Left With Liam

Chapter 40

Mel

I've been stressing about last night since I woke up. My talk with Taylor helped slightly, but now I have new questions circling in my muddled brain. I started wondering if I was being too pushy with Liam. Maybe he's not ready to go there with me yet.

Crap!

Did I completely mess things up? Does he think I'm about to freak out again?

Ever since my visit to the cemetery, I've felt better than ever. I haven't had any more cryptic dreams or guilty thoughts. That little voice in my head seems to have shut up for good. I finally feel like that chapter of my life is closed.

Sure, I look back on it fondly, but I'm ready to keep moving forward. I'm ready to create new memories and make new plans for my life. I need to be clear about that with Liam.

I don't want him to treat me like I'm some fragile, little thing like one wrong move will break me. I'm not nearly as delicate and breakable as he thinks. Not anymore.

My mind starts drifting, dreaming of just what Liam can do with those big, strong hands of his- what he might do with them once he realizes how strong I've become. I start to imagine all the places he'd put those hands. How firmly but gently he'd grip me. How he'd tease me at first, then relent and give me exactly what I've been craving.

I feel my eyes glaze over as my thoughts run wild. Then, I hear a throat clear to my right. Heat burns through my cheeks as I turn to see Taylor eyeing me.

Shit, she knows exactly where my mind was. I can see it in her eyes and how she's holding back her smile.

She brings her eyes level with mine. "Uh, Mel. As much as I hate to interrupt your, uh, day-dreaming. Don't you have a private lesson today?"

Oh, fuck! I almost forgot about that.

It's like a bucket of cold water has been thrown on me. The call of reality instantly cools my devious thoughts. I have to get to work. "Shit, shit, shit. What time is it?"

"It's a quarter til one," Tay tells me, looking at the time on her phone.

Okay, good. I still have plenty of time. Maybe this is the distraction I need. It'll force me to think of something other than Liam's hands roaming over my dips and curves.

I lick my lips as the visual appears in my head again.

The sound of throat-clearing grabs my attention again. Shit!

"Uh, Mel? Do you need a cold shower before you head to the rink?" Tay asks as a smile tugs at her lips.

I shoot her a half-hearted glare. "No! I'll be fine."

"I just need to think of anything but Liam for the next several hours," I mumble to myself as I head to my room to change.

~

That was just the distraction I needed- three hours focusing my energy on something I could do with my eyes closed. Getting out on the ice, letting my legs float freely across the surface- was just the thing I needed to ease the tension I had held since last night.

I don't typically offer private lessons like this, but I couldn't pass it up when my client offered more than double my usual rate for an extra class. I'm silently thanking myself for accepting the job as I head back home. Those few hours out on the ice, doing what I do best, helped clear my head.