Wrong (13 page)

“But they didn’t. Only you did. So it was a big deal for me.”

Two years after the mess with Owen, Liam had been the one to listen when I expressed interest in therapy. He was the one who shuttled me in his car from doctor to doctor to doctor, till I found the right match. After spending the past few years spurned, stood up and alone, I’d forgotten what trust felt like. I didn’t remember what it was like to be told “I’ll be there” and actually have it be true. I was on the verge of believing I’d be without that memory ever again, and that it would be okay.

But then came Liam.

He was twenty-one at the time, but he never forgot a single one of my appointments. He wasn’t in college but he was already training at a top Jiu Jitsu academy in Long Island. He was renting his own apartment out there with A.J but he thought nothing of driving two hours to my house to bring me to my appointments. That would wind up being four to five hours including the way back – a total of ten hours a week.

It didn’t even stop there. He found a second job to cover the cost of my therapy, since insurance didn’t cover the doctor I talked with best. I knew it weighed on him. I knew he was sleep deprived, waking up at the crack of dawn to train his clients at the gym he worked at, to train himself at the academy after, then report straight to his second job, occasionally fitting another workout in at the end of his shift. I knew he was tired. That he sacrificed having the life he should’ve been enjoying just to be the support system I wouldn’t have otherwise. But every time I said I would stop so he could quit, Liam said it wasn’t an option. When I cried about being his burden, he told me I was his biggest blessing. He always pressed his lips to the top of my head to reassure me of his word and I quickly became addicted to his comfort – to that warm, full-body relief he could provide me with one word or one kiss. Just the sound of his Jeep tires rolling into our driveway released endorphins to my brain.

I had no chance. Of course I fell in love with him.

I was a seventeen and I’d lost my relationship with my only parent – the woman I’d spent my entire life looking to in times of need. Riley wasn’t quite there anymore either. She was resentful of becoming our translator and avoided me to enjoy her last few years of high school. I couldn’t blame her. But it left me with nothing and no one for so long.

Until Liam walked into my life and refused to leave.

“You were such a miracle for me,” I whispered to him through tears. “You were the only person I could rely on, and I don’t think you know how much that means to someone who has no one to rely on. You grew up with A.J, with Max – all these surrogate brothers who would do anything for you, who you’d do anything for. You don’t think anything of what you did for me because it’s in your nature to be good. You are a good and incredible and beautiful person. So you don’t realize how much it meant. You made me feel like I deserved to be loved, and it sounds stupid but I didn’t remember what that felt like.”

“Sasha.” Liam pulled me onto him on the floor so that I straddled his lap. His voice was soft but firm as he spoke to me with my face in his hands. “Baby. You’re the single most important person in my life. There’s nothing I wouldn’t give to make sure you felt happy and safe every minute of the day because you deserve a good life more than anyone I know.” He pressed his smooth lips to mine. “I’m here to make you happy. Remember that, Sasha. That’s the reason I’m here.”

“Okay,” I breathed against his lips. “I’ll remember.”

“Please don’t cry anymore, baby.”

“They’re not sad tears.”

“I know. But when I see tears in your eyes, I lose my mind, Sash, you know that,” Liam laughed, pulling away to wipe my cheeks with his thumbs. I breathed in and out slowly and steadily as I gazed at him, silently counting all my blessings. Those lips of his that kissed away the pain. Those green eyes that read me like his favorite book. The strong hands that held me up no matter how weak I felt. Liam was my everything. He was the only reason I was still standing. I loved my sister. I’d always love my mom. They were my blood. But unexpectedly, I’d found my soul mate and true family in Liam.

“I love you,” I said softly, my fingers curling around his neck as he held me tight against him. “I don’t think I could live without you.”

He kissed the top of my head like he always did, filling me with that familiar warmth as he whispered, “You’re never going to have to.”

Chapter Seventeen

Aria groaned as she dragged her feet through the emptied Halloween aisles of yet another Ricky’s. She made a face as she flicked all the plastic bags of costumes that remained. “Sexy Bee. Sexy Nun. Sexy Cavewoman – this is bleak. Why did we decide to wait till the last minute?”

