Drive In Saturday

 

I arrived back at the house at about eight that evening with every intention of going straight to my bedroom. I was a little forlorn that Mr Hector hadn’t shown up at the restaurant looking for me. I knew he wasn’t even technically my cat. He was an independent feline. But it still made me sad to think he’d gone his own way. I had one foot on the stairs when Sophie peeked her head out of the living room.

“Oh, you’re back,” she exclaimed. “We weren’t sure if you’d want to join us.”

“Join you?”

At this Liam emerged, wearing lounge pants and a long-sleeved T-shirt. He looked gorgeous and handsome like always, but I obviously tried to ignore that.

“We’re ordering pizza and watching a movie. You in?” he asked, blue eyes looking me up and down in a way that was surprisingly tender.

“He likes you,” Bowie whispered in my ear.

“Shut it, you,” I subconsciously whispered back. He faded away, though not without shooting me a knowing grin beforehand.

I had to admit, the idea of spending an evening eating pizza and watching a film with Liam and the others sounded lovely. Truly. I wanted to hang out with them, so I let myself have something nice for once. “Okay, just let me go change first.”

I hurried up to my room and put on the same lounge pants and T-shirt I wore after my shower last night, since it seemed everyone was going casual. It wasn’t like I owned anything fancy anyway. I headed downstairs, and to my dismay found Valerie in the living room. Sophie, Lee, and Karla sat on one couch, while Valerie and Liam sat on the other.

A faint feeling of jealousy stirred within me but I pushed it aside. There was enough space between them to show they weren’t an item or anything. Although, after how she reacted to me yesterday, I had a sneaking suspicion Valerie held a candle for Liam.

I wondered if he was aware of it.

Unlike everyone else, she wore skinny jeans and a tight top that showcased her admittedly large boobs. My smallish C-cups never felt so intimidated. So yeah, aside from her cruel lips, Valerie was reasonably attractive. Whatever. I was just happy to be there, doing something as ordinary as watching a movie with a bunch of people I lived with.

Liam’s gaze fell on me as he patted the space next to him. “Over here, Iris.”

Valerie cut me a scathing look. Yep, she definitely fancied him.

I sat down just as Lee suggested True Lies as a movie choice. “Oh no, I can’t stand Schwarzenegger for more than twenty minutes,” said Karla.

“Such a specific length of time,” Lee chuckled. “What about Gone Girl?”

“I haven’t seen that one yet. It’s supposed to be good,” said Sophie.

“Okay, are we all okay with Gone Girl, then?” Lee asked the room. Everybody voiced their agreement while I nodded, trying not to be too affected by Liam’s closeness. He always wore the same cologne and the scent had become a comfort to me. Something I looked forward to.

I yawned and he turned his head a little. “Tired?”

“Yeah. Long day.”

“The restaurant was a bastard this evening,” Lee affirmed. “Non-stop, wasn’t it, kiddo?”

“Pretty much.”

“It’s good business is booming though,” said Karla.

I heard Valerie let out a small huff but I didn’t think anyone else noticed.

What was her problem?

Okay, so maybe I knew what her problem was. For one, Liam was looking at me like I lit the moon and stars, which by the way, I didn’t understand. I wasn’t oblivious. It was clear he was attracted to me. The feeling was reciprocated, obviously, but I was just so bad with men in general. I didn’t know how to flirt, didn’t know how to master that come-hither look that told them the attraction was mutual. I’d always been too much of a tomboy for that.

The first time I had sex was at fifteen with a boy living in the same foster home as I was. He was sweet and shy. The sex was fumbling and awkward.

The second time I had sex was at eighteen, with a bloke named Steven. I met him through Becky. He was a tattoo artist, as well, and he smoked fancy French cigarettes. They were at odds with his rough and ready appearance. The sex was good. Very good. But Steven was an unparalleled arsehole. He barely spoke to me, just offered me a joint, and then started kissing me. One thing led to another.

