October, 2006, NYU

Chanty was on her way to the bar just outside the campus.

Angelica had been calling her nonstop about coming and if it was possible she could bring Philip along. Her brother would rather die than stay inside a bar with Angelica in it.

Zach and Liam would be there along with their dates.

Who could believe it? Liam would be bringing along a date? She had never seen him with anyone that could be considered serious. Zach, yes, but Liam was different.

The last time she checked, Shirley was already dating someone else.

Who could it be?

She shook her head.

Liam was not even a close friend to bother with.

For now, she had to force herself to show up without Cameron. Just to keep Angelica quiet.

2013

“Are you going to tell me where we are going?” Chanty asked him later that night.

He stole a glance where she was sitting at the passenger side. “We’re going to watch the world wake up.”

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

“You’ll see. By the way, I heard Bethany Wiles had another encounter with you, Cass and Ange.”

“How did you know about that?”

“Zach,” he shrugged. “He mentioned it in passing.”

“And how do you know Beth?”

“I’ve worked with her in some projects. And I heard from Ange that she used to chase Philip around,” he said with a chuckle. “What’s with your brother? He had a lot of women chasing him around.”

“I don’t have the slightest idea,” she answered with a sigh. “We gave her shit.”

“What?”

“Beth. We gave her shit.”

Liam noted anger in her words. “What did she do?”

“Nothing. She thinks I want to get back together with Cameron. You know they are together, right?”

“And do you?” he asked before he even thought about it.

“Do what?”

“Want to get back together?”

Chanty snapped her head at his direction. “Not a cell in my body wants to be near that man, Liam.”

“Good. Because I am not letting you.”

*****

Chanty wondered if this was the right moment for her to tell Liam the truth.

But he was looking so damned content and happy.

I should tell him before something worse happens.

But what would be the worse? Him falling for her completely or her falling for him?

Because now, at this moment, as she watched him drive them to somewhere to watch the world wake up, she could feel it. She felt comfortable in his car. She felt good talking to him about anything and anyone.

Right now, as they were driving, she could no longer see the Liam from NYU. It was like meeting him for the first time and this date they had was just one of those that gave her the jitters.

It felt right. It made her feel like they were driving to a promising place.

*****

Liam drove to the place he barely remembered, but he hoped he was taking the right path. He had not been there for almost a decade and the last time was not even worth remembering. Zach and some other friends went there to have some private party and one barely made it alive.

“We’re almost there…I think,” he uttered absently.

“You think?” Chanty asked with horror.

“Kidding. Of course, I know we’re almost there,” he lied. He concentrated on driving through the rough road which was wet, too wet in fact. There were a lot of puddles and his car gave a heavy grunt every time they passed by a deep one.

“You take your dates to the weirdest places,” Chanty said, her hand grasping the dashboard as they bumped their way through the last few meters of the road.

“We’re almost there,” Liam promised, not quite sure they were not lost. He heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the familiar clearing.

“A cliff?” Chanty asked.

“Yes. Just wait until you see the view,” he said as he parked the car just a few meters away from the road.

Nobody else was around but them. He wasn’t sure if it was a private property or if they were even allowed to be there. The place still looked the same like it did years ago.

“How did you know about this place?” asked Chanty when they both climbed out.

He walked toward her, took her by the hand and guided her near the edge of the cliff. “Back when we were in NYU, Zach and I went here with some friends. Party, got drunk and one of them almost fell off this cliff.”

Chanty took a step back. “No way.”

Liam chuckled and pulled her forward. “Yes. But you have to admit, the view is fantastic.”

Chanty nodded. She looked ahead and there, at the foot of the hill they were on was the whole city with its twinkling lights of blue, white, yellow and red. It was like looking at the sky upside down.

No one had ever really brought her to the places Liam had: The cemetery, the aquarium, the theme park and now, the cliff.

She found herself wondering where they would go next. Where they could have some time for themselves again, away from the job and the people.

“Wait here,” Liam told her. He walked back to the car and opened the trunk. When he came back, he was carrying a large stainless thermos bottle and a large comforter. He grinned at her and said, “I came prepared this time.”

Chanty smiled. “Good. Coffee?”

“Well, yes,” he said, giving her the thermos bottle. “And a place to sit on.” He proceeded to  spread the comforter on the ground and sat down. He patted the space beside him. “Well?”

With a smile, she walked over to him and sat down beside him, facing the view of the city.

“I just realized the city doesn’t really sleep at all.”

“It does. Well, most us do,” he said. “The lights are starting to disappear.”

“But not all of them,” she said, bending her knee and resting her chin on them.

Liam followed the same position and looked at her. “What are you thinking?”

