“So, where did you two sneak off to?” Josh asks, cutting a piece of his rib eye, and I roll my eyes.
“We didn’tsneakoff, we were talking outside for a bit,” I voice.
He clears his throat. “Uh-huh, well, I looked out the window down that way and didn’t see either one of you.Try again.” Liam clenches his fist in his lap, and I put my hand on his to calm him down.
Before I can answer, Liam asks, “Why does that bother you,Mr. Callaway?” I shake my head at him.
“It just does.”
“Why’s that, Josh?” William’s looking at him intently. Everyone stops eating and Ana tries to get William’s attention, but he doesn’t look at her. “Why is it bad that Liam was hanging out with Bianca? Do you have a problem with my son?” Ana scolds him, but he doesn’t back down.
“I mean, have you seenyourson? I don’t want him corrupting my stepdaughter.” A smug smirk comes on his face as he stretches his neck, almost as if he’s asserting his dominance.
Ana shakes her head. “William,amor,don’t.”
“Josh, how about this? You can leave if you have such a problem with him,” he says, then glances at Mom and me. “You both can stay if you want.”
Josh seethes at that. “The hell they will.”
“Josh!” Mom scolds, and he stands and throws his napkin down. Olivia stands too.
“Would say it was a pleasure, but it wasn’t, and it hasn’t been,” he says angrily, and William waves him off, making me choke on my lemonade. “Kate. Bianca. Time to go.” He starts to walk, but Mom doesn’t move. He looks back, and after a bit, she relents before giving us an apologetic expression.
I don’t move, though.
Josh glances at me in shock. “Bianca? What are you doing?”
“I’m staying here. You guys can go,” I say before he storms out, Mom in hand. I look down.
“Well,thatwas something,” Ana says after a couple silent minutes.
I put my face in my hands. “Ana, William, I amsosorry. I have no idea what got into him.” But they both wave it off. “And Liam, I’m sorry for what he said to you.”
He shakes his head at that. “It’s okay, Freckles.”
I nod, my face heating up against my will. “Speaking of the argument, so where did you both run offto?” Ana asks and I blush. “Iknewit!” I glance at her in confusion, but she looks at us happily. “You’re dating.”
“No, no, no. Ana, you’ve got it all backward,” I rush to say, refusing to look at Liam. “Nothing like that. Liam and I—we’re just best friends, right?” I glance in his direction, and something akin to sadness comes over him as his shoulders sag, his confident posture seemingly dropping, and I can only look at him in confusion.
“Right, what she said.Best friends,” he repeats, and I look back at the group, nodding. Ana and William still look at me like they don’t believe us. To be honest, I don’t think I do either, but it has to be this way.
“If you guys say so,” Ana says as she glances between us, and everyone starts to eat once again. William and Ana start a side conversation, but then someone comes over to steal them both away, leaving Liam and me. He’s tapping his fork on his plate, lost in thought. I push against him playfully and he looks at me, smiling weakly. I look into his forest-green eyes, trying to read him, but they display nothing. I mean, all I said was the truth: Wearebest friends, even if my not-so-friendly feelings are currently bubbling up to the surface.
“William!” I yell as he drags Ana and me to the front of the line to dance the Macarena. To say the least, I have two left feet when it comes to dancing, but evenI know that what William is doing is something worse. He seems to be getting tripped up every so often, and then I glance over at Ana. She’s got it down to a T, and I burst out in laughter at them. Her dancing genes definitely did not come to play. Thankfully, the whole Josh fiasco has been forgotten and everything is the way it should be.
Another familiar shriek later, and now Ana has dragged some other ladies over to dance with her, showing them the moves as rows and rows of people are almost in sync. I glance around, spot Liamleaning against the bar, and I raise an eyebrow at him. He smiles at me. Slipping away from the dance party, I walk toward him as he looks me up and down, causing a strong blush to come onto my cheeks.
I cross my arms. “And what are you doing here?”
“Oh, you know. Throwing back shots. Getting drunk. The usual.” His words drip with sarcasm and I roll my eyes as the bartender listens to our exchange.
“He’s not twenty-one, so don’t serve him. Or me, for that matter,” I say, rather embarrassed as I drag Liam from the bar, a groan coming from him.
“Oh no, you’renottaking me to do the Macarena,” he says, stopping us, and I pull at him, but he stands his ground.
I give him my puppy-dog eyes. “Come on, please?” He sighs in exasperation, offering me his arm to drag him once again. Ana squeals when she sees us and I smile at her.
“Okay, dance lesson! Put your hands out, then flip.” I follow her instructions meticulously, and after a few failed attempts, I get it, while Mr. Perfect gets it instantly and he guffaws at me.
