"And?"
"And that's a blatant lie. People are interested."
Liam laughs sarcastically as if I'm speaking nonsense. But I'm not. I don't draw conclusions without looking at the evidence.
"Liam, you're charming and you're h — you're not bad looking."
That gets him to shut up. He stares at me, eyes big.
"And even if your personality was atrocious, people would be interested," I continue. "Therefore, you're single because you choose to be, right?"
When he responds, his voice is low. "I don't know whether I'm insulted or flattered."
"The question I'm trying to ask," I say, speaking loudly to disguise my awkwardness, "is why do you choose to be single?"
The streetlight that illuminates us fades as we walk away, casting Liam's face in silver light. I can't read his expression.
"Maybe I haven't found the right person," he answers. "What's it to you?"
I think of Kennedy. "If I tell you, I'll probably piss you off."
"Just tell me."
"Actually, I'll almost certainly piss you off."
"Curtis," he growls, and the sound shoots through my body.
Don't think about that, Curtis. Focus.
"For the longest time," I say, "I thought perhaps the reason you acted the way you did to me was because you were jealous."
"Jealous?" He stops walking.
"Because you were secretly in love with Kennedy," I say, stopping too. I face him, and he takes a small step back as if he's scared of me touching him.
"Are you asking me… whether I'm in love with Kennedy?" he asks.
"I know you're not," I say, but my voice isn't certain.
Liam's expression shutters. "No, I'm not. If you asked Kennedy, she would have told you the same thing."
"I did ask Kennedy." She said over and over that Liam wasn't in love with her. I thought she was being naive because surely Liam must have had a crush on her at least once during their lifetimes.
Now, I hate how Liam's expression has changed. I want him to smile and talk about the movie with glittering eyes again. "I just… I wondered… whether you were single because you liked a certain person." Someone you couldn't have, like Kennedy. Someone you would wait for.
After a second, Liam walks again, and I join him. His shoulders are as stiff as mine. I wish I could reach out and push them down into a relaxed position. "I don't like Kennedy."
I know, I believe you. I regret bringing this up. Before I can respond, he continues.
"Actually…" he glances at me, then quickly looks away. "I like someone else."
14
Liam: Claustrophobic
I've said a lot of stupid shit in my life, but "I like someone else" is the most stupid. I have no idea why I said that to Curtis. In theory, it's because I wanted to get him off my back and prove I didn't have feelings for Kennedy. But instead of ending that conversation once and for all, I only ignited Curtis's curiosity.
"Who?" he'd said, bugging me for the rest of the walk home. "Do I know them?" "Do they live in Easton?" "Do they go to our school?" "Are they in our year level?"
