XXVI: Steak and the Truth
Blake
A week passed before Blake saw Liam again after her talk with Chloe. Really saw him, at least. She saw him in classes but neither of them talked much during lectures, and Liam actually seemed busy for once to the point where he rushed off after class rather than walking with her to wherever they would split off for the next things on their respective schedules. Though most of his midterms were around the same time as hers due to their shared classes, it seemed his music classes scheduled theirs over a separate week. Blake was sure that all that got her through the week without being a total mess whenever she thought of him, however, were the smiles Liam always greeted and left her with. His face would light up when she sat down next to him and take on a regretful cast when he had to run off. She had caught him before he could go on Monday, squeezing him in a tight hug, and he hadn't questioned it, just hugging her back and smiling before he left for his next class.
Though she missed Liam, Blake found herself feeling strangely grateful for the period of conversational absence. She'd had no indication of whether or not Marie had told Liam what they had done, so she hadn't wanted to spend any time alone with him. It also gave her the excuse to be a shut-in and keep herself from interacting with Marie too much. She went to the gym every day and even did a few extra shows just to fill her spare time.
Liam surprised Blake on a Friday night as she was thinking about what to make herself as a compliment to her earlier protein shake. She had just gotten back from the gym and was still dressed in yoga pants and matching sports bra under a zip up hoodie--hair pulled back in a loose bun to hide in her hood while she was out in public--when she heard the door open. For a moment, Blake froze, thinking it was Marie.
Marie's out at a sorority thing,
she reminded herself,
must be Sophie.
Still, she leaned back on her heels to look into the hallway leading to the door. Her eyes widened when she took in Liam's tall figure closing the door behind him, a few grocery bags slung over one arm.
Rather than say hi, however, Blake bit her lip and ducked back into the kitchen. She hadn't been avoiding Liam during the week, and he hadn't given her any reason to think that he was mad at her, but Blake was still unsure how to act. Had Marie not told him yet, or was he simply
that
understanding? If anyone could be, it would be him.
Blake's thoughts stopped cold as Liam rounded the corner, a smile spreading onto his face as he saw her, eyes blinking in surprise.
"Hey."
Blake couldn't help but smile back, "Hey." For a moment, that was all she said. Until she realized how stupid it made her sound, "Um, what are you doing over? Marie's out."
As soon as Blake said the words, she remembered why he had stayed over last time, and she swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. She didn't know if she could handle joking about that with him right now. He would know something was off.
Liam held up the grocery bags, "I get tired of having dining hall food all the time--figured I would take advantage of the fact that my girlfriend has a kitchen. Marie gave me her key earlier and said I could use it as long as I made enough for there to be leftovers." He grinned at her, "And I figured you wouldn't mind having a home-cooked meal."
Blake grinned back at him, both in relief at the topic, and at the prospect of Liam's cooking, "Yessss. I was struggling to choose between quick, easy and yummy, and healthy. What did you get?"
"Hopefully I'll be able to help you out with that," Liam laughed, "I was thinking of making a kind of Asian dish that I made over the summer. Well, Asian spices and stuff, at least. You like steak, right?"
Blake realized her mouth was open and very close to letting some drool fall out.
"Steak?" She breathed.
He laughed, setting the grocery bags down on the counter and starting to go through them, "I'll take that as a yes, then."
Blake didn't know why, but the fact that cooking a steak was just something Liam had decided to do, much less think to include her in, pushed Blake's mind much closer to following Chloe's urgings of just taking Liam for herself and damn whatever else happened. She ate beef every now and then, but steak...?
Blake realized then that Liam had stopped taking things out of the bags and was studying her. She looked down at herself, then back to him, raising an eyebrow, "You okay, dude?"
Liam shook himself, then smiled, scrubbing a hand through his hair, "Sorry," he said, "I just don't remember ever seeing you in workout clothes before."
Blake remembered then that she had unzipped her hoodie, revealing the push-up sports bra that matched her yoga pants as well as her bare tummy. She also remembered that she was sweaty and didn't have any make-up on. Blake hadn't missed the look in Liam's eyes either. Liam didn't leer, but Blake had caught his gaze in time to see that Liam had definitely enjoyed looking at her, even in her current state of post-gym grossness.
"I think I'm going to go take a shower," Blake said, cheeks turning red. Liam just laughed in response, gesturing for her to go do as she said.
