Across the Miles (11 page)

“You're right...” Liam said, hesitantly.
After the show that night, they were now three-fourths of the way
through the tour. Liam could see the end in sight. But he didn't
want to see the end. He couldn't stand the thought of Rose leaving
him at the end of all of this.

“But we can still text one another. And call.
We'll stay in touch. I could never forget this summer,” Rose
persisted.

That wasn't enough for Liam. He knew there
just had to be an answer to them being together longer.

“But what about your eyes? I don't think I
could handle not seeing your beautiful olive green eyes,” Liam
pleaded.

And that caught Rose off-guard, because, when
Liam said that, he hadn't been looking at her eyes.

“You know the color of my eyes?”

“Of course I do. I mean, I couldn't figure it
out at first. I couldn't tell if they were blue or green or what.
But now I know they're olive green.”

And this time, when Liam said it, he was
looking directly into Rose's eyes, and Rose couldn't stop the blush
from spreading across her cheeks. She tended to blush a lot around
Liam. He just had that effect on her. She couldn't imagine that he
would ever stop making her blush.

But Rose couldn't get distracted from the
argument she was trying to make. She shook her head, trying to
clear her thoughts, before responding, “Okay, well when you miss my
eyes, we can talk with webcams. And after releasing another album,
or two, you'll probably have enough money to buy a private jet. We
can still be friends. We can keep in touch. Maybe I can come visit
you during breaks from school, or something,” Rose tried reassuring
Liam, while trying to reassure herself at the same time. She was
just as upset over their situation as he was.

“I just... I need you, Rose. I need you to
breathe. To live. This summer, you've become a part of me. I
lo-”

“No. Don't say that,” Rose interrupted
quickly. “Please don't say that. I don't think I could take it if
you did. Not without knowing if we'll be able to make it past next
week.”

Liam hesitated before speaking again, “Rose,
I may not have all of the answers now, but I'm trying here. I'm
trying to find a way to make this work. We'll be together, and not
just through webcams and phone calls and private jets, although, if
that's what it takes, that's what I'll do. We'll make it past next
week. I promise. I'll do whatever it takes. I know we'll make it,
because I can't imagine my life without you in it. I can feel it.
We're going to make it, Ro-”

But Liam was cut off again, this time by
Rose's lips on his.

Wait... what?

Rose's lips were on his. Rose was kissing
him. All of Liam's wildest dreams were coming true. And oh, he
should probably kiss her back now.

Liam responded eagerly, brushing his tongue
gently against Rose's bottom lip. Rose opened her mouth, allowing
Liam's tongue to enter and battle with her own. It wasn't a fight
for power or dominance. It was simply an expression of pent-up love
and emotions.

Liam grabbed Rose's arms and pulled her on
top of him. Rose straddled the young superstar, deepening the kiss,
before suddenly jerking back, pulling up for air.

“Oh my god. What am I doing?” Rose gasped
out, mentally slapping herself for being so stupid.

“You were kissing me. Why'd you stop?” Liam
asked, not completely in his right mind yet, still high off of the
feeling of Rose's lips on his.

“I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry. You
mean the world to me, Liam. I wish we could have been doing that
all summer, but I just completely disregarded that whole
conversation we just had. We don't know how to make this work,
Liam. I know you're trying. I know we're brainstorming, but, in
reality, we only have a week and a half left together.” Rose
explained, trying to rationalize to herself why she had stopped
kissing Liam.

“So why can't we do this for the next two
weeks?” Liam questioned, still not seeing a problem in his high
state. He knew, deep down, that they probably shouldn't be doing
this.. that they would end up getting hurt, but, after kissing Rose
like that, the woman he loved, he couldn't think straight. He
couldn't find a reason to not just keep on kissing Rose.

“Because where will that leave us? We'll be
heart broken when this all comes crashing down. I don't want to get
in too deep.”

“But I'm already in too deep. There's no
stopping that. It's too late. Rose... I'm- I'm in love with you.
There. I said it. I, Liam Walker, love you, Rose Moore. So I don't
see why I can't show that to you.”

Rose was crying now. So Liam reached up and
pulled Rose back close to him, attempting to comfort her the best
way he knew how.

“I... I love you, too, Liam. I do. I really
do. I just... I don't know what to do.”

“Hey, shhh, it's okay. I'm sorry. It's okay.
I love you. Don't worry. We'll figure it out, okay? I'll do
everything I can to figure it out. But, for now, can we please just
be together? I don't think I can handle another day being with you
without having all of you.”

Rose nodded, unable to speak through her
tears, and then buried her head into Liam's chest. They eventually
fell asleep, wrapped up in one another tighter than ever
before.

Liam was, surprisingly, the first to wake the
next morning. He usually slept longer than Rose, but took advantage
of the opportunity this time to watch the young woman sleep. Rose
was laying half on top of him, so Liam adjusted himself so that he
could look down and see her face. Rose looked like an angel when
she slept. But then again, Rose looked like an angel all the time.
Liam was so in love with her. He didn't care that he had only known
Rose for that summer. He didn't care that they were so young. He
didn't care about anything in that moment except for Rose. He would
definitely find a way to be with her for as long as possible, no
matter the cost.

Rose began to stir in her sleep, gradually
waking up. Slowly, she opened her eyes, only to see Liam looking
down at her with a loving expression on his face.

“I like waking up to your face,” Rose said
smiling up at him.

Liam smiled back down at her, placing a kiss
to the top of her head. “Good morning, sleepy head. You haven't
changed your mind since we talked last night, have you?”

