I believed him, I didn’t think he would ever hurt me on purpose, but I knew he would break my heart sooner or later. When he went to college and we were apart, even if he didn’t cheat, that was going to hurt badly. Even if we weren’t dating it would be awful being without him, but now it would be like torture. I pushed the thoughts out of my mind. I couldn’t think about it, not until it happened and even then we could get through it. I loved him enough to wait for him. I just hoped that he would feel the same in four months’ time when all the college skanks were throwing themselves at him and I was a three hour drive away.
“Right then, you ready to go?” Liam asked after I had eaten a massive piece of chocolate cake all to myself. I nodded and he threw some money on the table, holding out a hand to help me up.
I grinned. “You know you’re shaping up to be the best boyfriend in the world,” I said happily.
“I love it when you call me that.” He grinned and wrapped his sweater around my shoulders as we walked out into the cold.
I gripped hold of his hand, not wanting to let go. As we got to the car he even opened my door for me. “Such a gentleman, Liam,” I teased.
I watched him walk round to the driver’s side. He was just so handsome, and he was mine, I couldn’t help but smile at that knowledge. I’d never dreamed I would ever have anything like this with a guy. When I used to think about dating it would scare the life out of me because I couldn’t let people touch me, and all the time I had the perfect guy who was in love with me, who held me and kept me safe every night, and I didn’t even know. How could I have been so stupid?
When we got back to my place, it was only eight o’clock. Jake wouldn’t be home for another hour so we had the house to ourselves. “Come here, I want to talk to you,” I said, pulling him towards the sofa. He looked a little worried and nervous. I pulled him down next to me, sitting close to him. I could feel the passion building and I knew it wouldn’t be long before I would be ready to take things further with him. I’d never felt like this before and although we had only been together for five days, I’d known him forever. I trusted him like no one else and I knew he wouldn’t hurt me. I wasn’t worried about him not being able to wait for me, I could see in his eyes he would wait as long as I wanted, and that knowledge was pushing me forwards. If I doubted he would wait for me, then there would be no way that I would feel like this. I gripped his hand tightly as I just looked at him, trying to find the right words to express my feelings for him.
“What’s wrong, Angel?” he asked quietly, frowning rubbing circles in the back of my hand.
Oh crap, could I say it? I was so embarrassed; I’d never said anything like this to anyone before.
I took a deep breath and willed my voice not to show the nerves I felt inside. “I love you, Liam,” I said honestly. He looked at me, shock clear across his face. His mouth was hanging open, his eyes wide as he took in what I said. I couldn’t help but laugh. “OK, that’s not how I imagined your reaction.” I winced, waiting for him to say something.
He pushed me down onto my back, rolling on top of me. “You love me? Seriously?” he asked, the shock leaving his face to be replaced by excitement.
I nodded, feeling my cheeks heat up slightly. “Yes, I love you.”
He laughed and kissed me passionately. When he pulled away his eyes were sparkling with happiness. “Thank God! I thought you were going to dump me or something. You looked so serious that I thought you didn’t want to be with me,” he said, shaking his head, grinning.
I laughed. “You did? That’s why you were looking nervous?” I asked, giggling.
“Say it again,” he whispered.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer to me, his mouth about an inch away from mine. “I love you, Liam James,” I whispered.
“I love you too, Amber Walker.” He kissed me, hard, and I couldn’t help but kiss him back with the same intensity. I ran my hands down his back and gripped the bottom of his t-shirt, pulling it up over his head, trailing my fingers down his chest, just marveling at how flawless he was. His hands were roaming all over my body hungrily; he gripped the bottom of my top and started pulling it up slowly, as if he was waiting for some sort of reaction. I felt my love for him bump up another gear because of how thoughtful and patient he was with me. I smiled against his lips and he pulled away, looking at me curiously.
“OK?” he asked, concern colouring his voice.
I nodded and pushed him off of me so I could sit up. I gripped my top and yanked it off over my head, throwing it to the floor. He was just watching me in shock. I pulled him back to me, kissing him deeply. His hands were everywhere while we made out but he didn’t do anything I didn’t want him to. It was perfect and sweet. An incredible end to an incredible date. After a while he pulled away and laid next to me, we talked happily for awhile.