“‘Cause…” I thrust my hand in my hair. “God. I don’t know. So many things.” I had to laugh. I could barely keep track of all my little dramas anymore. Once upon a time – also known as a few weeks ago – Jenna Pettit was my big problem. But then came Ethan. Mom and Thanksgiving. Riley and Travis. Two unexpected conversations and suddenly, every demon I’d shut out for years was viciously fighting its ways back to the front of my head. The last thing I’d had time to think about was looking cute for Halloween. But now that it was three days away, the issue was becoming a little more pressing.

“I honestly wouldn’t mind taking a year off from being sexy and dressing up like a fucking pumpkin, but Liam
had
to make this a manwhore party,” Aria huffed. “Why does he have to make this thing so sexy, Sasha? Why?”

“You know the answer to that.”

Aria sighed. “Yeah, yeah.”

Liam’s famous Halloween party wasn’t just a party. It was a fundraiser for the most promising trainees at the gym. Admission went towards covering the costs of everything from their gear to transportation to cross-training – sometimes bringing specialists from other gyms, even countries, to prepare them for a specific opponent. It had been years since Liam himself competed, but he hadn’t lost his sense of competition. He wanted homegrown winners. True city talent. Opening his gym in Manhattan instead of the West Coast was a risk, but every year since its founding, Cage Kings was proving the MMA world wrong.

And the money raised through holiday parties was definitely a key factor. While the gym’s New Year’s Eve bash was popular, it was Halloween that drew the true crowd of girls willing to spend absurd amounts of money – and all because of the guys’ costumes.

Or lack thereof.

It was the one time of year that they all agreed to play up to their lusting fangirls, getting as close to naked as possible. With hordes of gorgeous women in attendance, barely dressed in hopes of catching the eye of a Cage King, the men of New York couldn’t argue the price of admission, which was a whopping hundred dollars a ticket – even more if they paid for VIP access. Every year, the gym made a killing off of Halloween. It was the only reason Liam agreed to keep wearing next to nothing on the night of.

“Do you know what they’re dressing up as this year? I tried to get it out of A.J but you know how they are with this stuff,” Aria said, winding a feather boa around her neck. “I don’t get why they keep their costumes such a secret. Girls are going to come regardless.”

“It’s probably just for hype purposes. It’s the same every year, anyway. They basically wear boxer briefs and some prop to indicate what the hell they’re supposed to be,” I laughed. Last year, it was a cowboy hat to go with leather boxers. Liam managed to get away with blue jeans, claiming that they’d met their skin quota thanks to A.J, who voluntarily went in a Speedo thong. “Hey, at least you know you can count on seeing A.J’s ass.”

“True. But that means more girls will be throwing themselves at him and that’s all the more pressure on me to look sexier than I’m even frickin’ capable of looking.”

“By the way, what happened Tuesday night? Did you guys finally…?” I trailed off, realizing I hadn’t spoken to Aria since her first official date with A.J. I’d been waiting for them to hook up for almost as long as she’d been waiting for me and Liam to, so under normal circumstances, I’d be hounding her for every detail of their night the second she got home. Maybe even during the date. The fact that I hadn’t spoke to how much of a clusterfuck my life had been in recent days. “Hello?”
I tried to get Aria’s attention as she walked ahead to avoid me. “Aria, talk to me. What happened Tuesday night?”

“You know,” she stalled, high-pitched. “We… did things.”

I laughed as I trailed her. “That won’t do, woman. Details.”

“No.”

“Now.”

“
Fine.
” She turned dramatically in a full Mardi Gras mask. “We almost had sex.”

“Aria!” I couldn’t help my weird little squeal. “
But?
”

“Ugh, Sash… do we really have to talk about this?”

“Yes, we do. There have only been zero other times in our lives when we’ve been crazy and head over heels for an awesome guy at the same time – guys who are best friends, by the way – so you better fucking spill.”

She exhaled. “Fine. Basically my laundry didn’t dry in time for the date so I wore my ugly panties with the hole in them and I told myself it was a sign that I should wait to sleep with him but then things got kinda hot and heavy and I went back to his house and got him as hard as possible before
running the fuck away
like the weakest little psychopath, oh my
God
, hand me that toy pistol so I can shoot myself in the face.”