Chanty sighed. “I am thinking about a lot of things at the moment, but the main thing that’s lingering around my mind right now is how thankful I am for everything that you have done.”

“You don’t need to thank me for anything, Chanty. You know I am doing this not only for Willie, but for you and me as well. Well, mostly for me because I am not letting you go again this time.”

She rested her right cheek on one knee and looked at him. “I just hope I won’t end up disappointing you or hurting you.”

“How could that happen?” he asked innocently.

“There’s just a big chance that I will. I always disappoint people. I disappointed Cameron in the past so he left me. I disappointed my family when I got pregnant with Willie. I disappointed a lot of people, really.”

“Stop thinking that,” he snapped. “I hate the way you said it. You never disappointed anyone and your family and your friends can vouch for that. Take that bastard Cameron out of the picture. He’s just the way he is. He had always been. You just didn’t see that.”

“You really hate his guts, do you?”

“You have no idea how much,” he said with exaggeration. “Let’s stop talking about him.”

“Then what do you want to talk about?”

“Nothing, just anything but him,” he said, opening the thermos bottle.

“Well, can I ask a question?”

“What?”

“Did you bring me to this isolated place to seduce me?” she asked, stealing a glance at his white shirt. It left a lot for the imagination, but her mind was very willing to imagine a lot of things at the sight of him.

Liam’s laughter rang out in the still, night air. “Is it working?”

“No, not really,” Chanty lied, turning away to face the city once more. “But I have another serious question.”

“Sure.” He was now pouring himself some coffee.

“I want to know about your childhood. How you grew up.”

When she turned to look at him again, his expression was serious. His eyes looked up from what he was doing. He didn’t say a word. He took his time sipping his coffee instead. And when he looked at her again, he gave a faint smile. “My childhood is far from a fairy tale story.”

“I have guessed that. But if it makes you uncomfortable, you don’t have to tell me.”

“It is nothing dramatic, but yeah, I’ve been through some bad stuff. And I’ve been through some good ones as well.” He finished his coffee and poured some for her. When she took it from him, he continued, “My real father left me and my mom when I was around five. See this?” he pointed at the scar at his right temple. Chanty nodded. “I got this when I took my bike the afternoon I learned he walked out and was never coming back. I pedaled really hard until my legs gave way. I didn’t know where I was going, I just wanted to find him, you know. I wanted to go after him and beg him to come back to us like he did for five years. The bike gave up and I fell. Have this scar to remind me of that day.”

Chanty felt a stinging grip right at her chest. She reached out her head to hold Liam’s and said, “I am sorry.” Her eyes started to water.

“Hey, don’t cry,” he said with a chuckle. “It was a long time ago. The pain was not on that day. It was on the days that followed when I had to wake up in the middle of the night hearing my mother cry inside her room. It was during the meals that followed that I had to force myself to swallow the food on the table. It had been the years that followed after he left that was painful, not the scar I got that day he left.”

“And that’s why I am crying! I can’t imagine the pain you went through the day after he left and the days and years…”

“Hey, I came out alright, didn’t I? My mom met my stepdad and he accepted me like his own son. He changed my name and he changed my life. And now, I am happy.”

“You are?” Chanty asked, tears streaming down her face. She desperately wanted him to affirm that he was okay--that he was happy.

“Of course, stupid,” he answered, reaching over to wipe the tears off her cheeks with his thumbs. “Now, stop crying and let’s talk about something else.”

And so they talked. They talked about Willie and how he started walking when Cassandra and Philip were babysitting him. They talked and planned Willie’s future, where he would go to school and what could be his future. They talked about future trips, future dates and future things to do.

Chanty let go of any thoughts that would spoil their night. She would deal with them later, probably very soon, but not tonight when everything was perfect, when Liam was being perfect.

*****

Liam could sense that despite their perfect evening, Chanty was bothered about something. He chose to ignore it. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be that bad, right?

“This is going to be a very long night,” he said later when they fell into a comfortable silence.

She nodded. “Yes, it will. The lights are just starting to go to sleep.”

“While everyone goes to sleep, why don’t we watch some movies?”

“What?” she asked incredulously.

“Why not?” he shrugged. “I bought my computer. I have some awesome movies there.”

She chuckled. “Okay, then, impress me.”

*****

Hours later, Chanty felt Liam shaking her to wake up.

“It’s almost time,” he whispered beside her.

She opened her eyes and found herself face to face with him. They had fallen asleep on the comforter, out in the open.

When she turned on her back, the sky was still dark, but there was a faint, distant evidence of the sun coming up. She slowly sat up and saw what he meant. The city below them was starting to wake up. The noise of the traffic was audible. She could imagine people cleaning their shop windows, families getting out of bed for a shower and wives making breakfast.

