Chapter 36
Liam
“Ithink it’s time,” I tell Damon, nudging his shoulder with mine.
We’re all checked in at the airport, and instead of this being the moment I dreaded from the start of the trip, it’s a continuation of the happiness and peace I’ve found since arriving. It’s unbelievable how much can change in two weeks.
“I’m ready whenever you are,” my fiancé tells me, closing his laptop from the cushy pleather chair next to me.
Gathering our things, we walk to the front desk of the airport lounge that Damon’s credit card gave us access to and request the key to one of the private office workstations.
Damon unlocks the door to the small room and parks his rolling carry-on just inside the door.
The space has a nondescript built-in desk, an armless desk chair, charging stations, a telephone, a printer, and a random box of tissues.
Perfect in case your on-the-go conference call ends with your termination, I suppose.
Nonetheless, the quiet space is the perfect place to issue long-overdue apologies, come out to your family, and tell them you’re engaged…come to think of it, we might need those tissues after all.
“I want to call Taylor first,” I tell Damon. “He deserves my apology before anything else.”
“I’m good with however you want to do this,” Damon says, brushing his lips against mine. “But when you’re done, I want to find out just how soundproof these rooms are.”
“Oh, fuck, could we please?” My dick twitches at the thought.
“Absolutely. Now call,” he instructs, holding out his phone.
I pull up Taylor’s contact in Damon’s phone—there’s a better chance he’ll answer if it’s Damon’s name on his screen instead of mine—and hit call.
As soon as the call connects, I almost drop the phone.
“If now’s not a good time, we can, uh…we can call later,” I stammer as I stare at Damon’s twin brother’s naked chest in the bathtub.
He looks as surprised as I feel.
“Oh, shit. Um, hey, Liam.” He sits up a little straighter. “Is everything okay? Why are you calling from Damon’s phone?”
Damon lowers his face to the screen over my shoulder.
“Hey, Bird. Everything’s good. Are you alone?”
“Yeah, Knox isn’t due home for another hour, so I’m just getting the nooks and crannies clean for all the gay things we plan to do tonight,” Taylor says with a smirk and a wink, flaunting his sexuality in the way he always has. “Not that you’d know anything about that, brother dearest.”
“You’d be surprised,” Damon mutters over my shoulder. “We’ll talk when you and Liam are done.”
Confusion paints Taylor’s features again. “Well, hold on, this sounds serious. I probably shouldn’t have my dick out for this conversation.” Taylor Landry is a special individual. Without warning, he stands from the bathtub, dick in full view as he climbs over the edge of the bathtub.
“Jesus, Taylor!” Damon yells. “Cover your fucking junk, man!”
Taylor angles the phone toward his face.
“Get your panties out of a wad, D. My junk looks exactly like your junk in case you’ve forgotten, and last I checked, dick wasn’t really Liam’s forte.”
I flash Damon a smirk, but it’s Taylor who catches it.
“What was that?” he asks, wrapping a towel around his naked body.
“We’ll get to that, but let’s start with something that’s long overdue.
Tay, Damon told me the truth about you and my dad.
” The way Taylor’s whole body goes rigid at the mention of my father makes me feel worse, but I press on.
“That he lied to protect himself, and that you didn’t manipulate him and use him like he told me you had.
I’m really sorry I didn’t give you a chance to tell your side of the story, and I’m even more sorry for reacting the way I did.
It was shocking, sure, but I could’ve handled it better. ”
“Oh,” he says in a small voice. Taylor and Damon are very different, but their moments of vulnerability look similar, and my heart pinches for the man on the screen. “Um, thanks.”
“Yeah. I’m also sorry I made D feel like he had to choose. That was really shitty, and I feel horrible about being the reason you and he didn’t speak for almost a year.”
Taylor shifts his gaze away from the phone, clearly uncomfortable with all this emotion.
“Yeah, it was kind of brutal,” he says with a humorless laugh.
“And since we’re going to be brothers-in-law,” I continue, “I just wanted to clear the air and let you know, I promise to never come between you and Damon ever again.”
Taylor laughs. “Liam, you’re not my brother-in-law just because you’re my brother’s best friend.”
Damon puts his forehead on my shoulder, hiding a laugh. “That’s not how we rehearsed this conversation,” he whispers loudly enough for Taylor to hear.
Turning to face Damon, while still checking to make sure we’re visible in the camera, I lean in to kiss him with plenty of tongue so there’s no mistaking what’s happening. Then, I hold his left hand up so Taylor can see his ring.
