“Yeah. Me too. I really needed this.” I give him a cautious smile. “Thanks for coming with me, Liam.”
He bumps his shoulder against mine. “Anytime.” The contact sends warmth through me.
“I guess I shouldn’t have sold my snowboard.” I gaze up at the cloudless sky. “I definitely want to do this again.”
He looks over. “You can have that board, if you want it.”
I raise my brows. “What? No, way. This is a nice board.”
“I know, but I don’t need two. I always ride this one. Something about it suits me better.”
I frown. “How about I buy this board off you?”
He exhales. “You really don’t like accepting things, do you? Why can’t I just give you the damn board, Jude? It’s not like I’m offering you my first born child.”
I grimace. “I feel weird taking something for free.”
“Why?” He looks at me like I’m nuts. “I love free stuff. If you offered me something for free, I’d take it.”
I run my hand through my short hair, trying to find the words to explain myself. “Sometimes free isn’t really… free,” I say softly.
He’s quiet for a bit, then he says gruffly, “You think I’m like that?”
“No,” I say quickly.
“Then why don’t you accept things from me without fighting me constantly?”
I meet his muddled gaze. “I do take things from you. I accept lots of things from you, Liam. Way more than I ever have from anyone else. I mean, I’m living in yourhouse.”
“Yeah, but it’s not like you did that without a fight.”
I don’t respond because he’s right. I do struggle with asking for or accepting help. I’m not sure I can change that though. I grew up with manipulative parents, and nothing was free with them. Not really. It should have been, because they were my parents, and they were supposed to watch out for me. But that wasn’t who they were, and now I’m this untrusting mess of a person.
“I’m not criticizing you,” he says softly. “I just wish you’d accept things from me without me having to force them on you, that’s all.”
“I know you’re not criticizing.” I stare at my gloves. “And I know you’re right. I’m not an easy person to help.”
He shrugs. “When you fight me all the time, it makes me feel like you think I have ulterior motives. Like you don’t trust me.”
“I do trust you.” I reach out and touch his arm. “I trust you more than I’ve trusted anyone since I was damn kid.”
His scowl softens and turns into a smile. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” I hold his gaze. “I mean it.”
He looks pleased and he relaxes again. “Well, okay then.”
We sit together for a while longer, in silence, watching the color drain slowly from the sky.
Eventually, he stands and offers me his hand. “We better head out or we’ll miss the hockey game.”
“Yep.” I grab his hand and he pulls me up. I’m a little off balance, so I lean into him more than I intend. My face brushes his, and his hand drops to my hip. We just stand there for a moment, bodies touching, his warm breath skating across my ear. My dick instantly warms and hardens at the feel of his body against mine, and I pray he can’t tell.
Liam grunts and moves away, avoiding my gaze. “You good?” he asks gruffly.
“Uh, yeah. Sorry. Lost my balance.” My cheeks are hot because I’m worried he can smell my arousal. But if he does, he says nothing.
We load the boards in silence, and I’m consumed with worry. I’ve tried so fucking hard to hide how attracted I am to Liam. Did I screw it all up in that one instance? I didn’t mean to fall into him, and he’s the one who put his hand on my hip. Ididn’t force him to touch me. Still, I’m the one who had a stiffy, and if he noticed, he’s probably repulsed by me now.
