The door behind my little brother closed. I let out a sigh, still unsure of having made the right decision.

I knew Amelia and her husband would take good care of Tim. They also had a kid, after all. Antoine was well-behaved like my brother and quiet, unlike him.

Sky and I would travel to my hometown once she was ready. My decision to ask her to go there with me wasn't something I contemplated at first. When it came to Sky, very few things were predictable. With her, I did and said stupid shit and found myself swinging from one emotion to the other.

One minute, I wanted to kill O'Brien and wipe the stupid superstar smile off his face, and another, I was telling my buddy that Sky and I were nothing.

I wish she could unhear those words. Not because I was suddenly free of my deep-seated commitment issues and not because I was going to make her my girlfriend, but because she felt hurt. Knowing what I knew about the asshole she'd dated, I didn't want to be yet another guy who wronged her.

Seeing the vulnerable hunch in her shoulders when we left the restaurant that night felt awful. I wanted to tell her that it wasn't her; it was me and the way my life was. I said those things because I didn't want Aiden to start his everybody needs somebody speech.

The guy was right, but his life wasn't mine. His girl saved him in more ways than anyone could imagine. They had a whole fucking lot of history and feelings so strong Aiden would kill for them. I knew he would understand if I told him the truth — the entire truth, but I wasn't there yet.

If I learned anything from the years in which I had nobody to lean on, it was that not all people were hardwired to deal with crap. Not everyone could. Some looked the other way, and pretended the issue didn't exist. Some got tired of it. Some used drugs or alcohol to forget the problem was there.

Then, there were people like me, who didn't have a choice other than doing the right thing. The sad truth was, doing the right thing often meant you had to do it alone.

Yet, I felt guilty, hence my decision to ask Sky to travel to my hometown with me. I didn't want her to stay alone in the apartment on her autumn break. New to the city, she didn't have time to make many new friends apart from Ellie.

The forecast promised good weather for once, and there were some beautiful places I wanted Sky to see. Taking advantage of my days off at work to breathe some fresh air and relax wasn't a bad idea. We worked our asses off with the business center project. I wanted to have some fun, and for some reason, Sky was the person I wanted to have it with.

"I'm ready." Sky lingered in the doorway, gripping the straps of her girly travel bag. She drew the eye. Even now, when she was dressed in skinny jeans and a V-neck tee, I couldn't look away.

Partly it was because of the thin cotton of her shirt, snug around the fullness of her breasts. They weren't big, but I knew they would fit in my hands.

Thank God I decided to wear jeans myself. I deserved a pat on the back for good thinking.

"I'm ready, too," I said.

So ready to do all the things I shouldn't be doing with you.

Of course, I didn't say that. I took my bag and shoved my feet in my sneakers before we made our way out.

I did chance another glance at Sky's round bum. Because yeah, that was what friends did.

"How long is the journey?" asked Sky, making herself comfortable in the passenger seat.

"A couple of hours; it depends on the traffic. Have you got your camera?"

"Yeah." She grinned.

Seeing her smile was good. I would hate it if she were still upset. Maybe she did see me as her friend, after all. If that was the case, I would make sure to be the best friend I could be.

Or not. Not when she moved her hair away, exposing the graceful arch of her neck and the most beautiful, creamy skin. It would be such a huge contrast with the ink on mine. Our bodies would look beautiful together.

Hers, all soft and untouched, and mine, hard and tattooed. Only a small part of it was, but that would be enough to highlight the difference.

"Liam." Sky's voice made me glance over at her.

"Yeah?"

"I asked where we would stay."

Anywhere I could be alone with you, sweetheart.

Blushing like an idiot, I tilted my head down and pretended to look for something as I turned the key in the ignition. Was the air around us lit with tension, or was I making it all up in my head because I couldn't grapple with so much friendliness?

"There are hotels. The place is touristic. I think we won't have a problem finding a room. It's not peak season, after all," I said.

"Maybe we should've booked something in advance."

"Yeah." I cleared my throat.

I would have if I weren't a walking zombie because of all those dreams about the girl next to me that made me sit in the kitchen drinking water and take cold showers late at night. But yeah, friends. Fuck my life.

Sky giggled. "You're weird today. Did you sleep badly, or something?"

"Or something," I said. "If you wanna listen to some music, you can use my playlists on my phone. It's connected to the car." I pointed to the device and watched as Sky took it, immediately pulling up the music app.

Her eyes lit up like the eyes of a kid who got a Christmas gift. "The moody guy who doesn't like Jimmy O'Brien has his songs in here? I'm speechless," she said, grinning at me.

