His mom smiled and said, "You two haven't met yet, have you?" Met? In private, we used to make out until our lips were bruised. 1 I didn't want to move a muscle over winter break, but my mom dragged me out for a walk in my thick sweatpants. We hadn't walked far when my mom started waving at someone in the distance. She nudged me. "That's my new coworker, Mrs. Davis." I squinted. Standing next to Mrs. Davis was a guy with an incredible build and killer fashion sense. Probably her son. Was my romance-novel-loving heart finally getting its meet-cute? I poked my mom. "Is her son single? If he is, hook a girl up." My mom flashed me an "OK" sign and pulled me forward to greet them. Mrs. Davis was beaming. "Out for a walk too? And this must be your mom?" I looked left and right, finally realizing the "mom" Mrs. Davis was referring to was me. My mom's smile froze. "Oh, this is my daughter. She just got back for winter break, so she’s a bit dressed down. Haha." The guy standing in the shadows wearing a black face mask let out a low chuckle. I wanted the ground to swallow me whole. Mrs. Davis, looking equally mortified, quickly changed the subject. "I remember you saying your daughter is at the same college as my son. What year did she graduate?" "Oh, she graduated last year," my mom replied. Mrs. Davis pushed the guy behind her forward. "What a coincidence! My son graduated last year too. Do you two know each other?" I finally looked up. The streetlight illuminated his sharp, deep-set eyes, the strong bridge of his nose, and the familiar little red mole on his neck... Holy crap. Is this my ex-boyfriend? Seeing us lock eyes, Mrs. Davis asked again, "So, do you know each other?" We answered in unison: "No." And, as if perfectly choreographed, we both turned our heads away. But actually, Mrs. Davis, we didn't just know each other. During our junior year of high school, we practically conducted our own anatomy classes together whenever we found an empty classroom. We were probably the two people who knew each other best in the world. Inside and out. While our moms chatted enthusiastically, he and I stood off to the side, the atmosphere so cold it could freeze over. Finally, Liam broke the silence. "Nice outfit. Very... avant-garde." I stomped on his foot. He let out a muffled groan. Mrs. Davis turned around. "What's wrong?" Liam gave a faint smile. "Nothing. A little stray dog walking by just stepped on my foot." "Oh, as long as you're okay," she said, returning to her conversation. Liam called out to her, "Mom, we should get a dog. I’ll train it. I'll teach it exactly how to be a good, obedient girl." He was talking to his mom, but his dark eyes were fixed dead on me. "I barely have the energy to deal with you, let alone a dog," his mom scoffed. She turned to me, beaming. "Chloe, you two should exchange numbers! You live in the same city now; you can look out for each other." Liam, with a half-smile, pulled out his phone and opened his contact-sharing screen. Under the eager gazes of our mothers, I pulled out my phone and reluctantly scanned his screen. The guy I had blocked years ago reappeared in my messages. The last texts from our blowout fight were still sitting there. He had said: "Fine. Walk away then. See if I care." I had replied: "Watch me. I'll find someone ten times better than you. Go to hell." A stark contrast to the good-girl image I was currently portraying. Seeing my mom lean over, I quickly locked my screen and played sweet. "Got it! If I ever need anything, I'll be sure to bother Liam." He repeated it under his breath. "Bother Liam." He actually laughed, a deep, pleasant sound. "Anytime... Chloe." The way he said my name—low and clear—was exactly how he used to say it when he pinned me against the back door of our high school classroom, keeping an eye on the broken security camera while he kissed me. My heart skipped a dangerous beat. 2 My mom told me to keep an open mind about Liam. She said our parents knew each other, so it was a safe bet. I rolled my eyes internally. Open mind? I know every inch of that guy. I'm sick of him. I said, "Sure, sure," while secretly opening my phone to send Liam right back to the blocked list. The next day, however, I got a call from an unknown number. It wasn't Liam. Heavy bass thumped in the background. "Hey, Chloe? Liam is trashed. You need to come pick him up from the Neon Lounge. VIP Room 19. Hurry." Click. I tried calling back, but no one answered. They didn't even give me a