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ao719 · 8 months

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…Sometimes Not (Part 8)

Turn A Blind Eye

This is a submission for @choicesflashfics, using prompt #3, “Why are you being so weird?”

Title inspo: Enough Is Never Gonna Be Enough - Ross Copperman

A/N: This is an au mini series to my Always You story. Thank you @burnsoslow for prereading! Please excuse any errors.

Book/Pairing: TRR; Liam x OC (Reyna)

Rating: T • Warnings: None but some mild language.

Word count: 2500

Catch up here

Laying on the lounge chair, Reyna soaked up the sun on the royal family’s private beach. She had flown in with her father when he came for a week’s worth of meetings to discuss an event being hosted in Cordonia by a charity that he and Constantine were both patrons of. A week in Cordonia with Liam was better than a week in New York any day, so she’d requested time off work as soon as her father told her of his travel plans.

Suddenly, something eclipsed the sun, casting a shadow over Reyna’s bikini-clad body; she opened her eyes as she slid her aviators down the bridge of her nose and glanced up to see Liam, who had just come from a quick dip in the water. “You’re blocking my sun. And dripping water on me.”

“Well, excuse me,” Liam quipped. He shook his head, spraying her with the water that flung from his hair.

“Liam!” Reyna squealed as she turned her face away. She lifted her sunglasses to the top of her head and wiped her face.

“Oh, my bad,” Liam chuckled before moving to the chair beside her. He swung his legs up and laid back, tucking an arm behind his head with a content sigh. “I didn’t realize how badly I needed this day off until I had it.”

“You’ve been stuck in those negotiation meetings for nearly two months. You need more than just a day off.”

“Well, lucky for me, someone convinced me to take the whole week.” Liam glanced over at her, meeting her gaze; her amber eyes sparkled under the sun like pools of honey as she smiled at him.

“So, what time are we going out tonight?”

“I told Max and Liv we’d meet them down at the beer garden around nine,” Liam replied.

“Leo too?” Reyna asked.

“Yeah,” Liam nodded. “Whose turn is it?”

Reyna chuckled. “Mine.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“I am. Last time, it was you in New York. I had to tuck you in after Kismet, but not before you stole my pillow, remember?”

Liam snorted. “Barely.”

In the months since their drunken pillow fight kiss, Reyna and Liam made an agreement: no drinking at the same time. It was to help them control what they seemed unable to while inebriated together. One set of lowered inhibitions was easier to manage than two. So they took turns; one would drink, the other would be the designated babysitter for the evening.

It wasn’t as easy as they initially thought it would be. The one drinking would be more flirty than usual and would go into ramblings while falling asleep that sometimes left the other overthinking every drunken word. It worked well enough, however, leaving the sober one able to ignore what they typically wouldn’t be able to and push their feelings down further.

Those feelings were about to combust, though. At least for Liam, they were.

It had been nearly a year since their Parisian reunion and to say Liam was struggling would be the understatement of the century. Whether drunk or sober, he found himself on the verge of spilling the confession of his feelings every time they were together. He thought over time it would get easier to keep them to himself, but it had only gotten more and more difficult. Reyna still seemed content where they were, however. She was the one who said it wasn’t a good idea for them to venture down that road again. Liam took the words as her way of saying she no longer looked at him that way. That helped a little when it came to not saying anything to her about how he felt; his silence was better than the sure rejection that would come.

****

Leaning against the table with his chin resting on his hand, Liam watched Reyna toss back another shot with Leo; he’d lost count of how many that was.

“Rey! Come dance with me!” Maxwell called out before grabbing her hand and tugging her away from the table.

When he saw her stumble, Liam reached out and grabbed her. “Careful,” he murmured as he steadied her.

Reyna giggled as she looked up at him with a kittenish grin. “I want you to dance with me.” She gently jabbed him with her finger before letting it trail down his chest.

Liam caught her wrist, shaking his head with a playful smirk. “Max asked you first.”

“Ever the gentleman.” Reyna winked before turning away to follow Maxwell.

Olivia laughed. “Based on that look she just gave you, I’m pretty sure she’d let you rip her clothes off, but your ass is as sober as a judge and I know you wouldn’t take advantage of that.”

Liam shook his head. “It’s not like that between us.”

“Why is that, anyway?” Leo asked.

