“Good,” he said, standing up. “Shall I see you tonight then? You have a lot to catch up on. But perhaps we also have a lot to catch up on. I would like to know everything about you, Amy. Your hopes, your dreams, your aspirations. What you want from the world, and from life.”
“I …” I paused, trying to think of answers to those questions. When none came, I leaned in again, and kissed him. He placed his hands on my waist, gripping me tightly.
“And I would like to know about you,” I whispered, looking up to meet his eyes. Already, as if by magic, I could see a different person from the celebrity the whole world thought that they knew.
And so this was how the next few weeks panned out. Secret meetings, early morning rendezvous, empty classrooms and dark hallways. But it wasn’t all passion and fire. One morning, I opened my door to check for the daily school paper that was left at all the dorm rooms. Instead, I found a small item, wrapped in the daily paper.
Curious, I picked it up, looking up and down the hallways. However, there was no one there. Opening the package, a smile spread over my face. It was a tiny plastic Oscar, with my name sharpied onto it. I rolled my eyes, laughing a bit as I turned it over in my hand. On the bottom, a sharpied heart was drawn. To my right, I heard a noise and looked up, with a smile.
“Creative,” I said, as Liam approached out of nowhere as usual. He smiled, looking around to double check that the hallways were empty. And then, he kissed the top of my head, leading me into my dorm room.
“I thought you would appreciate that,” he said, bending in for a deeper kiss. I sighed happily, putting my arms around him. He smelled good, like wood smoke and whisky, something I couldn’t describe but was instantly addicted to. His tongue explored my mouth, and the intense passion in the early morning caused me to stumble. Before I knew it, we were pressed against a wall, my breath coming in gasps. With a devilish smile, he pulled back. “Good morning.”
“Good morning,” I said, sitting on my bed. He sat beside me, pulling open the brown bag he had been holding. From inside it wafted breakfast smells and he produced blueberry muffins. “Did you harass my father as soon as he got in the door? Only he makes these.”
“I did. Perks of being headmaster,” he replied, settling back against my headboard and taking a bite. He closed his eyes, and I watched his face a moment.
“You look tired,” I said, and he opened his eyes.
“Mmm. Rough night.”
“Doing what?” I asked, and Liam shrugged.
“Wild partying, obviously,” he said, although I could tell his tone was sarcastic. I could tell he didn’t want me to pry, and so I didn’t. I moved up beside him, biting into the familiar taste.
“Yeah, me too,” I replied and he laughed. “Are you alright, though?”
“Fine now that I’m sitting beside you.” He gave me a lazy smile, leaning his head against mine. “There used to be a time when a night of…that was all that would satisfy me. But now, I look forward to breakfast with you a lot more.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, and he shrugged, taking my hand and squeezing it.
“You’re all that need right now,” he replied, and I felt like nothing else mattered in the world but me at that moment.
“Do you believe in love?” I blurted out, and Liam turned to me, sharply. “Hypothetically, of course. In general. I’m not going all serious on you.”
“I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t. I haven’t…before. You?”
“I think there are many cases of love in the world,” I said. “But…I don’t think true love is true until it’s returned. So you can be in love…but not until the other person returns it does it become real.”
“And you’ve seen this?” He asked, fixated on my eyes. I didn’t want to move, locked in his gaze.
“Not seen, not really. But heard about it. My parents … everyone talked about them. And my dad still talks about my mom like she’s around. Not in a creepy way. She was the love of his life. She still is. And…” I traced a pattern on my bedspread, looking away. “Romeo loved Juliette, but it wasn’t true love until she started paying attention. So you can be in love … but not true love?” I shrugged, embarrassed by my girly outpour of feelings. But Liam just took my chin, making me look at him again.