Silence hung between us for a moment.
“Where’s Noah?”
He inquired, and I groaned.
“He should have left by now. We wrapped things up and took off.”
More silence. Of all the times for him to go quiet, it had to be now, right after everything that just happened.
“Something happened, didn’t it, Liz?”
I gripped the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles turned white.
“I have no idea what you mean,” I lied, trying to shake off his suspicions.
“So, there was something. You know he hasn’t stopped staring at your picture from the Ren fair? He’s all mopey and sad, Liz, just talk to him.”
The tug in my chest returned.
“Adonis, I don—”
He cut me off.
“Look, I know you have your ways, and I get that, but we’re not our parents, Liz. We can feel; we aren’t lifeless machines. How do you think Lillypad would feel knowing you’re still like this? I know feeling is scary and intense, especially after we’ve turned them off for so long, but I promise, it isn’t as bad as yo—”
I hung up, not wanting to hear more of his “feelings are okay” speech. He was wrong; he didn’t see it, but he was dead wrong. Love makes us weak; happinessmakes us weak; any emotion makes us weak. Lillian was the only weakness I could afford; she was my best friend, my anchor when I was at my lowest. She reached out and saved me. I could only allow for one weakness, and that was it.
“I can’t let Noah become one of those weaknesses.”
Noah
I wake up and glance at the clock, feeling like I’ve been left hanging at blue balls o’clock without a word from Liz. What was up with her just bouncing like that? All night, I couldn’t shake thoughts of her—the way her fingers danced through my hair, the sweet cherry-mint taste of her lips. Fuck! It felt like my hands were made to fit perfectly around her hips, like they were destined to be mine. Look at me, acting like a lovesick fool. Seriously, get it together.
I finally peel myself off my little nest of despair when my phone starts ringing. My heart skips a beat, thinking it’s Liz finally reaching out. I scramble to answer, trying to play it cool.
“Hello?”
I say, dropping my voice to a deeper tone, hoping to sound more suave than usual.
“What the hell is up with your voice?”
comes Liam’s voice, and I groan, realizing its him.
“What do you want?”
I manage, clearing my throat, feeling like a total idiot. Just my luck.
“Ahh, what happened to that deep voice of yours? Wait, were you waiting for someone to call?”
I roll my eyes, exasperated.
“What do you need, Liam?” I ask again, teeth clenched.
“Aha, anyway, get dressed, Adonis and I are at the café, come meet us.”
He hangs up, and I toss my phone aside, grumbling as I get dressed. Seriously, he’s so needy; you’d think we were married or something.
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