The Blindfold Game That Ended Us Chapter 02

The Blindfold Game That Ended Us Chapter 02

Before I could answer, a light cough came from across the table.

Liam raised his glass, his voice casual. “Jake, are you doing a background check? If she doesn’t want to talk about it, drop it.”

Jake gave a sheepish laugh and rubbed his nose. “Alright, alright. I’ll stop. Drinks, everyone.”

Liam tipped his glass back and drained it.

I picked up my tea and took a sip. It had gone cold. The bitterness was stronger.

The attention shifted to Liam.

Jake’s loud voice led the charge. “All right, Liam, actually, you’re the one who should be getting grilled. What’s your deal? Last eligible bachelor standing, and nobody’s locked you down yet?”

“Seriously,” someone else jumped in. “Back in the day, girls were lining up for you. How are you still single?”

Liam leaned back in his chair. That familiar, lazy smile played at his lips, but he didn’t answer.

“Could it be…” Jake drew out the words, his eyes darting between Liam and Olivia, “that there’s someone you’ve never gotten over? No one else measures up?”

Olivia kept her head down. Her ears were pink.

The room exploded with laughter and shouts.

“Oh, Jake’s really putting it out there!”

“Not like it’s a secret. Everyone knows about those two.”

“Okay, but the match game picking them tonight? That’s something.”

The teasing built, wave after wave.

Olivia’s face went redder. She gave the person next to her a light shove. “Stop it…”

Liam didn’t confirm or deny.

But that smile of his deepened, just a little.

Eight years. I knew every expression he had.

That smile meant he didn’t mind what they were saying. It meant he was okay with them making this about him and Olivia. It meant the flush creeping up her neck was something he enjoyed.

The cold from my cup spread from my palm all the way to my chest.

“Come on, Liam, say something!” someone demanded.

He finally spoke, his voice lazy. “Say what?”

“Say if it’s true or not!”

He let out a short laugh, set his empty glass on the table. “What answer do you want to hear?”

That was worse than admitting it.

The room went wild. It felt like New Year’s.

Olivia pressed her lips together, trying to hide her smile, but her eyes were bright.

I used to have that look.

I didn’t know when it had started fading. Just that at some point, it went dark enough that now I was standing here, watching other people push him toward another woman, like I was a stranger in the room.

“All right, all right,” Ryan cut in. “Let’s not roast her alive. Come on, everybody. Cheers.”

Glasses clinked.

I raised my cup of cold tea.

Olivia coughed a couple of times. Liam glanced at her, then reached over and took the wine glass out of her hand, replacing it with a cup of hot water.

I stared down at my cup. At the soaked tea leaf floating at the bottom.

Our class got together every year. Same thing every time. Seats shifted, topics changed, but one thing stayed consistent for eight years.

He’d never once served me food at these reunions. Never poured me a drink. Never even said my full name in front of everyone.

Because he wanted to keep things low-key.

He said he didn’t want to make it public. Too much trouble. People would talk. There were a hundred reasons.

I believed him. Waited. Waited eight years.

Long enough that I got used to sitting a little apart from him. Used to him walking past me without making eye contact. Used to being a model “classmate” and nothing more.

And then this year, Olivia came back from abroad. Showed up at the reunion.

And I realized: she was the one he wanted the whole world to know about.