It had also been a terrible idea. So I'd pushed him away.
Liam had respected my wishes and kept his distance.
It could have been because of what I'd said to him. Maybe my last rejection had finally sunk in this time.
It also could have been because we'd simply been too busy, too exhausted, to have any sort of flirtatious tension between us.
"Anyone need anything before we take off?" Seth asked. "One last coffee run?"
A chorus of wearyno'sfollowed his question.
I settled into my seat, leaning my head back against the soft leather headrest. Closing my eyes, I heard the rustle of Liam plunking himself down beside me. The back of the minivan was bench style, not bucket seats. I wondered if he would scoot closer, until he was right up beside me. But no, he kept to his side of the van, pressed against the right window, leaving the middle seat empty between us.
"I've barely spent any time with Jessie in the last few weeks," Gael was complaining from the middle seat.
"You sleep over at her place every night," Nathan pointed out.
"Yeah, and that's all we do.Sleep." With the way he said the word sleep, Gael's displeasure was clear. "After the tour I'm locking us together in her bedroom and not coming out for three days."
"What did I say about discussing your sex life?" Seth called out from the front seat.
"You wanted to know all about it so you can get tips, right?" Gael called back.
"I don't need to take advice on women from the likes of you."
Gael looked affronted. "My advice is solid gold."
Seth just laughed.
The guys continued to joke and banter. Liam joined in once in a while, but mostly seemed content to keep to himself. I tuned them out, listening to music with my earphones on, trying to get my head into the right space for our upcoming concert.
After an hour my knees began to ache. I might have stretched them out on the seats, taking up the whole back, but I couldn't do that with Liam there.
After shifting and squirming for what felt like the dozenth time, crossing and uncrossing my legs, Liam tapped my shoulder. I took out my earphones and raised an eyebrow in question.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Just feeling a little cramped."
"Would it help to stretch out?" Liam asked. "You could put your feet in my lap."
That was an unusually intimate offer. Or perhaps he was simply being nice, like a friend would be.
Giving my knees a break sounded like a great idea, especially if I wanted to be in top shape for the concert. But putting my feet up in Liam's lap? The thought sent butterflies flapping madly in my stomach. It might just encourage him. Might end up canceling out all my previous rebuffs.
Liam watched patiently as I debated the idea internally, expression placid, as if he would be content with my response either way.
"Sure," I finally said. "Thanks."
I unlaced my knee-high boots and toed them off. I scooted around until my back was against the door. I hesitated, just for a moment, before lifting my feet and resting them gingerly on Liam's thighs.
"Aw," he said, feigning disappointment. "I was hoping you'd have some sort of cute or embarrassing pattern on your socks so I could tease you about it."
"Sorry," I said. "Solid black is what you're stuck with."
I nestled deeper into my seat and extended my legs. I couldn't straighten them all the way — my legs were too long for that — but it was enough.
"Better?" Liam asked.
