Beneath Your Perfect

“I am done, I am so done.” I panted heavily before falling onto my bum on the side of the footpath. I placed my head between my legs and tried to catch my breathing.

I heard Liam’s chuckles from above me. I raised my head and pushed my sweaty hair out of my face.

“You said this would be fun.” I whined to him, taking the water he offered me and took a mouthful. He smiled down at me barely puffing.

“It is fun. Come on, we’re almost home.” He tried to encourage me. I whined and shook my head at him.

“Can’t I just sit here for a bit?” I begged as he grabbed my hands and pulled me to my feet.

“Come on,” He said, turning his back to me and crouching slightly. I looked at his back surprised for a minute.

“Are you sure?” I asked him. I mean wasn’t he tired? He looked back and smiled at me before motioning to his back again. Shrugging I moved forward and wrapped my arms around his neck as he helped my jump onto his back. He straightened up easily as my legs tightened around his waist.

“Aren’t you tired?” I asked leaning in to speak into his ear.

“Not that tired. We’ve only done half of what I normally do.” He told me as he began the walk back to his apartment.

“God, I’m so unhealthy. I think I need to start exercising.” I admitted to him. He laughed and turned down the street to his flat. “Thanks Li.”

“It’s okay. I did convince you to come for a run so I suppose I owe you this.”

“Yes, your right. I think you do.” I teased him before a groan fell from my mouth the moment I saw the paparazzi standing outside his flat entrance.

“I look terrible.” I complained and buried my red face into Liam’s sweaty neck. My nose scrunched up as I tried to ignore the smell. It’s not like I exactly smelled like roses anyway.

“You look fine.” He said softly. I smiled against his skin but kept my head buried in his neck as he carried me through the yelling paparazzi. There were to many questions for me to register exactly what they were asking. I’m sure photos of us like this would make them a lot of money though.

I slid of Liam’s back when we entered the lobby and dragged him towards the elevator.

“Honestly Liam, we’ve just exercised, why do anymore?” He laughed at me loudly but still followed me into the elevator.

“You’re very lazy.” He commented, poking my side making me squirm out of his reach.

“My mind is very active.” I defended myself as Liam let out a lard laugh. I smiled happily at his loud laugh. I always felt almost like an accomplishment when I made Liam laugh.

“I’m showering first.” I called as we entered Liam’s flat and I headed straight for the bathroom. I grabbed a towel and my clothes along the way.

I busied myself in the bathroom and searched through Liam’s stuff. I couldn’t help but use the shampoo he had in his shower. I wondered if he actually used it for the small amount of hair that he had.

I moved onto his soap next and happily applied some to myself filling the bathroom with the smell of Liam. It was a nice smell that suited him.

“I made food.” Liam told me the moment I exited the bathroom. I smiled at him in thanks as he passed me and headed into the shower. Grabbing the sandwich left on the counter I headed into the living room. Collapsing on the couch I glanced around his still scarcely filled room. He needed some decorations; maybe some paint anything that would liven this place up. Photos would be helpful as well.

“You should paint your flat.” I told him when I heard his footsteps behind me. I turned around in the chair to see a shirtless Liam. My eyes widened slightly as my mouth dropped. A smirk grew across his face as I quickly composed myself and stuffed the sandwich into my mouth. “And don’t you have more stuff then this seriously!”

“There’s stuff still in boxes I suppose.” He shrugged. My mouth fell open in shock before I quickly shut it and swallowed the chewed up sandwich that was situated inside.

“And you haven’t unpacked them because?” Liam shifted uncomfortable on the couch next to me.

“I don’t know. Didn’t really find it necessary.” He said as a frown flittered across my face.

“You were pretty close to leaving everything behind weren’t you?” I asked him remembering ages ago when he told me he had planned to run away. His eyes met mine slightly before he grabbed my hand and pulled me off the couch and down the hall. I stuffed the rest of the sandwich in my mouth along the way.

We stopped in front of one of the spare rooms as Liam pushed the door open and my eyes widened at the amount of boxes sitting in the room.

“Liam!” I exclaimed, walking forward and glancing around at all the boxes. The first one to my left contained a lot of pictures. The top picture was of him and his band mates. It was definitely a young photo.

“Why don’t you hang any of these up?” I asked, turning to him. “No offence Li, but your flat’s a bit boring.”

“There’s some stuff of Dani’s in there.” He told me suddenly. I couldn’t help the feeling of my heart sink slightly. He still hadn’t denied or agreed with whether he still loved her. Keeping her things was a sure sign of still loving her. “Would you help me go through it all?”

I eyed Liam for a moment as his shoulders slumped slightly but his eyes stayed in contact with mine. When he was this vulnerable he normally had trouble keeping eye contact but I could tell he was really trying.

“Sure, on one condition.” His eyebrows furrowed as he motioned for me to continue on. “We get to paint your flat first.”

A smile split across his face as he smiled at me and moved forward, shaking his head. His hand settled on my waist, tugging me forwards. I wasn’t sure what he was doing but I went along with it anyway.

“You’re amazing you know that.” He said softly down to me.

“Is that a yes to the paint?” I asked him confused. A smile lit up his face that just crinkled the side of his eyes. I couldn’t help but immediately smile back. His smile was too cute for words. The smile, I registered, that was moving a lot closer to my face.

“Liam.” I whispered softly as my hands reached up and placed themselves palms down over his bare chest making me blush. I glanced down towards my hands as I could feel Liam’s heart race underneath one of them. I glanced back up at him to see him closer then before.

His nose touched mine lightly before he angled his head slightly to the left and his lips brushed mine lightly. He pulled back as my eyes fluttered open and shut as if they couldn’t decide on what to do. And I was certainly too frozen and shocked to take control of anything right now.

His eyes questioned mine faintly while I barely nodded at him before his lips were touching mine again. This time they pushed harder against mine before he pulled back again and angled his head to the other side and repeating the action. I made a small noise of annoyance as Liam began to pull back.

I placed my hands on either side of his face before pulling him down to press against my lips again. Our noses bumped slightly before we both fixed the angle. This time our lips moved easily together. The warmth and pressure of his lips on mine was almost intoxicating, as I couldn’t help the small noises falling from my mouth. I was too hooked in the kiss to even care about how embarrassing I probably sounded.

We pulled away for a moment as my hand fell from his face and rested on the sides of his stomach. My eyes fluttered back open as I glanced up into his brown eyes and my breathing began to return to normal pace. I easily breathed in the scent that clung to him which now surrounded me. He moved forward and wrapped his arms around my waist. I happily let my head lean against his bare chest. I enjoyed the feeling of his naked torso against my body. The feeling of his strong arms wrapped around me made me feel safe and content. The many ways he made me feel just from one kiss worried me for a moment before the feeling became too good that I could never make it negative.

“This feels nice.” I eventually muttered out. His arms tightened around me as he placed a kiss to my head. His chest vibrated with the hum he had made in agreement.

"It feels right." Was his reply.