iMate

Ever since her kiss with Liam, Claire was practically living on Cloud 9. From the moment she woke up in the morning, to the moment she went to bed, Claire was pure happiness, and she wondered if the feelings would last forever.

It had only been a few days since she’d seen Liam, but she was already dying to see him again, and the fact that he hadn’t invited her on another date since then made her somewhat nervous, even though they’d been texting frequently since then. She wondered briefly if she’d done something wrong, or if the kiss wasn’t good enough. He was still talking to her, but maybe he was just trying to let her down easily.

Pushing the thoughts out of her head, Claire picked up her phone, which was buzzing softly against her dresser. Liam’s name flashed across the screen, in the first phone call she’d gotten from his since their date.

Her nerves set in immediately, but she tried to calm them before she spoke, because she didn’t want him to know how nervous he was making her again. In their texts, it was easier for her to seem more confident, and she wasn’t quite ready to drop that confident persona yet.

Taking a deep breath, she pulled the phone to her ear, and was met immediately with Liam’s sweet voice. It was deep, and smooth, and sent chills through her body. There was something about it that she just loved, and it didn’t come as any surprise that it was that voice that he was famous for.

As he spoke to her, remarking about a mishap at one of their shows the night before, she couldn’t stop smiling. Her grin was so wide that her cheeks hurt, and when he said that he wanted to see her that night, she thought her face was going to split in two. If he was always going to make her smile that much, she wasn’t sure she was going to be able to handle it.

She happily said yes, before her stomach did a series of flips that left her more nervous than ever. Luckily, she didn’t have much time to be nervous, as he was already on his way to pick her up.

She barely had enough time to change and fix her hair before she heard the knock on her front door, signaling his arrival. She hurried downstairs before either of her parents could answer it and opened the door with a smile.

“You look beautiful,” he said immediately, as a large grin spread across his face. She smiled back, and silently prayed that he would always greet her that way. There was no better feeling in the world than having Liam tell her she was beautiful, aside from kissing him.

“Thank you,” she said, her smile twice as wide as his. “You look handsome.”

He chuckled. “Not beautiful this time?”

“Both.”

He grinned, before taking her hand in his. It set a small spark through her finger tips, and she decided she was going to have to make a journal chronicling all of the chemical reactions Liam caused her body to make.

With his hand wrapped around hers, Liam guided Claire to his car, popping the door open for her, and shutting it gently behind her. He ducked into the front seat just as quickly, and smiled at her as he turned on the engine.

“Where are we going this time?” she asked, her fingers moving against the hem of her shirt.
“It’s another surprise.”

She smiled. “You’re going to run out of surprises one day.”

“I think I’ve got a couple more years before I run out of surprises with you.”

Claire’s heart fluttered at his words, though she wasn’t sure if he realized what he had said. Whether he meant a couple of years with her or not, she was excited by the simple fact that he thought they had any more time together at all.

As long as she didn’t screw up this date like she’d done their first one, there was a good chance they’d have another, and if she didn’t screw up any of them, the possibilities were endless. She just had to refrain from hiccupping, spilling something on herself, saying anything embarrassing, and a countless number of other things.

After a short drive, the two arrived at a large apartment complex in the center of London. It was covered in old bricks, and was clearly an older building that had recently been renovated.

“We’re here,” Liam said, as he put the car in park. He looked over at Claire, a small smile on his face. “This is where I stay most of the time, but you can’t tell anyone.”

Claire’s eyes widened, as she bit her bottom lip. It hadn’t occurred to her that Liam would be taking her back to his place, and her first thought was that he did with fans all the time. It seemed likely that he’d woo them, take them out, and then shag them in his flat before leaving them on the curb.

Liam clearly saw the hesitance in her face, and reached across the center console to grip her hand. He gave her a small smile, his soft eyes meeting hers, before he spoke.

“Nothing is going to happen, Claire. I promise.”

Claire had always been the type to jump into things too quickly. She’d always been reckless and stupid, and she’d made more mistakes than she could count. But of all those mistakes she’d ever made, she didn’t feel like Liam was going to be one of them.

Letting out a short breath, she nodded her head, before following him out of the car and into the building. It was a short walk up to his flat, but it was just enough time for Claire’s nerves to set in. She tried not to make it obvious, and it appeared as though she was succeeding, until Liam’s hand touched the door knob.

“You don’t need to be so nervous,” Liam said, chuckling as he spoke.

She shook her head quickly. “I’m not nervous.”

“I can feel your heart beat. You’re like a hummingbird.”

She’d forgotten about the very likely possibility that Liam could feel her racing heart through the hand that was holding hers. She gave an embarrassed smile, before he spoke again.

“You don’t need to be nervous, Claire. I like you. A lot. You don’t need to worry.”

Even though Liam’s words were meant to comfort her, they only made her more nervous. He said he liked her. A lot. Which meant there was even more riding on her not screwing things up, and reckless, stupid girls usually screwed things up. She spoke next, her voice shaky and her thoughts moving more quickly than she could keep up with.

“But you make me nervous,” she said, an uneasy smile on her face, while her teeth chewed on her bottom lip.

He squeezed her hand more tightly, while slowly turning his doorknob.

“Trust me, Claire. You don’t need to be nervous. Nothing could mess this up.”