All Of Me

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 23

Morning Glory..

“What?” I jump up. “You have a bathroom?”

He jerks his thumb at the door behind him then pushes it open. He has his own bathroom.

“Liam! You could’ve told me that before I got the early morning Allie show!”

He can’t seem to stop laughing, too amused to pull on his pants. He comes over to me in his boxers and kisses me with morning breath, but then he laughs against my mouth and drops onto the bed.

“Sorry. Ok. Sorry. It’s not funny at all that you nearly peed yourself in front of my mom the first time you met,” he says in such a serious voice that I have to laugh. That only sets him off again. “I bet she loves you even more now. You’re not an Alexander until you’ve walked in on Mom in the bath.”

“Well, call me Alexander then,” I say. He pokes my cheek.

“Alexander.” He kisses me again. “My bathroom is free for the taking if you want.”

“I do want. I smell.”

“You don’t.” He nuzzles my neck.

“I do. I’m showering. How long have I got before we take Daria?”

“Thirty minutes?”

Perfect. I grab a change of clothes for my bag and for nearly a third of that time, I let the water pummel my skin and wash away my embarrassment. I guess it’s not that bad in the grand scheme of things. I could have actually peed myself.

• • •

I feel sorry for Daria’s swim coach, one woman in charge of a bunch of three-year-olds of varying aquatic skill. Daria’s actually not bad for a toddler, coming to life in the pool after being mild as a mouse on the drive over. Now she’s splashing and kicking with a float, and Liam and I are watching from the seats.

“I hope you don’t mind this,” he says, lacing his fingers with mine. We look like a pair of young parents.

“I don’t mind at all. I think it’s really sweet,” I say. “I love how close you and your mom are.”

“As far as moms go, she’s pretty awesome,” he says, “even if I am suspicious that she’s running some kind of parenting experiment, the number of kids she has.” There’s a crinkle in his eyes, a smile on his lips.

“She said that it was another wine-induced mistake,” I say, and a laugh bursts out of him.

“Sounds like Mom. I’m not saying she gets drunk, but when Dad’s home, she does like to get a little wine tipsy, and I definitely heard her call condoms the devil once, so I guess that explains the six of us.”

“Nearly seven.”

“Yeah. Wow. Crazy,” he says, letting out a long sigh, running his thumb in circles over the back of my hand. “I’m not gonna lie, though, I love having a big family.”

“I’m kinda jealous,” I say, resting my head on his shoulder and pretending Daria’s my sister, that his family is mine, just for a minute. It’d never be quiet. Maybe it’d be overwhelming. But it’d never be lonely.

“D’you want a big family?” he asks, turning over my hand to trace patterns over my palm. I don’t know how something so simple feels so good.

“Mmm. Maybe not as big as yours, but yeah, I’d like a few kids.”

“Me too,” he says. “Not seven, but maybe, like, half a soccer team.” He shrugs. “Guess we’ll see.”

I’m struck by a pang of love for him, and I turn my cheek to kiss him, my eyes closed. He leans into me, his arm around my shoulders, and I lose myself in his kiss until one of the parents behind us clears their throat. I don’t care. We don’t stop. But then they do it again and I feel like we’re being watched, so I pull apart.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW

Liam dramatically rolls his eyes and shoots them a look before his eyes fall on me again and he whispers, “To be continued.”

• • •

Daria is way more talkative on the way back, bouncing in the back seat as she chatters away about her friends from swim class and her coach and the strokes she’s learning. I’m not sure I could even stay afloat when I was three, let alone know any different strokes, but she’s a total waterbaby.

I don’t say much on the drive. I love just watching Liam, listening to him talk to her. He’s so engaged with his little sister. I honestly don’t know if he really cares about different floaties or he’s just a really good actor: he is so convincing, and it warms my heart to see how enthusiastic Daria is.

She warms up to me when he explains that I’m his girlfriend – like Mommy and Daddy? she asks, and it’s easier for Liam to just say yes – and she takes my hand when we get back to the house. Her hand is wet from playing with her damp hair, and so small against mine.

