CHAPTER 18

KATE

The first sign that Liam was truly changing was that he called in sick to work.

We woke up early that day before the sun had even risen above the horizon. I remember looking out the window in his bedroom and having my breath taken away by the pastiche of purples and oranges that had just begun to peek over the horizon. It mixed with the smog of the city to create a truly breathtaking view.

It was my excitement over the view that woke Liam. As he did, it took him a few minutes to remember where he was and what had happened the night before. But as his eyes fell on me, a warm smile spread across his face, and I knew in that instant that he regretted nothing.

He called in sick because he said he wanted to spend the entire day with me. When I asked what he wanted to do exactly, he said nothing at all. He didn't want to leave the apartment, even for a moment. The apartment was exactly twenty-five feet in length, and if I was any farther away from him than that at any point in the day, he claimed that he would lose his mind. A little sappy? Definitely. But heart melting? Without a doubt. And panty melting? Only if I’d been wearing them, which I wasn’t.

"I want to learn more about you," he said as he pulled me back into bed. I was getting up to grab a glass of water, but even that was too much for him to bear.

"More about me?" I giggled as I fell back into bed. "You already know everything."

"Do I? There's no way that can be true."

"Well, you know as much as I do. Amnesia, remember." Giving up on the water, I lay myself down by his side. His arm slid under me, and I rested my head on his chest. I had never felt so comfortable.

"I know what's on the surface, but I want to go deeper," he said as he stroked my hair. There was definite affection in his voice, and I loved that he was so curious.

"How deep?" I asked playfully.

"All the way," he confirmed. "Like your career. What do you want to do? I don't even know that."

"Well, truth be told, I want to be a writer."

Hearing this he sat up in what I assumed to be surprise. The look on his face only confirmed this. "Really?"

"Yeah, I think so. I mean I've been doing it a little lately, and from what I've found on my laptop, I'm actually pretty good."

"Can I see?"

Usually, I would have said no to such a request. And that was purely coming from a nervous, not-thinking-I-was-so-good, place. Like I said, I only knew I wanted to be a writer because I had found evidence of the fact. For all I knew, I was absolutely awful, and it was only a pipe dream.

But still, there was something about the look on Liam's face that made me want to show him. I wanted to please him and make him happy. I wanted him to be impressed with me. He was already so successful, and I felt like I was holding him back. I needed him to know that wasn't the case.

I jumped on his laptop and opened my online storage folder. That was where I kept all of my writing, and after carefully selecting the one I thought to be the best, I let him read.

I watched his face the whole time. It took him roughly thirty minutes, and I never looked away, not once. I loved watching his face as he read. The way he smiled, laughed and gasped. He was either a greater actor, or he really did enjoy my story.

"Kate," he said, looking up from his laptop finally. "That was amazing. Seriously. I had no idea. I didn't know you were so talented."

"Really?" I asked, not being able to hide my smile.

He put the laptop down, leapt forward, and pulled me back into bed with him. The sun had only just risen by that point. The day was still young. "Seriously, so good!" he beamed. "I'm speechless."

"I'm glad you liked it," I said earnestly as I resumed my position lying by his side. "I was worried.”

"Hold up. I would never not like anything you wrote. Seriously, every word on that page was perfect. But that just raises one question. What are you going to do with it?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, sitting up and turning to look at him. I wasn't sure what he was getting at. Did he want me to try and sell my short stories?

"You're obviously a good writer. So, what are you going to write next? Something that can help you forge a career?"

"Well yeah," I said stupidly. In truth, I hadn't really thought too much on the specifics yet. I knew I wanted to be a writer. I just didn't know what that meant. Or how I would go about doing it. I guess I was waiting for that ‘dare to be great’ moment, just hoping that it would make itself known.”

"Well, yeah, Kate. If you want to do something, you have to do it. No more sitting around."

"I'm not.”

"I don't mean it like that. I mean that I want you to start looking for ideas and writing everything down. You're obviously talented. More than that even. One good idea can set you up for life. Now, promise me that you will start looking. Okay?"

He fixed me with a serious stare, one that told me that he wasn't messing around. And despite the seriousness of the moment, I couldn't help but smile. The way that he cared for me, and how much he wanted to see me succeed was amazing. What had I done to deserve someone like this?

"Okay," I said finally. "I'll start trying. I promise."

"Good," he said, pulling me back down to him. "And just so you know, I'll be here to support you the whole way."

"What about you?" I asked when I was comfortable.

"What about me?" he responded absentmindedly.

"Do you want to work at the hospital for the rest of your life? I get the sense that you don't like it too much?"

It wasn't meant to be a stab at him, but an observation. The few times I had seen him at work, he had looked miserable. And even that morning when he called in sick, he seemed ecstatic at the thought of not having to go in to work.

"Well, I mean it's a good job with a good pay check."

"That's not what I asked."

"No, it's not," he said, smiling at me. "You're right. I don't want to spend the rest of my life there. The hospital is more than an office. It's its own entity. It takes your life and gives nothing back. It beats you down and then acts surprised when you don't get back up. I never thought it would be so hard."

"So why don't you do something else?"

"Like?" He actually sounded curious, as if he was asking me for a suggestion.

It implied to me that this was something he had thought on for a while, and just needed the shove out the door. It was one that I would be only too willing to give.

"I don't know. You could open your own private practice. I mean you're a doctor, so you can work anywhere. The whole world needs doctors."

"Okay. Deal. But if I do move, then you have to move with me."

"Is that right?" I asked, sitting up again. As I did, I looked down at him, meeting his smiling eyes. He lovingly ran his hand through my hair.

"That's right. I want to hear you promise. Say it."

"Okay," I said, trying to sound as serious as I could. "I promise that I will go anywhere with you."

Unable to hold back his smile, he threw his arms around me and pulled me back into him, smothering me with his kisses.

"Hey, hey," I said, pulling myself from his embrace. "I want you to know, too, that I'm here to help. If there is ever anything you need. I want to help."

"I know."

There wasn't really much more that he could say. We still had the entire day together, and already, I felt like I knew him better than I knew anybody else. I certainly knew him better than I knew myself. I trusted him implicitly, and it was a strange feeling, knowing that I was able to put that much faith in another person. It was frightening, but also warm and forgiving.

"Well then, as we have all day together, I suppose we better get started," I said, slapping him on the chest as I sat up.

"What do you mean?" he asked, going to sit up. He only got about halfway up before I put my hand on his chest and pushed him back down.

"It means that I wish I had met you sooner, and as that is the case, we have a lot of lost time to make up for."

He smiled knowingly as I threw my leg over his torso, climbing on top of him. I could feel him instantly harden underneath me, and I was already wet at that thought of what we were about to do.

The day was young, and we had plenty of time. And yet something told me that even still, there weren't going to be enough hours in the day. Not for the two of us anyway.