I don’t know what to do. But all of a sudden, I’ve got a lump in my throat that has nothing to do with the fear of discovery, and everything to do with the possibility that maybe, just maybe, he feels something for me.
I should ask him. I have to. Just as soon as we escape this mess.
Outside our hidey-hole, the footsteps tromp off, the reverberations in my butt gradually receding. And then all I can feel is Liam’s hand in mine. He’s still quivering a bit.
I squeeze his hand to let him know it’s going to be okay. That I’m here for him. And he squeezes back.
We sit in the dark and wait for the all clear.
***
All too soonFinally the fire marshal finishes, and Dr. L texts that we can come back down. I’m almost sad at how fast Liam scrambles out of our hidey-hole, but I don’t blame him.
“All good?” I ask when we get back down.
Dr. L tosses her scarf over her shoulder. “Passed with flying colors. Thanks for helping, Liam.”
“Sure.” He scratches the back of his neck. “It was really something-something.”
Really what?
Really nice, pressed up against me? My heart hasn’t quit hammering this whole time.
Dr. L smiles and nods. “I’ll go write you passes.”
She heads into the Theatre Office, and I look anywhere but Liam’s face. My backpack is still lying against the wall, next to Liam’s shmoodie. I grab it for him.
“Thanks.” He gives it a shake and uncaps it, while I take a few deep breaths and try to summon my courage.
But we were just crammed into a tiny box together, holding hands, and he didn’t mind. He even squeezed me back a few times. So maybe I’m not imagining things. Maybe I’ve been reading him wrong this whole time. Maybe he’s not so straight.
So maybe... just maybe...
“I was wondering,” I say, but I’ve got a frog in my throat. I clear it. “Um. I mean...”
His eyebrows raise, looking at me patiently.
“I was thinking...”
“Oh, sorry.” He pulls his phone out of his pocket. “Thought it was on vibrate. Thank god it didn’t go off when we were up there, huh?”
“Yeah.” The consequences are too dire to imagine.
“Sorry, lemme just...” He taps away, lips twitching into a shy smile. “Okay. Sorry.”
“It’s fine.” I take a deep breath.
I can do this.
“You doing anything this weekend?”
“Yeah. Actually, that was Jasmine.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah.” He bites his lip for a second. “We’re... going on a date tomorrow.”
“Oh.”