At nine, he sighed. “Jake’s going to be home soon, maybe we should get dressed,” he suggested, looking a little reluctant as his fingers trailed over my bra and stomach.
I nodded. “Yeah. I don’t think he’d be best pleased if he came home and found out that you’d seen me with no top on, James,” I said with mock horror. He laughed and sat up, grabbing my shirt from the floor and passing it to me, kissing me again tenderly.
When we were both fully dressed again, we sat watching TV until Jake came home. I couldn’t keep the smile off of my face, Liam loved me and I loved him and everything was perfect. Jake came home and they played on the Wii while I did my homework, trying unsuccessfully, not to watch Liam’s ass as he stood in front of me. At ten he went home to change his clothes and see his parents for half an hour before he would sneak through my window tonight. I could barely contain my excitement at being with him again.
“So, how are you two getting on?” Jake asked curiously, when we were on our own.
I grinned happily. “Really good actually. Thanks for not freaking out and hurting him or anything,” I said, grimacing at the thought.
He smiled sadly. “That’s OK. Just be careful, he’s a player, I don’t want you to get hurt.” He looked at me worriedly. He always was overprotective, but I guess growing up the way we did he always felt he needed to protect me from our father. I guess that urge never left, even after my father did.
I smiled and shook my head. “He won’t hurt me,” I stated confidently.
He laughed. “Such confidence in a guy who’s never managed to hold down a girlfriend before,” he mused, shaking his head.
“Jake, Liam’s a great guy, he won’t hurt me. He loves me.”
He sighed and nodded. “I know he does.” He frowned disapprovingly as he said it. I don’t think that Jake would ever approve of anyone I brought home; he was just so damn overprotective. He’d always been the best brother a girl could ask for. “So, do you need to talk to me about Dad or anything?” he asked, wincing slightly as he said the word dad.
I closed my eyes; I had been putting off even thinking about that man coming back. “I don’t want to see him,” I said quietly.
He pulled me into a hug. “OK, then we won’t see him.” He rubbed my back soothingly, looking at me worriedly, as if he thought I was going to have another panic attack like the last time we spoke about him.
“You can see him if you want to,” I said, feeling a little guilty. I didn’t want to stop Jake from seeing him if he wanted to.
He laughed humourlessly. “Actually, I need to see him.” He shrugged, and my heart sank, I didn’t want Jake anywhere near that asshole.
“OK, well if that’s what you want….” I trailed off, trying not to cry.
Jake pulled out of the hug and looked at me sadly. “I don’t want to see him, Amber, I want to kill him,” he stated, shrugging casually, making me laugh. I slapped his shoulder making him laugh too. “I promise I won’t let him hurt you, never again.” He kissed the side of my head gently, his whole body tense. I knew Jake always felt guilty that he didn’t do something sooner. I don’t think he’d ever forgive himself for it, but it was an irrational belief, none of it was his fault, yet he took all the blame for it not ending before it did. I think he forgets that he went through it too; he only ever worries about me. He never really talks about the fact that he probably got hurt twice as much as I did because he was always protecting me. He always seems to forget that he was a child at the time too, that he couldn’t have done anything about it anyway because he wasn’t strong enough.
“You know you’re the best brother in the world, right?” I told him, smiling happily.
He nodded, smirking at me. “Yeah, I know,” he replied cockily, making us both laugh again.
I sighed, feeling exhaustion creep in. “I’m going to bed. Night, Jake.” I kissed the top of his head as I went to my room, locking the door behind me out of habit.
I put on my pyjamas and just as I was about to fall asleep, I heard my window open. I smiled happily as Liam climbed in the bed behind me, wrapping his arms around me. “Hey, you,” I mumbled sleepily.
He kissed the back of my head gently. “Hey, yourself,” he replied, as I snuggled back against him.
“I love you, Liam.” I grinned as I said the words; it just got easier and easier to say each time.
“I love you more, Angel.” I sighed and closed my eyes, drifting off to sleep, safe and warm, wrapped in his embrace.