“All right, favorite color?”
I raise an eyebrow at Liam. I expected something a little more intense from his description of the game. A question about my preferred color is not something I thought would come out of his lips first. It’s not something I’ve ever thought about before.
“Purple. I remember these flowers growing near the cabin I lived in. They were a beautiful purple color. I used to draw them when I had time. I’ll have to see if I can find out what they’re called.”
“I’ll help you. Now it’s your turn to ask a question.”
Liam sits back in his chair and watches me as I think of all the many things I want to ask him. I want to discover what makes him tick and get to know his mind, but I want to keep my question simple like he did.
“You have a lot of tattoos. Which one was your first?”
“Interesting question. I don’t have as many tattoos as Tate, but yes, I do have a few.” Liam chuckles and starts to pull up the front of his shirt. My eyes instantly go to his rock-hard abs.
There’s that strange feeling between my legs again.
I need to talk to Zoey about it.
She’s already helped me out with protection against pregnancy, which was completely alien to me.
I lick my lips as Liam continues to lift his shirt higher.
“My first tattoo was Saving Tate’s logo. Completely sad, I’m sure, but the band means so much to me I knew I had to get it.” Liam points to his chest and the logo of the band on it.
“It looks good,” I tell him, picking up my glass and taking a large mouthful of wine just as the lobster arrives.
Liam drops his shirt, and I feel the world cool down a little bit. The waitress winks at me knowingly, and I give her a smile back. Pulling the lobster toward himself, Liam starts to break it apart. He removes the meat from the shell before placing the different pieces on separate plates.
“Okay, my next question. You’ve been learning a lot about different countries around the world. Which one would you be most excited to visit?”
“I want to visit all of them,” I only half jest. “I guess I’ve always hated England because of what I was taught growing up, but everything I’ve learned about it this week and knowing my family originates from there makes me want to visit it. I want to see where the Queen lives. I want to go to the castles and pretend to be a princess.”
“I’m sure we can arrange that one day. We’ve already completed our UK leg of the tour, but we can go there on our own. We’re heading over to Asia and Australia in a few months. You’ll enjoy that.”
“I will,” I reply, glad he’s still thinking of me being with them then.
Liam hands me my plate of lobster accompanied by a creamy sauce, and I take a bite. It’s an odd flavor at first. The texture is meaty, but it tastes different. I like it and devour the rest while I think of my next question.
“Why the drums?”
“Good question! I could give you the joke answer I tell most people—I play the drums because it shows I’m a good lover. You have to have rhythm to make love and to play the drums. But no, I’ll give you the honest one. My ancestry is Spanish in origin. My maternal grandparents came to America just before World War Two.” Liam pauses. “Do you know what that is?”
I nod. “I saw it on a television show the other day. It broke my heart.”
“My grandparents had a good life in Spain but wanted something different. They already had other family in America, so it was easy to get in. My mother was born here, and she married my father, an American of several generations whose family also originated from Spain. We lived in a poor area of Seattle. I was often picked on for being different. America is a multicultural nation, but just like other countries in the world, there’s always racial differences. I was falling behind in school because I didn’t want to go. My father saved up some money and bought me a drum set. I loved it and played it endlessly. It gave me focus. When I moved up to high school, I met Austin, and then we met Tate and Cameron. The rest is history. Drums saved me from going down the wrong path and ending up in trouble. I owe everything to them. Now I get to travel the world doing something I love.”
I love Liam’s tale. It warms my heart and leaves me tearful. A strand of chestnut hair falls out of my tied-back hairstyle, and I push it behind my ear.
“You look really pretty when you do that.” Liam reaches out and takes my hand again.
Our main course arrives, and we both dig in before we can ask our third question.
“My last question,” Liam states as he finishes his steak in no time at all. “If you could do anything with your life, what would it be?”
I fall silent. It’s something I’ve never ever thought about before. I’ve been told all my life I’d be a wife and a mother and nothing else.
“I honestly don’t know. When you’ve been led to believe you’ll be a certain thing all your life, you think that’s all you can be. I just always assumed I’d be a mother and look after my children, but I guess I can be anything I want now. I’ll need to explore. I still have a lot to learn. I’d like to get my General Education Diploma, though. Zoey was talking about it the other day, and I want to achieve that.”
“Then we’ll make sure it happens, but you don’t need to decide on anything now. Eventually, you’ll work out what you want. Don’t force it.”
“I won’t.”
“Okay, what’s my last question?”
I finish my food and put my cutlery down.
“I don’t know if I have another question. I’m learning everything I need to know about you from watching you or having conversations with you.”
“There must be something?”
“All right, you and the band seem so close, and I know you have a family. What’s it like to be loved by them?”
“Knowing my parents and brother are behind me and supporting me with everything is the best feeling in the world. As for the band, Yivi, you already know what it’s like to be loved by Saving Tate. They’ve embraced you just as I have. They’ll protect you as much as I will. You don’t ever have to fear that. You have my word.”
Tears form in my eyes. I know exactly what he means, and it warms my soul.
Liam calls the waitress over and pays the bill. He escorts me out of the restaurant, and we continue to chat, making small talk as we head back to the tour bus, which is parked up next to the stadium where the boys are performing tomorrow.
When we arrive at the bus, Liam turns me around to face him. The area is quiet. There are no fans waiting to try and catch a glimpse of the band. It’s surprisingly strange after watching the large crowd in Las Vegas, but then the band weren’t supposed to arrive here until tomorrow, according to the schedule Zoey put out.
“I had a really good time tonight.” Liam wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me close to him. I stare into his eyes. The light of the moonlight shining down on us.
“I did as well. Thank you.”
“Yivi, may I kiss you?” Liam asks, and I can sense the urgent need in his voice. It matches my own. I want to feel the heat of his lips on mine again just like during the spin the bottle game.
“Yes,” I reply, and Liam crushes his lips against mine.