I shrugged, changing lanes. "Aiden wrote the lyrics. I like O'Brien's songs. He might be over-the-top, but the dude is talented."

"Did it take you a lot of courage to admit that?" Sky asked, biting her lip.

"No, sweetheart." I laughed. "I might be a moody ass, but I can recognize good music. If you want to play it, go ahead. I won't get jealous."

Sky arched her brow. "Jealous? Why would you be?"

"I meant offended," I quickly corrected myself. "If not, there are tons of other good songs there."

Sky settled on some French rap I listened to when I worked out. I had to bite back a grin when she tried to sing along. It was unusual to hear her do that.

I realized that for once, she seemed to be enjoying herself. Lately, there was a lingering air of sadness around her, as if something troubled her, and she didn't know how to deal with it. Seeing her happy made me happy, as well.

"You're quite a romantic, Liam Dupont." She gave me a side-eye when a rock ballad started to play.

"I am sometimes." I smiled. "That one was on my dad's CD. It's old. My parents used to dance to it."

"I'm sorry," Sky said, her voice laced with pity. "I can change it if it reminds you of them."

"Nah, don't. They are one of the reasons why we're going where we're going, anyway."

"Oh."

"It's been a long time since I last visited their graves," I explained. "The cemetery has employees who take care of the graves, but it's not the same. I'm their son, and as it was the anniversary of my mom's death a bit over a week ago—"

Shit. I didn't want Sky to know that. I didn't want her to be concerned.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, her voice subdued.

"I'm not used to telling people that, sweetheart. At the end of the day, nobody cares. Everyone has issues and problems."

"I do care," said Sky. "We're friends, after all."

Friends.

I was the one who wanted it, the one who all but asked the stunning girl next to me to friend-zone me, and yet when she said the word, I didn't like it.

I focused on the road under Sky's scrutiny. The guys at the gym always made fun of me, saying that I was unflappable, and they couldn't imagine anything that could change that.

The Liam I turned into was anything but. This new guy had a temper and got jealous, grilled the girl about the dick flicks she watched and danced again after vowing he wouldn't do it anymore.

The new Liam felt more alive than the old one ever did.

Sky's eyes glowed at me as she chose another song. This time, it was the song we danced to at home, and she started to blush when the first guitar chords reverberated in the interior of the car, and she realized what tune it was.

Sky rushed to change the song, and I hated how much it bothered me. I wished she hadn't done it.

I regretted many things I did, but holding her as we danced that night wasn't one of them.

***

The journey was shorter than I'd remembered. I was driving into my hometown in no time.

Sky's blue eyes focused on the view from the car window. The town was beautiful, had a castle and some parks, although the best thing was its proximity to the sea and Mirror Lake.

I was planning on taking Sky there the following day. She would take some pictures, and I would stare at her jeans-clad ass while she did so. All in all, it was a win-win.

I was losing it. Maybe calling Aiden to ask if he lusted after his girl this way wouldn't be such a bad idea.

Taking a deep breath, I parked the car downtown. Sky had already taken the camera out of its bag and started to snap photos as soon as she left the vehicle.

"Hotel first, roomie." I nodded toward one of them that I knew was good. "It's on me," I added, seeing Sky look at the four stars next to the hotel name.

The glass door slid open, and we made our way in.

I planned to get two rooms. The smiling receptionist behind the desk informed me that they only had double rooms left. No separate beds, either.

"Is it okay with you?" I asked Sky. "If not—"

"It's okay, Liam." She smiled. "Take that one."

Handing the guy my credit card, I waited for him to process my info and give me the key.

Once it was done, we headed to the elevator and ascended to our floor.

"It's nice." Sky said, glancing around the spacious room.

The bed was huge, and the decor tasteful. The room didn't face the busy street, meaning we could get some much-needed good sleep.

The bathroom had a huge tub and, by the way Sky's eyes lit up, I knew she was planning to use it.

"What now?" she asked me once we'd left our bags in the room. "It's still early."

"We'll go to the cemetery first. You can wait for me in the car if you want, and then I will show you around the town. We can also go out at night. I know a couple of places where we can go dancing if you feel like doing it."

I wasn't an idiot. This getaway, this trip, just the two of us, visiting the place where I used to live, wasn't what friends did, at least it wasn't to me. Yet, I went on lying to myself even though a single glance at that bed in the middle of the room was enough for me to imagine things.

"I'd love to go out," said Sky. "I'm curious to see where you grew up."

"Okay."

On instinct, I took her hand in mine as we left our hotel room.

Sky didn't object.

So...thoughts? The song is so Liam I couldn't help it.