“I see being abroad has really helped with your maturity.”
“Totally.”
He opened his mouth to say something, but then he tilted his head as if he was studying me. “Are you okay?”
It was the same question Liam had asked me not thirty minutes before. I gave him the same answer. “Yeah.”
But here was the difference between Liam and Levi: Levi knew when I was full of it.
“What’s wrong?” The genuine caring on his face almost made me cry.
“Just a little homesick,” I admitted.
I was surprised by Levi’s reaction. He smiled.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said. “Are you enjoying my misery?”
He shook his head. “No, it’s … you always seem so happy whenever we talk, and I want you to be happy, but I also want you to get home already. I miss having someone to laugh at my lame jokes. And, well, I miss you.”
“I miss you, too.”
There was a silence between us. Not because we were uncomfortable but because we didn’t really need to say anything else. We both felt the same thing.
I finally spoke. “But, hey, I’m sure the next three weeks will fly by.”
“Actually, it’s sixteen days,” he corrected me.
“Oh, so you’re counting?” I teased.
“Duh. It’s on my calendar. Macallan returns and life officially doesn’t suck anymore.”
“So are you saying your life would suck without me? I’m assuming you’re quoting Kelly Clarkson because you miss having such a strong, independent girl like myself around.”
“Ha! Nicely played. But of course.” He paused. “Here’s the thing, we started out friends….”
I laughed. “Wait, are you now insinuating that since I’ve been gone, you can breathe for the first time?”
“Wait, no!”
I shook my head. “You really are becoming unraveled without me.”
He had that familiar crooked smile on his face. “I know. See, you go away and I can’t think straight. It’s amazing I can even get up in the morning.”
“Oh, how I miss your dramatics.”
“Nobody else appreciates them like you do.”
“I know.”
“So let me make sure I get this,” Liam said to me as we waited in line at Murphy’s to get some ice cream a couple nights later. “Your best friend is a guy. He likes you as more than just a friend. And your response was to run away to Ireland?”
“Well, when you put it that way …” I tried to joke, but I started to feel a little silly. “There was a lot more going on.”
“Ah, right.” He nodded. “He started to hang out with his guy friends.”
“And was ignoring me,” I reminded him.
I’d decided to open up to Liam about Levi. I figured nothing was going to happen between us; we both had too much baggage. So maybe it would be helpful to get an outside opinion on the subject. But unfortunately, I had a feeling he was going to take Levi’s side.
I guess bros gotta stick with bros.
We placed our orders. Liam always got Guinness and brown bread, which didn’t taste as bad as one would think. I ordered my favorite combination: sea salt and honeycomb.
After we grabbed our cones, I decided to make one last plea for my case. “And remember, I basically don’t see him for months, then we get into a fight and then he comes over and tells me he loves me. It was so out of the blue.”
Liam took a lick of his cone. “Was it really?”
My response was to be really into eating my ice cream. Which I was, but I also didn’t have a proper response.
“But you only think of him as a friend,” Liam stated, and I could tell that he didn’t believe me. “You’re not attracted to him at all?”
“No. I mean yes. I mean, he’s Levi.”
“ ‘He’s Levi’? Is that some sort of Yank expression I’m not aware of?” he teased. “So he’s your best friend. He’s a Levi, whatever that means. I don’t really see what the problem is.”
“It’s difficult.” I began to walk faster to the harbor.
“Yes, you keep reminding me of that. But here’s the thing. It doesn’t sound that difficult. You’re only making it difficult. It sounds like there’s a lot between you. Don’t be afraid to make it even more.”
I smiled tightly, not sure if I should believe him or not. So I played it lightly. “Since when did you become some sort of relationship expert?”
He looked at me amusedly. “ ’Tis common sense, really.”
I faced the harbor, which was lined up with buses bursting with tourists. “So I better go see this dolphin.”
Ever since I’d arrived in Dingle, everybody had been asking me if I’d seen Fungie, the town dolphin. There was a statue of him right next to the information center where Gran worked. I’d gotten my picture taken with the statue my first week there but hadn’t seen Fungie yet.
“It is rather shocking that you’ve been here for six weeks and haven’t gone.” Liam took out his phone and gestured at me to pose for yet another photo by the statue. “Have some pride in Dingle, will ya?”
I sulked next to the statue. “It feels a bit touristy.”
“Right. Because you’re not a tourist.” He snapped the photo. “We’ve got to make sure to get everything in over the next few days. Because you’ll be home soon. So there’s lots to do. Including a decision that needs to be made.”