Chapter Twelve

                                    

                                          
Dedicated to insxmniac_reader. Thank you for the sweet comments and votes. Go read her story, ya'll!❤
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It was the Fourth of July and it appeared the whole town of Bridgeport was in Andrew Callahan's' backyard. There was no messing around when it came to Independence Day in this town. Some people were dressed up as Uncle Sam, while others painted their faces and wore red, white, and blue. I joined in on the fun, wearing blue shorts paired with a white tank top and a red and gold necklace, finishing off the look with white strap sandals. I had arrived with Liam, which turned a lot of heads. Liam grabbed my hand, calming the nerves that ran through my body. Our relationship, whatever it was, was out in the open and there was no turning back now.
                          
        	"Thank you for coming." Anna greeted us, and I handed her a bouquet of flowers. She grabbed me into a hug and then motioned to the waiter. He grabbed a glass of champagne off the tray and handed it to me.
                          
        	"Thanks for having us." Liam did a handshake-hug with Andrew. We joined my family at their table. I gasped as I saw my mother and father sitting at the same table. She was sporting a date, probably to make my father jealous. I recognized the guy, he was the executive producer of my mom's show. Evidently, he flew in for the festivities. He was fifteen years her junior, but she constantly defended herself, saying age was just a number. She had been dating him for the last few months, but this was the first time I've seen them together.
                          
        	"Nora, Liam, this is Kyle." We shook hands and offered smiles to each other. "This is my oldest daughter and her friend Liam." Liam winked at me as she said this.
                          
        	"It's so nice to finally meet you." He wrapped his arm around her and they took their seats. My mother's eyes shot to my father who was talking to Tina, oblivious to the fact that she was looking over at him. Savannah and Tyler joined us then and I pulled her down next to me.
                          
        	"I'm so happy for you," Savannah whispered in my ear and squeezed my hand. "I can't believe you guys are dating!" She squealed.
                          
        	"One thing at a time," I whispered. Liam was in a conversation with Tyler and I hoped he hadn't heard. We hadn't discussed the details of our relationship yet and I didn't want to jump to any conclusions, but it seemed evident now that we were becoming more than friends. As we continued our separate conversations, the impact of the other night was lasting. Under the table, we couldn't keep our hands off each other, acknowledging each other's presence.
                          
        	"Ladies and gentlemen," Andrew called for our attention and our heads turned to him. "thank you all for coming. On behalf of Anna and myself, Happy Fourth of July! We hope you enjoy the food and entertainment. There will be fireworks tonight, so we hope you stick around for that. Have a great time!" The music started back up and Anna and Andrew joined our table.
                          
        	After dinner, a local Bridgeport cover band began to play, and couples made their way to the dance floor. Liam stood up, grabbed my hand, and led me to the floor. He put one hand on my hip and entwined his other hand in mine, and we began swaying to the music.  
                          
        	"Are you okay with this?" He whispered in my ear and drew me in closer. With his breath on my ear and his tight embrace, all I could do was barely nod, affirmatively. He seemed to understand exactly how I was feeling and he kissed me. All the feelings from the other night were back again, and it was obvious that we were both happy to be dancing so close.
                          
        	We danced like this for two songs. When the music came to a stop, he stepped back slightly and held my hands. He released my hand and proceeded to give me a twirl. It was fun, and he pulled me back in and kissed me again. "You're a pretty good dancer, James." He said.