sister—almost every day, for every tiny thing. Even when I first came home, we got physical a few times.”
“ That must be it. The source of your great talent,” Liam says solemnly.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I tell him, but I am really happy about my performance.
Snapping his fingers, Liam makes an excited exclamation. “Oh! I have an idea. Let’s delay your surgery so you can be blind enough to compete in the Paralympics . What do you say? You just have to train really hard, then we can head to Rio de Janeiro for 2016. I was just going to watch it from TV, but being there would be so much better. And James can add your picture to his impressive wall of successful students.”
“ Are you joking?” I ask him incredulously.
“Nope.”
“Liam!” I burst into laughter.
“What?” he asks in a wounded tone. “What’s so funny?”
“I just had my first lesson today. Cool your balls, buddy.”
“My balls are... at the perfectly appropriate temperature,” he assures me. “I’m just thinking of the possibilities!”
I growl at him softly. “Are you my pimp now, or am I a dancing circus animal?”
“Can’t it be both?” he asks whimsically.
“I know you’re just trying to make me feel better,” I tell him, “and it’s working. Just remember that I’m learning to fight to stay alive and protect my sister, not for the glamor of showing off my smooth moves on TV.”
“Can’t you do both?” he asks glumly.
I can’t help smiling at his attitude. Liam is possibly one of the most positive people I’ve ever met. His enthusiasm is apparent in everything he does—it is obvious that he’s very passionate about both judo, and his job. Being around him makes me feel like anything is possible. “Even though you’re insane,” I tell him, “and you push me around way too much—I still think you’re sweet.”
“ I solemnly vow that whenever I manipulate you, I will always have your best interests at heart,” Liam says with complete seriousness.
“Wow,” I say in mock admiration. “That was really romantic. I need to save those words.” I pull out my phone and press my thumb down on the solitary circular button, and request that it make a recording. Then I repeat his words into the machine: “I solemnly vow that whenever I manipulate you, I will always have your best interests at heart.”
He laughs at this. “Why are you recording that? Are you going to use it in one of your books?”
“Maybe,” I say teasingly , “but also, if this dating thing works out? You can use it in your wedding vows.”
“ No way,” Liam says. “My wedding vows would be so much more interesting than that.”
“Like what?” I ask with a challenge in my voice.
“Hmm,” he says thoughtfully. “Like... ‘I vow to love you so much that I will always let you choose what we watch together on TV. If I don’t like what you’re watching, I’m just going to go watch my own thing in a different room anyway.’”
“Really, really romantic,” I say in amusement.
“Also,” he adds, picking up momentum, “this one’s really good: ‘I vow always to leave the last potato chip for you. But it’s the only one you’re getting, because I call dibs on the rest of the bag.’”
He finally manages to get a real laugh out of me. I have to catch myself to try and stop from laughing too loudly. I have been holding this in for some time and trying to appear cool and sardonic, but now he’s definitely won. I can’t help relaxing a little. “I envy the lucky lady who gets to tie the knot with you,” I tell him with a grin.
“I can be a regular Casanova,” he assures me. “ I picked up a lot from watching Owen over the years. For example, the date we just had? The truth is that I just chose this because it involved a lot of physical contact. I’m pretty sure we got to third base there. I got to cop a lot of feels.”
I twist my face up in what I imagine must be a skeptical look.
“Winter, what
“ That must be it. The source of your great talent,” Liam says solemnly.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I tell him, but I am really happy about my performance.
Snapping his fingers, Liam makes an excited exclamation. “Oh! I have an idea. Let’s delay your surgery so you can be blind enough to compete in the Paralympics . What do you say? You just have to train really hard, then we can head to Rio de Janeiro for 2016. I was just going to watch it from TV, but being there would be so much better. And James can add your picture to his impressive wall of successful students.”
“ Are you joking?” I ask him incredulously.
“Nope.”
“Liam!” I burst into laughter.
“What?” he asks in a wounded tone. “What’s so funny?”
“I just had my first lesson today. Cool your balls, buddy.”
“My balls are... at the perfectly appropriate temperature,” he assures me. “I’m just thinking of the possibilities!”
I growl at him softly. “Are you my pimp now, or am I a dancing circus animal?”
“Can’t it be both?” he asks whimsically.
“I know you’re just trying to make me feel better,” I tell him, “and it’s working. Just remember that I’m learning to fight to stay alive and protect my sister, not for the glamor of showing off my smooth moves on TV.”
“Can’t you do both?” he asks glumly.
I can’t help smiling at his attitude. Liam is possibly one of the most positive people I’ve ever met. His enthusiasm is apparent in everything he does—it is obvious that he’s very passionate about both judo, and his job. Being around him makes me feel like anything is possible. “Even though you’re insane,” I tell him, “and you push me around way too much—I still think you’re sweet.”
“ I solemnly vow that whenever I manipulate you, I will always have your best interests at heart,” Liam says with complete seriousness.
“Wow,” I say in mock admiration. “That was really romantic. I need to save those words.” I pull out my phone and press my thumb down on the solitary circular button, and request that it make a recording. Then I repeat his words into the machine: “I solemnly vow that whenever I manipulate you, I will always have your best interests at heart.”
He laughs at this. “Why are you recording that? Are you going to use it in one of your books?”
“Maybe,” I say teasingly , “but also, if this dating thing works out? You can use it in your wedding vows.”
“ No way,” Liam says. “My wedding vows would be so much more interesting than that.”
“Like what?” I ask with a challenge in my voice.
“Hmm,” he says thoughtfully. “Like... ‘I vow to love you so much that I will always let you choose what we watch together on TV. If I don’t like what you’re watching, I’m just going to go watch my own thing in a different room anyway.’”
“Really, really romantic,” I say in amusement.
“Also,” he adds, picking up momentum, “this one’s really good: ‘I vow always to leave the last potato chip for you. But it’s the only one you’re getting, because I call dibs on the rest of the bag.’”
He finally manages to get a real laugh out of me. I have to catch myself to try and stop from laughing too loudly. I have been holding this in for some time and trying to appear cool and sardonic, but now he’s definitely won. I can’t help relaxing a little. “I envy the lucky lady who gets to tie the knot with you,” I tell him with a grin.
“I can be a regular Casanova,” he assures me. “ I picked up a lot from watching Owen over the years. For example, the date we just had? The truth is that I just chose this because it involved a lot of physical contact. I’m pretty sure we got to third base there. I got to cop a lot of feels.”
I twist my face up in what I imagine must be a skeptical look.
“Winter, what
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