Trouble with the Fake Boyfriend (Rock Bottom #3) - Holly Renee Page 0,44

turn to climb on.

He climbed in on one side, putting the bear on the other before he patted the seat between them. I squeezed against him, our sides touching from shoulder to knee, and I tried to not think about how warm he was or how good he smelled as the latch came down across our laps.

The Ferris wheel moved slowly, starting and stopping as more riders got on, and Liam was silent next to me for a long time. It felt awkward, and I hated it. I hadn’t felt this way with him basically since we had been in Tennessee, but tonight felt different. Without putting on a show, I didn’t know how to act. I didn’t know what he wanted from me.

And I hated it.

When it came to Liam, I needed clear expectations. Without them, I was just another girl who was going to want more from him than he was willing to give.

We were at the very top with a clear view for miles when Liam reached into his pocket and made the damn thing shake.

“What are you doing?” I held on to the side for dear life.

“Getting this.” He pulled a flask out of his pocket and unscrewed the lid before putting it to his lips.

“Are you allowed to have that in here?” I took the flask from his hand and looked around as if someone might catch us way up here in the sky.

“No, but we just can’t get caught.” He looked so innocent in that moment. He looked like he was nothing more than a boy with a proclivity for trouble, and he made it easy to feel like I was nothing but a girl who was willing to get in it with him.

I took a sip of the strong liquor and wiped my mouth. It burned like hell going down, but I wasn’t going to let him know that.

“I bet you can do no wrong in this town.”

He smiled at me and took another sip from the flask. “Once upon a time that was true, but I think I’ve lost my edge.”

He handed the drink back to me, and I took it just as the Ferris wheel started to really move. We were spinning around toward the ground then back to the sky, and I couldn’t look at anything but him. “I don’t think you’ve lost anything. The women in this town have been clamoring for your attention since you got here.”

“I’m not interested in any of the women in this town.” He said it so nonchalantly like it was the simplest statement, but it wasn’t simple.

Regardless of what I knew to be true, it made me feel like he wasn’t interested in them because he was somehow interested in me, and even though I knew we were fake and I knew everything would eventually go back to normal, I let the alcohol flow through my system and I pressed the flask to my lips once more.

Liam made it easy to pretend to be something I wasn’t. He made it easy to pretend that I could be his if only for one night.

I was drunk on the feeling of him, of this night. The alcohol didn’t have a thing to do with it, and I never wanted it to end.

…

It was after two in the morning when we finally made it back to the house and made our way up the front stairs. All the lights were off, and I swear I felt like I was sixteen again when Liam held his finger to his lips and shushed me while I giggled.

He pulled his keys out of his pocket and pushed it in the lock before turning the handle slowly. But I was too tipsy to be quiet.

I giggled some more as I pulled my shoes from my feet, and I carried them in my hand as he finally pushed open the front door.

“Are we going to get in trouble?” I whispered, but it sounded a lot louder than a whisper to my own ears.

“If you’re not quiet, we are.” He shut the door quietly, and I laughed again as I leaned against it.

“This is your fault.” I pointed at his chest. “You knew I was loud before you got me drunk then tried to sneak me back in here.”

He took a step closer to me, and part of me wished he would just close the space completely.

“Plus, your parents love me. If they get mad at anyone for waking them up, it’s