Chapter 4
Liam
Liam sighed with relief when the coach blew the whistle to end practice. It was far too hot. The sun was directly over in them in the sky and Liam could feel his face burning under its intense glare. He jogged over the field to the changing room. The other guys had already gone in and he was the only one left on the field. “Excuse me?” he heard a timid voice call out from the bleachers.
He stopped jogging and held his hand above his eyes, so that the sun couldn’t block his view. He didn’t recognize the voice and he didn’t recognize her face. He walked over to her, using the time to take her in. She was gorgeous. Her hair a peachy kind of ginger that matched up to the soft freckles that ran across the bridge of her nose and scattered out across her cheeks like stars.
She smiled, when he stopped in front of her, forcing him to take in her cherry red lips. “Hi, are you Liam?” she asked, when he’d blocked the sun from her face.
“Yeah,” he nodded. “You’re the new girl right?”
She nodded. “So, you’ve heard about me then?” she sighed. She looked tired, even though her bright green eyes were full of life.
“I heard that there was a new girl on campus,” he shrugged. “What’s up?”
“Look, I know that I’ve stepped on a few toes or whatever,” she started and Liam knew instantly that she was taking about Lucy and the room she’d been forced to share. “But, I’ve got this assignment for the school paper to interview you, so it would be really great if maybe, I could ask you a few questions?”
She brushed a strand of her long hair back from her face and tucked it neatly behind her ear. Liam’s eyes started to slip to hemline of her top, which was marking the line of her cleavage. “Sure,” he told her, before he’d really thought of the ramifications. “Do you want to meet me a bit later? I’ve got to go shower and stuff now.”
“Oh,” she looked surprised. “Sure.”
“Cool, look there’s this little bar about five miles south of here. Meet me there at seven and we’ll talk,” he smiled in the hope that she might smile again too. She did.
“Okay, that’s great, thanks,” she looked relieved. “That was easier than I thought it would be,” she admitted standing up.
“You thought that getting an interview from me would be hard?” he asked curiously. What had made her think that? Was it because she thought he was hot? Was she one of those quiet girls who didn’t realize how hot she was too? Had that thought just made her even hotter?
She sighed. “I’ve been here two days and it feels like Lucy had turned half of the campus against me,” her eyes glazed over his shoulder and over the field behind him.
“Oh,” he said, as the ramifications started to sink in. “Yeah, Lucy; don’t worry about her,” he brushed off Cassie with a shrug. What was Lucy going to do to him when she found out? It wasn’t like she was going to take this lightly. He was helping the enemy. He was helping the girl that his girlfriend detested. He was playing with fire, but he couldn’t bring himself to put out the flame. Cassie was the only girl on campus that wasn’t controlled by Lucy. She was new to the school, she was still innocent, and he wanted to get to know her, before she turned into another clone.
The conversation with Cassie had set him behind everyone else. By the time he’d finished showering and getting changed, everyone else had left. He wasn’t too bothered though. He was happy to walk back through campus on his own. “Liam,” Lucy called from the same bleacher that Cassie had been sitting on before he’d gone into the changing room.
His heart started to hammer against his chest. Did she know what he’d done? Had she somehow managed to find out already? Was that why she’d picked the same spot to sit in? Was she checking him for him reaction? “What’s up?” he managed to get out through the sudden panic she’d managed to induce in him.
“I’m having a room party tonight,” she stood up. “I want you to come.”
“Oh right,” relief fell over his body. “You’re having a room party?”
“Yeah,” she reached out for his hand. “I’ve kicked out the new girl for the night, so it’ll just be us and a few of my friends.”
“You’ve kicked out the new girl?” Liam asked in surprise. “Where is she going to stay?”
Lucy shrugged. “Like that’s my problem.”
“Right,” Liam tried to hide the distain from his tone. “Well, I can’t come over tonight. Some of the guys from the dorm are going off campus for the night, so I thought I’d tag along with them.”
“Oh,” she looked disappointed. “You could always come over when you’re back?”
“Yeah,” he nodded. “Maybe,” he added, so she knew it wasn’t a promise. He had no real intention to go over to her party. It would just be her and a bunch of girls talking crap about guys all night. It wasn’t exactly something he was missing out on.
“Cool,” he pulled her hand away, when they’d got to the girl’s dorm building. “Well, I guess I’ll see you later,” she pushed herself up onto her toes, so that she could kiss the side of his cheek.
“Yeah, maybe,” he said again turning, so that he could head back over his dorm. He wasn’t due to meet Cassie for another couple of hours. The more he thought about it. The more he realized that Lucy’s party was happening at the perfect time. She’d have all of her nearest and dearest with her, so there was a reduced chance of been spotted at the bar with Cassie.
He waited until he was sure that he’d arrive at least five minutes late and set off.
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