Say Yes (Nostalgic Summer Romance)

“Fancy meeting you here,” Liam said with a drunken smirk.

“Fancy, indeed.” I held up my glass of beer toward him first before turning and cheersing to his roommate. “Hi, Thomas. This is my roommate, Angela.”

“Roommate. Best friend. Goddess of Guidance,” Angela said, waving her hand in the air. “There are just so many titles to be had, but let’s not get caught up in that.” She grinned at a dumbfounded Thomas, who was just as struck by her beauty as anyone else who came into close contact with her. “Pleasure to meet you,” she finally said, extending her hand for his.

He took her hand and brought it to his lips, pressing a kiss to her skin before his wide eyes gave her another once over. He shook his head over and over, his jaw practically on the ground, and when he met her gaze again, he cleared his throat before blurting out, “Marry me.”

I covered the snort-laugh that bubbled out of me with my left hand as Liam shook his head in pity, and Angela let a devilish smile curl up on her lips.

“Oh, honey, I would, but you’re not exactly my type.”

“What’s your type?” he asked immediately. “Jock? Rockstar? Businessman? Whatever it is, I’ll be it.”

“The type who has a socket where you have a plug.”

That earned a laugh from Liam, but Thomas just screwed his face up in confusion, looking at us, and then at Angela, who cocked a brow and waited for him to put the pieces together.

We were all witness to the way his face fell slack once he finally did. “Oh.”

She chuckled, patting him on the back. “There, there. You can still buy my next drink, if you’d like.”

“Let’s be honest, bud, not like you’d have had a chance even if she was straight,” Liam chimed in.

“Fuck off,” Thomas said, wiping his hand along the sweat gathered on his beer bottle before flicking it at Liam.

Angela clucked her tongue. “Don’t listen to him. I’d at least have given you a chance to prove you were a good kisser.”

Thomas sighed. “I’ve never wished I had a vagina before, but I guess there’s a first time for everything.”

We all laughed at that, but then the roaring crowd in Atlanta quieted as the stage went dark, revealing a temple in the middle of the stadium that brought our attention back to the ceremony.

“I like your team spirit tonight,” Liam said a little later, leaning into me where only I could hear. “I especially like these,” he added, tugging on one of my braids.

I smirked, and without even looking at him I could feel his eyes raking over me. “You should see the panties and bra underneath.”

“Oh, I very much plan to.”

“Is that so?” I asked, finally meeting his eyes. They were dark and hungry, and when he licked his lips, it sent a ping of desire straight between my legs.

“Going for gold. It’s the theme tonight.”

I rolled my eyes and looked back at the screen, but couldn’t fight the smile that spread on my lips, or the heat that bloomed in my cheeks.

Liam must have liked that blush, because he pulled our disposable camera out and scooted closer to me so he could get us both in the frame. With one arm around my chair, and the other extended as far as he could to widen the frame, he snapped a picture, the camera making a buzzing sound as it processed it.

“I bet that one will be my favorite,” he said as he tucked it away again.

“How many pictures do we have left?”

“That’s for me to know and you to find out.”

Angela and Thomas grabbed us all another round of beers when the Parade of Nations began, and then they squeezed their way through the bar to the pool table tucked in the back corner. Liam and I angled our chairs so we could watch both the ceremony and the pool game, laughing to ourselves as Angela and Thomas gave each other shit.

“I think I need some air,” Liam said when our beers were empty again. “Want to walk with me?”

I loved the way he watched me, like all he could think about was getting me somewhere private so he could touch everything he’d been staring at all night.

“Sure.”

I stopped by the table long enough to let Angela know we were taking a stroll, and she gave me a look that told me she didn’t expect to see me again until the morning. With a kiss on my cheek and a slap on my ass when I turned, she bid me farewell, and then Liam led the way outside.

The night had cooled off marginally, but then again, it was at least three in the morning now. Usually, this city would be fast asleep, but tonight it buzzed like a live wire, every street filled with dancing and laughter and joy.