chance to say no. Liam, you absolute bastard. I cursed under my breath, threw on my puffer jacket, and drove to the lounge. Liam was completely wasted. Empty beer bottles and shot glasses littered the table in front of him. When I pushed the door open, I recognized a bunch of the guys. They were Liam's high school frat-bro buddies. Back when we were secretly dating, they were our cover story. Seeing me, the guys erupted in cheers. "Hey, sister-in-law!" I glared at them. "We broke up years ago. I'm nobody's sister-in-law." They just snickered. The guy leading the pack shoved a plastic hotel key card into my hand. "Look, we're a bunch of clumsy idiots. We booked him a room upstairs. We're leaving him in your capable hands!" "I'm not taking him," I said, kicking Liam's shoe. He didn't even flinch. Wow, he really is gone. I paused for a two seconds, an evil prank forming in my mind. "Fine. Help me carry him upstairs." The guys laughed like hyenas. As they closed the hotel room door behind us, one of them actually poked his head back in. "Hey, you need us to run to the pharmacy for some... protection?" I cursed him out in my head but smiled sweetly. "No thanks. Get lost." The room fell quiet. Liam was sprawled on the bed, his collar unbuttoned, looking incredibly peaceful. I turned on every single light in the room. I pinched his cheeks. Hard. He still didn't wake up. Perfect. Time for revenge. I pulled a bright red lip tint from my purse and lifted his shirt. I was going to draw a giant, ugly turtle right across his abs, post it to my story, and let the world admire the former homecoming king. I leaned down, uncapped the tint, and started drawing. Okay, there's the shell... there are the legs... wait, abs? Why were his abs this defined? Shouldn't a guy's stomach be relaxed when he's blackout drunk? I slowly looked up. Liam's eyes were wide open, looking at me with a lazy smirk. "Chloe, this position is giving me some very inappropriate ideas." My mind went blank. He continued, his voice rough. "You like the view? I sculpted them just for you." I tried to play it cool and stand up. "They're alright. My current boyfriend puts you to shame, honestly." I didn't have a boyfriend. Liam didn't argue. His long arm suddenly shot out. Before I knew what was happening, my face was pressed flat against his bare stomach. Warm, firm, and entirely too familiar. "If they aren't that great, why were you staring so long?" His voice was light. "Chloe, you're just as stubborn as ever." Crap. The red lip tint was now smeared all over my cheek. I pushed against his chest, but everywhere my hands landed felt electric. He let out a low groan. "Don't move." I froze. Liam sat up, grabbing my collar. I don't know how he did it, but suddenly our positions were reversed. I was flat on my back. He was leaning over me. He used his thumb to wipe the red smudge off my cheek, chuckling. "Chloe, the only tough thing about you is your mouth." I turned my head away, humiliated. "You faked being drunk!" Liam buried his face in the crook of my neck. I could feel the heat radiating off him. He laughed softly. "Feel that? If a guy is truly blackout drunk, certain things wouldn't be waking up right now." I shoved at his shoulders. "Get off me!" He effortlessly pinned both my wrists above my head with one hand. He looked down at me, his dark eyes shimmering, his smile dangerously gentle. "I drank a lot tonight, Chloe. You know I'm capable of doing crazy things when I'm drunk, right?" I knew exactly what he was like. His parents were workaholics who were never home. During high school, I was the one who took care of him. We never crossed the final line, but the memories of what we did do when he was half-drunk still made my legs weak. I struggled harder. Liam let out a low laugh. "Relax, Chloe. I'm not going to do anything. Just stay with me for a bit." He kept his word. He let go of my wrists, pulled the duvet over us, and laid down next to me. He threw an arm over my waist. His breathing slowed until it was deep and even. He really fell asleep. I finally relaxed, turning my head to look at him. Even after all this time, looking at his face made my heart race. He was so incredibly handsome. But you absolute jerk, I thought bitterly. Why did you have to cheat on me? 3 On Friday, my mom called me in a panic from work. One of her junior associates was getting married the next day, and the maid of honor had just tested positive for COVID. I had a bad feeling. "And?" "And