Rose had to think for a minute about what
they had discussed the previous night. She was still pretty out of
it from being asleep. But then it all came rushing back. They had
kissed. And told each other that they loved one another. They had
basically said “screw it” to the future and decided to live in the
here and now. And Rose had never felt so happy.

Rose leaned up and pressed a passionate kiss
onto Liam's lips. She could feel Liam smiling into the kiss.

“I'll take that as a no,” Liam joked, after
they both finally pulled away from each other.

Rose snuggled her head back into Liam's
neck.

“Can we just stay like this forever?” Rose
mumbled into Liam's neck.

Liam smiled. So Rose was in this just as deep
as he was.

“You know, I was just thinking that. I'm
pretty sure that can be arranged.”

And with that, they fell back to sleep,
content to spend the entire day just laying in each others
arms.

Chapter 14

And now they were in the final countdown.
There was less than a week left on the tour. The end was fast
approaching

But Rose and Liam had decided to stop trying
to figure out a way to be together after all of this ended and just
enjoy the here and now. They just wanted to enjoy whatever time
they had left together. So neither of them spared a single thought
about what would happen when the tour ended. They figured that if
an idea struck them on how to be together, it would just happen.
Until then, they were just completely consumed with thoughts for
one another.

They had the day off after Liam's performance
in Portland, Oregon the night before. They didn't have to travel
again for two more days, when they would go to Los Angeles to
finish off the tour with one final performance.

Now, Rose and Liam were walking around in the
downtown area of San Francisco, hand in hand, following the sound
of the music in the park that they could hear pounding from a few
blocks away, enjoying their day off in the warm sunshine. The music
surrounded them, as did the people and culture of they city, and
they instantly fell in love with the place, not even knowing where
to start first.

“Let's shop around a bit before we go to the
park to listen to the music,” Rose suggested.

So they spent the afternoon going into
various shops, most of them filled with old rock and roll vinyls
and tourist t-shirts. They took turns trying on crazy hats that
they found in stores, and taking pictures of one another on their
cell phones, documenting their date.

The couple loved spending time together,
regardless of what they were doing, but the thing they loved most
was taking in each new city they traveled to together. The company
they found in one another was just an added bonus. And San
Francisco was no exception. They loved the vibe and the music and
buildings and shops. Rose was in paradise from all of the
boutiques, and Liam found at least ten vinyl records that he ended
up buying. They wandered into a few museums and ate lunch at a
small cafe that they found. They even got matching airbrush tattoos
on their arms from a booth on the side of the street.

Before they knew it, the day was drawing to a
close.

“I can't believe you actually bought those
massive, purple sunglasses,” Rose joked, as they made their way
back to the tour bus.

“Hey now, you're one to talk. At least I
didn't buy rainbow tube socks,” Liam nudged Rose in the side, both
of them laughing.

“They're awesome and look fabulous on me. You
can't blame me for wanting them,” Rose retorted

“Yeah, yeah. Sure. So, what next? Want to go
listen to the live bands in the park, now?” Liam asked Rose, as
they dropped off their purchases onto the tour bus.

“Only if you'll dance with me,” Rose replied,
flirting with Liam. Liam smiled down at Rose.

“As if I'd ever give up any excuse to hold
you close to me.”

They slowly made their way back to the park,
Liam's arm wrapped low around Rose's back, both walking in silence,
taking in the fresh night air.

“This summer has been so amazing,” Rose
suddenly said, breaking the comfortable silence.

“Yeah. It really has been. I thought going on
tour would be pretty great on its own. I was going to get to
explore the country and sing for my adoring fans. But who knew that
it all wouldn't have meant a thing without you by my side. I never
thought I would have found someone as amazing as you. How did I get
so lucky?” Liam questioned.

“You know... I was just wondering the same
thing.” Rose replied, reaching up to give Liam a short kiss on the
lips as they entered the park, greeted by the sound of live
music.

“You promised to dance with me,” Rose
reminded Liam.

But Rose didn't need to remind Liam, because
as she was speaking, Liam was grabbing Rose's hands and pulling her
close, beginning a waltz-like dance.

Rose giggled as Liam spun her away from him,
then pulled her back in, dipping her backwards. Liam began humming
along to the song, swaying in time with the music.

“You're a natural,” Rose said.

“So are you.”

Then Liam pulled Rose close, placing his
hands on Rose's hips. Rose wrapped her arms around Liam's neck,
pulling him close, leaving no space between their bodies. Their
foreheads rested against one another and their noses were touching.
They could feel the air from each others breathing brush against
their faces.

Liam had never felt so close to someone in
his entire life. Not just physically, but emotionally and
spiritually. Rose had become a part of him, and he never wanted to
let go. He wanted Rose by his side, forever and always. And he
wanted people to know that this beautiful, talented, kind woman
that he was currently holding loved him back, because nothing had
ever made him feel so special than the knowledge that someone as
amazing as Rose could love him.

“I want people to know about us,” Liam said
out of the blue, speaking his mind out loud.

“Umm... Liam. We're dancing together in the
middle of a crowded park. And you serenade me in front of sold-out
crowds pretty regularly now. I'm pretty sure people know that we're
together,” Rose said, laughing at Liam's silly remark.

“No, I mean, like, for real. Not just
paparazzi shots and rumors. And not implied through us dancing
together in the park, either. I want to show you off to the world.
Scream from the roof tops that I'm in love with Rose Moore! I want
everyone to see how awesome my girlfriend is.”

“Girlfriend?”

Liam and Rose had never discussed what they
were. They were just together. That was enough for them. So Rose
was surprised to hear Liam refer to her as his girlfriend.
Completely flattered, but still surprised.