And that was the sum total of my experience with men.

You’d think I’d have more, but I’ve always kept to myself, always been wary of new people. Until Liam. I still hardly knew him, but it felt like he’d been in my life longer. Maybe it was because of all the time he’d spent watching me—the time we’d spent watching each other. Whenever our eyes connected at work, it was like we were learning one another without exchanging words. Studying the other’s mannerisms and habits.

You could tell so much about a person without having a conversation, especially when you were drawn to them like I was drawn to Liam.

I’d been lost in my thoughts for a while when the doorbell rang. Lee shot up to answer it. Karla and Sophie were talking about going shopping for new clothes for Billie and Jonathan on the weekend. Liam, Valerie and I were silent. Well, that was until Valerie decided to open her mouth.

“So, Iris, you work at The Grub Hut?”

I glanced at her warily and Liam stiffened. “I do.”

“What do you do there?”

By the evil gleam in her eyes, I suspected she already knew. I stuck my chin out and answered, “I clean.”

“Oh, like washing dishes and all that?”

“Yep.”

She let out a laugh. “Have you ever seen that Bruce Lee biopic, where the Chinese woman says that line about needing a dish washer? Always cracks me up.”

“I haven’t seen that one,” I told her quietly. And I hadn’t. But I was sure whatever she was referring to was offensive in some way.

“How is everything at the crèche?” Liam cut in. “You ever get sick of changing dirty nappies all day?”

This woman worked at a crèche? Wow. I couldn’t believe people actually trusted her to take care of their children.

But okay, maybe I was biased. The only reason she had it in for me was because of Liam. Maybe she was perfectly lovely to everyone else.

“It’s all right. I’m thinking of a career change, actually. There’s this beauty course I’m interested in.”

“No way should anyone let you do their makeup,” Sophie cut in, overhearing the topic. “Remember that time I let you do mine for Lee’s birthday? I ended up looking like a drag queen.”

Valerie’s eyes flashed bloody murder at Sophie. “I was considering massage therapy, if you must know.”

“Oh, well, in that case go for it,” said Sophie, looking sheepish.

“I think I will. Liam, would you let me practice on you?” she asked, casting him a flirtatious look. Oh, man. This was getting way too corny for my taste.

He’d been grinning at what Sophie said but his features quickly sobered. “Eh, not so keen on massage, Val.”

Good answer. Before Valerie could say more, Lee came in carrying a stack of pizza boxes. The smell of melted cheese hit me immediately and my mouth started to water.

“I ordered a selection, so there should be something to suit everyone.”

We all dug in. Liam eyed me. “Let me guess, ham and pineapple?”

I smiled. “That’s spooky. How did you know?”

“Got a sixth sense for these things.”

He pulled out a slice and placed it on a paper napkin before handing it to me. I shot him a look of thanks. Lee started the film and we all settled in to watch. Over the course of the movie it felt like Liam’s and my bodies gravitated towards one another. I was thoroughly engrossed in the story before I realised my entire side was touching his. Our bare forearms brushed against each other, as well as our thighs. It was . . . nice. More than nice.

Being close to a boy I liked in such an ordinary setting was extraordinary to me.

I never got to do stuff like this.

I’d eaten so much pizza I could already feel a new and welcome layer of fat forming around my ribs. Liam reached up to rest his arm along the back of the couch. He felt even closer now. It would be so easy to just rest my head against him, feel his warmth. I wanted it so bad I ached, yearning for more contact.

Feeling brave, I shifted closer, my head touching the top part of his chest. He sucked in a quick breath at the action, tensed momentarily, then relaxed. He wasn’t stopping me. For some reason it felt exciting, thrilling. Everybody else was too concentrated on the film to notice the subtle interaction between us. From the outside it might’ve looked like nothing, but to me every second that passed felt monumental.

I heard him make a gruff sound in the back of his throat before he lowered his arm around my shoulders. My eyes widened as I stared dead ahead, my heart beating a frantic rhythm. I couldn’t believe this was happening. I couldn’t believe Liam Cross just put his arm around me.