they need you to step in!" I didn't even know the bride! My mom was just being a people-pleaser again. After my mom bribed me with the promise of paying my rent for the month, I caved. "Fine, I'm heading over for the dress fitting." When I got to the bride's house, she looked at me like I was her savior and shoved a dress into my arms. The original bridesmaid must have been a size smaller than me. I squeezed into the strapless chiffon dress, but I couldn't reach the zipper in the back. I cracked the bedroom door open. "Can someone help me zip this up?" The hallway was chaotic with wedding prep. No one heard me. I went back into the room to try again. The door suddenly opened and closed. Click. The lock turned. I spun around. Liam walked in, wearing a sharp black tuxedo. He looked breathtaking. I stared at him. "What are you doing here?" "I heard you were filling in as a bridesmaid. So, I volunteered as a groomsman." He paused. "Didn't you need help?" I shifted awkwardly. "Yeah. The zipper is stuck." Ziiiiip. He pulled the zipper all the way down instead of up. The cool air hit my bare back. I crossed my arms over my chest, jumping. "Pull it UP!" Liam offered a completely insincere apology. "My bad. Didn't know." He slowly pulled the zipper up, his knuckles grazing the sensitive skin of my spine. A shiver ran through me, hitting right at my heart. By the time it was zipped, a thin layer of sweat coated my forehead. Liam kept his hands on my shoulders. We stared at our reflection in the vanity mirror. The mirror had an ornate, vintage frame. He stood behind me in a tailored tux, and I stood in front of him in a white chiffon dress. For a dizzying second, it looked exactly like a wedding photo. Through the mirror, he met my eyes. "The wedding I dreamt about for us... it looked just like this." Before I could answer, the bride knocked on the door. "Chloe? You got the dress on? Come out so we can run through the schedule!" I brushed his hands off and walked out without a word. The wedding the next day went smoothly. Until the reception. The groomsmen were passing around a tray of tequila shots. The groom, for some idiotic reason, gestured for me to take a shot on behalf of the bride to "protect" her. A massive shot glass was shoved in my face. I couldn't refuse without making a scene. Just as I reached for it, a long, elegant hand reached over my shoulder and took the glass. Liam smiled, but his eyes were pure ice. "I'll take it for her." He threw it back in one gulp. Anyone with eyes could see he was pissed. The groom looked awkward; the bride glared at her new husband. Liam looked at the bride. "I'm borrowing your bridesmaid." Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed my wrist and dragged me away. Both of our parents watched in shock, but we were already out in the hotel corridor. Liam's voice was tight with anger. "Why are you such a pushover around everyone else? Why can't you be as stubborn with them as you are with me?" I tried to yank my hand back, but his grip was iron. He backed me against the mirror in the hallway restroom, tilting my chin up. His tone was fierce. "Look at your face! You're already flushed. Your stomach is a mess, and you were about to down a shot of tequila? Are you crazy?" It was true. He never let me drink back in the day. There were times when I wanted to take things further, but he always held back. He cared about my body more than he cared about his own desires. But... I looked at him. "Who are you to lecture me? We broke up years ago. Did you forget?" He frowned. "I never agreed to it. Besides, your mom said you were single." The memory of the text message I received during our cold war flashed in my mind. A photo of Liam sleeping, with a perfectly manicured girl's hand stroking his cheek. Suddenly, I was just exhausted. "Stop bothering me, okay?" I pushed past him and walked out. Liam pressed his lips together, following right behind me. "I'm going to win you back, Chloe. I'm not letting you go that easily." 