I shrug. To focus on school, I was too busy volunteering, I lost interest. They're not very interesting answers, and why does he care?
"Do you play any other sports?" Liam asks.
We arrive at the top of the stairs. Around us, the park is busy with people having picnics and little kids playing on a nearby playground. Across the road, the street is full of shops painted with bright colours — tourist places, cafes, op shops. In front of us, Kennedy, Bonnie, and Erin lead us across the park.
"No," I answer. "These days, I work out at the gym."
"Makes sense. You're so healthy." Liam gestures at my body. "You eat healthy too."
As Liam begins rambling about food, I look over at Liam's body, comparing them. I'm more built, with broader shoulders, but Liam has the lean body of a model. And even though Kennedy has insisted she's not, it wouldn't surprise me if she found Liam attractive. That body… and that stupid face with those stupid cheekbones.
"Hey, I have a question," I ask, interrupting Liam's spiel about how he's addicted to sugar and how his dentist has asked him to stop.
"Yes, I know I should eat healthier. Yes, I eat nutritious meals at home, I just snack a lot. Yes, my dentist told me about how sugar leads to cavities —"
"How do you get away with eating so much junk food and looking… looking the way you do?"
His brows jump up. "The way I do?"
My skin heats. "You know what I mean."
"No, I don't."
I can't tell whether Liam's being genuine or whether he's teasing me. Surely he's aware of how his body looks.
"I mean, you look… fit," I say, feeling irritated. "Which is strange, because yesterday I saw you scoff down half a packet of lollies in three minutes."
Instead of getting offended, he laughs. "I shared those lollies. And I don't know why my body works the way it does. My parents say the same thing. Maybe it's genetics? Maybe I have a fast metabolism or something."
I wish I could eat whatever I wanted, the way he does. "I want your body," I murmur, appraising him.
Liam's eyes widen for a moment, and then he laughs quietly. "Oh. You mean you wish you had my metabolism. Ah, thanks… I guess."
I don't know what he's embarrassed about, but it makes me feel self-conscious. Why the hell did I compliment him? It makes me feel like I'm losing the competition between us.
Then again, I didn't exactly compliment him. I just told him the truth.
"Liam!" Bonnie calls.
A few metres ahead, the girls wait at the end of the park, nearby a zebra crossing that leads to a street full of shops. Erin and Kennedy talk while Bonnie smiles at Liam.
"They've got a pharmacy over there," she says, pointing across the road at the ocean-facing street full of square-shaped shops. "Want to buy stuff for a manicure? You promised?" She wiggles her fingers.
Liam laughs. "Of course! I'm thinking blue colours." He takes a few long-legged steps to join her, and something inside me winces. I don't know why.
8
Liam: Sailboat
"We're going sailing?" Curtis asks, almost falling out of his chair. I'd laugh if I wasn't just as surprised.
"We are? Why didn't anyone tell me?" I ask.
The five of us sit at the kitchen table, having a late breakfast. I was shovelling rainbow-coloured cereal in my mouth and thinking that we'd all have a lazy day today, staying at the beach house and getting some studying done. I wasn't paying attention to the conversation the others were having until Curtis spoke.
"It's safe," Erin explains from the head of the table. "Sailing isn't difficult and we'll be doing it with a group of tourists, so don't worry —"
"Oh, I'm not worried," I interrupt. "I'm excited!" I wave my hands around, my dressing robe flapping around my legs. It's a chilly morning, and outside thick clouds are gathering, so I'm wearing a robe I found in one of the linen closets around the rest of my clothes. No one judged me when I came down for breakfast — except Curtis, but instead of making a snide comment, all he did was purse his lips. I brought him another green tea last night, so maybe it is making him nicer.