I felt heavy and light all at once.

Several minutes passed before I summoned the courage to look at him. He sensed my attention and glanced down. Our gazes locked and my cheeks heated. I couldn’t look away. His fingers moved where they rested just below my arm pit. I sucked in a harsh breath when his thumb started to brush back and forth over the underside of my breast.

He was being so brazen, especially considering we had company.

I loved it.

I was captivated, couldn’t wait to see what he might to do next.

I was also more turned on than I’d ever been in my whole entire life.

My nipples hardened. I clenched my thighs together. The spot between them ached for something, anything. All the while we never broke eye contact.

I’d heard of the term eye-fucking before, but I’d never actually experienced it until now. I felt warm and tingly all over. I felt like if he so much as leaned in and blew on me I’d come.

I didn’t even realise that the movie had ended until Karla exclaimed, “Well, that was a headfuck.”

Lee chuckled and bent over to plant a peck on her lips. I turned back to Liam and his eyes were still on me, still dark with need. I had goosebumps over every inch of my skin.

I heard Valerie huff out an irritated sigh that put an end to the moment. Liam shifted away from me, while she rose from the couch and sniped, “Well, I’d better be getting home. Liam, could you give me a lift?”

Everybody looked at her.

“You live just around the corner, Val,” said Sophie, giving her friend a look that said why are you being weird?

“It’s late. Who knows what sort of freaks could be hanging around,” said Valerie, her mouth forming an annoyed slant.

“I’ll give you a lift if you want,” Karla offered to which Valerie glared.

“I asked Liam.”

“Liam’s got an early start in the morning,” Karla went on. “Come on, I’ll have you home in no time.”

Valerie let out another huff as Karla got up and grabbed her keys off the mantelpiece. Everybody started going their separate ways while Liam and I cleared away the empty pizza boxes. We didn’t say a word as we worked in unison, but the tension still lingered between us. Sophie said goodnight and went to her room, while Lee came into the kitchen. His attention went from me to Liam and a small smirk shaped his mouth.

“I suppose we better sit and talk about rent,” he said, eyeing me. Liam shot his brother a disgruntled look but didn’t say anything.

“Oh, sure,” I said. “How much were you thinking? I have a little saved up if you need a deposit.”

“Nah, you keep that. I wanted to suggest I take it out of your pay check. How does thirty quid a week sound?”

I frowned. “It sounds like far too little.”

“It’s just a room, Iris.” Lee smiled. “And we’re all happy to have another pretty face around the house. Aren’t we, Liam?” he asked, eyeing his brother with mischief.

When I looked at Liam his cheeks reddened ever so slightly. I couldn’t believe it. It always surprised me when he got shy like that.

“Mmm,” he grunted.

I looked back at Lee. “Well, if you’re sure. I’ll buy all my own food and clean up after myself. And I won’t hang around all day getting under your feet. You’ll barely even know I’m here.”

“You can eat as much food and hang out as much as you want,” said Lee. “Just help with the dishes and sweep up every once in a while, and we’re good.”

“Okay. I can do that,” I said, nodding my head. A foreign sensation spread through me. It took me a second to identify it.

Happiness.

Lee gave me a warm smile and stood. “It’s sorted then. Welcome to your new gaf, Missy.” He came forward and gave me a friendly hug before heading for the door. “I’m off to bed. You two don’t stay up too late.”

With that he was gone and we were alone again. I glanced at Liam to find him already staring at me.

“What?”

“You’re beautiful,” he blurted.

Warmth suffused my chest and my pulse sped up. I picked at the edge of my fingernail. “You’ve got an unusual definition of beauty.”

He shook his head confidently. “No, I don’t.”

I didn’t know what to say then, fumbling for words but finding none. He smiled. So bloody handsome. I blushed even more. I was probably a tomato at this point.