4 My younger cousins dragged me to a car camping spot in the mountains. "It's going to be a clear night!" my little cousin squealed. "We're going to see so many stars! Maybe even a meteor shower!" The campsite was beautiful. Cars and SUVs were parked around a large central fire pit where everyone was mingling. We grabbed some folding chairs and joined a group playing "The Dare Card." It was a random draw game. Whoever drew the King got to command two other numbers to do a dare. "Number 1 hug Number 2," things like that. The college kids playing were wilder than my friends used to be. The current King ordered two guys to hold water in their mouths and stare into each other's eyes. They broke character in two seconds and spit water everywhere. I was laughing so hard I had to lean on my cousin. Suddenly, a group from across the fire walked over and asked to join. I froze. The guy in the black North Face jacket and grey beanie... Liam? How is he everywhere? He saw me, but acted completely indifferent, taking a seat casually across the circle. He shuffled the deck, his long, nimble fingers moving flawlessly. It brought back far too many memories. My heart hammered. I decided to escape. Just as I stood up, the new King shouted, "I command the Jack of Diamonds and the Ace of Hearts! Do push-ups together! Face to face!" Everyone checked their cards. A feeling of impending doom washed over me as I flipped my card. Crap. Jack of Diamonds. "Who is it? Who is it?" the crowd chanted. I raised my hand stiffly. "I'm the Jack." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Liam whisper something to the guy next to him. Then, Liam stood up, holding up a card. "I'm the Ace." I obviously wasn't going to expose him for swapping cards. Honestly, doing a dare with Liam felt slightly less terrifying than doing it with a total stranger. When he stood up, the crowd went absolutely feral. My little cousin poked my ribs. "Oh my god, Chloe! He is SO hot! Look at him, he definitely has the stamina for this! You scored!" Watching Liam walk toward me step by step, my legs turned to jelly. "How many push-ups?" Liam asked the King. His tone was classic Liam. Arrogant, confident, bordering on cocky. The King, a fratty-looking guy, took the bait. "Fifty. Can you handle that?" Liam scoffed lightly. "Easily." I wanted to cry. I can't handle that! If Liam was doing push-ups over me, I'd probably start shaking by number five. But there was no backing out. I was pushed to the center of the circle. Just as I was about to lie down on the dirt, Liam spoke up. "Hold on." He took off his thick jacket and laid it flat on the ground for me to lie on. The crowd erupted in a chorus of "Awwwwws." I lay down. Liam positioned himself over me. He started his push-ups. Every time he lowered himself, our faces were inches apart. I could smell the faint scent of campfire and cedar. Liam's scent. The crowd chanted loudly. "One! Two! Three! Four!" His arms were planted on either side of my shoulders, his shadow completely engulfing me. I couldn't see the starry sky anymore; I could only see the intensity in his eyes. When they shouted "Nine!" he whispered, "Stop looking at me like that." My brain was buffering. "Huh?" He shifted his weight to one arm, used his free hand to pull off his beanie, and dropped it right onto my face. The hat completely covered my eyes. I heard a low, raspy chuckle. "I'm going to lose my self-control." With my vision gone, my other senses heightened. I could feel the heat radiating off him. Every time he lowered himself, his lips would just graze the side of my neck or the corner of my mouth. My heart was pounding so hard I thought it would burst. Thank God the crowd was screaming and cheering, drowning out the sound of my ragged breathing. By thirty-seven, Liam hadn't slowed down at all. He wasn't even out of breath. My cousin's voice echoed in my head: He definitely has the stamina. Yeah. No kidding. Forty-seven. Almost over. I let out a breath of relief. Suddenly, the whistling boom of fireworks echoed across the valley. The counting stopped. Bright flashes of light bled through the fabric of the beanie. The hat was suddenly pulled off my face. I saw the sky exploding in colors, and then I saw Liam's eyes, brighter than any firework. Then, my world went dark again as Liam crashed his lips onto mine. The vibrant colors faded into the background. The wind swept through the dry grass. Everyone else had run toward the edge of the campsite to watch the display. In the shadows, completely unobserved, the boy I used to love wasn't watching the sky, and he certainly wasn't finishing his penalty. He was leaning over me, using the beanie to block our faces, kissing me over and over again. 