CHAPTER 13
The coffee has extra cream shot, exactly how I love my stuff. My heart jumps aflutter at the thought of Liam knowing my taste so well.
Could it be that he's taken deliberate to learn of it through our short dining experiences? Dream on, Kira. It costs absolutely nothing to have a lovely dream. I laugh at myself inwardly.
Liam’s laptop is on the countertop with the Skype window open on the screen. He was probably video chatting with someone before I arrived. I resume my attention back as he finally hands me the mug.
’’Thank you.’’ I feel giddy as I slowly start sipping it. Hmm, it's exquisite. Mr. Intense does know how to please a lady.
Or maybe you are just too infatuated, breathes my subconscious with the look of ’oh, we’ve lost you, girl’. I just smile, enjoying my coffee.
"Shouldn't you be resting by now?" Liam breaks the silence, taking the same stance as mine, facing one another. He is holding a cup himself, concerns written in the depth of his eyes. "Or is it your insomnia again?" His voice comes out careful.
A soft, rueful sigh escape my lips.
"I can ask you the same thing if I may," I reply with a small smile, and he does exactly the same while taking a little sip of his coffee. "I'm just saying. Perhaps my answer will depend on your reasons, after all."
Liam shifts his stance, and he gets closer in the process. Holy cow! "Are you blackmailing me now, Ms. Jones?" He sounds amused, his voice gentle and relaxed, and I like this side of him.
"Oh no! How would I dare do such a thing to you?" I chuckle innocently, and he giggles boyishly. Boy, playful Liam is such a fine creation! "I simply want to have an exchange of facts; quid pro quo."
"Oh, do you?” Amused, his one eyebrow creases. “You're quite a bad negotiator. Do you actually think id fall for your trick?’’ His smile assures me of his playfulness, and my cheeks heat up. He takes the cup to his mouth once again, eyes stuck on me, mesmerizing me.
Why can't I be that mug? The devil in me awakes from her beauty somber, eyes wide open, gawking at the fine muscles of Liam arm. I wonder if he lifts weights . . . Well, he surely does, dummy! My subconscious recoils.
"Um, yes? I mean, can’t you at least pretend to fall for it?" I quizzically arch my brows, watching him.
A short silence prevails as Liam watches me mindfully, and only opens his mouth after placing the mug on the cabinet. "Well, I'm going to be generous with you,” he says with gallant, and I stupidly move closer so that we level in the same row.
He chuckles again; I bite my bottom lip in similar fashion.
"Okay then tell me, why are you always awake at night?" I ask him, my desire to know him bigger than before. "The truth is, I've been so curious about this; there is not a single day that I found you asleep in times I couldn’t sleep myself. It makes me wonder why.”
Staring at me with a faint smile, almost sad, Liam takes a deep sigh. "I'm still adjusting to the time zone, I guess," he says calmly. I don't think I'm buying it, and he discerns right away. Hence he explains, "I've been travelling a lot, so now that I've decided to rest a bit I find it difficult to adjust with time and schedules. Sometimes I need to wake up at night to make international calls and things like that."
"Is that so?"
"Yes.” He nods. ‘’Is this worthy enough to have an exchange?"
"I guess." I shrug, my lips stretch into a soft smile.
"You guess?" Liam laughs loudly, and I could pluck a star just to hear his melodious laughter.
"Yeah, maybe I'm going to be generous as well.” I surely wish this moment never end. It's as if I can talk to him the whole evening if I could.
"Okay, tell me," he urges while clutching his abandoned cup of coffee.
Frankly, I think he's not lying; although I feel like it's not the entire truth that he's adjusting to the time zone and other gibberish. Sometimes I look at him, and it's like there's a broken part inside of him that really calls for my curiosity.
I should probably stop playing the psychic.
"My reason is simple," I start with a melancholic sigh, my eyes on the scribbled letters engraved on the mug. ‘HOME’ is what’s written in bold red. "I can't get a good sleep at night . . . I just can't, and it's been that way for so long. I'm used to it, I think. Sometimes it gets severe that I have to resolve into sleeping pills, but otherwise it's a part of my life and I've come to terms with it." I lift my eyes up at him.
Liam looks at me blankly with his luminous eyes. As always, I can't tell what he's thinking at all. But to my surprise he only tells me, "I understand."
"You do?" My eyes widen, my voice husky.
"Yes, I do." Liam smiles tenderly, and without another word he drinks his coffee.
Damn, this man! It's as if he understands me more than he should, and I strangely don't mind at all. I take a deep breath as Liam’s gaze heads forward, facing the window in front of us.
"Don't you think drinking coffee is a bad idea, though?" I ask after a pause of easy silence. I only want to keep hearing his voice.
"I know it is," Liam replies coolly, "but I can't help it." He glances at me, and we both chuckle.
We stay wordless, watching nothing but the darkness in the backyard through the window. It's so peaceful.
"Have you spoken to your mother?" I break the silence once again, glancing up at Liam.
"I did, a while ago," he answers. "She sends her regards."
"I really miss her. When is she coming back?"
"In two days, I suppose."
"I see," I mutter casually, followed by another sip of my coffee. "And . . . Malik? Will he be back soon?" I think I’m missing him already.
Liam's eyes darken slightly at the question. Wait, did I say something wrong? I blink, unsure of his sudden shift of demeanor.
"I don't know," regardless, Liam answers crisply, and I squint my eyes. "Didn't he tell you about that?" he asks without looking at me, which is quite a drastic turn. I even detect sarcasm in his tone of voice. Oh boy.
