I loved her.
And I knew this wasn’t some high school, puppy love.
This was the real thing.
Because even though I wanted to be selfish, I’d give up what was best for me so she could be happy.
Even if that meant she’d end up being with my brother.
“You have no idea how many times I’ve stopped myself from doing just that,” he answered.
I wanted to tell him that I had a pretty good idea because I’d stopped myself from doing the same thing probably just as many times.
“What’s stopping you?” I asked instead.
“She’s still in school, Zev. I want her to finish high school, and I don’t want her missing out on all the things that we got to experience while we were there simply because she has an older boyfriend. I’m just giving her time to experience things.”
“Things like she experienced today?” I challenged him.
I knew it was a low blow, especially considering the fact that what happened had nothing to do with Liam. But I did not want to see what I saw today ever again. I didn’t want her to get another boyfriend that we didn’t know. I didn’t want to be worried about her being hurt by someone.
Liam would never hurt her.
“I know,” he replied. His voice was thick with emotion. “I should. I know I should. But I want to be fair to her. And I can’t exactly do this right now anyway.”
“Why not?” I pressed him.
“You heard her. She liked the guy,” he offered up his explanation. “You and I both know he’s a douche, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t like him. I’m not going to be the rebound guy. I’ll give her some time to move on from this before I make a move.”
I wasn’t sure I liked the idea. On one hand, everything Liam said made sense. On the other, Tillie being single only meant that someone else could come along and fill that void.
“Don’t wait too long, Liam,” I warned.
“Why are you saying it like that?” he asked, turning his head in my direction.
When my eyes met his, I explained, “Because she deserves better than what she got today. And you should want to give that to her.”
I had to have been crazy. I was encouraging my brother to go after the woman I loved. Not only that, but I was doing it knowing that she looked at us as her big brothers. Maybe it was wrong. Maybe I should have told him how she felt so he could move on.
But I didn’t.
If he loved her and had any chance at all with her, I wanted him to go after it.
When Liam didn’t respond to me, I stood from the chair and walked to the door to go back into the house. Before I walked inside, I urged, “Don’t let her settle for someone who won’t give her the world.”
Then, I walked inside and went to my bedroom.
When I got in bed, I couldn’t fall asleep. I spent too much time tossing and turning, wondering how I’d live the rest of my life without the woman of my dreams.
Tillie
Eight Years Later
“That was amazing!”
“Thanks, Tillie. I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
Liam and I were sitting beside each other at the local movie theater on a random Wednesday afternoon in October. We were the only two people in the theater because kids were in school and most other adults were likely working.
But this is what had become our thing. We’d regularly make trips to the movies. Liam was all about the action films, and I loved being able to spend that time with him. We’d just finished watching the latest movie release that he’d worked on. It was spectacular. He’d given me the play-by-play of his scenes. I was in awe watching him on the big screen.
As the credits rolled up in front of our faces, we sat there and watched them. After some time had passed, I reached out and curled my fingers around Liam’s forearm.
“There you are,” I beamed, my eyes following his name all the way up until it was off-screen. Then I looked over at him with tears filling my eyes and shared, “I’m so proud of you, Liam.”
Liam gave me a look that told me he appreciated my words. He reached his free hand over, placed it on top of mine, and gave me a squeeze. “Thank you,” he said softly.
“We have to celebrate,” I declared. “I’m taking you out for a celebratory dinner.”
A look flashed across his face, and I knew he was going to say I was making a big deal out of nothing. I beat him to the punch and held my hand up in front of us.
“I don’t want any arguments,” I told him. “This is a huge accomplishment, and I want to celebrate with you.”
Realizing that I wasn’t going to back down, Liam dipped his chin and agreed, “Okay, Tillie. We can go out and celebrate.”
With that, we got up and left.
Fifteen minutes later, we were seated at a table in a local Mexican restaurant. It was Liam’s favorite place to eat.
While we waited for our meals, Liam and I shared the complimentary chips and salsa.
“So, when’s the next one coming out?” I asked.
“Are you talking about the one we just finished filming a few weeks ago?” he returned.
I nodded.
“Probably not for another eight or nine months,” he replied.
“I can’t wait to see it,” I stated. “You just better make sure you get back here to take me on our movie date once it’s in theaters.”
Liam rolled his eyes at me. “I’ve never once missed out on taking you to any of my movies,” he reminded me.
“I know. But the more you do, the more the industry learns about you. And then it’s not going to be long before you’re living the Hollywood life,” I argued.
Shaking his head, Liam said, “You’re crazy, Tillie. I’m not going to be living the Hollywood life.”
Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. “Oh, please. Don’t tell me it isn’t already starting. You’re on set filming all day before you head out for a night on the town. I’m sure there are plenty of girls ready and willing to give the industry’s next rising star an enjoyable night.”
Liam burst out laughing. I continued to eat chips as I watched him do it. When he settled down, he lamented, “I’m sorry to break it to you, but it’s not like that.”
“What? I’m sure it is,” I asserted.
Shaking his head, he insisted, “It’s not. And the biggest reason for that is I’m not the industry’s next rising star that women would be falling all over themselves to get to, Til. It’s the actors that are recognizable. I’m not as big of a deal as you’d like to think.”
His explanation made sense, but I didn’t care. I shrugged my shoulders. “You’re a big deal in my book,” I assured him.
Liam gave me a small smile and said, “I know I am. And I love that. You’re the same for me.”
I loved Liam. Over the years, our relationship had become something I couldn’t live without. I needed my friendship with him just the same as I needed air in my lungs. While we didn’t get to see each other nearly as often as we used to when we were kids, I loved that our careers didn’t take over and make us lose sight of what was important. Liam and I were as close now as we were back then.