5 The fireworks ended. The push-ups were done. The heat of his lips still lingered on mine. Suddenly, an overwhelming wave of resentment washed over me. I shoved Liam off and stormed away. The crowd looked confused. Liam didn't even grab his jacket; he just chased after me. One of his buddies yelled, "Liam, where are you going?" Liam didn't miss a beat. "Chasing a girl. Mind your business." I heard my cousin go, "Ooooh!" and then actually yell, "Good luck, future brother-in-law!" Traitor. I finally found a quiet, secluded spot by the edge of the woods and sat down heavily on a log. Liam was right behind me, staring at me silently. I covered my face with my hands, not wanting him to see my tear-filled eyes. "Stop looking at me. Just leave." He dropped to his knees, pulling me into a fierce hug, pressing my face into his chest. "Call me shameless, but I don't care," he whispered. "Chloe, I can't let you go." The familiar embrace, the warmth I had missed for so long... but it didn't belong to me anymore. The suppressed anger finally exploded. I pushed him away with all my strength. "If you couldn't let me go, why did you cheat on me?!" Liam froze, completely bewildered. "Me? Cheat? You were the one who walked away!" I pulled out my phone, scrolled to the screenshot I had saved for years, and shoved it in his face. Seeing that delicate, manicured hand resting on his sleeping face sent a fresh stab of pain through my chest. Liam stared at the photo. "What the f*ck is this?" "You were always popular," I choked out. "I knew guys were unpredictable. But I never thought you'd actually betray me..." I couldn't finish the sentence. Liam looked at me intensely. "Why didn't you come to me with this?" Back then? We were in the middle of a massive fight. I was too proud to beg for an explanation. Whoever panics first loses. I texted him that we were over, and true to form, he didn't try to stop me. Wasn't that proof enough? In the adult world, you don't need a screaming match to know it's time to move on. Liam slammed his fist into the trunk of a nearby tree. His voice trembled with rage. "You blocked me on everything! I went to your best friend, Madison, to check on you, and she told me you were already hooking up with some older guy from your college. I had no idea this photo even existed. I thought you had just moved on." "Madison said that?" I asked, stunned. "Who is the girl in the picture then?" Liam pulled out his phone in frustrated panic and dialed a number. "Stella, get your ass to the Grand Point campsite right now. I don't care what you're doing. Now!" Thirty minutes later, a gorgeous girl who looked striking similar to Liam hopped out of an Uber. It was Stella, Liam's older sister. She was loud, overly affectionate, and impossible to hate. Stella explained that she had come home from a party completely trashed years ago. She grabbed someone's phone from the counter—she thought it was hers—and mass-texted all her friends to brag about how cute her little brother looked sleeping. She had no idea she had sent it to me from Liam's phone. She held out her hands. The Cartier ring on her index finger and the tiny red mole on the back of her hand were identical to the photo. Stella sighed dramatically, wrapping an arm around my waist. "My sweet, beautiful Chloe. You aren't going to let me suffer my brother's wrath, are you? Forgive me?" She was too good at pleading. I nodded helplessly. Stella flitted away like a social butterfly, but before she left, she gave me a meaningful look. "Babe, woman's intuition: your 'best friend' Madison is a snake." Once Stella was gone, Liam and I stood alone in the dark. I hesitated. "So, this past year... have you..." Have you been with anyone else? Have you treated anyone the way you treated me? He answered immediately. "Dealing with you was exhausting enough for one lifetime. I didn't have the energy for anyone else." 6 I climbed back up into the rooftop tent. My cousin was on the phone with her boyfriend, being incredibly disgustingly sweet. When she hung up, she looked guilty. "Chloe... my boyfriend drove all the way up here to surprise me..." I knew that clingy phase well. She was a carbon copy of my past self. "Go on," I sighed. "Don't keep him waiting." She scrambled to put her jacket on, pausing at the ladder. "The campsite is pretty safe, and there's a panic button on your right. If you get scared, just hit the button!" Gee, thanks for reminding me I'm terrified. Once she left, I looked out the small mesh window at the night sky, listening to the wind howl through the trees. My hands went ice-cold. It was pitch black. Every horror movie I had ever seen about girls alone in the woods suddenly played on a loop in my brain. I