Plato?No Thanks Chapter 07
“Mr. Mitchell? What are you doing here?”
Liam paused, then said softly,
“I told you. Stop calling me Mr. Mitchell.”
No can do. Rule number one from class: not crossing boundaries was the most important thing.
Liam looked at my outfit, then at the time.
“It’s late. Where are you going?”
“Dinner with friends.”
Liam pressed his thin lips together, like he wanted to say something.
“Avi, what have you been up to lately?”
“Nothing much.”
It’s not like I could say I was taking a class to deal with his Platonism, right?
Liam lifted his gaze slightly, a trace of loneliness coloring his cool voice.
“You haven’t texted me in three days. You barely reply to mine either…”
I’d been so busy with class, I’d forgotten my original goal.
I quickly smiled and tugged at his sleeve.
“Baby… honey, I’ve just been busy.”
Liam stared at my hand, his eyes brightening slightly.
But he quickly suppressed it.
“Avi, are you free tomorrow?”
“Yeah, why?”
Liam looked at me with a rare nervousness.
“I want to take you somewhere.”
I was a little surprised.
But deep down, I felt all sweet and fuzzy.
“Sure.”
“I’ll pick you up tomorrow?”
“Okay.”
During dinner with the group, I kept wondering what Liam wanted to do with me.
In the past, I was the one begging and whining to get him to hang out. This was the first time in three months he’d asked me.
“Hey, can you guys help me figure something out?”
A guy who was super active in class suddenly spoke up.
Everyone put down their chopsticks and listened.
“So, I confessed to the girl I like yesterday, but I don’t think she likes me back.”
Chloe: “Did she reject you?”
The guy shook his head, then nodded. “I don’t know. She didn’t say anything. Just turned really red and ran away.”
“…She was probably shy.”
“Or she didn’t know how to say no.”
Everyone started discussing it.
But my brain was stuck on two words.
Confess.
I thought about how nervous Liam had seemed today.
No way?
I’d only been taking the class for a few days. I hadn’t even had time to practice yet.
Was Liam suddenly figuring things out on his own?
I was in a daze for the whole meal.
I even almost tripped getting into Chloe’s car.
Chloe looked concerned. “You okay?”
I shook my head. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
Chloe drove me home.
The next day, I stood outside waiting for Liam.
My heart was racing, my brain half-blank.
If Liam actually confessed, should I still pretend to be demure?
Should I jump him and kiss him, or act all shy?
Should I whine and cling and beg him to kiss me, or act all shy?
Should I say “I do” the second he opens his mouth, or act all shy?
So hard to choose.
By the time Liam arrived, my face was bright red.
It nearly scared him to death.
“Avi, are you okay? Do you have a fever? Why is your face so hot?”
“I-I’m fine…”
Liam looked me over, up, down, left, right, and only after making sure I wasn’t dying did he let me in the car.
I was super nervous the whole ride.
I might seem super outgoing, because I really am.
But all those dirty things I said to Liam, those texts I sent?
That was just me running my mouth.
Truth is, every time, I was all talk. I never actually succeeded.
Back in the day, Sophie made me a whole list of “don’ts” to help me get with my crush.
But the second I saw him, I threw the whole list out the window.
My crush got scared off by how forward I was.
Sophie only had one thing to say to me:
“Have you ever considered… being mute?”
“…”, Liam took me to the rooftop of a restaurant.
I knew this place. It was one of Noah’s spots.
We got on the elevator.
Just as we were about to reach the top floor, Liam suddenly held my hand.
“Avi.”
“Yeah?”
The elevator doors opened. Liam led me out onto the rooftop.
I looked at the scene in front of me and froze.
There was nothing there.
Except for one big box in the middle of the empty space.