Page 60 of Seeking Stars
"Hello?" he said, answering the phone. He got up and went to his room, but soon she could hear his voice getting louder and more irritated by the minute.
"We had a deal," he said. "Right. Yeah, you said that already. No, you're right, I don't care."
Ana's nerves went up as she impatiently waited for his return. When he finally reappeared, irritation marred his handsome face.
"Bad news," he said. "There'll be no astronomical tour. We're going back to LA instead. TCA is hosting a party and we're invited."
Chapter 15 - The Party
Liam closed his car door and put on the seatbelt, Ana mirroring him in her seat. He turned the key in the ignition with a sigh, the fresh air of the early morning still in his lungs.
"You know," Liam said, driving them out of the property and onto the gravel road, "I'm really disappointed that we're not going to visit my friend at the observatory. For all of the five minutes where that was the plan, I got really excited for it."
"Yeah, I know. I would have loved that, too, but I think this party will take up a lot of our time. I will have to go shopping, by the way. In the email Diana sent me with the invitation, she described a kind of dress code I'm not prepared for."
"So you didn't fit a fancy dress in one of your two bags?"
"Would you believe I did not?"
She went out shopping that same afternoon, after they arrived at his place in LA. Alone in his home for the first time in weeks, he entertained opening his laptop and getting into his emails, but didn't. He called Mo instead, and checked in with him that everything was in order for his flight on Saturday. Confirmed that he could take the next few days off in peace, too.
Once the call was over, Liam remained sitting on the couch, out of sorts with the silence around him. He tried calling Logan; he didn't answer. Instead of leaving him a voicemail, Liam texted him.
Liam: Hey, just calling to chat. Wondering how you're doing. I'm going on a PR tour on Sat. What's up with you?
He thought of telling him about Ana but second-guessed it. Logan knew about the documentary, but Liam hadn't told him yet about the more complicated part of their relationship. How could he possibly tell him all of that over text?
Still holding the phone in his hand, Liam considered calling his brother. The screen locked and darkened as he imagined what would happen if he took the risk and dialed Alex; Liam let his phone fall to the sofa. As much as Liam wanted to find a way to mend fences with his brother, he knew he couldn't push.
Now what? How to fill the silence?
Ana came back in the evening. She let herself in using the keys he'd let her borrow, maneuvering a slim box in which he presumed she carried clothes. She held her phone between her shoulder and her ear, and laughed at whatever was happening in her call. A bag dangled from the wrist of the other hand.
"Hey," she called, closing the door behind her. He approached her and tried to take the box from her to help her, but she dismissed his help with a flip of her hand. She gave him his keys back instead. "Don't worry about it. I was going to ask, should we get dinner?"
"Is that Liam?" Ely's voice came from Ana's phone. "Is he shirtless?"
Liam pressed his lips together, barely holding in the laughter at Ely's question.
"Ely, stop," Ana said to the phone. "Please tell me you didn't hear that," she asked Liam. Her eyes were wide with embarrassment.
"But I did," he said, grinning.
"So are you?!" Ely insisted on the phone.
This time Liam did laugh.
Ana rolled her eyes. "Ugh. Okay. If you want to get food, I'm fine with whatever," she told him. "I'll be in my room. Let me know when the food is here?"
He nodded and she waved, leaving him standing alone in the entrance hall.
He put his hands in his pockets, letting his shoulders drop low. Coming back home and getting his first taste of not having Ana around, having her come back as if she lived there with him, seeing her retreat to her room and shutting him out— it left him swaying in his spot.
With a sigh, he made his way back to the living room, picking his phone up from where it lay on the couch, opening the take out app. As he took those few steps, he heard the echo of Ana's laughter from her room.
The unfamiliar pang of jealousy stabbed his gut. Ana shared herself so freely with Ely but, as much as he wanted her to do the same with him, she didn't. Before things had built up to their almost kiss, he had thought she let him see her unrestrictedly. He now knew that she reserved a part of herself away from him, and the awareness of it settled like a rock in his belly.
***
