Page 19 of Never Over
“Also,” I add, blowing past his comment. “The idea of throwing myself back into a social cesspool after high school graduation was unappealing.”
“You mean a social cesspool like this?” Liam asks, gesturing with one hand before he pops the tab of his beer.
I glance around the party, full enough with people that I’m genuinely worried about the floorboards caving. “I guess the part I didn’t figure out until it was too late is that college is a much bigger pond.”
Liam nods, leaning against the fridge. “There are no big fish here, so to speak.”
I arch an eyebrow. “Some would sayyou’rethe big fish.”
His eyes dance. “You’ve been reading up on me?”
“Enough to know you’re more important to the baseball team than beer passer outer.”
“Right.” He nods at me, then the fridge. “You’ve obviously got that covered.”
“So you didn’t tell me you were the team’s first-string pitcher, and I didn’t tell you I wasn’t enrolled. Are we even?”
“Getting there,” Liam says, lips quirking. He takes a sip of his beer.Mybeer.
“That’s from an Asheville brewery,” I tell him. “I went last weekend with Maisy.”
“Who?”
“Maisy Morgan? The girl you went on a date with, whose number I gave you?”
“Oh, right.” Liam rubs a hand through his hair. He looks like he’s on the brink of saying something else when Maisy appears beside me. She throws an arm over my shoulder.
“Heard you speak of the devil!” she singsongs shrilly. “Hey, Liam.”
“Hi.” He smiles at her warmly, his eyes flitting across her features. “How are you?”
“You mean since I saw you this morning? Crawling out of my roommate’s bed?”
Liam coughs into his fist. “Didn’t realize that was you. I’d thrown away my contacts before we went to sleep.”
“It’s cool.” There’s a bitter edge to Maisy’s voice I’m not sure anyone but me could notice, and I’m suddenly questioning if she downplayed for me how much she had liked him.
“Anyway,” she says. “I’ve beengreat.”
“Glad to hear it.” A blush is still lingering on Liam’s neck. I smirk as he twists away from us, looking for an out. “I’m gonna—bathroom.”
“Bye!” Maisy belts. “Paige, should we go find your boyfriend?”
She grabs a seltzer from the fridge while Liam vanishes and then pulls me onto the patio, leaning in to whisper. “I got home from the bar last night and found Liam Bishop in Millie’s bed.”
“Sounds like you were right about his womanizing ways.”
“Definitely.” Her head bobs, reassured. “Anyway, is Evan here yet?”
Evan: another waiter at the restaurant where I work, though he’s aspiring for a sommelier certification. He’s prone to waxing poetic about the backstory of his drinks, which is maybe why I just did the same, explaining to Liam where I’d gotten this beer.
A few months after I moved to Knoxville and started workingat Emilia, Evan asked me on a date one night, point-blank. Later, he told me my shock was adorable—that pretty much everything about me was adorable. I’ve been metaphorically in his hands ever since.
He’s older than me by four and a half years, but Evan says all the time I’m mature for my age.
Being in my first relationship has been so novel that I’ve had little to no complaints thus far—but lately, I’ve started towishfor things that haven’t really been on the table. Like hanging out with each other’s friends instead of keeping our people separate, or spending time together in places other than his apartment or work.
Still, Maisy is excited for me—that I have aguynow—and maybe that’s part of why I’m excited about him too.
