Dating

Chapter 134

I was happy that Liam won–hell, I was utterly ecstatic. I figured that due to my earlier mysterious problem, I was sure to pass. out from all the excitement.

At the very least, I could use a decent rest. Whatever the hell was going on with me during that second intermission burned off at least half of my energy.

“Hey, are you alright?” Monica asked.

I felt a bit sheepish to admit anything. For crying out loud, Liam and his team were the ones rushing up and down the rink! If anyone had a right to be thoroughly exhausted it was them.

“Yeah, I’m okay.”

hur just

“So, what was that whole thing with Arthur just now?” she questioned.

I tried to fight back the flush that was daring to spread across my face. Nothing. I wanted to say. There was absolutely nothing going on with Arthur, certainly nothing worth talking about My head still had a hard time understanding why he’d gone out of his way to see if I was alright.

The concerned look in his eyes was something I never imagined I would see.

“He uh, Arthur read my story that I’ve been publishing and he knew that I was struggling with the ending. He mentioned before about wanting to help me,” I said lightly.

I gave Monica a look that begged her to drop the conversation. At least for now. Liam and his team had just won the season championship–the absolute last thing that needed to be talked about was Arthur.

Thankfully, Monica was willing to leave our conversation at that and head off to meet up with Peter. As soon as Liam and the others were finished up in the locker room, I was informed that everyone would be heading to a nearby lodge to really kick off the celebration.

Before heading over, Liam and I returned home to pack a quick bag for the weekend. The drive over was peaceful. I glanced over at Liam and could tell that, for the first time in a long while, he was relaxed.

Fus.

God, I hope this feeling lasts for the two of us.

I had a grim feeling in the back of my mind that he would be hearing from Aaron again very soon. Yet, for the time being, the two of us felt as though we could finally breathe easy given all the ongoing pressure that’s been weighing down on Liam’s shoulders

As the sun finally began to set, the party in the main reception room appeared to be in full swing. For what it was worth, Liam and I tried our best to be a part of the festivities but seemed to be in a world all our own.

Even though it was meant to be a happy occasion, Liam and I seemed to share the same melancholy state about certain things. At some point, he snaked his arm around my waist and guided us out of the main room in search of a more private area.

We headed to the upper level of the lodge and slipped into our shared room. My head was instantly grateful for the sudden. peace and quiet.

The two of us laid back on the large fluffy bed. I could tell Liam had several thoughts on his mind. It was only a matter of time before he decided to pick one and toss it out in the open.

“Ella What happened to you during the match?” he asked.

let out a long breath and turned my head to stare up at the ceiling. “I don’t know for sure. I was sitting with Monica, watching the game like everyone else. Everything was normal. And then, suddenly, I felt this…weird, painful twinge inside of me. Like something was soaking through my chest, tearing me up.

Liam’s expression filled with worry as it had earlier.

“Do you think it has anything to do with the fact that we spent the night together yesterday!”

Doy

My eyes widened. I hadn’t given that idea much thought. It certainly seemed possible. But why? How?

Chapter 104

‘L…I don’t know. Monica did say that I smelled different and then L…”

Then you what?” he prompted.

thought back to the game and tried to push past the growing embarrassment that I overlooked at the time. “This group of girls, they were saying these mean things and I…I think I may have…growled.”

Liam’s lips parted in shock. “You growled?”

I slowly nodded. “Clear as day,”

I couldn’t think of a single reason as to why I would have been able to let out such an inhuman sound.

“What were these other girls talking about that could have provoked you to do that?”

I took my bottom lip between my teeth and bit down. “They were just talking about how badly the team lost the second match and just throwing out a lot of unnecessary insults.”

I had to purposely keep all traces of Arthur out of the conversation for the time being. The wave of guilt for not telling the full truth would undoubtedly chip away at me. It’s not that I’m looking to lie to him, I just didn’t want Liam to get the wrong idea.

It wasn’t as though I harbored any feelings toward Arthur. There was just a large part of me that didn’t care for bullying in any capacity.

“And then I felt that horrible sensation burn through me, I went on. “It was like all the air had been sucked out of my lungs and I couldn’t breathe properly. My head was pounding and my vision grew tunneled.”

Liam’s brows pulled together in worried uncertainty. I was quick to assure him that the feeling had sling passed and everything was fine now. But I could tell that he was still deeply concerned about the entire matter.

For the time being, I was glad to move on to a different topic, however, I wasn’t expecting it to pertain to Arthur.

I recalled the short conversation Arthur had with us after the game today. We both agreed that his behavior was odd and unexpected.

“I’m not sure but I have this feeling in the back of my mind that a lot of what he said had a hidden meaning.” he remarked stiffly.

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” I agreed.

“What did he mean about that whole finding an ending for your story?”

Oh, boy, “Well, Arthur found out that I’m heavily into writing and wanted to read my story. During one of our small encounters back at the hotel, he discovered that I was struggling to come up with an ending. So, he offered to help.”

“Why?” He snorted with derision, “he doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would go out of his way to help someone, let alone read.”

I felt a familiar twinge of irritation spark through me from Liam’s comment. That time, I refused to agree much less respond. Deep down, I didn’t believe him. There’s still a part of me that thinks there’s more to Arthur than he leads on about himself,

Yes, he had his faults but there was something about the way he looked at me when he came rushing out of the stadium like Liam had. The feel of both of their hands made the scorching, burning feeling inside of me stop.

Liam pulled me from my thoughts and cupped the side of my check, pulling me in for a deep kiss.

Thank you for being there for me through all of this,” he said warmly.

I smiled back at him and leaned in for another kiss. “You don’t need to thank me. I’m just glad that it’s over,”