The Rebound Agreement ✔

five

Liam's left hand rests on the wheel as I sit next to him in his dumpy pickup truck. I was beginning to grow a hatred for its worn-out seats, loud engine, and fuzzy radio, but at the same time, it was somehow endearing to know that Liam was so attached to something as unworthy of his love as this piece of garbage.

He was one of those people who listened to the top forty radio station, and every time he turned the radio up, my annoyance with his music taste grew. Sadly, when I bugged Liam about his choice of music, he offered to change it to a country music station, which I hastily declined. He claimed he didn't know what stations where classical music, and unfortunately, since I always listened to CDs, I didn't either.

"So where are we going?" I finally asked. I couldn't stand being in the dark any longer.

"I was waiting for you to ask," he informs me as he glances at over. "Promise me you won't be too freaked out?" His right hand lifts from the steering wheel to run through his hair.

"Promise?" I respond weakly, suddenly wary of wherever he was taking me.

"So I kind of got you roped into coming to dinner with me with some of my friends from old university."

"What do you mean?" The truck bumped as we passed over sealed cracks on the road, jostling me frequently from one uncomfortable position to another.

"My friend Jaxon called me up for the first time in months and wanted to get together. We haven't talked in months, and I told him I was busy with my girlfriend as an excuse to not go." Liam flips on his blinker as he slows down for the approaching stop sign. "He wouldn't let me make up any excuses and told me to bring you with so then I could still be with my girlfriend."

I wait for him to continue, sensing there's more to the story than he's letting on.

He sighs. "Jax is the guy that Amber cheated on me with," he explains quietly. "And it wasn't necessarily a one time thing."

"Is that why you haven't talked to him in months?" I asked, curious. Liam nods stiffly.

"Is Amber going to be there?"

"Yes," he shortly replies without taking his eyes off the road.

I mull over this in my head for a few moments as some pop song quietly fills the silence between us.

"You could have warned me that you were taking me to dinner with your ex and your past best friend," I say quietly.

I wasn't sure how to feel about Liam not telling me. I suppose I should be angry, but mostly I was just disappointed that he didn't trust me enough to let me know.

Liam glances from the road to my face, his eyebrows furrowed as he drags a hand through his brunette hair before returning to the wheel. I was starting to notice that this particular habit of his showed up frequently when he was nervous or uneasy. I study Liam as he turns back to the road. In contrast to his usual easy expression, his face displays some of the vulnerability he must be feeling, and I instantly feel guilty for making him feel bad.

"You never asked," he points out, the tone of his voice almost making it sound like a question.

But if I was honest with myself, he was right. I didn't ever ask him where he was taking me for this so called 'date'. In my head, it had been as if we were in a contest to see if I would cave in and beg him to tell me what he was planning or patiently wait in the dark for once. Of course, it had backfired on me.

Liam pulls into the parking lot of a pizzeria before shutting off the engine and turning to face me. "Katie?" I can feel him studying me, but don't look over. Suddenly I feel two calloused hands grabbing my own and tugging me so I had to look at him.