The Things You See In Me

Chapter 3

They've barely had a chance to catch up with one another, and when the crowds begin to quieten down and Bodhi sees Xaden strutting up to the dais to stand next to Panchek, she realises, with slightly flushed cheeks and a swelling heart, that Liam has just been solely asking her about herself for the last hour and a half. It felt like mere minutes. As time always flies far too fucking quickly with him. He's just so easy to be around.

Bodhi has to physically place her hands on those lovely meaty shoulders of his to turn Liam away from her and to get him moving back towards the crowd. She doesn't want to get him in trouble, especially not on his first day and definitely not when he's just too perfect to mar in any way. Still, she's certainly swooning a little again.

He doesn't help when he gives her a cute pout over his shoulder, making her heart clench and her fingers slip quickly from his shoulders, lest she fucking molest him. Although, somehow, considering the way he frowns softly in protest before grabbing her hand in his and twining their fingers, she doesn't think he would mind.

Since when did he become so touchy? Sure, he touches her—not going there—all the time, in fact. But always so playful and light. Never so...needy.

Bodhi has never been one for clingy types. But maybe that's because everyone she's bedded and has let bed her has never been anything real or worth more than her while.

Nothing compares to Liam. And he's never even touched her in that way.

Gods, she's pathetic.

"Not pathetic. Just in lo...twitterpated." Cuir chimes softly. Then, immediately ruins it by flashing a fancy fanged grin in her mind before bluntly adding, "OK, a little pathetic."

Bodhi fights back another scowl. "Shutting you back out now." She quickly snips back, shoving her free hand into her jacket pocket as she lets Liam tug her gently along.

He stops just outside of the crowd of other the cadets. Both of them standing at the back.

Though, Liam frowns softly when he turns and sees Bodhi having to peer through the others, all various inches taller than her. However, a thought does suddenly occur to him. "Shouldn't you be up there with Xaden?"

The little snort Bodhi lets out is most unladylike. Though, as always, Liam's reaction is to smile that cute dimpled smile he always smiles and always almost makes her heart explode from the vision alone.

Let's not even get started on what it does to the rest of her insides...

"Yeah, right." Bodhi scoffs quietly, trying not to scowl over at her cousin. "He only talks to me when he needs me to do something for him, or when I force him to. I get that he's got a fuck load more of shit to deal with since starting here, but he could, at least, just give me a look of acknowledgement every now and then."

Liam throws a small glare Xaden's way. He'll be having words with the asshat when he finally gets him to himself.

Liam looks at her and gives her hand another firmer squeeze. He grins brightly and hoping cheer her up, he tells her, "Well, I'm finally here, so, now, the fun can start up again."

Uhhhhhhhhhh, what??? Bodhi blinks several times and gulps silently. Holy shit. OK. Not a big deal. He didn't mean it that way.

"Holy shit." Liam mutters, eyes suddenly wide in mortification. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it that way." There is no fucking way he will ever let her believe she's just a bit of fun to him.

Gods damned, it's like he's inside her head. Like he knows every damned part of her. (Damned for loving the most oblivious and adorable man in the world.)

Somehow, his sudden coyness sends some sort of confidence boost to her brain. Bodhi purses her lips in an attempt to keep to from laughing. Her eyes crinkling and for once, her cheek hitching and curving in a small grin rather than heating up like lava.

Though, before she can open her mouth, Panchek is finally bellowing out his words without warning, making her startle just a little. Bodhi glares at the old man.

"Three hundred and one of you have survived the parapet to become cadets today." He says with a disturbingly proud smirk, considering what he adds next, "Good job. Sixty-seven of you did not."

Bodhi gulps again, this time, looking up at Liam and taking him in just to really appreciate that he's still alive. That he's here with her. That he made it.

Gods, she doesn't even want to imagine if it were the other way around and it was Liam who had signed up before she had, leaving her for a whole year with no clue if he was even still breathing. Her entire chest and head hurts just thinking about thinking about it.

"As the Codex says—now, you begin the true crucible!" Panchek booms, his deep voice effortlessly echoing off the bottom of the mountain before bouncing back and tickling their ears again. "You will be tested by your superiors, hunted by your peers, and guided by your instincts. If you survive to Threshing, and if you are chosen, you will be riders." He smirks smugly. "Then, we'll see how many of you make it to graduation."

"I, uh, I know you said you didn't wanna risk losing any of them, so, I brought them to you." Liam whispers, leaning his head down closer to hers as best he can. He's already noticed he's one of the tallest cadets here, if not the tallest, baring Xaden.

Bodhi absolutely doesn't let her eyes close for a split second after inhaling his lovely woodsy, homey smell. It's just as she remembers, making her mind briefly flash in that split second with so many wonderful memories. It takes her another second to blink curiously after registering the actual words he just spoke.

She watches him dip his free hand into the pocket over his left leather breast pocket, the woollen shirt stretching tightly across his chest doesn't go unnoticed by Bodhi's lingering gaze.

