.:Author's Note:.

Slightly glaring Liam at the top. Ugh, I just love him!

***

Liam's POV:

Blake was staring at me.

He's been doing it since Tuesday, the day after we went to the dog shelter. It's now Friday.

I didn't even understand why he was staring at me. At times when I would catch him in the act, he would only smile and continue looking. I couldn't read the emotion in his eyes, but I knew the look had to be a good thing if he was smiling.

"Quit it! Will ya?" I muttered, holding Maxie up to my face so that Blake couldn't see me blushing. The Dalmatian pup growled at me for moving him, but then he licked my heated cheek.

"Stop what?" Blake asked, faking innocence. I put Maxie down to glare at him. "You shouldn't do that, love. It just makes you more adorable."

"Blake!"

"Okay, okay." He glanced at his watch. "It's time to go. We'll come back on Sunday."

I nodded before kissing Maxie's head. The pup whimpered, knowing that I was leaving now.

"I have a date tomorrow, Maxie, so I'll come back Sunday." I talked to him as if he would understand me. I only got a lick in response, making me giggle before I kissed his head again. After, I put him into bed and rubbed behind his ear until he fell asleep. Blake and I quietly left Maxie's room before leaving the shelter altogether.

"Did you enjoy your day, love?" Blake asked as he started up the car. I nodded, blushing since he was looking at me again. This time, his eyes were dark and he just seemed to be drinking me up.

"Blake! Y-you're doing it again." I complained, self-consciously smoothing out my hair. What was he even looking at? Was my hair sticking out in odd directions? Did I have something on my face? Maybe there was something in my teeth.

I flicked my tongue over my teeth, noting that there was nothing there. I sighed in relief. So why in the world was just staring at me?

"I can't help it." He voiced, snapping me out of my thoughts. "You're just so radiant." He finished as he drove off. Oh.

"Don't say things like that!" I was embarrassed. No one has ever called me radiant before. I was mostly called handsome or adorable by my parents. Hearing the compliment from Blake made me gushy.

"It's the truth." Blake replied with a shrug of his shoulder. I was looking at him from the corner of my eyes, not wanting him to see my burning face although it was dark. I'm pretty sure he knew that I was blushing anyways.

The rest of the drive home was done in silence because I didn't know what to say to him. However, it was comfortable, and I almost found myself dozing off once or twice. Blake parked in the driveway before I could really fall asleep though. I got out of the car with him following right behind me.

"So I'll pick you up at seven on the dot tomorrow night." He talked to me as I unlocked the front door. Ma's and Papa's cars weren't in the garage so I assumed that they weren't home.

"O-okay." I agreed, stepping aside to let him in. He closed the door behind him as I flicked on the lights.

"You can wear anything casual. I had a feeling you weren't into the fancy things..." He drifted off with a nervous chuckle. I smiled as I turned around to look at him in the silent foyer.

"I trust your judgement. Um, I'm sure that anything you have planned will be great." I tried to encourage him while looking at his chest. Playing with my fingers nervously behind my back, I waited for a response. However, I never got a verbal one. Instead, Blake wrapped an arm around my waist to draw me closer before he kissed me. I gasped at the sudden movement before melting in his arm and kissing him back.

"I love you." He whispered slowly as he pulled away, causing me to freeze in shock. Blake realized what he said half a second later because he froze also.

"Shit! Shit! Shit! That was not supposed to come out like that. I'm sorry, Liam. Shit! I'm a fuck up."

"B-Blake! Um, i-it's fine. I mean it okay that you said it." I said, trying to relax his mind. He was now looking at me apologetically.

"I shouldn't have said it out of the blue like that."

"Y-you really meant it?"

"Of course, I do. I had this whole romantic way of telling you, but I guess that's thrown out of the window now." He tried to joke, but I could tell that he was nervous. How wouldn't I be able to tell? I was basically the king of the Nervous Kingdom.

"Really, i-it's fine, Blake." I told him with a small chuckle. "B-but, um. Is it- is it okay that I-I don't love you yet?" I asked, his nervousness now transferring over to me.

I knew that I liked Blake a lot, like a lot a lot, but I wasn't sure if I was in love with him yet. I've never been in love and I didn't know if the feeling just hit you all at once or it blossomed in you gradually. How could he even tell that he loved me? Wasn't it too soon?

"Oh, yeah, that's okay. It's a punch to the gut but I guess I never expected you to immediately love me too. I guess that just means I have to work harder for it."

At first, he sounded hurt, but he finished off in a determined tone that made my belly erupt in elephants. Butterflies were too mainstream.

In that moment, I realized that I would definitely come to love Blake too, sooner or later.

***

"You look so handsome, my little lamb! I can't believe my baby is going on his first date." My mother exclaimed as I stepped out of my room. She and Papa were waiting outside my door until I was dressed and ready. I blushed as she gushed over me while Papa frowned slightly. I fidgeted under his intense gaze.

"Um, i-is there something wrong, Papa?" I asked anxiously. Maybe I wasn't dressed appropriately. Should I go change? My jeans were probably too tight. They didn't feel tight though.

