29. Damon
Damon
“Iam sore as fuck,” I complain, making my way into the living room where Liam is already awake and sitting with his laptop open at the bar while he chows down on a bowl of cereal. “Which is crazy because we only did a run and two exercises.”
“That’s what happens when you’re out of shape,” he teases, not bothering to look up from his keyboard.
“What would you say to getting massages at the spa today?” I ask, the idea coming to me suddenly, but sounding heavenly.
Finally, Liam looks up from his laptop, making me curious about what was on it in the first place. “I would say ‘hell yes.’ Can you call and book them? I need to finish up a couple of things,” he says as if there were any question about who would be making that reservation.
I mean, Liam did pick the sushi restaurant and the club last night, but he’s still Li.
“I can’t believe we only have today and tomorrow left on this trip,” I continue pouting.
“Time flies when you’re having fun,” he says, still not fully engaging with me.
“What are you working on?” I ask before quickly following it up with, “And why are you awake?” It’s only seven-thirty. This is not one of Liam’s functional hours. And then another thought occurs to me. “And how the fuck did you get out of bed without me noticing?”
He smiles. “Oh, you noticed. I just scratched your head like you do to me until you fell asleep again.”
“What had you sneaking out of bed so early?” I ask again.
While he decides if he’s going to answer me, I take the long way around the bar to see if I can catch a glimpse of his computer screen, but the fucker closes it as I approach.
“That’s sketchy, Li. I thought we were done with the secrets?” Except the one I plan to tell him today, of course.
Liam grins and kisses my cheek. “We’re done with the bad secrets, but surprises are okay. And I promise I’m going to tell you everything tomorrow night at dinner.”
I’d forgotten he’d told me we had plans tomorrow.
“Do I get any clues?” I probe.
“None.”
Fine. Two can play this game. “Well, that works perfectly then, because I have a surprise of my own, and I’ll plan to tell you tomorrow night, too.”
Liam narrows his eyes at me, clearly not anticipating that turn of events.
“I think I’ve suffered enough of your surprises for one trip,” he muses with an arched brow.
“Oh, you’ve been suffering the last couple of days, huh?
” I ask, playfully dancing around him like I’m going to strike him as if I were a boxer.
“I can show you suffering.” If Liam and I were to spar for real, I stand a pretty good chance of taking him down, even considering our size difference, thanks to my black belt in jiu-jitsu.
But silly me, I forgot Liam doesn’t fight fairly.
“Suffering, you say?” he asks before springing from his chair and wrapping his arms all the way around my torso, pinning my arms to my sides while his fingers poke between my ribs.
“You bastard!” I yell, trying to knock him off balance with a kick to his ankle. I will do anything to make this stop.
“I think this dick is making you stupid, D,” he taunts playfully, still wreaking havoc on me.
“Did you forget my wingspan is almost six inches longer than yours? Or that I outweigh you by fifty pounds? Or that now, when you thrash in my arms and try to buck me off, it just makes me hard? I like hearing you pant,” he says in my ear while I go limp, hoping he’ll just let me sink to the floor. “And I like it when you fight me.”
I never knew it was possible to struggle to take a breath and get hard at the same time.
“Li…Liam! P-please stop! C-can’t br-breathe!” I manage to sputter as his fingertips continue their onslaught.
“Who owns you?” he asks in a serious tone, easing up on the poking so I can answer.
“You do,” I say without hesitation. Not only is it true, but I will say anything to get him to stop tickling me.
Before he can ask me another question—although I’m kind of starting to enjoy this game—his phone rings.
Turning it over, Dad flashes on the screen. Liam releases me, sends the call to voicemail, and turns back to me like his dad calling is no big deal.
“Don’t you, uh, need to answer that?”
Liam grins at me, and I’m beginning to think he’s lost his mind.
