Chapter 22 Liam
Liam
If someone had told me this is where Damon and I’s annual trip would end up, I’d have never believed it, but now that we’re here, the only thought I have is ‘Why haven’t we done this sooner?’
I can tell he’s in his head about it, trying not to get his hopes up and waiting for me to tell him I made a mistake. But I didn’t…and I won’t.
I’ve always wanted to be in Damon’s orbit.
When I moved to Boston, it was the hardest thing I’d ever done, but I felt like I needed to prove something to myself and my parents.
Of course, all I’ve proven is that I’m directionless without Damon and just as dependent on my best friend as I’ve always been.
Which is why I’m making plans to move back home. Especially after this. Damon doesn’t know it, but I don’t want to stay away anymore. Being Mr. Independent isn’t nearly as appealing as being Mr. Is-Working-On-Getting-His-Shit-Together-And-Wants-To-Date-His-Best-Friend.
Okay, so the title needs some work.
But the idea fills me with more joy, peace, and direction than I’ve had in a while…maybe ever.
“Let’s shower and grab some food. I’m starving. My last remaining calories are now spread all over your stomach.”
Damon hiccups a small laugh.
“What the fuck is my life right now?” he asks in a dazed voice.
“It’s amazing, is what it is,” I reply, even though his question is rhetorical. “And as much as I’d love to shower with you, last night’s little meltdown proved to me that we can’t both fit in your shower and still have room to move, so I’ll meet you back out here in twenty minutes, okay?”
At the mention of last night, Damon’s face loses a little color, so I lean up and kiss him. I’ve discovered it’s the fastest way to put color back in his cheeks.
“I’m not running from this,” I tell him, making myself fully vulnerable. He needs to know that while he might be freaking out, I’m not.
He nods, slides off my lap, and tucks himself back into his shorts. “See you in twenty.”
When he comes back into the living room, his hair is perfectly styled, and he’s in another suit, looking every bit the tech genius he is. He has his jacket draped over his arm, but the effect is no less stunning without it on. I take my time looking him over and let out a low whistle.
“Spin,” I tell him.
“What?”
“You heard me. Turn around.” My voice carries the same level of dominance it did when we were both half-naked, and a look of shock crosses his face, but he does as I say and begins to turn in a slow circle.
“I can’t believe I’ve never noticed how fucking hot you are.”
“And here I was, expecting to walk back in the room to find you basking in post-nut clarity, ready to pretend,”—he waves his hand toward the couch—“that never happened.”
Not wanting there to be any space between us, I move toward him, prepared to lay it all out there.
“That’s not gonna happen, D. Is this unexpected as fuck? Yes. But is it all that shocking? I mean, not really. You yourself said, ‘A relationship shouldn’t be based on gender. It should just be with someone who makes you feel safe, supports you, and encourages you.’ Remember that?”
His jaw clenches in frustration at having his own words used against him. “I honestly had no idea that you actually listen to half the shit I say.”
“I don’t,” I say with a smirk. “I listen to all the shit you say. I mean, of course I do. For the past three years, your words have been the only reason I got out of bed most days.”
Damon still looks skeptical as hell, and I know I’ll be spending the rest of our trip trying to convince him that this makes sense to me. We make sense to me.
“Come on, let’s drive into town for lunch. There’s this sushi place that’s supposed to be really good.”
I turn for the door, holding my hand out for him. When he doesn’t take it, I turn back around to see him staring at me, frozen in place.
“D? What’s up?”
“You picked a place to eat?” he asks.
“Yep. This place has great reviews, and I thought we should try it. Plus, it’s one of the best meals after a lift sesh because it’s like, all protein, good fats, and we can carb load with rice. Now, come on.”
Finally, he grabs my hand, but instead of trailing along behind me, he yanks on my arm and pulls me to him instead, wrapping his other hand behind my back.
“Sushi sounds perfect, Li. And you look good, too,” he says, looking up at me.
I’m so relieved he’s finally talking to me and not trying to protect me with his secrets that I lean down and kiss him simply because I can.
“I could really get used to that, you know,” I tell him.
His eyes shutter with sadness. “Don’t get too comfortable with it. It’s hard to kiss me like that from Boston.”
I smile because now I’m the one with the secret. I just need to look into a few more things before I’m confident enough in this plan to tell him about it.
We make the fifteen-minute drive into town and grab a parking space on the street.
I can’t help but pay extra attention to everything Damon does now.
Like parallel parking this SUV. He does it perfectly on the first try.
I’ve always heard of a competence kink, though I think people my age are really too young to have much of that unless they’re professional athletes, but Damon is proving me wrong.
I grab the door before he gets there, and place my hand on his back like I did when we went out with Owen and Storm.