“I gotta secret,” she whispers as we follow Liam to the front door.

“You do?” I’m not sure how to act around kids. I’ve never really known any.

Daria pulls me down to her level. I crouch and she cups her hands around my ear. “You’re pretty,” she says in a stage whisper. Then she bares her little baby teeth. “I wanna eat you.”

Liam turns around and sighs loudly. “What’ve I told you, Dar? People are friends. Not food.”

Daria pouts and grabs my hand. “But Storie’s yummy.”

He gets a glint in his eye and looks at me and sidles over. “I can’t disagree with you there,” he says, slipping his hand into mine and kissing me, just a quick little peck. Daria looks jealous.

She grumbles as we head inside, making our way to the kitchen where Allie is in a flour-speckled apron, whisking up a storm.

“No fair,” Daria says, pouting.

“What’s not fair?” her mom asks, looking up at Liam and me.

“Storie gets to eat Willy!”

Oh my God. My whole body goes red, I’m sure, and even though I know what Daria means, there’s no hiding my blush, which makes it painfully clear exactly what Liam and I have done. This family is out to humiliate me, I swear.

But Allie just laughs an uproarious laugh. Liam coughs, nervously shifting next to me, and he says, “Storie’s not eating me. That was a kiss, Dar. Because she’s my girlfriend and I love her.”

“I wanna girlfriend.”

“Not until you’re at least sixteen,” Liam says, wagging his finger at her. He then pours a few drinks and updates his mom on Daria’s lesson, and he plays footsie with me when he sits down and passes the juice across.

I was so nervous about coming here but despite being the most embarrassed I’ve been in a long time, Liam’s family is actually making me love him more. Maybe it’s just seeing him with his family, how good he is with his sister and how much he loves his mom.

After lunch, when I meet his three younger brothers, who are totally unfazed by my existence, each grunting a hello before being distracted by food, Liam and I have some time alone together. His mom and Daria are napping; one of his brothers has gone to collect their aunt and drop her off at her house; the other two are on their computers.

It’s just the two of us, walking around the national park that his garden might as well be.

“So, what d’you think?” he asks, swinging our hands between us.

“I think I’m more in love with you now than I was before,” I say. He grins, tilting his head. His hair falls forward.

“Really?”

“Really. I love your family. I love your mom.”

He cocks an eyebrow. “Should I be concerned that you’re saying that after seeing her more naked than you’ve seen me?”

“Liam! Oh my God. Don’t be gross.”

He laughs and tugs me close, his hands laced behind my back. “I’m kidding, Stor,” he says, kissing me. We’re standing in a patch of sun, beating down warmly on our cheeks. The dappled light caresses us. “I love you more too. And I love that you love my family, and I love that you love my mom.” He kisses me again, one hand moving to my cheek. “And I really love that you nearly peed yourself in front of her.”

“Shut up.”

“Make me.”

I kiss him back, hard. He groans.

“So not fair. Now we have to stay out here until this goes away,” he says, though he doesn’t move away. He pulls me closer and I feel him swell against my stomach.

“Liam?”

“Mmm?”

“Why’d you have to come back this weekend?”

“Huh?”

“You said you had to come back and you asked if I’d come too,” I say. “Why’d you have to come back?”

“Mom said she wanted to see me,” he says. “I guess to tell me about the baby? And then she forgot, which is totally Mom. And I mentioned you, and she wanted me to bring you over, and I wanted to bring you over, but I didn’t want to scare you by saying how much Mom wanted to meet you.” His hands fall to my waist. “But Mom really wanted to meet you.”

“Why?”

“Because I talk about you,” he says. “I told her about you a few weeks ago and I told her I love you, and I guess she wanted to meet whoever captivated me enough for me to fall in love.”

“You’re so smooth,” I say, my hand on his cheek. He kisses my knuckles.

“I just shaved this morning.”

“It actually hurts.”

He pulls a wounded expression. “But I shaved.”

“No, you idiot,” I say, laughing. “It hurts how much I love you. I am painfully in love.”

“Oh.” He grins. “Tell me where it hurts. I’ll kiss it better.”