have a hard time keeping up with him. “Slow down, Liam.”
He jogs backward while I catch up.
I run up next to him. “You need to remember your legs are a lot longer than mine.”
“Maybe I’m just trying to impress you.”
“You did that a long time ago.”
He cocks a brow. “Are we talking about running?”
“Maybe. Maybe not.” I smile and run ahead.
“Wait. Just how impressed are you? I mean there’s so much of me that’s impressive.”
“Don’t get cocky.”
“Well, if you saw my—” He stops talking and shakes his head like he’s mad at himself.
“If I saw your what?” I say, teasing.
“Nothing. Let’s finish.”
The spring in his step is gone. It makes me sad. He was going to joke about me seeing his penis. He jokes all the time with the guys about stuff like that, but not with me. It’s like he thinks if he teases me, he’ll have to do something about it.
I wish he would do something about it. He’s holding back big time. It’s not like he’s never been with girls before. I know about Ronni. And I’ve heard drunken stories from Garrett about how Liam used to be with the ladies … sometimes more than one.
Used to. Not anymore. Because of me?
After our run, we sit on the sand, enjoying what’s left of the morning. I think about how there’s only a little more than a week left of the tour. “What are your plans when you go back home?”
“I plan on running five days a week,” he says. “You’re going with me, right?”
“Of course, but that’s not what I meant. What’s next for Reckless Alibi?”
“Hard to say. It depends on what happens as the result of all this.”
“Do you think you’ll go on more tours?”
“That would be the goal. You’ll come, won’t you?”
I’m unsure what he’s asking.
“If we go on tour again, you’ll come with me, right? Because it’s working. I’ve got some great material for another album. Bria and Crew are working on the lyrics. We’ll probably be in the recording studio by mid-May.”
“It depends on what happens as the result of this.”
He picks up a shell and throws it. “If you’re talking about you and me, you know it can’t happen.”
I stare blankly at the sand.
“You’ve become one of my best friends, El. Isn’t that enough?”
“Best friends talk, Liam. After more than a month, I feel I hardly know you.”
“You don’t want to know me.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. I want to know the good stuff and the bad. I want to stay up late and swap stories. I want to know how old you were when you learned how to ride a bike. I want to know who you took to the prom.”
“I got a bike when I was seven. I didn’t go to prom.”
“Come on, Liam. Can’t you even try?”
He stands. “We’d better get going. We leave for Tallahassee in two hours.”
~ ~ ~
The entire ride up, Liam gazed out the window. He barely said two words to me, let alone his bandmates. I contemplated not even going to tonight’s gig at the bar but changed my mind at the last minute. If this is one of the last times I see them play, I’m not going to waste it brooding in a hotel room.
I find a table off to the side and sip a Diet Coke as they play.
“Mind if we join you?” a man asks. Another man hovers at his shoulder. “There aren’t any other tables, and I noticed you’re here alone.”
“I’m not here alone.” I gesture at the stage. “I’m with them.”
“You know the band?”
“Yes. Go ahead and sit if you want.”
“Thanks. Can I buy you a drink?”
I raise my soda. “No, thanks.”
“Which one are you with?”
I wish I could say I’m with Liam, but I’m not. “Nobody in particular. We’re all friends.”
“I’m Paul Julian,” the taller one says. “And this is Sam Edenton.”
I shake their hands. “Ella Campbell.”
Liam stares at the men the entire first half of the set. When they break, he comes over. “Want to introduce me to your friends?”
“Paul and Sam, uh, sorry, I don’t remember your last names. This is Liam Campbell.”
Paul says, “You’re her brother?”
Liam puts an arm around my shoulder. “No.”
“But she said—”
Liam pulls me closer. “Does it look like I’m her fucking brother?”
The men are confused but don’t press the issue. They probably think one of us is lying. I glance at Liam’s hand on my shoulder. One of us is.
“Your music is good,” Sam says. “What’s your band’s name?”