’ good?” Chance asked with a knowing glance.

Liam shot his teammate another glare right as Elliot said “Really, dude?”

“Sorry, sorry. But straight answer here, you do like her, right?”

“Yeah,” Liam admitted. It was the first time he’d actually said it out loud to anyone other than Gunnar, and he had to admit it felt pretty good. “More than. But it’s complicated.”

“No, ‘complicated’ is the sneaky little looks Chance keeps throwing Delaney’s way when he thinks she’s not looking,” Elliot said, pointing to the blonde Liam had been introduced to earlier.

“Oh, like the way you keep checking out your best friend’s little sister’s ass in the skirt she’s wearing?” Chance tossed back. Elliot gave him the finger, making Liam laugh. Maybe he should have confided in these two earlier.

“My point is,” Elliot continued, “she came here with you tonight. And we saw you out there dancing with her. That was not the dancing of someone who wants someone else.”

Liam turned, scanning the crowd for Dash and Avery. When he finally found them, he watched as Dash’s hand slid down her back, Avery giggling in return. He knew exactly what that giggle sounded like and the effect that it had on him. He just hoped to God that it didn’t have the same one on Dash.

“Oh, you mean like that?” he said, nodding toward the pair.

“That is not what you looked like. They look like they are having fun, but you two looked like you were on your own planet.”

“So what am I supposed to do, just barge over there, grab her like a caveman, and haul her away?”

“Well, that’s one option,” Chance laughed.