Blake made it a quick shower, resisting the urge to just lean against the wall and let the warm water rain down on her back. Or touch herself. Blake had developed a habit of rubbing one out in the shower since coming to college. She didn't have to pay for the water bill, and her freshman year, it had really been the only definite period of alone time she could regularly count on since she'd been in a double like most freshmen. It also just felt so damn good touching herself while the water cascaded down her body, making her feel so warm and comfortable. It didn't hurt that she had always felt sexier when wet.
From water. That was good. Sweat was not.
When Blake finally turned off the water however, reaching through the curtain to take her towel off the hanger on the back of the bathroom door, her fingers could not find the fluffy fabric.
Blake's eyes widened as she remembered where she had left her towel: folded nicely on the corner of her bed with the few other clothes she had yet to put away after doing laundry the previous night. Poking her head out of the curtain to try and conserve the hot hair still remaining in the shower, Blake searched the bathroom for one of her roommates' towels. Neither was to be found.
Closing herself back into the shower with what warm, steamy air remained, Blake considered her two options, trying to decide which one was more embarrassing. After a few minutes, Blake sighed and wrung out her hair so she wouldn't drip too much, then braced herself and stepped out of the shower into the room temperature, yet frigid-seeming environment beyond the shower curtain, dripping all over the floor. She cracked the door, making sure her body was hidden entirely behind it, then raised her voice, "Hey, Liam?"
There was no response, though a wonderful mix of spices, ginger and soy sauce wafted into her nostrils as she waited for one, making her mouth begin to water.
"Liam?" Blake tried again, a bit louder. Still no response.
Blake huffed.
He must still have headphones on.
She'd walked by him on her way to class a few times and had ended up feeling like an idiot smiling and waving when he didn't even notice, off in his own little world created by whatever played through his headphones at the time. Blake had been tempted to just run up and tackle him once or twice, but she didn't like drawing attention to herself in public.
Blake chewed her lip for a moment, looking across the hall to her room. The door was unlocked--she should be able to make it...
Fuck it!
Blake swung the bathroom door open and sprinted the short distance to her room, barely leaving more than damp footprints on the carpet before she was safely in her room, the door closed behind her, heart pounding. She hoped she hadn't slammed the door shut too loudly.
She crossed the room to her bed and wrapped the towel around her, moaning softly at the fabric's fluffy embrace. As Blake dried herself off, she knew her face was bright red, though she wouldn't admit why. She tried to rationalize that there was no reason for her to feel embarrassed about running butt-naked to her room when Liam couldn't see her from the kitchen. Even if the bathroom had been across the apartment from her room, Blake probably could have snuck past Liam without him noticing, and even if she hadn't why should she care? He'd seen her naked and more plenty of times before.
Because back then there was a screen and the anonymity of the internet between the two of you. Because now both of you know each other, and you want to fuck him. But he's still with Marie, even if she was shitty to both of you.
Blake couldn't dispute her stupid voice of reason. If Liam had been over here with Marie completely out of the picture, cooking for just the two of them--cooking
steak
...a string of naughty scenarios ran through Blake's mind. Walking out to hug him completely naked, or in just a towel or an apron. Or a long T-shirt and knee-highs with no panties--Blake knew he liked that. She could just walk out and start sucking his dick, though depending on how he was cooking that might not be the best idea. Or she could just go up to him dressed in cute PJ's and tease him mercilessly until his stupid air of logical self-control broke and he just grabbed her and pulled her to him.
Blake swallowed, realizing that train of thought had made her wet, and started dressing hurriedly. She was about to just throw on baggy sweats and a nerd-shirt like she normally wore to class under her jacket, but as she went through her clothes, Blake acted on impulse and went with an entirely different outfit.
Fifteen minutes of hurried dressing and make-up and blow-drying later, Blake sauntered out of her room wearing knee-highs, a big, but flattering nerd-shirt, and a pair of spandex shorts that would only be visible if she sat down on the couch or stretched up to reach something, which she very much hoped Liam would need her to do. Blake also wore one of her smaller plugs, lubricated with her own sweet juices, snug in her ass, delighting in the feeling of fullness and the pulses of pleasure that shot from her ass to her pussy and throughout her body as she walked into the kitchen. Her blue mane tumbled down in thick waves, and she'd put on a bit more makeup than usual. Nothing super fancy, but something she hoped would surprise Liam and make him look twice. She wasn't going to jump him, but Blake had played nice long enough. She wanted to make sure Liam knew exactly what he was missing out on.
Sure enough, as Blake rounded the corner into the kitchen, Liam remained completely oblivious to her. He bobbed slightly to the music that played from his earbuds, attention focused entirely on the stove. For a moment, Blake allowed herself to lean against the wall and drink him in.