“I’ll talk to him soon enough.” He winks and slaps me on the ass. “Will you make me some scrambled eggs while you call and make those reservations? No one makes scrambled eggs as good as you do, and I really need to finish this.”
What fuckin’ universe did I fall into?
Liam doesn’t mention anything else about what he was working on, and I may die of curiosity.
We have a very short time left on this mountain, where we’ve removed so many of the barriers standing in the way of our being together.
This resort will forever hold a special place in our hearts, and I can’t bear to think how this amazing trip is going to end.
What comes next?
I try like hell to stay in the moment when we hit the slopes once Liam finishes everything he was working on, but it’s a challenge.
At least until we’re headed down a slope when Liam jumps, turning one hundred and eighty degrees, skiing backwards. We’re over the steepest pitch of the slope, so he’s safe, but it still sets me on edge.
He blows me a kiss as he slows his turns to take his time.
Catching up quickly, I try to veer right to avoid him, but he senses which direction I’m going, and he cuts me off, widening his stance so my left ski slides between his, and my right ski is on the outside of his left one, reminding me of our stance when we were dancing.
Suddenly, I have on too many layers, and I’m burning up.
He catches me by the waist so I don’t crash into him.
“Li, what the fuck are you doing?” I ask.
“Trying to impress my man. Is it working?”
“Yes. But it’s working so well that if I fall, I’m pretty sure I’m going to snap my dick in half.”
He laughs and pushes against my chest, sending himself backwards and separating our skis before turning around flawlessly, earning claps and cheers from the ski lift overhead.
I’ve never dated a badass before, but I really fucking like it.
Dated.
I’m fucking dating Liam.
My mind continues to whirl at the revelation. It’s only been a handful of days since this started, but for the first time in our lives, it’s Liam who is sure about something, and I’m left floundering.
I wish I were just able to focus on how incredible it feels to hold him at night, wake up next to him in the morning, hear him moan my name, and feel his fingers in my hair.
But it’s impossible not to fear the future.
Losing Liam has always been my greatest fear, especially after his mom died.
He thinks I moved to Boston for those three months for him, and partly I did…
but part of me did it for me, too. I developed a paralyzing fear that Liam would be struck with the same sickness, or that he would be the victim of a home invasion, a car accident, or any number of other events, and I wouldn’t be there for him.
So, we spent three months healing each other after the loss of his mom, and by the time he could make it through his daily routine without having a major breakdown, I also stopped having panic attacks. At least until I had to leave him.
I watch as Liam comes to a very graceful stop by the lift.
“Again?” he asks, banging his ski pole against his boot to dislodge some snow buildup before clipping back in.
It’s fucking frigid out here today. Li’s goggles are pulled down, and his neck gaiter is pulled up, so no skin is visible anywhere. I look the same.
I check the clock on the lift house and realize we have time for one more run before we need to get ready for our massages.
Thanks to a cancellation, I was able to snag an appointment for four o’clock, and after skiing on these sore legs, I’m really looking forward to it.
“Again,” I confirm. “But this will have to be our last one if we want to get to our massages on time.”
“Ugh,” he groans. “We need more time! We just got to the good stuff.”
“I know,” I agree in a somber tone.
And then it hits me.
I’m going to move to Boston. Permanently.
If that’s where Liam feels he needs to be, then fuck it, that’s where I need to be, too. Especially now. The thought should be terrifying, but after everything that’s come to light on this trip, it feels like the last puzzle piece.
After all, most of my job can be done remotely, and if that’s not good enough, I’ll fly home when I need to. It’ll be hard to leave my family behind, especially since I just got Tay back, but he has Knox. And all I’ve ever wanted was Liam.
Now that I have him, I’ll do whatever it takes to keep him. Hell, maybe I could open a northeastern branch of our office.
I’m beginning to realize opportunities can be made anywhere as long as you’re willing to look.
“Better make it count then,” Liam says, grinning as we get ready to make our final run of the day.
“I can promise you I will.” I smile back.