Tis the Season

Pushing her hair behind her ear, Kendall gave herself one last look over in the mirror, before turning to Nadine. Her blonde friend was slipping on a pair of heels, while simultaneously applying some lipstick. It was quite an impressive feat.

Nadine looked beautiful, to say the least. Her long blonde hair framed her face in such a way that it was sure to attract Liam’s attention. Everything about the girl seemed as if it was God’s attempt to get Liam to fall in love with her. The thought made Kendall even more nervous than she already was.

A knock on the door attracted both girls’ attention, and Kendall quickly made her way over to it. Upon opening it, she found Liam standing with his friend, both dressed in button up shirts and slacks.

“Hey, Ken.” Liam smiled at her, and pulled her into a quick hug. Just that simple touch sent Kendall’s body racing, and she hoped her cheeks weren’t as red as they felt.

“This is James,” Liam said, pointing to his friend.

The blonde boy smiled at Kendall, as he stuck his hand out to her. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

Nodding her head, Kendall laughed. “It’s nice to meet you, too.”

James was handsome, exactly the type of guy Kendall would go for, and she was sure that was why Liam had picked him.

“Well, the car’s warm if you ladies are ready to go.”

When both girls nodded, the group headed out of Kendall’s apartment, and out to Liam’s car. It wasn’t as cold outside as it had been, but it was still chilly enough for a large coat and scarf. Nadine’s black dress and heels weren’t near enough clothing to keep her warm.

Nadine took to the passenger seat, while Kendall and James sat in the back. The whole time they drove, Liam kept his gaze focused on the road, just like he always did, and was only slightly engaged in their small talk. He was always overly attentive when he drove.

Even though he was focused on driving, he would still pull his attention away to add a witty comment to anything Kendall or Nadine said.

After turning the car into an open parking spot in the restaurant’s small lot, Liam quickly stepped out, opening Nadine’s door for her, while James did the same for Kendall.

Each of them shivering as they walked, they moved underneath the green awning, and stepped inside the toasty restaurant. The soft lights of the dimly lit room added a gentle ambience to the formal room. Most of the tables were filled by chatting couples, while waiters in white button ups and black slacks moved swiftly around the room.

A curly haired boy greeted them at the door, menus in hand. With a smile on his face, the boy gave them his spiel about the restaurant and asked them how they were doing. The small talk was quick and natural - exactly what you’d expect from a long time waiter - but the boy wasn’t any older than the group.

After he had guided them to their table, he placed menus in front of each of them. “My name is Harry, and I will be taking care of you this evening. I’ll be back for your drink orders in just a moment.”

Kendall slid into the far end of the plush booth, while Nadine took the seat next to her. James did the same, taking the place across from Kendall. She was unsure if this was how seating arrangements for dates were supposed to go, but she was somewhat thankful that Nadine was sitting next to her. Both because it meant she didn’t have to sit awkwardly next to James, and because she wouldn’t have to worry about the blonde girl slipping her hands under the table to do God only knows what to Liam’s pants.

“You look lovely this evening,” James said to Kendall, smiling at her from across the table.

“You both do,” Liam added, sharing the same large grin.

Next to her, Nadine gave a small laugh, as she pressed her hand to her lips. “Thank you.”

Their waiter was back a moment later, just as he said he would be, to take their orders, and he had brought them their drinks just as quickly. When he asked them their food orders, he didn’t write anything down and used only his memory to bring them their perfect meal.

“I can’t believe we’ve come to this brilliant restaurant and you’re only getting a salad,” Liam laughed, eyeing Nadine from across the table.

Rolling her eyes, Nadine let out a small laugh, while Kendall looked down at her plate of spaghetti. Was that an attractive thing to do? Kendall was wondering if she should have ordered a salad as well when Liam gave her a soft wink. She pushed her thoughts back, as she used her fork to wrap up a bit of spaghetti in the most delicate way she knew how.

“I’m saving room for desert,” Nadine said. It was hard to miss the large wink she gave Liam, and the entire scene caused Kendall to chuckle, forcing her to choke on her food. Nadine was being far more pushy than usual. Bringing her hand to her mouth, Kendall attempted to stifle her laughter, while simultaneously clearing her windpipe.

The table turned their attention to her, and she shook her head quickly, as she moved her hands in front of her to signal that she was doing okay. James gave her a small laugh, clearly just as amused at the situation as she was.

As long as Nadine’s smooth words didn’t have any noticeable effect on Liam, Kendall would be able to have a laugh at her obvious flirting. It would be when the blonde’s charming demeanor began to affect Liam that she would have trouble.

Luckily for Kendall, the dinner went by far more quickly than she had thought it would, and she only had to suffer through a few more of Nadine’s attempts to get in Liam’s pants. Every time the blonde girl would bat her eyelashes, Kendall would focus on James, in an attempt to pretend that nothing was going on at all.

