The Lies That Define Us (Us 2)

“When you shut down, those feelings of anger and betrayal only grow, eating you alive, but when you allow yourself to be happy, to move on, it heals that part of you that was broken. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still a scar there, but it’s no longer a gaping wound.” I tugged my hair over the side of one shoulder, trying to keep it from blowing in every direction.

He looked back up at the night sky, his breath wheezing through his lips.

“You speak from experience,” he murmured at the sky. He said the words firmly, with no doubt or question in his tone.

“Everybody’s been through something,” I responded, picking up a handful of sand and watching it sift through my fingers. A clump of damp sand stuck to my palm and I wiped it on the leg of my sweatpants.

“Ari?” he broached hesitantly, sitting up and tipping his head in my direction. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for whatever happened to you, and I’m sorry for being such an asshole. Can we start over?” His Adam’s apple bobbed, and he looked at me with uncertainty in his eyes.

I stared at him, processing what he’d said. Finally, I nodded, just a slow dip of my chin, but you would’ve thought I’d handed him an Oscar the way his face lit up.

He held his hand out to me. “Liam Wade. It’s nice to meet you.”

I laughed at his silliness, my cheeks stupidly flushing with warmth. “Ariella Geller.” I put my hand in his. His grip was strong, and when he shook my hand the movement only served to highlight the sinewy muscles lining his arm.

He sat back then and his eyes returned to the moon and the stars and worlds beyond.

“You didn’t hit me.” The words were spoken so softly I wasn’t sure I’d heard him correctly.

“Huh?” I looked at him with confusion written plainly on my face.

He still didn’t look away from the sky. “When I kissed you tonight, you didn’t hit me like the first time, and something tells me you didn’t mean to hit me the first time.”

I turned away, glancing to my left. My hair swept over my shoulder, hiding the profile of my face from his view. I swallowed thickly, unsure how to respond. He was right. I hadn’t meant to hit him the first time. I’d actually been enjoying the kiss, but then, suddenly, it was like I wasn’t there anymore and it wasn’t Liam who was on top of me.

I couldn’t explain that to him, though. He’d ask me more questions, and I’d either have to lie or say nothing, and I was so sick of doing both. Things would be so much easier if Liam was a dumb surfer who only cared about waves and sex. But Liam was observant. He saw everything even when you thought he saw nothing.

That made him a threat to me.

I’d almost made up my mind to ignore his statement and get up and walk back to the house when he spoke again.

“What would you do if I kissed you again right now?”

My breath stole from my lungs, and my body slowly moved back toward him.

Try as I might, I couldn’t stay away from him. I didn’t know what it was about him that was so impossible for me to ignore.

His lips lifted in a half-smile. “You’re not running, so I take that as a good sign.”

He scooted closer to me, and his tongue flicked out to wet his lips. I swallowed thickly and my heart pounded like a drum in my ears. Surely he could see it in my throat.

“Why you?” he whispered, lightly caressing his finger over my cheek and down my throat. “Why are you the one to make me feel again?” His eyes were hooded, and I wasn’t sure if that was from the amount of alcohol in his system or lust.

I really hoped he wasn’t that drunk. I didn’t want to wake up in the morning and have him act as if he hadn’t confessed all of this to me. Not only for my sake, but for his as well.

I knew firsthand how much it sucked trying to be something you’re not.

His jean-covered leg brushed mine, and he slid his hand around my throat to cup the back of my neck. His eyes flickered to my lips and then back up to my eyes. He didn’t move any further, and the look in his eyes told me the ball was in my court.

I swallowed past the lump in my throat and tried to ignore the beat of my heart.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum. It thudded in my ears, drowning out the sound of the waves crashing against the shore.

Liam’s shoulders sagged dejectedly, and he started to pull away.

Panic seized me.

“No,” I pleaded, placing my hand over his arm, urging him not to let go.