"Well, actually, I didn't want to risk losing them all, so, I just brought your second favourite. Second, because I didn't want to risk losing your favourite." Liam quickly adds with a nervous smile, his voice now barley above a whisper, like he's afraid she won't catch every word.

Like every word he just spoke doesn't make her heart want to leap up her throat just to yank his lips to hers and never let go. Bodhi fights down another gulp, her expression softening when she sees the small wooden carving.

A jasmine. Her mother's favourite flower. Sweet and perfumed, just like her mother's smile and scent used to be.

The thing is barely the size of her thumbnail and even now, she marvels at how detailed it is for something so small...and from someone whose hands are so—

Amari, I know you supposedly created women, but are you sure you didn't make the exception with Liam?

Gods, he really is beautiful. If he wasn't Liam, she would really resent the guy for his spectacular looks. He's prettier than most women. Forget about the men.

"Your instructors will teach you," Panchek goes on to promise, pointing to the professors now slowly making their way up onto the dais in single file. "But it's up to you to learn well. Discipline falls to your units, and your wingleader is your last word. If I have to get involved..." A sinister smile crawls slowly across his face. "Well...you don't want me involved."

But Bodhi simply has drowned him out now—she can't say if Liam has, too, her eyes are still on the carving perched between his thumb and index finger. Even as Panchek gives the floor to Xaden, all Bodhi can see is that flower. All she can feel is Liam in her heart and his eyes on her face.

She reaches out, both of them now taking a step back from the crowds, who are now cheering in wake of her cousin's words. The asshole did the same thing to her last year and she isn't letting Liam be any part of his stupid mean pranks.

"Are you mad?" Liam finally asks in a hasty whisper.

She almost wants to cry at the adorable distraught look on his face. "What?" Bodhi looks confused. "Why would I be mad?"

Liam shrugs, looks nervous again. He shoves both hands into his pants pockets and suddenly, Bodhi is itching to reach for him again. Instead, she keeps her hands wrapped around her flower, pressing the precious creation to her chest.

"I'm not mad. As always, you're incredibly thoughtful, you big dope." Bodhi lifts her boot to give him a playful kick to the shin. Her hearts swells a little more when he cracks a small smile and the tops of his ears turn slightly pink.

Ah, yes, she really does love that he doesn't let his hair grow long like Xaden, for this very reason. She wouldn't want to miss a single thing.

"I have another one for you. Another carving, I mean. A gift for the one and only birthday I've ever missed." Liam returns to whispering when the crowds fall deadly silent. He barely hears the actual words Xaden is shouting across the field. All he sees is Bodhi. And that's all that matters.

Fuck, he's missed her so much.

Bodhi clutches the flower tighter to her chest as she feels her heart tug this way and that. She doesn't know how she's survived him this long. For so long. It's almost like she was made for him. And if it weren't for the obvious lack of his actual interest right back, she'd be so sure of that fact.

"You didn't have to do that."

"Nonsense. Of course I did." Liam says with a slight frown before smiling that smile that creates those kissable cheek dimples. "I've never missed any of your birthdays. OK, technically, I missed the first five years before I started doing my thing with wood."

This time, the realisation sets in slowly, but surely and oh so miserably.

While Bodhi purses her lips again to keep from laughing and only ending up smiling sadly at him, Liam drops his head between his shoulders with a defeated sigh.

"I swear I'm not doing this on purpose." He grumbles.

Bodhi can't help it, she laughs, but only a light little chuckle. Nothing humiliating.

Liam lifts his head with a small hopeful looking smile that makes her suck in a slow silent breath. "I don't know what's wrong with me today."

Bodhi grins and says, "I do. It's been a big day, you dope. It's finally catching up to you. Come on." She holds out her hand to him.

Liam grabs it without hesitation. "Where are we going?" He doesn't really care as long as it's with her.

"I still got a few minor things to do for the new cadets in my wing. You can come with me and either help me or just chill out while I do my thing. No doubt Xaden will want to show you to your room himself." Bodhi tells him. She then, slips the flower safely into the wrap under her jacket and shirt that covers her breasts.

This earns a small playful smirk from Liam.

Bodhi rolls her eyes and smirks back to fight off her body focusing on another blush.

"Right. OK. Yeah, I can help." Liam smiles, bright and eager and ready to help her doing anything as usual.

Gods, she loves this man.

"Wait—your wing?" Liam's eyes widen, shock flaring across his features before he gives her an impressed grin. "Are you a wingleader, Bodhi? Holy fuck, that's—"

"N-no." Bodhi stutters. "I'm...an executive officer."

She doesn't know why she was worried about him judging her like the fool she is for even thinking that. This is Liam.

"Holy fuck." He laughs around the words this time, somehow looking even more impressed than before.

Despite not understanding him sometimes, Bodhi now smiles and gives his hand a squeeze before tugging h—leading him towards the first year dorms.