Rain is coming down steadily as I grab a flashlight from my bag and walk outside. Liam’s sitting with his arms crossed on his chest and a baseball cap perched on his head.
“Are you crazy? It’s pouring,” I say.
“I know.”
“Then why aren’t you in the tent, where it’s dry and warm?”
“Because I was too tempted to break our no-touching-or-kissing rule.” He looks me up and down. “Bein’ here with you . . . you’ve really got under my skin.”
“You want to break the rule?”
He nods slowly. “Yeah.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m tryin’ to push you away when all I want to do is hold you. I know you say you don’t want a hero, but damn I’d like to be that guy who’ll save you from spiders and whatever and whoever else hurts you.”
His words seep deep into the core of my heart. With our eyes locked, I straddle
