The Boyfriend

XXXV: She Makes You Happy

Liam

Once they'd finished shopping, and Liam had

far

more gifts for Blake than he'd planned on buying, all safely in the trunk of his car, Liam sat with his friends at one of the mall's restaurants, picking at his fries. It was a nice day out--southern California winters only sometimes dipped below fifty degrees before it grew dark--and they'd chosen to sit outside.

He'd had fun with Tasha, and Kiki, and the three of them had decided to see a movie once they were done. Spending time with them was fun, but...

I miss Blake.

He sighed, biting off the end of another fry, then wincing as the spice hit him--he'd apparently missed a super-concentrated patch of the seasoning on that one.

Hanging out with Tasha made him realize how he hadn't really been able to just hang out and do friend things or even normal-couple things with Blake as much as he would have liked. They both usually had classes, camshows for Blake and personal work for him, homework, and then what little time they had to actually be together, they either spent talking, eating, playing videogames, and when they could find the privacy--or semi-privacy, lately--for it, making out or fooling around. And with whatever had happened with her ex--

Liam blinked, starting as something hit his face, dropping down onto his lap.

He looked down, then frowned, picking up the French Fry and looking at it, then to Kiki and Tasha.

Both were leaning toward him over the table, wearing matching smirks.

"That's super creepy," Liam said before popping the fry into his mouth, "And did you really throw a

fry

at me?"

Kiki shrugged, then leaned back in her chair, folding muscular arms over her chest, "You were super spaced out. We'd been staring at you and making faces for a good minute or two before deciding to throw something."

"I wanted to dip it in ketchup first," Tasha said, flashing her teeth at him.

Liam rolled his eyes, eating a few more fries, then washing them down, a little annoyed they still weren't old enough to order any cocktails. All the ones on the menu had looked good, and he'd taken a picture for some ideas to try himself.

"Seriously," Tasha said, straightening, eyes sparkling as she gazed at him, "What's going on in that wierdo brain of yours?"

Liam thought for a moment, ignoring Tasha's comment, then shook his head and waved it away, "Blake stuff. I don't want to bother you guys with that, especially since we just spent all that time shopping for stuff for her. I don't want to act like a whiny teenager."

Tasha and Kiki frowned at each other, then at him.

"Well, now you

have

to tell us," Tasha said, leaning forward again.

"Yeah," Kiki said, "Plus the shopping was fun."

"Apologizing to women for shopping with them is definitely something you should

not

get in the habit of," Tasha added, grinning, "If you're doing that, you definitely need to tell us what's going on with Blake. You obviously have no idea what you're doing."

Liam glared at Tasha, then tossed a fry her way.

She yelped and ducked while Kiki just moved a bit to the side.

Liam laughed, "Is that what you were expecting to get out of me?"

Tasha glared at him, sticking her lower lip out in a pout, "No. I care about my clothes more than you do. And if you do that again, I'll convince Blake to do

very

evil things to you."

Liam stuck his tongue out at her.

"Oh, stop," Kiki said, flicking Tasha's arm. She looked at Liam, "Come on, what's going on with Blake? So far, we like her, so we want to help you with anything that's going on with her."

"And she makes you happy," Tasha added, "Happier than I've seen you in a while. We've got a while till the movie, so tell us what's going on."

Liam sighed, "Okay."

He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair.

"It's kind of about Blake," he said, "But mostly about her ex."

The girls' eyes went wide. They gazed at him for a moment, then each other, then back to him.

"Does she still have feelings for him or something?" Kiki asked.

Tasha's lips grew to a thin like, btu she stayed silent. Liam wanted to reach over and take her hand, but knew that might not be the right move. Tasha didn't have a problem with being comforted or vulnerable--not with him, at least--but anything that could be considered pity pissed her off.

Liam shook his head, "I don't think so. She ran into him, though, and sounded really...not okay when she called me. She said that nothing really even happened, but that there's some baggage she didn't realize was still there and that she was really shaken up over it."

Tasha's eyes widened, and Kiki looked at him with outright concern.

"Do you think he's just a dick?" Tasha asked, voice hard, "Or that he hurt her when they were together?"

Liam had thought about that possibility a few times, and had to take a deep breath, clenching and unclenching his fists, before he could push down that anger.

"I'd like to think she would have told me about that if it happened," Liam said, "But..."

He sighed, "I know that that can be a lot, so I didn't ask. If she has anything to tell me, I'll let her do it when she's ready, and just make sure she knows she can trust me with that."

Tasha frowned, and the fire behind her sparkling eyes, actually frightened Liam a little, but she nodded.

Kiki reached under the table and squeezed his hand, which helped him relax a bit, "You know that you can't try to find and beat the shit out of the guy if you're ever visiting her, right?"

Liam clenched his jaw, then nodded, squeezing her hand back, "Yeah. Yeah, I know."

"What?"

Liam glanced at Tasha, and blinked, leaning back. She looked even angrier than before.

