Chapter 4Crawfish Season

Without waiting for me or Liam to decline, Caleb had already brought his girlfriend over and sat down at our table as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

I had been afraid Caleb was here to start trouble, but it turned out he really did just want to share the table.

After sitting down, he didn't look at me again.

Instead, he leaned his head close to the girl beside him and started ordering food on his phone.

When he saw an interesting dish, Caleb would lean into her ear and whisper something, quickly eliciting low giggles from her. She leaned into Caleb's chest, laughing non-stop.

The two of them looked exceptionally intimate and sweet, making Liam and me look a bit awkward in comparison.

Especially when Caleb occasionally looked up and his gaze swept over Liam sitting next to me. His eyes were not exactly friendly.

Liam, sitting beside me, was given several hard looks by Caleb. Feeling a bit awkward, he couldn't help but send me a text: "Are these your friends?"

I had no intention of hiding anything, so I replied concisely: "Yeah, the guy is my ex."

"The girl next to him should be his current girlfriend."

Talk about a showdown between the ex and the current!

Liam looked down at the message, and for a moment, he couldn't hold it back. He almost choked on the lemon water in his mouth, nearly spraying it everywhere.

Caleb didn't hesitate at all; he immediately shielded his girlfriend.

I quickly grabbed some napkins and handed them to Liam, terrified he was actually going to spit water everywhere.

"I'm fine." Liam clumsily tried to take the napkins I offered, but accidentally grabbed my hand instead.

The next second, as if my hand had burned him, he hastily let go, his face flushing bright red.

"Sorry." Liam turned his head and apologized somewhat bashfully near my ear.

I turned my head, intending to say something to him as well, but as soon as I looked up, I caught sight of the tips of his ears, which were tinged with red.

Because we were so close, I could even clearly see the lingering blush on Liam's cheeks and the fine peach fuzz on his face.

I had meant to say it was fine, but what came out of my mouth was: "I didn't expect you to be so shy."

"Have you never dated before?"

Otherwise, why would he blush so furiously just from simply brushing a girl's hand?

Liam suddenly started coughing violently again, his entire face turning beet red.

I quickly handed him some water and patted his back to help him catch his breath. After fussing for a good while, Liam finally recovered.

He gave me a somewhat resentful look, and I couldn't help but let out a muffled laugh.

At the exact second I laughed, there was a sudden, loud CRASH of glass shattering on the floor nearby, startling Liam and me.

I instinctively turned to look and saw only shards of glass scattered across the floor, along with Caleb's expressionless face.

Meeting the gazes of Liam and me, Caleb pulled his hand back, lowered his eyes, and said in a completely flat voice:

"Sorry, my hand slipped."