He Doesn't Know ~ L.P.

Jenna’s POV

Five years ago, when I was sixteen, I did the most horrible thing I ever did—have sex with a foreign exchange student. I was too embarrassed to tell the guy, Liam, I was pregnant with his child, so I’ve kept it a secret all this time. Nine months after we had sex, I gave birth to a baby girl, Talia Margaret Payne.

Now, I’ve moved on from Liam, and I’m a young widow/single mom living in southern California. I’m widowed because my husband, Sawyer Richardson, died in a car accident the day our son Maddox was born. Talia is four and Maddox is two, and they’re the lights of my life.

One day, I was on my way home from the store when I noticed a car stalled on the road. Deciding to lend a hand, I pulled over, parked behind the car, and got out. The driver was male and looked very familiar. But I decided not to think anything of it and asked if he needed help.

The guy’s eyes grew wide. “Jenna?!” he said.

It took a minute for me to realize this was Liam Payne, the guy I’d had a fling with three years ago. “Liam?!” I returned after a moment of silence. “Oh, my God, I haven’t seen you in years!”

“Likewise, love. How’ve you been?”

“Great! How about you? Last I heard, you joined a band.”

“Yes, One Direction. Do you like our music?”

“Um…I can’t say I listen to it a lot, but I’ve heard some of your songs on the radio. My favorite is the one that goes, ‘Baby you light up my world like nobody else…’”

“Oh, ‘What Makes You Beautiful’! That’s one of my favorites, too. You know, we have a show coming up down in San Diego. Would you like to come?”

“Sure! I’d love to meet your band mates.”

“Brilliant! I’ll ask Simon—that’s our manager—to send you a couple tickets. What’s your address?”

I gave Liam my address and asked again if he needed help with something.

“Oh, yeah! I got so caught up in meeting you for the first time in five years that I forgot!” Liam let out a laugh. “But I can handle it myself. My car broke down, but the tow truck company is on its way.”

“Oh, okay. Well, I better get going or my ice cream’s gonna melt.” I giggled.

“Oh, before you go, can I have your number?”

“Of course!” Liam and I exchanged phones and keyed in each other’s contact info. When we gave our phones back, we said goodbye, and I continued on my way.

~~~~~

When I got home, my friend Cynthia, who has been helping me raise the kids, asked how my shopping trip went.

“Oh, nothing out of the ordinary, except the fact that I met Liam Payne for the first time in five years,” I said, grinning.

Cynthia gasped. “You did?! That’s awesome! What does he look like now?” she asked.

“He’s really muscular, and he cut his hair and has a goatee. He invited us to come to his band’s concert in San Diego.”

“Ooh, can I go?!” Talia asked. She was in the playpen with Maddox, and she’d been listening in on our whole conversation.

“No, sweetie,” I said. “This is for grownups. Sorry.” Talia started to tear up, and then I felt bad. If there was one thing I hated, it was seeing one of my kids cry. “I’ll record the concert so you can see it, okay?”

Notes