"Why the fuck not?" she demanded, glaring between the two of them.

Liam glanced at Kiki, then looked at Tasha.

"Because then he gets to be the victim," they both said.

Tasha's lips parted, and as she looked between them, Liam could see the gears in her head turning and stopping and discombobulating the same way his had the first time someone had made that point to him and he'd tried to process it.

Her mouth opened wider and wider, and her eyes burned hotter, until Liam saw it finally click, and she sat back in her chair, folding her arms beneath her chest, "Fuck!"

Liam snorted, then bit his lip and covered his mouth when Tasha glared at him, "Something funny?"

Hesitating a moment, cheeks hot, Liam shrugged, then shot her his best grin, "A little. That's just about the same way I reacted when someone made that point to me."

Tasha studied him for a moment, then took a deep breath and let it out, relaxing about three percent. Liam smiled inwardly at his friend. He'd never asked, but considering her reaction just now, he was fairly confident Tasha had never been assaulted. He knew she'd had to deal with harassment and people just being judge-y assholes, which was bad enough in its own right, but was glad his friend had never been violated that way.

"Does cutting someone's balls off count as 'beating the shit out of them'?"

Kiki barked a laugh, throwing her head back, and Liam chuckled at the completely serious expression still on Tasha's face.

"Probably falls in the same category, unfortunately," Kiki said.

Taking a deep breath, Tasha rolled her eyes, "Fine. What if he was just a dick to her?

Then

can we cut his balls off?"

Tasha's lips quirked up in a smile, and Liam grinned at his friend.

"Is that the only thing bothering you?" Kiki asked, leaning over and taking his hand again.

Liam shrugged, "I'm just not entirely sure how to deal with it other than showing her she can trust me. I want to help make it better, but..."

He trailed off with a sigh, and Tasha took his hand this time.

"There are some things you can't make better for someone else," Tasha said, "It sucks."

Liam nodded, her words echoing his own thoughts. And his therapist's words.

"I also still feel like I have to hold back on certain things with her."

Tasha frowned, "Didn't we go over that? With some alcohol and us and Sara embarrassing the shit out of you? I can do that again if it didn't sink in properly last time, maybe around all your friends on New Year's Eve?"

Liam had to take a second to process that, and shuddered as his brain tried and failed to process just how embarrassing that would be.

"Yeah, no thank you."

Tasha and Kiki laughed.

"Aw, but it would be fun," the blonde said.

Liam rolled his eyes.

"Just remember what we talked about," Tasha said, squeezing his hand, "You'll be fine."

Liam sighed, "That was before I got that call about how she's dealing with her ex, though. Before--"

"That doesn't change anything," Kiki said, squeezing his hand as she cut him off, "Blake told you she

wants

you to be a bit more...'hands on' with her right?"

Liam nodded, ignoring Tasha's snort.

Kiki shrugged, "Then the stuff with her ex doesn't matter--not in relation to this, at least--just make sure you're keyed into her reactions, and if you're uncertain, just ask if she's okay with it, and she can

tell

you that she is."

"Exactly," Tasha said, "Or you can establish a safe word to make it seem less hesitant when you push her up against a wall or smack her ass. 'Green?' 'Green.' All good."

Tasha's eyes widened then, and she grinned, "Ooo, or grab her wrists together and hold them over her head. Or bite her ass. Or fool around and tease her discreetly in public."

Cheeks hot and pants

quite

uncomfortable, Liam glanced at Kiki, whose cheeks were as bright as his probably were, eyes wide, then looked to Tasha raising an eyebrow.

"Tash? You suddenly fantasizing about Blake for some reason? Or..."

Tasha blinked, frowning, then looked between the two of them and bit her lip, cheeks turning red.

"Oh, fuck. Sorry."

She shot them each a sheepish grin, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, "How much longer is break?"

"Too long in that sense," Kiki said.

Liam nodded, and Tasha sighed, "Fuck, I feel like I haven't gotten laid in a year."

Liam laughed, then realized what Kiki had said. And her tone.

He looked at Tasha, whose expression said she'd had the same realization, then both of them turned their attention on Kiki, who sat with arms folded over her chest, frowning down at the table.

After about half-a-minute of them staring at her, Kiki blinked, then looked up and glanced between the two of them, frowning.

"What?"

Liam glanced over at Tasha just long enough to see her smirk.

"I know why Liam and I are annoyed that we have over two more weeks till we're back at school," Tasha said, leaning toward Kiki, "But what's got

you

so frustrated about that?"

Kiki's eyes widened, cheeks turning red as she glanced between the two of them.

"Uh, isn't it time for the movie now?"

Liam shook his head, leaning in, "We've still got twenty minutes before we need to go and get snacks if we still want any. This time, you get to spill."

Tasha cackled, leaning in close as she smirked at Kiki.

A/N: What do you think about Liam's worries? And what do you think is going on with Kiki? (Don't worry, you get to find out at some point) Don't forget to check out my profile if you want to read Tasha's Story.