The Boyfriend Pt. 22

XXII: I Trust Him With Everything

Liam

Liam blinked when his phone started buzzing and Blake's face appeared on the screen. He'd been expecting a call from her today, but not until later.

He was out with Kekoa at the moment. They had just finished a hike that had left both of them sweating, hearts pounding, as the hike had been mostly vertical. Liam didn't have a problem with heights, but he did have a problem with slipping on loose rocks when it was a long way down.

They'd decided to stop at the Habit about five minutes from their hike before heading home, so Liam would actually be able to hear Blake, since the service where they'd hiked had been non-existent.

Liam looked to Kekoa, "You mind ordering? I'll cover next time?"

Kekoa raised an eyebrow, looking at the phone, "Blake?"

"Yeah."

Liam's brother smiled, "Sure. The usual?"

Liam shrugged, "Yeah. Or you can surprise me. Not too much, though."

Kekoa grinned, then nodded toward the door, "Go talk to your girlfriend. And say 'hi' for me."

"I will."

Liam answered the call just as he stepped out of the noisy restaurant and walked over to a quiet spot between it and the neighboring place. The cool air felt good on his skin, since he was still pretty warm from the hike.

"Hey," Liam said, smiling, "I'm glad you called when I actually have service."

"Oh, right, you were hiking with Kekoa today. Sorry, I hope I'm not interrupting."

Liam blinked, then frowned, "You're not. He's getting food."

He hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should just leave it.

That waver in her voice, though...

"Are you alright?" he asked, slowly.

Blake was silent for a moment, then sighed. The waver wasn't as subtle this time.

"Shit. Am I really that transparent even over the phone?"

Liam's heart picked up a bit.

"I just know you. What happened, Blake?"

She sighed again, "That's part of the issue. Nothing really happened, and I still feel awful."

Liam let out a slow, quiet breath. He didn't like that Blake was feeling this way, but was glad she wasn't in trouble or hurt or anything.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not...I mean--I do, but I don't really know where to start. I ran into my stupid ex and it shook me up a bit. I think I'll be fine, but there's just a lot of baggage there I apparently wasn't ready to deal with at all."

Liam heard her take a deep breath, and when she spoke, Liam knew there was at least a half-smile on her face.

"I just needed to hear your voice. I don't want to keep you from Kekoa. Especially since I kind of owe him and your family for stealing you over Thanksgiving."

Liam smiled at that, "Trust me, I'll have had way too much of them by the time I see you again."

He bit his lip for a moment, and turned back toward the restaurant in time to catch Kekoa's questioning gaze through the glass windows. Liam nodded, then tried to choose his words carefully.

She's never mentioned her ex before.

As curious as he was about what could shake Blake up about just running into them, he figured that was probably part of why Blake didn't talk about him. Or her.

"Are you sure you'll be alright? I can talk more if you need."

"You're the sweetest, Liam. I miss you, but go hang out with Kekoa. I'll talk to you later today, okay?"

Liam hesitated, then forced a smile, "Okay. I miss you, too. Blake. Oh, and Kekoa says 'hi'."

That managed to get a little laugh out of her, which made Liam relax, a smile tugging at his mouth.

"Tell him I say 'hi', too."

"I will. Bye."

"Bye."

Liam gazed at the phone for a moment after he hung up, taking a few deep breaths.

Blake worried him sometimes. There were so many things she thought she needed to handle herself, so she didn't even open up about them.

I'd be a hypocrite if I called her on that, though, considering how little I've told her.

He sighed, walking back into the restaurant toward the table Kekoa had grabbed.

That made Liam smile.

I'm not as bad as I used to be, though.

He just didn't want Blake to pity him or treat him differently.

Maybe she feels the same way?

If that was the case, it would probably be best not to talk about things like that until after break. Talking about serious things over the phone never seemed to go well in his experience. Especially when he already overthought things as it was.

"Hey," Kekoa said as Liam sat down across from him, "You alright?"

Liam took a deep breath, and met his brother's gaze.

This is Kekoa. I trust him with everything.

Liam was pretty sure there wasn't another person on the planet that knew him better.

He nodded, "Blake ran into her ex, which shook her up a little bit. She's fine, apparently, didn't want to talk about it just yet, but..."

He trailed off with a sigh, "She said she just needed to hear my voice."

Kekoa snorted "That's disgustingly adorable."

Liam shrugged, cheeks warming, "Yeah, well. She brings that out in me."

Kekoa laughed, then sobered after looking at Liam again, "So, you said she's fine, but you don't seem so fine. What's up?"

Liam thought for a moment, then swallowed the lump in his throat, "You mind if we go sit in the car and eat once the food comes?"

A/N: What do you think Liam hasn't told Blake?