CHAPTER SEVEN (PART 3)
924 Words
Bella – Age 22
Dad plops himself down on the couch in the living room like he never left the country. He kicks his shoes off, sighing contentedly like he owns the house. Which… technically he doesn’t — it’s Liam’s.
I grip the stairs railing so hard I’m surprised it doesn’t snap.
Liam and I exchange a quick, terrified glance behind Dad’s back.
“Didn’t expect you till next month,” Liam says, trying his best to sound casual while he rubs the back of his neck — probably praying Dad can’t smell s*x in the air.
Dad flips open his suitcase on the centre rug like he’s settling in for a full vacation. “Yeah, plans changed. Thought I’d surprise my little girl.” He beams at me. “Bella, I hope you’ve been eating well? Sleeping at night? Not driving Liam crazy?”
Yes. I’ve been screaming under him nightly.
“Of course not, Daddy,” I smile sweetly, flushing.
He laughs and squeezes my cheek, a habit I really wish he’d drop now that I’m an adult. Liam stands stiff beside me. His hand brushes mine for half a second — lightning shoots into my stomach. I yank my hand away before Dad sees.
“Actually,” I say brightly, trying not to look like I was just pinned to a wall, “maybe we should get you upstairs to rest from your trip?”
Dad looks at me oddly. “I’m not tired. I’m starving. Liam, anything to eat in this bachelor cave?”
“He cooked!” I blurt out way too fast.
Dad raises an eyebrow.
Liam forces a smile. “Yeah. Got leftovers in the fridge. Let me heat something.”
He strides off like a soldier heading into battle. I tail him into the kitchen and whisper under my breath, “We are so dead.”
He flicks the microwave on. “Relax. Let’s act normal.” He glances at my lips. “You have bite marks.”
“YOU gave them to me!”
“Get a scarf.”
I sprint upstairs, heart slamming.
---
Liam – Age 37
I dish pasta onto a plate with fake confidence while watching Carter scroll through his messages on my sofa. I wipe the dining table twice even though it's already spotless.
When Bella comes back down, she’s wearing a scarf around her neck and a long summer dress I’ve never seen — she looks innocent again. Almost. If I hadn’t just been buried inside her.
We sit to eat like some twisted little family. Dad talks for twenty minutes about Italy, pizza, and traffic. Meanwhile, Bella pokes her pasta and glances at me like she’s counting down the seconds before we explode.
“…so I told your mother I missed Bella too much so I booked the next flight,” Dad chuckles. “Oh — and I plan to stay here for two days until I get my apartment keys.”
Bella chokes on her fork.
I nearly drop my plate.
“T-two days?” she squeaks.
“Yeah. Hope you don’t mind?” He turns to me casually like this isn’t the beginning of our doom. “You don’t mind having a guest room occupied?”
I nod once, throat tight. “You’re welcome anytime.”
I am internally screaming.
---
Bella
Two days in this house with my boyfriend and my father… and my father doesn’t know he’s my boyfriend. THIS IS HELL.
We clear up dinner. Dad goes to unpack upstairs.
As soon as he disappears around the corner, Liam grabs my wrist, pulls me behind the fridge wall and kisses me fiercely. I melt instantly, my knees giving way.
“Liam—” I gasp.
“I can’t go two days without touching you,” he growls.
My head spins. “We have to survive this.”
He smirks wickedly. “Meet me in the shower at midnight. And be quiet.”
My cheeks flame. “I hate how exciting that sounds.”
His lips brush my ear. “You love it.”
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Later that evening…
Dad hogs the TV downstairs watching football while Liam pretends to care. I sit next to him trying not to look too manic. Dad keeps pausing the game to tell long stories. I keep thinking he can smell what we’ve done on the couch. I nearly faint when he pats the cushion LIAM had me bent over two nights ago.
Midway through a joke, Dad frowns at Liam. “You okay, man? You seem… on edge.”
Liam’s hand squeezes mine behind a cushion. “Work stress.”
“Mmm. Or trouble with a woman?”
Bella.exe has stopped working.
Liam coughs. “Not exactly.”
Dad stares between us suspiciously. My heart stops. Then… he starts laughing. “Relax, I’m messing with you. You two are the most boring people I know.”
I almost burst into hysterical laughter and tears at the same time.
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Bella – later that night
At 11:55pm I tiptoe down the hallway dressed in a towel, breath shallow. I pray Dad is actually sleeping in the guest room. Liam cracks the bathroom door open and yanks me inside.
As soon as the door locks, his lips crash onto mine. The mirror steam immediately fogs when he slides his hand between my legs.
“We’re in so much trouble,” I whisper between kisses.
“Shut up,” he murmurs, turning on the shower. “I’m only getting started.”
- Writer