“It’s amazing. Now I know why God still lets us live. It is still a pretty sight to see people waking up and continue what they are doing,” she said with wonder.

Liam sat up beside her and combed her hair with his fingers. “Slept alright?”

“Yeah, that movie was boring.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, it was. Disappointing.”

“But still, thank you,” she said, leaning over to plant a kiss on his lips.

He raised his eyebrows at her. “Just that?”

“Why?”

“I was hoping for a very grand show of gratefulness.”

“Well, since I also did my part, why don’t you do it?” she challenged.

“You bet I will.” He was grinning as he closed the distance before them. The kiss he gave her was nothing like the one she gave him. “Thank you,” he rasped a while later. “Now, let’s watch the world wake up.”

*****

Everything was nearly perfect by the time they got back. Willie was still with his grandmother but Chanty and Liam needed some time to rest.

He took her home and had fallen asleep on the couch when he said he’d only take a few minutes to rest. Chanty smiled at his sleeping form and grabbed a comforter to wrap him with.

When there was no sign of him waking up, she went to her room and took a bath.

Her phone was ringing when she stepped out of the bathroom. She answered it and that was when everything started to fall apart.

“I have acquired a court order for that DNA test,” Cameron’s voice said from the other line.

Chanty swallowed. “Court order? On what grounds?”

“You know what I am talking about, Chanty. You better stop this game of yours and let’s just settle matters like adults.”

“Please, just leave us alone, Cameron. Willie is--”

“Don’t tell me he is not my son, Chanty, because I know he is. There is no way you would have cheated on me years ago. And whatever it is you are planning with Heaton, make sure you do it right because I am not giving up without a fight. Let’s do the test.”

“Cameron--”

He didn’t let her finish. The line went dead and Chanty started to panic.

Her fingers were shaking as she dialed Angelica’s number.

“Yeah?” her friend answered after three rings.

“I don’t know what to do. Cameron just called and he wants to do a DNA test, said he got a court order. Can you check with Henry if that is possible?”

“What? Court order? However did he manage to do that?!”

“He has connections, Ange. I need help. Like right now!”

“Well, can’t we fake it?”

“Fake what? The DNA?”

“Well, yes.”

“I am already living a lie. I don’t think I can fake a DNA test just so I could continue living it. That would be crazy.”

“Well, it was just a thought.”

“Well, think of something else! Cameron will take Willie away from me if he as much as prove that he is Willie’s father. I can’t have that. I have made up this big lie to keep my son. I can’t lose him and--”

“Hey! Calm down! Okay, I am coming over now. You’re home?”

“Yes, but--”

“Then I am coming over,” Angelica said before Chanty could say Liam was with her.

She stared at her phone in defeat. How could everything be a mess now after a perfect night?

Right now, she had to think about what she should do. She should probably get ready and take Angelica somewhere. She couldn’t just wake Liam up and tell him to go home.

*****

When she walked out in the living room five minutes later, Liam was putting on his shoes, his face serious.

“You’re leaving?” she asked.

“Yes,” he answered, his voice bare of emotion.

Chanty frowned. “Are you okay? Are you feeling sick or something?”

When Liam looked up, his eyes were blank. As a matter of fact, his whole face was unreadable. “You tell me, Chanty. What do you think?”

“I don’t know what you mean--”

“Oh, you don’t? Well, let me try lay everything out for you,” he said, standing up.

Chanty’s heart started racing. She knew something was wrong.

“I woke up feeling tired and wonderful at the same time and when I walked to your room, I found you talking on the phone. I was about to walk off and let you be but then I heard my name.” His face was flat, but his voice was angry as he explained.

Chanty panicked. “Liam, let me explain--”

“Explain what? That you really meant to tell me the truth? Well, when would that be, Chanty?” He ran his hands through his hair. “Have you even ever seen me as someone you could actually care about? Or am I still just that guy who spent one night of passion with you when you desperately needed someone years ago? Well, maybe I am, right? Maybe I am just still that guy whom you could never consider being with you. I could never be that guy, right? I have always been just Liam, the guy who could understand. And I have been foolish enough to think that I could at least have a shot at you.” The stare he fixed her was cold. It was not Liam at all.  “Well, then, I guess it is time for me to finally give up. It had been too long and too tiring for me.”

He bent down to grab his jacket and started for the door.

No, scream. Go after him, you dummy! A part of Chanty shouted as she watched him walk to the door.

She tried to open her mouth to say something, to make him halt and freeze. But nothing came out.

He opened the door and walked out without a sound. Fear washed down on Chanty. Fear that he was never going to enter that door again.