Free Unplugged by Lisa Swallow Page B

’m distracted by his proximity, the warmth and scent of him intensifies the dizzy memory from when he held and kissed me. I stare at his mouth. Liam notices and another look passes between us, the kind holding the promise of a kiss. Does he remember the last time we came here all those years ago?
    Louise begins the evening positioned between us, steering conversations toward his Blue Phoenix life. Liam gives short answers; I get he’s immersing himself in this life instead, and I’m irritated by her. Following her reaction in the kitchen the other day, I suspect this is Louise trying to stop me making a mistake. Liam, as her big brother, makes his displeasure clear with a couple of snide comments and in the end, Lou huffs and moves to sit with her boyfriend, Connor.
    “ Little sisters...” he mutters and drinks. I don’t have any brothers or sisters so I can’t sympathise.
    “ I’m sure you miss her when you’re away.”
    “ Yeah, sometimes. It would be nice to be able to get home more. I wish I could hang around here longer than a week.”
    Home. St Davids isn’t his home any more than it is mine now. “So you’re not looking forward to touring again after Christmas?”
    Liam screws his face up then places his hand on the table next to mine, the edge of our fingers touch but not enough for anyone to notice the intimacy of his gesture. “Can we not talk about that? I’m here to have my Welsh Christmas.”
    “ Okay. Sorry.”
    I pick my glass up and take a long drink. We lapse into silence and my glass empties due to nervous drinking.
    “Hey, Liam, where’s your hot girlfriend?” calls Lee from across the table.
    Instantly, I drag my hand away and scrunch my fingers around my jumper. L iam says in a neutral tone, “La-la land.”
    “ What?”
    “ LA, stupid,” says Louise and pushes Lee. “Though I reckon she’s in la-la land, too.”
    “ Don’t you like her, Louise?” Liam says icily. “Why don’t you just say?”
    “ I told you I don’t.” Louise’s face is flushed and she’d had a couple of glasses of wine before we left. Alcohol and sibling squabbles. Great. “I don’t trust her.”
    Liam drains his glass. “Anyone want another?”
    “ Cerys said you’d broken off the engagement,” continues Louise. “Is that true? Or were you just saying that to get what you want?”
    Liam ’s hand tightens around his empty glass. “Did you?” he asks me in a low voice.
    “ I didn’t realise. Sorry.”
    “ Great,” he mutters. “Now the whole world will know.”
    The friends are chatting, only Louise and Lee are paying attention to the conversation. “Sorry,” I repeat.
    Liam stands. “Same again?”
    I nod and my stomach knots at his shift in attitude, I ’ve pissed him off. I didn’t realise he’d confided in me and isn’t it his sister’s fault for opening her big mouth too?
    When he returns, he sits a little further from me , and a prickly heat of disappointment travels across my back. Why did I expect attention from this man? The knowledge in his eyes that things could go further than stolen kisses was imagined. He’s just had a kick back to reality, and so have I.
    We sit quietly for a while as the group around us gets louder. The more awkward this gets, the quicker my glass empties. I should’ve stayed at what counts as my home currently.
    “ I should’ve stayed at home,” remarks Liam.
    I look up. “I was thinking the same thing.”
    “ Oh? Didn’t you want me here?”
    “ No, I meant me. I don’t fit here.”
    Liam laughs. “Neither do I. I never did before, and I still don’t now.”
    “ What do you think you’d have done if Blue Phoenix hadn’t got so successful? I can’t imagine you sticking around here.”
    “ Dunno. Maybe been a mechanic like Dad.”
    “ I could picture that,” I say.
    “ What? Scruffy and covered in oil?”
    “ You always were scruffy and in need of a shower.”
    “ Cheeky! I was a teenage boy. Plus I had my up and coming rock