"You're always injured at my parties." He shot me a playful frown.
"Because of Becca! She bruised my face with her gyrating hips last time." Damn Becca. She’s worse than Shakira.
He laughed and stepped back. "If it still hurts after we eat, I'll take you to get it looked at. And I think I should hear more about the gyrating hips story."
I laughed and buckled up. "All right, I'll explain it on the way."
…
I was expecting to go inside the restaurant like most normal people, but Liam ordered from the car and then a waiter ran out with our order a few minutes later. Liam tipped him handsomely before handing me the bag of food.
"Sorry that we can't go in, but the press would have a field day, especially now that you're 'The Rising Star in Soccer'."
"What? Is that printed somewhere?"
"It was the title of an ESPN article the other day. Did no one mention it?"
I shook my head. Who would have mentioned it? My friends didn't check ESPN, my dad was busy working, and my mom was busy sending me care packages.
I didn't really mind not knowing about articles like that though. I didn’t need anything else going to my head.
"I don't want to read it, but you should save it for me so I can read it when I'm like sixty," I laughed. “When I need to cling onto my glory days.”
"Will do… but you’re okay with eating in here?" he asked, eyeing me cautiously.
His question almost shattered our happy moment. When we were at the party things started to feel normal, but that was because we were secluded in our own tiny world. There were no seniors, no press, and no adoring fans. Now it was a completely different story, and the reality of our situation was starting to sink in. We couldn’t leave his car for fear that someone would recognize us and leak the story to the press But we still had a little while to live in lala land. When I got home I'd worry about the consequences of my actions, but for now I'd just appreciate being with him.
"What'd you order?" I smiled, tucking my thoughts away for later.
"Chicken and waffles. You'll love them," he answered with confidence.
"Oh, I don't like chicken or waffles," I joked.
"Humor me," he winked, preparing a bite and handing it over to me.
"You don't mind if we eat in your fancy car?" I asked, eyeing the nice leather upholstery.
"It can be cleaned and this meal is more than worth it."
Because it was with me or because he really liked chicken and waffles?
After I tasted the bite I feared it was the latter.
"Holy shit, that's good!" I exclaimed, stealing the next two bites after that as well.
"Well, I guess I know where to take you to fatten you up," he laughed before finally taking a bite of his own.
We ate in silence for a bit. Well, he was silent. I moaned and groaned in bliss about the maple honey butter they'd used to coat the waffles.
"You know it's probably not a good idea for us to be seen together at those house parties anymore," Liam announced, catching me off guard.
I chewed the rest of my bite. "You're probably right." I agreed with him even though his announcement made me feel sick. Was he regretting everything, again? No. He was being smart.
"I don't really enjoy them much anyway," he continued, staring out his front windshield.
"Why do you live in that house then? I don't get it, not to be rude, but it seems like you have enough money to move out of the Animal House."
Liam smiled. "I own that house and let some of the guys from the team pay rent. My other place is being renovated, so I’m staying there for now. It's usually a lot of fun, but they've been throwing a ton of parties lately."
He owned the house? It was massive.
"Do you mind that they throw parties in your house?"
"It's not so bad, and that's kind of the point: Party hard now before settling down."
Of course. They were all young, attractive athletes. Liam was still in the partying hard phase.
I dropped my fork back into the bag and cleared my throat. "I’m kind of tired," I said, sitting back against my seat.
He concentrated out through the front window as his eyes narrowed. Finally he spoke. "Yeah, it's getting late anyway."
I thought I could push my negative thoughts away until I got home. I’d been wrong. The feeling had sank in as soon as he brought up the fact that we shouldn't be seen together. And it only hurt worse because he was absolutely right. We'd been careless, trying to push the bounds without weighing the consequences.
When we got to my house, Liam put the car in park a few houses down so that no one could see us. We sat facing out through the front windshield, completely silent as the night crept on around us.