He nodded and winced. “Yeah, that stopped though when you were like eight or something.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I was eight. That was when Liam started sleeping in with me. I don’t have nightmares anymore, because of Liam,” I said, smiling and squeezing Liam’s hand.
“You do! I’ve had to sleep in with you a few times since then,” Jake protested.
“Yeah you did, but I still had the nightmares even though you were there,” I countered. Jake flinched and nodded, probably at the memory of me screaming the house down in his bed. “I’ve only had a few nightmares since then, the only times I ever have them is when Liam’s not there. Like if he’s on vacation or something,” I explained, looking at Jake, watching as understanding shot across his face. We were all silent for a while. Liam was stroking the back of my hand; Jake was just staring at the floor.
After what seemed like forever, Jake looked at Liam. “Liam, if you hurt my sister, best friend or not, I will kill you,” Jake warned. I could see that he meant it.
“I won’t, I promise,” Liam vowed, smiling reassuringly.
“Right, well, I’m going to bed. I guess I’ll see you in the morning, make sure you lock the door before you two go to bed,” Jake instructed, getting up and leaving us sitting there on the sofa, shocked.
I looked at Liam; he just looked stunned as I felt. “Wow, that was easier than I thought,” he mused, smiling at me and putting his hands either side of my face.
I smiled, just pleased that it was finally out in the open. “Want to go to bed, Liam? I’m not in the mood for homework; I just want to go to sleep.” I just needed to lie in the bed and have him hold me for a little while.
He nodded and kissed my nose. “Yeah, I just need to go back home first. Jake called and said you were freaking out, so I just ran out of the house without even telling my parents where I was going.” He stroked my face with his thumbs softly, just looking at me with a sad smile.
“OK. I guess I’ll just go to bed and see you when you’re ready,” I said, getting up and pulling him towards the front door.
“Hey, can I use the door now that Jake knows?” He grinned.
I laughed at his excitement, but shook my head. “No, your parents might see…. unless you tell them you’re staying here,” I suggested.
He smiled happily. “I would love to walk through your front door and get in your bed; I’ve never done that before.”
I took out my keys and gave them to him. “Make sure you lock it after, OK?” I kissed his cheek and made my way to my bedroom.
It was nearly ten o’clock but my body felt so exhausted from all the emotional drama that it felt like I hadn’t slept in days. I pulled off my clothes and slipped on my favourite t-shirt that used to be Liam’s. I fell asleep instantly. A couple of minutes later I felt two arms wrap around me and a heavy leg slung over mine. I smiled and pressed back into him. My boyfriend. The one I needed when things went wrong.
It’s weird, but when Jake pulled me away from Liam tonight, I felt strange, like I’d left my heart behind. I didn’t realise up until then, how strongly I was connected to him. He literally was everything to me. When I felt his arms wrap around me earlier, I felt like I was home, all my panic started to recede. I felt like, as long as he was with me, I’d be alright.
I snuggled into him and heard him whisper, “I love you,” right before I fell back into a deep dreamless sleep; I didn’t doubt his words this time.
Chapter 13
I woke at six with my alarm going off. I groaned because I'd forgotten to cancel it. I guess I don’t need to kick him out of my bed early anymore. I rolled over and hugged Liam. He always slept through the alarm; I swear he would sleep through an earthquake. I nudged him gently, deciding to play a joke on him.
“Six o’clock,” I said, nudging him again.
He groaned and slowly got up out of the bed, still half asleep. “OK, Angel. I love you; I’ll see you later.” He kissed my forehead and got out of the bed, his eyes only half open. I couldn’t help myself, I burst out laughing. He looked at me, confused. “Shh! What are you laughing at?” he asked, frowning, pulling on his jeans.
“You,” I teased, smiling happily.
“What about me? What have I done?” he whispered, climbing back onto the bed and crawling on top of me. He pressed every inch of his body to mine but still keeping all of his weight off of me somehow. He looked into my eyes, smiling happily for a little while, and then understanding crossed his face. “Shit! Your brother knows! Then why the hell did you wake me up, Angel? I don’t need to leave,” he whined.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him in for a long kiss. “I was just kidding around. I forgot to cancel the alarm so I thought I’d use the extra time and we could make out.”
