Too Late
1331 Words
Maya
“Bellissima,” Liam said, ruffling my hair with his free hand. He turned to Tom, who frowned. I tried my best to look relaxed with Liam touching me — and oh boy, God knows that’s the hardest thing I’ve done in a while.
“How can we help you?” Liam asked.
Tom shifted on his foot, eyes darting to me before returning to Liam. “Look, man, I just got some things to say to Maya.”
I scrunched up my nose. Liam tilted his head.
“Liam,” he said. “I’ve been watching you from over there.” He pointed at the hill, and I glanced at it.
Great.
Now I was being watched from the same cool shed I’d once thought was perfect for spying on people.
“And it’s pretty obvious my girlfriend doesn’t want you around her, so can you stay the f**k away?” He gave a smile that had no humor in it and ran a hand through his hair.
I glanced at Shay, whose mouth hung slightly open. I almost rolled my eyes.
“And no, I’m not asking,” he added, dropping his hand from my shoulder.
I drew in a breath, relief flooding through me — but it didn’t last long. He took my hand and laced our fingers together, lifting them to his lips.
I stopped breathing for a second, holding his gaze, quietly praying his lips wouldn’t touch my skin.
He smirked. Of course, he knew what I was thinking. And then he kissed the top of my hand anyway.
There was a little dip in my stomach — something warm, embarrassing — but the feeling quickly gave way to irritation. He straightened up, flashed Tom a smile, and turned with me to leave.
“Maya, we can talk this out,” Tom called after us. “You’re making a mistake… with him.”
I gave him the middle finger as we walked away. Asshole.
We were silent as we walked down the beach, my hand still in his, Shay tagging along behind. That didn’t exactly give me room to say what was on my mind.
Shay cleared her throat, and we both turned to her.
“I’ll just go over there and make myself useful,” she said, gesturing awkwardly. Her cheeks looked flushed.
I nodded. “Well, thank you… for earlier.”
She nodded, digging her foot into the sand. It probably wasn’t something I should notice. But I did anyway.
“It’s nothing. Dude seemed like a jackass,” she muttered.
Liam hummed. “I totally agree.”
Shay pursed her lips, looking at me.
“We’ll see each other some other time, Maya. Have a good day,” she said, then scouted off to find another stranger to keep her company.
Deep down, I hoped we’d run into each other again. She seemed cool. Like someone I might actually like.
As soon as she was out of sight, I pulled my hand from Liam’s and stepped away.
He raised a brow, watching me.
“What was that for?” I asked, my tone sharper than I meant it to be.
He looked confused — or maybe he was pretending. “Coming to your rescue?”
I pressed my lips together and crossed my arms in front of my chest. His eyes immediately dropped to them.
I dropped my arms almost instantly, catching the movement of his gaze. When he didn’t look away, I covered my chest with both hands and glowered at him.
“Dude, what the hell?” I snapped.
He smirked and finally looked back up at my face. Then he handed me something that had been slung around his neck — something I hadn’t noticed earlier, probably because I was too busy ogling him.
I took it and frowned. It was a t-shirt.
“What’s this for?”
He tucked his hands into his pockets, glancing around before locking eyes with me again.
“I don’t want to look like a pervert. Because, yeah — those sit pretty well.” His eyes flicked down again, then back up. “And if I’m gonna hear you rant, you might wanna cover them up.”
I frowned, and he raised both hands slightly in defense.
“Unless you don’t want to, of course.”
I didn’t answer, but I didn’t turn him down either.
I was already uncomfortable, and what Tom had said earlier didn’t help. The last thing I needed was someone blatantly staring at my boobs. I slipped the shirt over my head.
It was oversized and stopped mid-thigh. It smelled like soap, clean and kind of comforting in a way that annoyed me.
He reached forward and tugged gently at the neckline, straightening it before stepping back.
“There you go,” he muttered.
I crossed my arms again.
“I had things handled on my own,” I said. “You didn’t need to swoop in and play the ‘protective boyfriend’ role.”
“Right. I should’ve just watched, knowing Jenny was watching too?”
I blinked. “Jenny was watching? I didn’t see her.”
“Obviously,” he said, with a little sarcasm. He’d come to the beach with Jenny — there was no way that was just a coincidence.
What were they playing at?
“Look, I don’t know what’s going on and I think I deserve to know something at this point. What's your deal with the guy?” he asked.
I gave him a flat look. “It’s none of your business.”
He looked vaguely offended. “Oh, it is now. You introduced me as your boyfriend, remember?”
Then he shook his head and took a step back.
“You know what? Never mind. You don’t have to tell me. Because I’m not doing this. This fake boyfriend thing? Hell no.”
And then he turned and walked away.
I watched him go, just standing there, confused.
He went up the hill and into the house.
I stood there debating if it was even worth it — giving him an explanation, continuing the lie. Maybe it wasn’t too late to turn back.
“He got rid of you already?” came a familiar voice.
I turned and frowned. Jenny was walking toward me with a smirk on her face.
I c****d my head to the side. “Are you stalking me now?” I wondered how much she heard.
She shrugged.
“No need anymore, is there? I knew Liam couldn’t be your boyfriend. I mean, the guy basically hated you in high school, and now you’re in Rome dating him? Come on.”
I narrowed my eyes and pressed my lips into a line as she flipped her hair over her shoulder. She heard nothing.
It was obvious that she was making an assumption —again.
“I knew it was a lie. You can’t pull a guy like him.”
I clenched my jaw. “I don’t know why you care. Shouldn’t you be spending time with your fiancé instead of obsessing over my relationship?”
She rolled her eyes. “Believe what you want. You’re not fooling me.”
“I’m not trying to impress you,” I said flatly.
She chuckled. “Oh, sister. You’re trying too hard. You should give yourself a break. I mean, you just lost eight years.”
That hit. I lost eight years — someone who had already become part of me.
“Well,” I said, my voice cold but firm, “maybe it was fate. Because I ended up with someone better.”
I smiled tightly. “Someone hotter. Have a nice whatever, and I seriously hope to God I don’t run into you again.”
I walked away, aware of her glare burning into my back.
Okay. I take back what I said. It was way too f*****g late to turn back now.
- Writer
