Page 108 of The Design of Goodbye
In a way, his fumbled words had been his most honest. “I do,” I said, nodding. “I feel the same.”
He’d saved me, too.
“Okay, so,” I said, “the water’s freezing. Let’s get out of here and go somewhere else.”
“Where?”
I remembered the picture and the amazing backyard this lake house had. I remembered that couch and those trees with the fairy lights. “I have an idea.”
* * *
The chilly December air bit at my cheeks as I handed Liam our truth book. We were sitting next to each other on the couch, a fleece blanket draped over our legs to keep warm.
“It’s your turn,” I explained. “But, tonight, we’re making these truths fun.”
I’d been worried that, after last night, he’d never want to write a truth again, but he accepted our truth book. Our only light to write came from the fairy lights above us. It was perfect.
Less than a minute later, he handed me back our truth book. My fingers were already numb with cold, so it took me longer than normal to flip to his page.
I can’t swim.
“Seriously?” I remembered earlier and laughed. “So,that’swhy you grabbed onto me like your life depended on it.”
“I’m not sure why you’re laughing,” he said, but of course, he was laughing, too. “I could’ve drowned.”
“It was the shallow end! The water would hit you like mid-chest.”
He threw the pen at me. His shot was terrible, so it bounced off my arm and fell onto my lap. “How rude,” I said. “Especially since I was going to offer to teach you to swim this summer.”
“I sure hope you swim better than you drive.”
I laughed. The uncontrollable kind where my stomach hurt and I could barely breathe. I wished I could bottle up this feeling of pure and simple happiness so I had it for when I really needed it.
By the time I’d gotten control of myself, Liam was staring at me like...I don’t know how, but it was disarming.
“Stop it,” I whispered.
“Stop what?”
Softly, I said, “Staring at me likethat.”
“Oh,” he said sheepishly. “Sorry. You’re just so...”
“What?”
He became strangely interested in the blanket. “Nothing.”
And, suddenly, it hit me.
He liked me. Helikedme. But he was never going to make the first move because he didn’t think I liked him back.
If I wanted to be with him, I had to be the one to confess my feelings first.
The idea was terrifying. But as terrifying as it was, I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed to tell him so I could finally kiss him, finally touch him, finally call himmine.
I wrote down my truth, quickly handing it to him before I second-guessed myself. “I’ve been keeping that truth a secret for a while.”
If I hadn’t been watching him so closely, I would’ve missed the tiny inhale of breath he took as he read:
