“Then why did you contact us?”
“Because… I don’t know. I don’t think Liam did it. But I guess I’m not absolutely sure. You never know.”
Chapter 14
Olivia
It’s about a mile to the diner, and Liam and I walk together. Well, we’re with half the track team and also some of their girlfriends, but Liam and I hang back behind them. His jacket is warm and smells like he does—Dial soap. The sleeves are long enough on me that my fingertips barely poke through.
We talk about math class mostly. Liam says Mr. Gregor smells like old cheese, which is actually pretty accurate. He doesn’t seem to like Mr. Gregor much, which surprises me, because a lot of kids act like smartasses in that class, but Liam doesn’t. He’s really polite to Mr. Gregor—to his face. I get the feeling he’s one of Mr. Gregor’s favorite students, and not just because he’s acing the class.
Liam stands very close to me when we walk. A few times, his hand brushes against my fingertips and I think he’s going to try to hold my hand, but he doesn’t.
When we get to the diner, there are a lot of kids from our school already there. Even though it’s a long walk, Charlie’s has the best milkshakes. They are so good, I swear. It’s like the best ice cream you’ve ever tasted in shake form. I notice Tyler Martinson is sitting in one of the booths, and I remember what Madison said earlier. That Tyler said Liam is crazy. That Tyler is afraid of him.
Could that really be true? Tyler doesn’t seem like a guy who would be afraid of anything. And when we walk past him, he and Liam don’t make eye contact. He doesn’t look at me either, and I wonder if he’s still mad at me for not going out with him. I saw him with a different girl a week later though, so it looks like he got over it quick.
We all squeeze into an extra-large booth. There are six of us, and my body is pressed up tightly against Liam. I feel the warmth of his thigh against mine. And I don’t mind one bit.
“Are you squished?” He looks at me with concern in his brown eyes. He has such nice eyes. I always was partial to blue eyes, but God, his are nice. And his breath smells like peppermint. I wonder if he swallowed a breath mint before coming. Because I did. I mean, I didn’t want to have tuna breath.
“I’m okay,” I breathe.
“Good.” He grins at me. “Because if I move over one inch, I’m gonna fall out of the booth.”
I return his smile. “Don’t fall out.”
“I’ll try.” He flips open the menu. “Do you know what you want to get?”
“Vanilla milkshake,” I say without hesitation.
“Hey, that’s my favorite too. You stole my idea.”
I laugh. “Sorry.”
“Do you want to split it?”
Splitting a milkshake with Liam? Yes, please. “Sure.”
My doubts about this being a date are starting to fade. He walked me here, we’re splitting a milkshake, and I couldn’t be closer to him unless I was sitting on his lap. Also, when he orders it for us, he mumbles in my ear, “It’s my treat.” And even when the other people at the table are talking, he only seems interested in talking to me. His attention is completely focused on me.
Until something happens that spoils everything.
Our booth is fairly close to the bathroom, and when Tyler and his buddies get up to use it, they have to pass by us. Even though Liam and Tyler had studiously avoided looking at each other when he came in, Tyler jostles Liam’s shoulder hard as he walks by. It was clearly done intentionally. I know it, and it’s obvious that Liam knows it.
When Tyler comes back out of the bathroom, I’m worried he’s going to do it again. But instead, as he passes by our table, he stumbles and falls to the ground with a loud thunk. For a moment, everything is quiet as Tyler gets back to his feet.
“You just tripped me, asshole!” Tyler is staring at Liam. There’s a scary-looking vein bulging out on his thick football player’s neck. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
Liam turns to look at Tyler, blinking his eyes in a picture of mock innocence. “Oh, I’m sorry. That was an accident.”
“Like hell it was!”
“You’re mistaken, Tyler.”
“Say that to my face.”
My heart speeds up in my chest. Tyler looks really mad. He’s still got that vein in his neck, but now his face is starting to turn bright red. Liam stands up, and I notice that while the two boys are about the same height, Tyler is more broad like the football player he is. Liam has more of a runner’s physique. I’m scared that in a fight, Tyler would have the edge.