This time, he throws me a smile over his shoulder, and my heart fucking soars because I’ve quickly come to realize that Damon and I were inevitable.
We’ve always been together, and I’m going to ensure we always will be.
On our way to our table, a voice catches my attention.
“Liam? Is that you?”
I turn to see Hannah and Julie already seated at a small table.
What are the odds?
“Oh, hey, ladies!” Nudging Damon’s shoulder, I tease, “What’d I tell you? Great reviews. Everyone loves this place.”
Julie smiles at Damon, and Hannah pulls out the chair next to hers. “Um, you guys are welcome to join us if you’d like. We could pick up where we left off. Kind of feels like we never got to finish that evening,” she says with a twinkle in her eye.
Smiling widely, I smack Damon on the ass. “Sorry, Han, as it turns out, I’m into guys now. Wait,” I say, self-correcting, “that’s not right. I’m into Damon now.”
Hannah raises her brows, and I look over to see Damon biting back a smile as he rakes a hand over his face.
“What?” I ask.
“Nothing, Li. You’re perfect,” he says, leaning over to kiss my cheek before looking at the girls. “We didn’t mean to mislead you that night. This is…it’s new,” Damon explains.
Hannah’s wearing an expression of disappointment, while Julie’s eyes light up.
“Ohmygod, that’s so amazing! I hope you guys are so happy!” When Julie turns to Hannah, she looks hopeful. “Isn’t that so sweet, Han? I mean, it makes sense. Your best friend is an obvious choice for a partner.”
“Yeah, Jules. It’s super sweet,” Hannah replies, making me think she’s missing something big, like I was. We bid them goodbye and continue to the table where our server is waiting.
Once we’re seated, I order a bottle of cold sake for the table and look up to see Damon sitting with a bewildered expression on his face.
“Oh, my bad, D. Did you want something different?” I could have sworn he liked sake.
“Uh, no. No, sake’s perfect.” He smiles at the waiter and hands him the drink menu. “Thank you.”
We spend lunch reminiscing and laughing over the stupid shit we did growing up.
I can barely catch my breath when he asks, “Do you remember your prom-posal to Sara?”
I’m wheezing as I try to remember why in the hell I thought it was a good idea to rent a hearse and put a sign in the window that said, ‘Let’s dance until we drop.’
“I mean, okay, the execution wasn’t great, but she agreed to go with me, didn’t she?” I ask, wiping literal tears off my face.
Damon sobers quickly. “Yeah, she did.”
“Come to think of it, I don’t remember you being at senior prom,” I point out.
“That’s because I didn’t go.”
“How the fuck did I not remember that?” I ask, horrified.
“You were pretty wrapped up in Sara,” he reminds me.
I huff a humorless laugh. “Yeah, right up until she decided she wanted to date someone, and I quote, ‘who had more direction for their future.’”
“Joke’s on her, Li, you’re doing just fine,” Damon says reassuringly.
“I’m not, but I will be.” I send a wink his way, and before he can ask any follow-up questions, our waiter brings another bottle of sake over, and Damon pours it into the small glasses.
“A toast,” Damon says, raising his tiny cup.
I mirror his gesture, waiting for him to continue.
“To Sara, for being too blind to see the man she had, and for driving him into my arms.”
I remember that day well.
Sara dumped me three days after senior prom, and I was so upset, I sent Damon a text asking if he would ditch class with me. With no questions asked, he left school right in the middle of his English class and met me at the corner gas station, where we left my car, and I climbed into his.
He didn’t fill the silence; he just let me be in my feels as we drove around back roads with the windows down. I didn’t have to think about where we were going, when we were coming back, or if we were going to get in trouble. Damon took care of everything, just like he always did.
“We need a redo,” I blurt, throwing my sake back as though it’s a tequila shot.
Damon looks at me with a blank expression. “You know you’re supposed to sip that, right?”
I give him the same look right back. “And you know I ingest more liquid when I brush my teeth than what’s in this tiny-ass cup, right? This whole thing is a sip.”
He snorts and expertly uses his chopsticks to shove another piece of tuna roll into his mouth.
“As I was saying…a redo,” I repeat, putting us back on track.
“A redo of what? Your breakup? No thanks,” he says.
“No, dumbass. Senior prom.” He cocks a brow at me as I continue, “But this time, we’re going with the dates we should have taken back then.”
His face falls.
“Damon, I mean each other.” Instantly, his face perks back up. “Fuck’s sake, dude, I thought I was the slow one in this relationship.”
He throws a packet of soy sauce at me.
“Fuck off,” he laughs.
Finally, our trip is starting to feel like the vacation it was meant to be.