He grinned. “You wanna make out?” he teased, kissing down my neck. I gasped as he reached the sensitive spot near my collarbone.
“Mmm,” I breathed, running my hands down his back, scratching slightly with my nails, making him moan. He climbed back under the covers, and kissed me tenderly and softly, holding me close. He made no moves to take things any further than that, which I loved. He really was adorable.
We walked out of my bedroom a little after seven thirty. Liam pushed me onto one of the kitchen stools, grinning to himself like the cat that got the cream. “Hey, I get to make you breakfast without getting shouted at today,” he chirped.
I laughed and watched as he made me a bowl of cereal; he smiled and put it in front of me, before making some toast for himself. “You don’t eat cereal?” I asked, watching him scoff four slices of toast.
He shook his head, turning his nose up. “I don’t like cereal; it’s gross and all soggy.” He faked a shudder, pretending to gag.
I laughed again. “You really are weird, Liam,” I teased, smiling at him.
He grinned. “You know, it’s kind of weird, you being all nice to me over breakfast.”
“I could be mean to you if you want,” I offered, shrugging.
He laughed and shook his head. “No. I’ll get used to it eventually.” He walked over to my side. I turned to look at him and he brushed my hair behind my ear, his fingers lingering on my cheek, making me blush. “You really are the most beautiful thing in the world,” he murmured. My heart skipped a beat at the honesty in his voice, his blue eyes were burning into mine, making me feel like the only girl in the world.
“Cut that crap out! I might have given my blessing but I don’t need it shoved in my face over breakfast,” Jake growled as he walked into the kitchen to make some cereal. He slapped Liam on the back of the head on the way past as usual.
We all laughed and Liam stepped behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist, leaning his head on my shoulder. “Thanks, Jake. I know you said stay away but…” Liam trailed off, looking at my brother gratefully.
“Whatever, Liam. We’re fine. Just don’t make us have a problem, OK,” Jake replied, smiling a friendly smile.
Liam’s arms tightened around me. “I won’t.” He kissed my shoulder lightly and Jake fake gagged, making me laugh.
“Well, come on then, lovebirds, I suppose you need to get to school a little earlier so that you can announce you’re together,” Jake stated, rolling his eyes.
Liam grinned and nodded. I gasped and shook my head fiercely. “No way! We can’t do that,” I said, looking at Liam. He looked really hurt for some reason.
“Why not?” he asked, taking my hand, and looking a little confused.
I glanced at Jake; he really wasn't going to like this. “Er, well, I sort of have a bet going on. The next one to sleep with you will win the pot. I could really use that money.” I looked at Liam uncomfortably, but he just started to laugh hysterically.
Jake almost choked on his drink. “No way! You can’t do that!” he cried, shaking his head violently. “I don’t want to know that you two are having sex. I don’t!”
I laughed at his annoyed and disgusted face. “Jake, we’re not having sex.” I shrugged, making his face relax a little. “But when we do, I definitely want to win the pot. I won’t if people know I’m his girlfriend already.” I looked at Liam, unsure if he would go along with this or not.
“Angel, I don’t want you to want to be with me for some bet.” He frowned, looking a little hurt.
I smiled seductively at him. “You think that’s the reason I’m going to want to have sex with you? Trust me, lover boy; it won’t be to do with the money, that’ll just a perk.”
He leant in and put his mouth to my ear. “So what will be the reason?” he breathed, sending a shiver down my spine.
I bit my lip. “Hmm, I’m not sure but it’ll have something to do with you begging me on your knees,” I teased, smirking at him.
He laughed and kissed me, pulling me close to his body, sending ripples of desire racing through my bloodstream. He pulled away to look at me, lust written clear across his face. “I’d happily beg you right now you know.”