When the waiter brought the check, James and Liam split it between the two of them, and the group headed outside. Nadine tugged on Liam’s arm as they walked, huddling close to him for warmth. James and Kendall followed closely behind them. Kendall shook her head, as she watched Nadine cling more tightly to Liam. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to rip his arm clean off.

“So, how long have you been in love with Liam?” James asked.

“What?” Kendall’s eyes went wide in shock. There was no way James knew. It was nearly impossible.

Laughing, James smirked at her. “Don’t play like that. I know that look. You’re not fooling anyone, except Liam, maybe.”

“I really don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kendall said, shaking her head quickly.

“I’m going to tell you a story,” James said, a small smile on his face. “And if at the end of it, you still wanna keep lying to me, then be my guest.”

Kendall nodded her head. “Go on, then. I’ll listen.”

Taking a deep breath, James spoke. “Her name was Becca. Scratch that, her name is Becca. She meant the world to me. We spent nearly every waking moment together, and she’d stay at my place at least once a week. I loved that girl more than anything; more than I ever thought I could. She was my best friend, nothing more than that. I was like you; setting her up on dates; feeling the aching in my stomach every time I saw her kiss someone else. I eventually got to the point where I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to tell her or I’d have gone mad. So I did. I told her how much she meant to me, and how I could only ever be with her.”

James let out a deep sigh. “But she didn’t feel the same way. Looking back on it, I probably should’ve known, but that’s not the point. The point is, I did tell her, and even though she didn’t love me back, I don’t regret doing it. I feel better for knowing, and I was able to move on. I’m not stuck in limbo anymore, and it’s the best feeling in the world.”

When James was done speaking, Kendall looked up at him. He had a large grin on his face, both sides of his lips turned up tightly.

Just like that, with that one smile, Kendall suddenly didn’t feel so alone. The boy she was in love with was ten feet away, charming his way into the pants of her best friend, but at least she didn’t have to watch it alone. She was with someone who knew now. This boy knew how it felt to have the rug pulled out from underneath you, and she took solace in that.

Things hadn’t worked out between James and that girl that he loved, but he appeared to be doing fine, well even. If James could come out of the situation on top, Kendall was determined to do the same. She could make herself fall out of love with Liam. She could avoid him, and ignore him, and do whatever else she need, until the feelings finally stopped.

If Liam didn’t love her back, like the girl didn’t love James, and it appeared by the kiss he and Nadine were sharing that he didn’t, she would still be okay. Liam didn’t love her back; he couldn’t, not with the way he was kissing Nadine. Kendall felt her stomach churning inside her and she knew her hopeless pining had been for nothing. She knew she had to make it all stop, and she was going to start at that very moment.

To stop her feelings for Liam from raging on, she leaned forward, standing on her tiptoes, until her soft lips collided with James’s rough ones. He smiled against her, and kissed her back for the few short moments before she pulled away.

When her eyes met his, it was clear he knew exactly what she was up to. Luckily for her, he understood, and he was willing to help. With a small wink in Kendall’s direction, the blonde boy turned to Liam and Nadine. “I think Ken and I are just gonna go back to her place, so you guys can head on out. We’ll just walk.”

Shaking his head, Liam took a few steps closer to them. “No, it’s freezing, and your car is back at my place. You’ll have no way to get it.”

“We’ll figure something out,” James said, nudging Kendall gently with his elbow.

Kendall took it as her cue to pipe up, and she smiled at Liam. “It’s alright, Li. We’ll be fine.”

“We can keep each other warm,” James continued. “Turn the heat up, if you know what I mean.”

James was suddenly off on a tangent. This wasn’t what Kendall thought he’d had in mind when he gave her that knowing stare. She thought he’d had a better plan; something that made even an ounce of sense, but this clearly didn’t.

Just when Kendall was about to twist her face in confusion, James looked down at her, with that same look he had given her before, and she rolled with it.

Reaching her hand out to James’s, she wrapped their fingers together, immediately attracting both boys’ attention. “It’s really okay, Li. We’ll be fine.”

Liam’s eyes rover over Kendall’s face, searching for an ounce of hesitation in the girl’s eyes, but found none. Letting out a deep breath, he pulled at the sleeves of his jacket.

“Fine, but it’s cold,” Liam said, pulling his jacket from his body. “At least take my coat.”

When he finished speaking, he took the jacket from his hands and placed it over Kendall’s shoulders. Tugging at the front, he adjusted the jacket so it covered nearly every part of her from the waist up.
Kendall’s eyes were locked on Liam as he did so, even though his were focused only on the jacket.

When he was finished adjusting, their eyes met and he gave her a soft smile. That one small looked tugged at every part of Kendall’s body, reminding her that falling out of love with Liam was going to be harder than she thought. She hated to do it, but she knew that she had to, because she couldn’t keep pretending that everything was okay.