“You’re right,” I tell Taylor. “But I will be when I marry him.”
“What the FUCK happened on that trip?” Taylor screeches before going off on an epic rant of word vomit.
“D, you’re gay? And I’m just now finding out?
What the actual fuck, Fuckface? My whole life, you were always like, ‘Why do you have to make life so hard for yourself?’ and here you are, shoving your tongue down a man’s throat.
You whore. You’re dead to me. Actually, wait.
I take that back. We’ve already been there; it sucks.
What I mean is, congratulations.” Taylor doesn’t take a breath this entire time, but Damon and I let him have this moment because he deserves it.
He’s suffered a lot because of the two of us.
“I mean, looking back, it makes sense,” he continues.
“It makes a lot of sense, actually. But how did this come about? Were you both drunk? You were skinny dipping in the hot tub, weren’t you?
Everyone knows Liam wears clothes about as often as I do.
Do you baby gays have any questions? I can give you all the tips.
Ohmygod, I can’t wait until Knox gets home.
He’s going to flip his shit. He was right, you know.
He told me after Christmas that he thought D had the hots for you.
You know, now that I think about it, you’re all he ever fucking talked about.
How did I miss this?” Suddenly, his eyes go wide, and he flaps his free hand in the air like there’s a bug in his face.
“Ohmygod, double date! Wait a second, Liam, you live in fucking Boston.” His face falls.
“Godfuckingdammit, Damon. I just got you back. Do not tell me you’re moving to Boston. ”
“I’m not moving to Boston,” Damon says, taking a seat on my thigh so Taylor can see us both. I slip my arm around his waist, thankful I can touch him whenever and however I want to these days.
“Thank fuck. Does this mean Liam’s coming home?”
I nod. “It does.”
Suddenly, Taylor grows serious. “Well, that wedding will be awkward as fuck, as will every holiday after it, but we’ll make it work.” Eyes now on his brother, he says, “I’m happy for you.”
Damon’s choking on tears. Hell, even my eyes are watering. Taylor has such a big heart, and I know Damon and I will spend a lot of time trying to make up for cutting him out the way we did.
“Love you, Bird,” Damon whispers, wiping his eyes.
“You too, D,” Taylor says before sighing dramatically. “But if either of you asshats overshadows my Gaga-themed wedding. It’ll be over between us. You got that?”
“Tay, you aren’t even engaged yet, and marriage has never appealed to you. You suddenly have it all planned out?”
A genuine smile spreads across Taylor’s face, and I know without a doubt he’s thinking about his boyfriend, a forty-five-year-old contractor and volunteer firefighter who worships the ground Taylor walks on, according to Damon.
“Shit changes.” Taylor eyes his brother with pursed lips. “You should know.”
“Fair point, but do I honestly strike you as wanting anything ‘Gaga-themed’ at my wedding?” Damon asks.
“I’m just giving you plenty of warning.”
“No worries there, Tay. Gaga’s all yours,” Damon says with a serious face.
“In that case, congratulations, bitches. We’ll celebrate when you get home, and I will be present when you tell Mom and Dad,” Taylor says with a grin, making Damon roll his eyes.
“How long are you going to gloat?”
“As long as I fucking want to, you cocksucker.” Tay smirks, obviously proud of himself for the insult that also happens to highlight Damon’s affinity for dick.
“Well, as much fun as this has been, my fiancé and I have twenty-two minutes left to defile this room.” Damon pauses before adding, “And put a Gaga playlist together for our reception.” Then, he ends the call without another word.
“He’s going to stress about that, you know,” I admonish Damon lightly. “I’m trying to get on his good side, not piss him off again.”
Damon laughs.
“Tay’s just being dramatic. He knows I’d never steal his thunder like that.”
I need to talk to my dad, but we decided that conversation should be done in person, so with the call to Taylor over, Damon moves to stand behind me and wraps his arms around my neck, bending down to kiss my cheek.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
We spend the next twenty minutes showing each other all that love in the small office, swallowing it down so as not to make a mess of each other before boarding our flight…but the tissues came in handy.
As we make our way to the gate, a scrolling news story catches my attention.
Scandal at the Winter Classic Games Results in Delay of Events.
I immediately think of Vox, and regardless of the rules, I hope he gets his man, because I’m thankful as hell for the role he played in helping me get mine.
“So, next year…” I start, looking at Damon as we pass gate after gate.
“Same time, same place?”
“How do you feel about a winter wedding at the little chapel on Ricochet Ridge?” I ask.