20
"Ughh…" Gael groaned, rubbing his temples with his fingers. "My fucking head."
"That's what you get," Nathan chuckled, then let out of moan of his own. "Shit. I'm gonna puke."
"Not in the rented van," Seth called back. "If you really need to, let me pull over first."
"You're a monster," Julian told Seth. "I hate you."
"No, you don't," Seth grinned at his friend. "You love me."
Julian grumbled.
The drinking game had continued while Liam and I were on the dance floor and my poor boys were in a world of pain. Of course, they didn't deserve me feeling sorry for them.
"You brought it on yourselves," I told them. "You're just lucky we don't have a concert tomorrow."
They continued to whine and complain as Seth dropped each of them off at home. Liam and I were the last ones left.
I glanced at Liam. I wanted to invite him to come home with me, but I didn't want Seth to know.
Liam squeezed my hand discreetly and called out to Seth from the backseat.
"I bet you're tired after driving all night," he said. "Why don't we drop you off next and I'll take the van back tomorrow morning?"
My heart beat a little thrill.
"Thanks man, appreciate it," Seth replied. He drove a few more minutes then pulled up to an apartment building and put on the brakes.
"You really rocked tonight," he told Liam as he grabbed the handle and swung the car door open. "I'm glad you showed up at our audition. Maybe we should bring you on full time," he half-joked.
Liam's expression went blank, even as his fists clenched into a ball. From his odd reaction, I had to assume joining the band was the last thing he wanted to do.
We watched Seth enter his building as Liam climbed into the driver's seat.
"So," Liam said, glancing at me through the rearview mirror. "Your place or mine?"
I had to suppress a silly little smile.
With a few quick directions, Liam navigated his way to my condo. We parked and rode the elevator to my floor. We were silent, but the tension between us hummed in the air. We were finally standing outside my front door. I hesitated before putting the keys in the lock.
"Are you going to warn me about the mess?" he asked. "I'm sure I've seen worse."
"No," I said, fumbling with the keys.
I hadn't had a man in my apartment since…
Since ever, really. I never invited guys home. It always felt too personal. Like an invasion of space.
Liam put his hand on mine. "You don't have to invite me in."
I met his eyes. "If you don't follow me into this apartment and immediately throw me down on the bed, I'm going to scream."
"You'll be screaming all right," Liam smirked. "I'll make sure of that."
My inner muscles clenched and throbbed.
I unlocked the door and we walked in. I wondered what Liam would think of the place. I tried to look at everything through new eyes, imagining what he might see. All my furniture was neutral colors, shades of beige and brown. Two overstuffed armchairs matched an equally squishy looking sofa. There was no TV in the living room, but there was a huge computer monitor on my desk in the corner.
