Say Yes (Nostalgic Summer Romance)

“Can I go back in the pool?” he asked excitedly.

“Wait a bit. Take Biscotti for a walk down to the path and back.”

I could tell Paolo wanted to complain, but he knew better. “Come, Biscotti,” he called with a whistle, and then he jumped up, and the two of them ran out of the gate and toward the house.

“I’m so sorry about that,” Elio said.

“It’s really okay.”

Elio and Antonella smiled at each other before gathering up what was left of the food and telling us they were going to get started on lunch. They told us we were welcome to help, if we wanted, or to take the time to ourselves, and they’d let us know when it was ready. They still looked ashamed when they left, no matter how I assured them.

“You okay?” Liam asked when they were gone.

I frowned, trying to find the discomfort that usually sat in my chest when someone asked about my hand, but I came up empty. “Strangely, I think I am.”

“You handled that with grace.”

I shrugged. “He’s a kid. He wasn’t being mean, just curious.”

“If he would have been mean, I’d have tossed him in the pool and held him down.”

My mouth fell open. “Liam!”

He put his hands up, but didn’t take it back.

I chuckled. “I don’t know,” I said, rotating my small hand in front of me. “I think… I think I don’t mind talking about it anymore. I think I like that it’s a part of me, that it makes me different.” My eyes met his now. “Guess you could say someone has changed my perspective.”

Liam’s lips turned up at the corners, his eyes flicking between mine. “I’m kind of tired,” he said, though his eyes said another thing altogether. “Want to take a nap with me?”

I swallowed. “Sure.”

We retreated inside our little apartment, hanging our damp towels over the chairs outside our door before shutting and locking it behind us. We’d had the windows open to let the breeze in, but I watched Liam close them all one by one, drawing the curtains until it was dark inside the room.

When he drew the last ones, he silently made his way over to me, slipping his hands into my hair and pulling my lips to his without a word.

I closed my eyes, breathing in the kiss and the man behind it. I wrapped my arms around his waist, and when my fingertips skated across his back, it sent a shiver through him.

And it didn’t stop once it started.

“You’re shaking,” I whispered, leaning into his trembling hand.

His eyes flicked between mine, a thick swallow his only answer.

I closed my eyes again, leaning into his warm palm as emotion overcame me. There was something different, and we both knew it. It was all around us, like the air was weighted somehow, hot and heavy and impossible to breathe in.

“Liam,” I said, keeping my eyes closed. “I know I said I just wanted you for the summer, that I could walk away from you when the term ends…” I winced, pain radiating in my chest just at the thought. I blinked my eyes open, letting them gloss over because there was no sense in fighting it now. “But I lied.”

Liam’s nose flared, his eyes closing as a deep and heavy sigh left his chest. I reached up to hold onto his wrist where he still framed my face, not wanting him to let go.

“I want more,” I whispered, stepping into him, pressing my damp body against his.

“I do, too.”

I struggled for my next breath, wondering if I’d heard him right through the ringing in my ears. “You do?”

He blew out a pained breath, dropping his forehead to mine with a tender nod. “I do. I want all of you. I want you like I’ve never wanted anyone or anything else in my life.” He shook his head, then, eyes squeezing shut. “I need you, Harley. Like I need eyes to see.” He swallowed. “Like I need brushes to paint.”

I held onto him tighter, afraid to move, afraid to breathe else I’d shatter the entire illusion. Because that’s what this had to be — a dream.

“But I’m broken,” he continued. “I’m so fucking broken, and I…”

He couldn’t speak past that, his lips pressing together as a frustrated breath left his chest.

I nodded, threading my hands in his wet hair. “I know,” I whispered, lifting my head to look at him again. “But so am I, remember?”

Liam instantly shook his head, brows bent together like I was missing it, like I didn’t understand.

But I did.

I knew exactly what he meant. I knew that he’d been hurt in an unimaginable way, that he was battling with forgiving himself, with moving on, with feeling like he’d ever be able to love again.

And I wanted to prove to him that he could.