"No, he didn't," I reply carefully.
Singing, Liam finally looks at me. "I thought you two became closer enough to tell each other such details, was I wrong?"
Why does he sound like my husband accusing me of adultery?
"Yes, and no, at least we haven't reached that part yet," I say. "Does it bother you?
Dang it! I’m really searching for trouble.
"You should go back to your room, it's getting late," Liam tells me casually, ignoring my query.
I hate when he does this.
"What? But I'm not finished with my coffee yet and—‘’
"Then do it when you're done. Goodnight, Ms. Jones," he practically snaps at me before putting his mug in the sink. He grabs his laptop, and leaves without eyeing back.
What the heck! I can't believe he's so childish. Or could it be that he's jealous of his best friend? An apprehension makes me frantic . . . delirious even, of the possible reason behind his reaction.
"Are you jealous?" I shout enough for him to hear, and he halts by the door.
What have I done?
Swallowing hard, I watch Liam taking his steps back gaily, and finally stand before me. Oh God! The masquerade on his face refuses letting on whatever's on his mind, and I’m dying to hear something . . . anything.
"Ms. Jones, I swear you're something else." Liam smiles, and then laughs as though there's something funny in my face.
"Why are you laughing," I breathe. My grip is tight around the mug, prelibation filled in my eyes.
"You're clumsy," Liam says while getting even closer.
"Clumsy? How—‘’ I pause when he leans to my face, making my breath slow its pace as he holds my face.
What is he doing?
"No, you're like a baby," he says, his thumb wiping the corner of my mouth, and my eyes are on his lips that are so near mine. "You've got cream on your lips; only kids do this." His lips curl into a gentle smile.
Oh! "I . . . I didn't notice," I say softly, my blood thrumming vehemently at the sudden shift of my body temperature. Am I getting hot?
"And yet you can notice that I'm jealous?" Liam mocks . . . both his eyes and voice do.
"Well, you--you just lashed at me without any reason.’’ I can feel the quiver of my lips, trembling in a strange design.
"I did?" Liam utters, faking the sleazy surprise on his face. It's so beautiful when he acts comic. His face hardens all of sudden as he adds, "Yes, I am jealous. It makes me mad when you smile too bright at another man."
Oh God, I need an urgent help! Somebody please call 911
"Huh?" I gulp, wide-eyed, and he laughs delightedly.
What the heck?
"Is that what you wanted to hear, Ms. Jones?" His is voice is beguiling, much to my dismay.
Damn it! Was he not serious? "No, I—“
"Make sure you sleep early, you look tired," Liam interrupts, sounding genuinely worried. I stay stupefied, dumbstruck. "Goodnight.” Smiling with triumph over my disappointment, he breezes through the door, leaving me all puzzled.
"What—‘’ I watch after him with a baffled look. "What did he just say?" I burst into a ridiculous laugher, feeling my cheeks all hot and burning.
Is he playing with me? Testing my crazed feelings? Why is he doing this? I huff, completely defeated. Why is it exciting, though, despite the odds? I laugh again, stupidly.
However, when Dr. Snape's last words repeat in my head I quickly wipe off my laughter.
What is it that you're feeling for him, Kira?
"I don't know, and I don't care!" I blurt out, a sudden panic engulfing me. Why should I beat myself up over this, huh? No, I'd rather go in my room and sleep.
It's exactly what I do after finishing the coffee.
The annoying vibration manages to wake me up some time later. It’s my damn phone. In comprehension that it's still dark, I grab it from the bedside table without a bother to move myself from the warm covers.
Calling at night should be illegal! I growl inside as I struggle to keep myself awake. My eyes squint at the light beaming on the screen. Ugh! I lazily pick up the call from whomever.
"Hello?" My face wrinkle at this act of utter disturbance.
"Good morning, little professor,” a male voice utters merrily.
Wait! I know this voice. I sit up immediately.
"Um . . ." My eyes flash open as peek at the screen; it's a foreign number and I can bet a hundred bucks that it's Malik.
"Hey, Kira, are you there?" he asks, and confirm my guess.
"Malik? How did you—’’ I try to ask him but I'm too flabbergasted to even finish my question.
"Get your number?" Malik finishes for me. "Hey, Professor, have you forgotten that you personally gave it to me?" He is laughing.
Did I? I consult my memory box.
"When? I don't remember doing such a thing, Malik!" I shift into a more comfortable posture, my back onto the pair of pillows.
He's obviously playing tricks with my memory, which thus far has been serving me fairly well.
"At the wedding. You don't remember?" he asks, and I try my best to recall. "Professor, maybe you should stop drinking for good now."
"No?’’ Honestly I don't remember, and it's quite rare for me to black out my memory, if never at all.
"Oh, Professor!" Malik laughs even more, and I nearly roll my eyes.
"Alright, let's say I did. Now what do you want, Malik? I guess you understand what time it is, and how important sleeping is, at least for a normal human." I rub my eyes, yawning.
"Well, yeah, and forgive me for this little disturbance," Malik says softly. "I can't reach Liam and I'd very much appreciate if you'd tell him to immediately check his emails, if possible," he urges and for a moment I grasp a hint of seriousness in the tone of his voice.
"Who, me?" I feel alarmed.
"Yes, Professor. You're the only one who can help."
"Right now?"
"Yes, right now," he says. "Can you do it, please? It's very important. He usually leaves his phone on, but I wonder what happened today."
What's so important that can't wait till morning?
I sigh heavily and answer, "Okay, let me go and check him." Like seriously, why do I have to meet him in the middle of the night? I just sigh.