Get Your Kicks

There was an odd part of me that didn’t care that I stood out so much amongst all of the people at the pool. They were wearing swimsuits, flip flips, and had towels draped around them. They put on sunscreen and tanning oil, and drank fruity drinks.

I, on the other hand, wore a big t-shirt, which draped over my shoulders, and a pair of athletic shorts. I stood out, that was certain, but I didn’t care. I was perfectly content to just sit at that pool and drown my sorrows in the laughter of children.

I didn’t want to participate – not even a little – but seeing other people enjoying themselves seemed to comfort me somehow. It was better than being cooped up in my hotel room, seeing as I was the only girl who hadn’t gone off and done something or other.

My attention was so focused on the chaos going on in front of me that I didn’t notice Liam sitting next to me until he began kicking his feet in the water. His toes brushed over the surface, causing a little bit of water to splash on me, and I glared at him.

“What do you want?” I asked, glaring at him briefly before turning my attention back to the pool. He shifted slightly and I could feel his eyes locked on me.

Liam sighed and kicked his feet a little more. “I just wanna talk.”

“About what?”

“You know what,” he said, and I forced myself to look at him. His eyes just looked so sweet and soft, and I just knew I couldn’t look at him anymore.

“I don’t want to talk, Li. I really don’t.”

“But we were getting on so well,” he said without hesitation. “I thought everything was going swimmingly.”

“Swimmingly?”

“Yes.”

The two of us paused, with him looking at me and me looking at the water. I wasn’t sure what he was thinking, but I knew that I had no clue what to say. I was more than angry with him, just about the whole girlfriend thing. Ex-girlfriend, whatever. It was all the same to me. I hated when people kept secrets, even though I was keeping a few myself, and Liam seemed like he still had plenty of secrets he was hiding.

“Talk then,” I finally said when the silence became too much. He paused for only a second before speaking again.

“I’m sorry, Taylor. I’m sorry if what I did hurt you. Trust me, that was never my intention.” He paused, running his hand through his hair. He looked back at me again, and this time I forced myself to hold his gaze. “You’re tough girl, Tay. That’s what I love about you. I don’t want you to change that, but I want you to give me a chance.”

My heart was suddenly racing incredibly fast and no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t look at him anymore. I’d never had anyone like Liam actually fight for me the way he was, and as much as I hated to admit it, that felt nice. It felt nice to have someone want to be with me again, because it had been a long time since that had happened.

When I paused for two long, Liam spoke again, his voice softer than before. “Can you do that, Tay? Can you give me a chance?”

Honestly, I didn’t know if I could. I’d promised myself I would never put myself in the way of heartbreak again, but here I was, listening to this boy talk about second chances when I shouldn’t have given him a chance at all.

“Please, Tay,” he said again, his eyes pleading with me. “Please.”

At that moment, something came over me that I couldn’t explain. It was like somebody else was working my body, doing the things that my heart wanted to do but mind wouldn’t. I lunged forward in one easy motion and my lips were on Liam’s, with him smiling against me.