I covered my mouth with my hand.

“That’s right. Suppress that giggle, you whore. Not everyone can have a perfect love story like you,” Aria sassed, feigning anger with me. “You’re the steamy hot romance and I’m the rom-com starring the super quirky actress everyone hates. Except it’s not going to be a comedy when I find out that A.J speed-dialed his favorite groupie after I left and subsequently emptied his balls.”

I wrinkled my nose. “That… didn’t necessarily happen.”

“Yes, it did,” Aria insisted with a groan as she wandered into the next aisle. “Think about it, Sash. He and I are nowhere near exclusive, he had a boner to tend to and every girl on the East Coast is thirsting for his dick. Those boys at Liam’s gym – they don’t have to wait to feel good. If they want to go for drinks, they know every GM in town. If they want in at a club, they get Max to call the guy at the door. And if they want to empty their balls, they go to their contacts and order a hot chick like a frickin’ pizza. Boom.”

“Why do you keep saying ‘empty their balls’ like that’s how you talk?”

“Sorry. It’s how A.J talks,” Aria grumbled, “and clearly, I am fucking obsessed with him and sabotaging myself by acting like a complete freakshow. But maybe I’m not acting. Maybe this is just my life now. I got a taste of the man of my dreams and now I can’t handle the pressure that comes with being the hot chick that he’ll clearly need to stay interested. So I’m crazy now.” She plucked a costume strait jacket off the shelves. “I’m going to wear this to the party and every day after. Congratulations. You are now the girl with the nut job best friend.”

“Aria.” I giggled as I hung the straitjacket costume back on the shelf and placed my hands on her narrow shoulders. “You’ve always been my life coach, but now it’s my turn to tell you to calm down. First off, I so understand how you feel. I would be lying if I said I was a hundred percent comfortable with dating Liam.”

“That’s different.”

“It’s not. Aside from the fact that he’s my stepbrother, I also have to worry about the daily fangirls. You know Liam has them the way A.J does.”

“Worse, actually,” Aria sighed. “Times a million.”

“Yes, thank you for pointing that out. And you know that half the girls who bought tickets to the party this weekend bought them so they could meet Liam.”

“More than half. And more than meet him. Those girls want to fuck his brains out.”

“Again, thank you for reminding me. Asshole. So you know I’m in the same boat as you, girl.”

“Except your man loves you. Like, would die for you kind of loves you,” Aria pointed out. I was quiet for a second, realizing I actually felt no need to argue that. “See? You’ve locked him down and you know it. But me? I haven’t locked down shit.”

“We’ll take it a step at a time, starting with these costumes.”

“Fine.” Aria snatched two off the rack in front of us. “Here. Fuzzy Bear and Old Man Flasher. We’ll wear these and take ourselves out of the sexy equation entirely. Let the fangirls know that we’re perfectly comfortable in our skin.”

“Are you really comfortable with that or are you just giving up?”

“I’m giving up.”

I snorted. Once again, I hung the costumes back up and ushered her out of the store. “Nuh-uh. I refuse to let you give up. Let me do a little digging and figure this out for the both of us.”

“I don’t trust you to care enough,” Aria said, crossing her arms as she dragged her feet on the sidewalk. “You always half-ass your costume and end up wimping out on these parties early.”

“Hey,” I argued, though it was true. I generally made my appearance, said “hi” to Liam and the guys and then left. I always used Ethan as my excuse but the truth was I hated the parties back then. Watching naked girls bribe their way into the VIP level to rub up on Liam all night was pure torture. And I was sure it would be torturous again this year but this time, Liam wouldn’t be single. He wouldn’t be taking any of those girls back to his apartment – he’d be going home with me. No one would know it though, and that made me a bit uneasy. Which was why, for the first time, I was intent on putting an actual effort into Halloween. I had Liam already but I wanted to keep his eyes on me all night.

Every second of it.

“I’m not leaving early this year, Aria. And I’m not wimping out on anything. We’re both going to have fun with Halloween this year,” I said firmly. “It’s gonna be one we’ll never forget.”

“Fine.” She huffed. “You promise?”

I hugged her to my side and planted a confident kiss on her cheek. “Yes, lady. I promise.”