“What?”

“Why are you sober? You’ve had two drinks all damn night.” Liam shrugged; he didn’t need to tell him the truth. “And why isn’t it like that between you two?”

“It’s just not,” Liam replied.

“But you want it to be …” Liam silently shook his head, but Leo knew better. “Li, you weren’t fooling anyone back then, and you’re not fooling anyone now. Full stop, Max, Liv, and I have a bet going on how long it’ll take you two this time around,” he chuckled, and Olivia nodded in agreement.

Liam looked at his brother. “It’s not the same as back then,” he shook his head. “Things are … different now.”

“They don’t have to be,” Leo replied matter-of-factly. “Have you guys even talked about it?”

Liam looked at him without responding.

“You haven’t told her that you’re still in love with her?” Olivia asked incredulously. “What the hell are you waiting for?”

“Nothing,” Liam answered. “Like I said, things are different … it’s not like it used to be, not in that sense anyway.”

“So, what I’m hearing is that you’re avoiding talking about it. Got it,” Leo nodded. “Call me crazy, but I don’t think that’s going to get you very far. And it’s not going to win me this bet, either, so I’m gonna need you to get your shit together so I can take Max and Liv’s money.”

Liam chuckled despite himself. “I wouldn’t hold your breath.”

“Stop being a chicken shit and just tell her.”

“That’s easier said than done,” Liam mumbled under his breath.

****

“Easy does it,” Liam chuckled as he helped Reyna out of the SUV at the front entrance of the palace.

“Everything is shpinning,” Reyna slurred.

Liam laughed, wrapping his arm around her waist as he guided her toward the steps. “That’s what happens when you get shit-faced.”

“I’m-I’m not poop-faced.”

“Whatever you say, Rey,” Leo snorted from behind them.

After taking her sweet time going up the front steps, the three of them stepped into the foyer. Reyna glanced up at the grand staircase, trying and failing to blink it into focus. “When did you add another staircase? That is a looooot of stairs.”

“Need help getting her to your wing?” Leo asked.

“No,” Liam shook his head. He effortlessly scooped Reyna into his arms as she yelped with a giggle. “This’ll be easier.”

“You’re so strooooooong,” Reyna laughed as her head lolled against his shoulder.

Leo snorted. “Have fun with that,” he said as Liam started up the stairs.

After carrying Reyna inside the south wing, Liam opened the door to her bedroom. He set her down by her bed, holding onto her to keep her steady. “You need to get changed.”

Reyna closed one eye in what was supposed to be a wink and gave him a thumb … sideways? “Yes, sir.”

Liam shook his head with a smile. “Are you gonna be alright for a minute while I go grab you some water?” She swayed with a nod. “Ok, I’ll be right back.”

Liam stepped out of the room and headed to the kitchen; he grabbed two bottles of water and some aspirin to leave on her nightstand for the morning before heading back down the hall.

When he made it back to her room, Liam walked inside to find it empty. “Rey?” he called out. He spun on his heels when he heard something behind him; across the hall, he could see her standing in his room. “What are you doing?” he asked as he approached her.

“I wanna sleep in here.”

“That’s fine, but you still need to change.” Without hesitation, Reyna began to peel her shirt over her head. “I didn’t mean … never mind.” He set the water and aspirin down on the nightstand before helping her when she got her arm stuck in the sleeve. “Hold still,” he chuckled. Once her shirt was off, she started unbuttoning her pants. “Rey, wait—” He grabbed her arm when she started swaying as she shimmied out of them. Once she was in nothing but her lace undergarments, he sat her on the edge of his bed. “Stay right there. I’m going to grab your pajamas.” He turned and hurried across the hall, grabbing the pajamas from her bed before rushing back to his room; he paused in the doorway as she pulled one of his button-up shirts over her head.

Liam came in front of her; he lifted his hand, reaching behind her and untucking her hair from the collar as she looked up at him. “This smells like you.”

“Well, I would hope so considering it’s mine,” Liam chuckled, lifting the shorts he grabbed for her. “Here—” she turned and climbed into his bed “—Or not.” He tossed her clothes on the chair and stepped into the bathroom; he returned a few moments later after changing and laid on the bed next to her, turning on his side. “You ok?” he asked, brushing her hair away from her cheek.