tossed and turned, completely unable to sleep. My phone buzzed. Having forced me to unblock him, Liam sent his first text: "Are you alone in that tent?" How did he know? Was he watching my car? I typed back slowly: "Yeah." He just called me directly. "Chloe." He just said my name, nothing else. It reminded me of the time I went to a month-long summer academic camp in high school. He hadn't seen me for weeks. He'd call me late at night, sounding pathetic, just whispering, "Chloe, Chloe." He never said he missed me; he just said my name like a prayer. Just like tonight. It was nice. Having someone on the line made the darkness feel less suffocating. I heard the wind whipping against his phone. "Are you still here? Did you not go home?" Liam said, "Unzip the tent window." I peeked out. He was standing right by my car, hands shoved in his pockets, looking up at me. The moonlight washed over him. He looked tall, broad, and devastatingly handsome. He spoke with a lazy drawl. "I'm terrified of the dark and I think this place is haunted. Can I crash with you?" ...I'm the one afraid of the dark. The moment Liam climbed in, the tent felt incredibly small. I wrapped myself tightly in a sleeping bag and shoved myself into the corner. He casually started taking off his layers. Jacket, sweater, shirt... Wait, shirt?! He caught me staring and slowly grabbed the hem of his undershirt. Good lord... I swallowed hard and lunged forward to grab his hands. "What are you doing?! It's freezing in here." He raised an eyebrow. "I'm hot." When I didn't respond, Liam grabbed my wrists and pulled me flush against his chest, sliding his fingers against the fabric of my collar. "You're sleeping in a turtleneck? Aren't you suffocating?" His knuckles brushed my neck, sending a violent shiver down my spine. I begged softly, "We just cleared up years of misunderstandings. Can't you give me a minute to process?" Liam said quietly, "Do you know what 'rekindling an old flame' means? Do you know what 'making up for lost time' means?" His tone was dark, like a predator cornering its prey. I tried to scramble backward, but he locked his arms around me. "Stop moving," he commanded softly. "I'm just going to hold you." Realizing the physical tension radiating off him, I froze completely. He let out a shaky exhale. "Chloe, when you left... all I could think about was the idea of another guy holding you like this." "There wasn't anyone else," I whispered. After having a diamond, how could I settle for glass? He held me tighter. "I was so jealous of a guy who didn't even exist. I went insane." Liam didn't push any further. Once his breathing returned to normal, he just held me. Even though I had been paralyzed with fear ten minutes ago, lying next to him made me feel incredibly safe. Exhaustion washed over me, and I drifted off to sleep. I dreamt of my seventeenth birthday. I was at that strict academic summer camp, studying late into the night. I got a text from Liam. He had jumped the campus fence in the middle of the night just to bring me a slice of cake. Just as he lit the candle, a security guard spotted the light. I panicked and tried to blow it out, but Liam refused. He made me make a wish first. I squeezed my eyes shut, made a wish, and blew out the candle just as the guard burst into the courtyard. Liam grabbed me, and we dove into the bushes, watching the guard's flashlight sweep over our heads. The guard cursed, confiscated the cake, and walked away. I let out a sigh of relief, my heart pounding. As I tried to stand up, Liam pulled me back down into his arms. "I took a bite of the frosting before I got here," he whispered. "Want to taste?" Before I could answer, he kissed me. It was sweet. Strawberry. ... I woke up to the sound of cheering from the campsite. Disoriented, my brain was still stuck in that 17-year-old dream. Without thinking, I reached out and wrapped my arms around Liam's neck. He went completely rigid. Reality crashed back in. I yanked my arms away. But Liam wasn't letting me retreat. He backed me into the corner of the tent, his eyes dark and dangerous. "You don't just grab me like that and not leave a tip," he murmured. Outside, people were screaming, "A shooting star!" But inside, the small window of our tent was violently zipped shut. I didn't see any shooting stars that night, but I definitely saw stars. I forgot how completely exhausting even his "restrained" affection could be.
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