"There's nothing wrong, Lima Bean." Papa responded with a smile. "I was just thinking of ways to kill Blake if he hurt you." He finished with a shrug. Ma and I gasped in shock before she slapped his tummy.

"Jerald!" She shouted at the same time I said, "Papa!" He only laughed as he shrugged again.

"You look good, Lima Bean." He complimented a few seconds later. I smiled as I fiddled with my fingers in front of me. The doorbell rang just as we headed for the top of the stairs.

"I'll get it!" Ma said as she rushed down and opened the door. I stayed at the top with Papa, suddenly very anxious about this date. What if something went wrong? I might throw up. Oh gosh, I can't breathe...

"Lima Bean!" Papa snapped his fingers in front of my face. I shook my head before focusing my attention on him.

"Papa, what if I mess up this date? What if I do something so horribly wrong that Blake never wants to see me again? I'd have to get a new teacher. What if they don't want to be my friend?"

"Liam, do you hear yourself?" Papa asked with a laugh. I pouted as the sound of Blake's voice drifted to my ears from downstairs.

"That lion downstairs is crazy about you. Even I can tell that if the way he looks at you is any indication. Maybe I'm in the wrong for thinking that he'll hurt you, but that's because it's a parent's worst nightmare and I don't know what I'd do if it happened to you. I want you to get that doubt out of your head and I will too because I just realized that we have nothing to worry about."

I sniffled as I hugged Papa tightly. He chuckled as he hugged me back before kissing my head.

"Now, I want you to go enjoy your date and tell me all about it when you get home." He told me, causing me to nod quickly before pulling away.

"Thanks, Papa."

"No problem, Lima Bean. Let's head downstairs. I think you've made Blake sweat long enough." He joked, but it only made me confused. Why would Blake be sweating?

"Is he getting cold feet? Was it too soon to ask him out on a date? Shit, I just keep messing up, don't I? I should've waited until he was a bit more comfortable with me, right?" I heard Blake ramble to my mother. Instead of answering him, Ma only giggled as Papa and I entered the foyer where they were. Blake's rambling stopped when he saw me.

"Whoa... I mean, wow... Uh, whoa..."

Ma and Papa stepped aside so that I could walk up to the lion.

"Um, hi, Blake."

"H-hi. Hello. Wow, you look great." He replied a little breathlessly. At least I wasn't the only nervous one

"Oh um, thank you. You l-look great too." I complimented, really meaning it. He was dressed in a lovely burgundy sweatshirt and dark jeans paired with nice shoes. I felt a little underdressed in a purple polo shirt, black jeans, and a pair of Toms. However, I couldn't change now.

"Thank you." He smiled at me before looking at my parents. "I'll have him back in no time! I mean, not too soon but not really late either. I promise I'm not kidnapping him. Oh God, why would I say that? You know what, we're leaving now."

Ma and Papa laughed heartily as Blake took my hand in his and walked me towards his car.

"You two have fun now!" Ma called out from the front door as Blake helped me into the passenger's seat. With a slight wave to my parents, he gently closed my door before running to his side of the car. I took some time to get my breathing under control before he got in. Remember your Papa's words; nothing to worry about.

"You really do look great." Blake said as he got in and started up the car. I glanced at him quickly to see that he was looking at me from the corner of his eyes.

"T-thank you. Um, so do you."

After that, the car was silent. Unlike most of our silences, this one was slightly tense because our nerves were getting the best of us. This was so much more different than when Blake was my teacher, or when he'd take me to the shelter, or even when we were just sitting by my kitchen's island.

I didn't like this tense silence at all. Blake was one of the few people that I could actually relax around and I didn't want that to change just because we were going on a date. With a quick reminder that Blake was my friend before anything else, I melted into my seat, my anxiousness easily washing away.

"I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable." Blake voiced before I could speak. I turned a little in my seat to watch him as he drove. "I'm usually not this nervous, believe it or not." He said with a chuckle, and I could see as he relaxed in his seat too.

"It's okay. I-I think we were letting this date scare us a bit because, usually, we're very comfortable being in each other's presence. Maybe we're putting too much pressure on it. How about we just think about having fun together tonight like we normally do?"

I was shocked at the amount of insight I was dishing out. I was even more surprised that I was speaking about how I felt (voicing my opinion if I had to put it in simpler terms). Blake took his eyes off of the road for a second to look at me in shock, surprised about what I said also. His gaze was enough to make me shy and blush all over again.

"I completely agree with you." He said after some time. I went a shade darker as he took my hand into his, kissing the back of it lovingly. "Have I ever told you that you are radiant?" He questioned teasingly, causing my blush to intensify if that was even possible.

I giggled as I nodded, no longer looking at him and deciding to hide my face as I looked out the window.

"Just once yesterday." I recalled, squeezing his hand a little. He laughed, and the sound made my heart do a little dance.

"Well once is just not enough. I'll make sure to tell you more often."

Surprisingly, I found myself excited to hear the simple word over and over again.