Reyna opened her eyes to look at him. “I wish you were poop-faced with me.”

Liam chuckled. “Why’s that?”

“Because I really wanna kiss you right now.”

“Rey—”

“And I know you won’t.”

“This is why we said only one of us would drink,” Liam reminded her with a smile.

“That’s a stupid rule,” Reyna slurred. She tilted her face as she shifted closer to him. “Innit?”

Liam closed his eyes, feeling her breath on his lips; he was fighting every instinct he had not to give her what she claimed to want. When he opened his eyes and met her gaze again, he offered a rueful smile. “We made the rule for a reason.”

“I decree we can break it just this once.”

Liam chuckled and shook his head. He wasn’t going to break the rule no matter how much he wanted to.

Reyna sighed as she shifted back and nestled into the pillow. After a few moments of silence, her eyes began to flutter. “You and I …” Reyna mumbled. “Always almost …”

Liam’s brows furrowed as he tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “What?”

“We were always on the verge of almost. Never nothing … but never quite something … ”

Liam held his breath for a moment as he watched her drift to sleep. “We were something, Rey,” he whispered. “More than something.” We still can be …

*******

The following morning, Liam and Reyna sat out on the balcony of the south wing, eating a late breakfast once Reyna had finally woken up.

Liam had barely gotten any sleep, too consumed by Reyna’s drunken words the night before; that paired with his conversation with Leo from earlier that night when he insisted on him telling her how he felt was all he could think about. He tried clearing his head with an early morning run on the beach while Reyna slept. It didn’t help. He felt more on edge than ever before.

Reyna noticed how Liam seemed off that morning; he was more quiet than usual and it was obvious that something was weighing on him. She wondered if something happened the night before … if she’d done or said something that had upset him. She sorted through what flashes of their night she could recollect, but nothing stood out.

Finally, after another bout of silence, she couldn’t take it. “Why are you being so weird?” Reyna asked, and he looked at her questioningly. “You’ve been acting off all morning.” He sighed and looked away from her. “Did … did I do something last night or say something that upset you?”

“No,” Liam shook his head adamantly. “Not at all.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

Liam glanced back at her. “Nothing.”

“Don’t lie to me,” Reyna said. “I know you, Liam. I know when something is bothering you.”

“Rey, really, it’s nothing.” Liam stood, taking his empty plate inside.

Reyna stood and followed him. “So there’s something …” He gave her another curious look. “You just said, ‘it’s nothing.’ So that means there’s something bothering you.”

Liam became flustered with both himself and his slip-up, just wanting her to drop it. “Rey—”

“If it’s nothing, then why can’t you just tell me?”

“Because it’s not a big deal,” Liam lied. It was a huge deal, of course.

“Well, if it’s not a big deal, then why can’t you just say what it is?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Li, you can tell me anything. I’m your best friend and—”

“That!” Liam finally snapped. “That’s what’s wrong!”

“What is?”

“Me having to walk around pretending you’re nothing more than just my best friend and acting as though there’s not a single part of me that isn’t still in love with you!” Liam shouted. Reyna’s brows slightly rose both at his tone and his words. He stared at her for a moment before letting out a breath, throwing his hands up in frustration. “I’ve been struggling every damn day since we reunited in Paris not to tell you, Rey, but it’s just …” he trailed off for a moment before dropping his voice to a whisper. “It’s too damn hard.”

Reyna stared at him, her own confession on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t get the words to come out because that fear — that stupid gigantic fear of history repeating itself, of losing him again — stifled her voice.

Liam closed his eyes, running his fingers through his hair before meeting her gaze again; he knew he couldn’t tell her to forget what he’d just said, but by the look on her face — one that filled him with panic — he was certain he didn’t want to hear her response.

Reyna cleared her throat. “Liam—”

“Don’t,” Liam shook his head, cutting her off. “Please don’t say anything. I’m begging you, Rey. Please. I didn’t mean — I think we — let’s just act like that didn’t happen because I don’t — just please don’t say anything.”

Both Liam’s voice and eyes were pleading with her. A part of him was hoping she’d tell him to shut the hell up, that she still loved him, too, but instead … she nodded, complying with his request for her to remain silent.

It made Liam believe something he’d been long afraid of acknowledging: she didn’t feel the same.

***************************************

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