Her name tag read Nola, a name I hadn’t heard before, and living here, you hear every name under the sun, which makes me believe she’s definitely not from here though and I like that she’s not trying to fit in. I half expected her to turn up to her shift with a partially shaved head or pink hair. If I had to guess, I’d say she’s from Georgia or one of the Carolinas with the southern vibe I’m picking up from her. There was a few times through the night when she’d slip up and start to call me sir, only to catch herself with a crooked smile, a tilt of her head, and a sweet giggle that left me wondering how I could get her to laugh.
Throughout the evening, she made sure I had everything I needed without bothering me or being that annoying server who wanted to free up their table. Every so often, I’d catch her looking at me. Sure, she could’ve been looking in my general direction, but I felt her eyes on me, watching me. When I left, I was tempted to leave her my number. The thought was presumptuous and filled me with more doubt. Instead, I left her a hefty tip and second-guessed myself on my way home.
Words like love, first glances, beating heart, joy, and what her hair looks like in the long braid fill my napkin. None of it makes sense. I’ve never been the romantic guy, the one who expresses his feelings through song or even letters. My sisters didn’t come to me for advice on guys, and my friends definitely never asked me for help with their girlfriends, probably because most were trying to date Elle or Peyton. Yet, everything I’ve written tonight is about falling in love. Something I’ve never done.
The knock on my door startles me and my pen smudges against the words. I take it as a sign. I’m thinking outside my normal realm and need to reel it in. Nola’s probably an aspiring actress or musician and getting involved doesn’t benefit either of us. I tuck the napkin under one of my magazines before going to the door.
“Hey, what’re you doing here?”
“I was in the neighborhood,” Liam says as he steps inside. I shut the door behind him and stand there for a moment. His guitar’s in his hand, meaning he carried it up from the parking lot, which doesn’t really bode well with his excuse.
“Uh huh.” I head toward the kitchen. “Beer?” I ask.
“Water.”
Water, right. Rarely does Liam prefer water over beer, so something’s definitely up. I grab a beer for myself though because I’m going to need it. There’s no doubt in my mind that he’s here because of my dad and the stunt I pulled… no, that he pulled earlier today.
“So, what brings you by?” I hand him the bottle of water and resume my seat on my couch. “Dad send you over to try and convince me to join Elle’s band?”
Liam shakes his head as he takes a drink. He finishes half the bottle before setting it down on my coffee table, dangerously close to the magazines hiding the napkin with my inner feelings scrawled all over it. The last thing I want is for him to see my scribbled notes and ask me what’s going on.
“Your dad didn’t say much after you left.”
“Did he even notice? He was pretty wrapped up in Ajay.”
“Is that why you left?” he asks.
I half shake my head and shrug my shoulders. I’m an adult and shouldn’t get jealous, but I am. I don’t know why I never pursued becoming a drummer. I like it, but I like the guitar more.
“Why leave then? Why not join us?”
“There wasn’t any room,” I tell him. One quick look at my uncle tells me he thinks I’m full of it. He’s right. There was room. There isn’t a doubt in my mind that the jam session was set up for my benefit.
“I know what it feels like to be pressured into doing something. My dad…” Liam pauses. “He was relentless in his pursuit to get me to the NFL. I had everything to get there too, but I didn’t want it because it was his dream, his desire. It used to be mine, but at some point, it became too much to handle. The pressure to be perfect exceeded my love for the game.”
“But you love the game,” I point out.
“I do.”
“And now you have Noah immersed in it.”
He nods. “If he quit, I wouldn’t care as long as he was happy. His happiness is all that matters.”
“That’s where you and my father differ.”
Liam leans forward and clasps his hands. “From the day you showed up on his doorstep, you’ve been his priority in life. Everything he’s done was because of you.”
“Then why can’t he accept that I don’t want to be in Elle’s band?”
“Good question. I’m wagering a guess that it has something to do with Elle and the fact that you’re an amazing musician and your dad is trying to get you to branch out. It’s not a bad thing, being in a band, and I think he sees how it saved us all.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
Liam clears his throat. “Meeting your dad changed my life. He gave me a family, something I hadn’t had in a long time. With your dad, came your grandmother and aunt. Two women who cared about me and not what I was bringing to the table. When I left Beaumont and everyone behind, it’s because they had these expectations of me that I didn’t think I could meet, and I was afraid of failure. Afraid they’d leave me if I let them down.”
“I’m not sure what that has to do with me.”
“I suppose nothing. However, I saw you today. I saw the glint in your eyes, your fingers twitching as if you were playing the guitar. I didn’t know you were being blindsided. JD and I would’ve never gone along with a plan like that. We were invited to jam, and we couldn’t pass it up. You know I’d never pass up a chance to play with you.”