I patted his chest and stepped away before I dragged him back to my bedroom and ripped his sexy ass jeans and black button down shirt off his flawless body. “Oh I know, lover boy.” I laughed, trying to catch my breath.
I glanced at Jake who was staring at us eyes wide, his mouth hanging open in shock. “Guys, I seriously can’t take these PDA’s,” he said, grimacing and shaking his head.
“It’s OK, the PDA’s done. I just think we should keep this quiet for a little while. Why not make a little money for doing something that would happen eventually anyway? That’s how I look at it,” I said, shrugging.
Liam and Jake looked at each other. “I guess. But will you be able to win? I mean, was the bet to make me break up with my girlfriend or something?” Liam asked, frowning.
I giggled and shook my head. “Nope, I made sure of that. It’s definitely just the next one to nail you, as they so eloquently put it.”
Liam shook his head, looking a little disgusted. “I can’t believe girls do that sort of thing.”
Jake laughed. “You know what? I think I might announce that I’ve got a girlfriend next. Then I can just pick someone and we can split the money,” he said brightly, as if he was serious.
Liam grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the door. “Come on, let’s get to school before you brother has any other bright ideas.” He laughed, shaking his head at Jake.
Liam winked at me in the mirror as we pulled into the parking lot. There were more girls than usual waiting for them. They all made a beeline for Liam as soon as his door opened. Jessica, as usual, was at the front.
I laughed. “Good luck, boyfriend,” I teased, winking at him as I walked off, swaying my ass on purpose. I knew he was watching me. When I got to the door I glanced back over my shoulder to see him pulling a girl’s arms off of him, a distasteful expression on his face. He must have had about twenty-five girls round him, he looked extremely pissed off. I laughed and went to find my friends; as usual, they were hanging out by our lockers.
“Hey, guys,” I chirped, as I got up to them.
“Wow, someone’s in a good mood today! Any particular reason?” Sean asked, looking confused at my happy face.
“Nope, no reason in particular. I just watched Liam getting hounded by like twenty-five girls. He looks really annoyed about it, that was pretty funny,” I explained, grinning wildly. Just then he walked past me with Jake. He had a girl flirting with him on either side, and about another ten walking behind him. I burst out laughing and he shot me a dark look, making me laugh harder.
“I’m not surprised he has all those girls after him. Do you know how much the pot is now?” Kate asked, smirking at me.
I nodded. “Yeah I know, Sarah told me it’s like eighteen hundred dollars or something. I can’t believe it.” I shook my head disapprovingly, and tried not to imagine what it would feel like to win that much money.
Kate, Sarah and Sean exchanged a look, before bursting into laughter. “No, that was yesterday’s total. Today it’s up to four thousand two hundred,” Kate said. I felt the colour drain from my face as my heart sank. Holy crap! That’s like, oh God I can’t even work it out! Like two hundred girls, all wanting to sleep with my boyfriend!
“Oh my God! Really?” I asked as I swallowed the lump that was rapidly forming in my throat. The thought of all those girls throwing themselves at my boy, literally made me feel a little ill. Kate nodded and looked a little sympathetic; as if she knew what I was thinking. Sarah and Sean just looked excited because they obviously had no idea I was with Liam. Luckily, the bell rang, so we all made our way to class.
At lunchtime I decided I would start making my play for Liam. People needed to at least see that I was trying. I couldn’t just announce that I had slept with him, so I needed people to see me putting in the effort. I hadn’t talked it through with Liam, but a little harmless flirting over lunch shouldn't be too hard. As I carried my tray of food across the lunchroom to our usual table, I turned to my friends.
“Guys, I’m going to go make my play for Liam for the bet. Let’s go sit with my brother today, OK?”
Kate gave me a knowing look and winked at me and we all walked over to the jock table. The jock table was almost full of girls, all of them flirting shamelessly with Liam. I smiled at his expression; he looked even more pissed off now than earlier. I looked at the girl sitting next to Liam; she’d finished her lunch and was staring at him intently, a flirty expression on her face.