I broke the silence when I said, “Can I ask you something?”

“Anything.”

“How long have you known I was homeless?”

Liam’s eyes flashed, turmoil in their bright blue depths, and I wondered if I’d made a mistake asking that. I just needed to know how quickly he saw through me. I’d always prided myself on being unnoticeable. Inconspicuous. It was a survival mechanism. Homeless girls never attracted the right kind of attention.

The fact that I’d failed niggled at me, even though I wouldn’t be here in this house if I hadn’t.

Liam raked a hand through his hair and sat down on a stool. He gestured to the one beside it and I took a few steps across the room to sit.

“I saw you the first time you came in looking for work,” he said, surprising me. “I overheard your conversation with Lee. Then I saw you and I don’t know why, but I was drawn to you. There was something in your eyes that spoke to me. You just seemed so . . . lonely.”

I felt vulnerable hearing this. On display. I couldn’t believe he’d noticed me before I ever noticed him.

“After that I started watching you. You never acted how I expected. You rarely spoke to the other staff. I knew next to nothing about you other than your name and that you didn’t want to give my brother your address.”

I stared at the floor and scratched my arm. “That’s because I didn’t have one.”

“Yeah, fucks my head up that I didn’t realise sooner.”

I twisted my lips self-consciously. “It’s not like it was your fault.”

The look he gave me said otherwise, which was ridiculous. I let out an aggrieved sigh. “Please don’t tell me you’re one of those bleeding hearts who thinks the world’s problems are his own.”

He still didn’t say anything. Only stared at me so intensely I had to look away.

“You never smelled bad,” he said randomly. “Your clothes and hair were always clean, too. I figured you must’ve been living somewhere. I feel like shit that it took me so long to see the truth.”

His words struck a chord. I was always so worried about stuff like that. Looking dirty and dishevelled, or offending people with my odour. “I use the public swimming pool a few times a week. I don’t swim, I just go to the showers,” I whispered.

Tension radiated off him, and I knew this must’ve been hard to hear. It was hard to say. He reached out and took my hands in his. “Christ, Iris, I’m sorry I didn’t try talking to you before now. You were just always so closed off. Believe it or not, I was actually a little intimidated by you.”

I scoffed but felt warmth trickle over me at the same time. “Yeah right.”

“It’s true. You’ve got that whole don’t mess with me vibe going on.”

This made me laugh a little. “Shut up.”

Liam laughed, too. When it tapered off he said, “At first I thought maybe you were on the run from someone, and that’s why you wouldn’t give an address. You didn’t want anybody to find you if they came looking.”

“Makes sense.”

“So I looked you up,” he confessed.

My eyes widened and I pulled my hands from his. “What?”

His expression showed his regret. “I thought if you had a record I could find out where you came from, but you didn’t have one.”

“You checked to see if I was in the system?” All of a sudden, I felt unsettled.

“I know it was wrong but I was worried about you. It just seemed like you didn’t have anyone, like you weren’t safe.”

“I didn’t have anyone and I wasn’t safe, but that didn’t mean you had the right to do that,” I said, shifting away from him and standing. I knew deep down that he’d looked me up out of concern, but it still felt like a violation.

“I’m sorry, Iris, I—”

“No, you don’t need to be sorry. You . . . shouldn’t have done it but I’m glad you did. I’m glad you saw me. Very few people ever do.”

I tried to convey my gratefulness with my eyes even though my gut twisted. I was torn. I appreciated his help but was bothered, too. I’d always felt powerless when it came to authority. People in government jobs had moved me from pillar to post until I was old enough for them to discard me. Liam had used his position to try and find private information and he had no right.

“I’m tired. I think I’ll go to bed,” I said, heading for the door.

“Iris, don’t be like that,” Liam pleaded.

“I’m not mad at you, I promise. I just need some time to . . . absorb things.”

Liam’s handsome face studied me. “Promise?”

I gave him the sincerest look I could muster. “Cross my heart.”