23. Liam
twenty-three
Liam
T ime passes in perfect rhythm.
Beau rides to work with me so I can make sure he comes home at a reasonable time with his newfound fixation on perfecting his song.
Stas comes over Friday nights to spend the weekend with us.
Saturday mornings she and Beau head off to her morning yoga class, and I meet them for brunch with Ryan and the others.
When Sunday evenings roll around, I struggle more and more to let Stas go home.
My phone buzzes on the nightstand for the third time. Sighing, I roll over to grab it and read the message from Hail.
Are you coming???
He’d sprung a last minute pool party on us an hour after he’d arrived home from his latest tour with his boyfriend in tow. I’m not one for social events, but I am eager to check up on Z. It’s been months since I’ve seen the soft-spoken, broken boy.
A warm hand runs up my arm, coaxing me toward the man lying beside me. Though he hasn’t opened his eyes, Beau’s got a sleepy smile on his face.
He spider walks his fingers over to my chest and then down to my abs, chuckling as the ridge in my sweatpants jerks. I grab his wrist before his hand dips below my waistband .
“We have a pool party to get to,” I remind him.
Beau groans and flips onto his stomach. “Or we could go back to sleep.”
“Stas is already there.”
Somehow, I slept through her sneaking out this morning to go help her brother prepare. The two of them must have worn me out last night. Can’t say I mind.
With a sudden burst of energy, Beau pops upright in bed. “Stas in a swimsuit. Oh, hell yes.”
“That’s the motivation you needed?”
“One hundred percent. Can you imagine it?”
“You don’t think I’ve been looking at her for years?”
“Liam.” Beau’s excitement falters, prodding at something uncomfortable in my chest.
Where I was irritated by the interruption of my phone previously, I’m grateful for it now, saving me from having to delve into a conversation about my pathetic lack of self-worth and how it’s kept me from pursuing anything serious with anyone. Including him.
The shit you learn about yourself in your thirties.
I snort at Hail’s unhinged text message.
Try and bail on our party, Liam. I’ll hunt you down.
My amusement is cut short when Beau steps out of bed and stumbles into the nightstand, barely catching himself from falling to the floor.
Eyes snapping to him, I ask, “You good?”
He rubs a hand to his forehead. “Yeah. Must have stood up too fast.”
I don’t return to my text until Beau makes it to my closet safely with no more signs of unstable movements. Should I have fed him more last night? Should I have taken it easier on him when I was fucking him ?
Beau struts back out in one of my sleeveless black band tees and a pair of striped swim trunks we bought him at the store after work last night. He’s got his hat on backwards, that little patch of overgrown white hair popping out over the snaps.
My concern for him recedes when he flashes me a dimpled smile and turns to wiggle his ass at me. “Could have been yours this morning. Too late now. Apparently, we have a pool party to get to.”
I lurch out of bed, rushing to get my arms around him. I knock his hat off and delve a hand into his wild fluff of hair, gripping it hard enough to pull him into a kiss.
“No more teasing,” I say against his mouth, then I push him away before I lose control and dick him down so hard he walks funny the rest of the weekend.
Snatching his hat off the floor and holding it out to him, I say, “Thought you were ready to go?”
Eyes glittering, Beau grabs his hat. “I swear I’m gonna be rocking a boner all day.”
We move to the kitchen and fill up a newly purchased cooler with a mixture of Coke, fruity seltzers, and beer.
Somehow, the simple act of preparing for a lazy day under the sun has me questioning if this is what normal feels like. I thought I wanted silence when I retired from music. Turns out it was a lie I force fed myself during the unpredictable years of my life.
I end up doing more staring than helping as Beau tears open bags of ice and dumps them into the cooler. He glances up at me with a frown. “Oh no . You had your opportunity. And we agreed no touching during the party.”
Probably should have fucked him this morning for good measure. If only I’d woken up earlier.. .
We’d discussed our arrangement last night while tangled up in each other in my bed. Stas isn’t ready to go public with this. I don’t blame her. I’m not sure I’m ready either. I don’t want outside influence or my shit reputation to taint us before we’ve had a chance to solidify a foundation.
Leaning down, I kiss him slowly. “Doesn’t mean we can’t flirt. Let’s go, trouble.”
As I speed toward Hail’s house in my Pantera, Beau asks, “Are we that late?”
“No. Why?”
“Your driving. It’s…a lot.”
“I like to go fast.”
“No shit. How many speeding tickets do you have?”
Tightening my hands on the wheel, I gun it to switch lanes between traffic. “Three.”
“Woah. I expected way more. Cops are slacking.”
A few cars litter the cul-de-sac outside Hail’s house when we roll up. His house is the only one built so far at this end of the neighborhood, but give it another year and the neighborhood will be bursting at the seams.
Beau looks over the small ranch with a frown. “For metal gods, you two don’t really know how to live the lifestyle, do you?”
“I’ve known Hail most of my life and still can’t say I understand the eclectic workings of his mind.”
Then again, I’m the one who made the sudden decision to retire from playing music to start up a recording studio. Seems we’re both pretty unpredictable.
Beau chuckles at the welcome mat. No thanks, we’re good . Hail told me all about how solicitors swarmed his house when he first moved in. Wonder if the mat’s doing its job .
I bring my tattooed fist down on the black door, hot from the sun beating on it. Muffled shouting commences. No one comes to answer, so I burst in like I own the place.
“Liam mother fucking Beckner in the house!” Malek shouts from the open living area, an Xbox controller in his hands. His long, tan, lean body is on display, broken up only by a pair of neon blue swim trunks.
Griff crouches like a gargoyle on the arm of the sectional. When he sees me, he tosses his controller aside and charges at me. Leaping up, he attempts to hook an arm around my neck. It’s a far jump, considering our height difference. I’ve probably got fifty pounds of muscle on him, too.
Catching him, I hold him off the ground like a toddler having a meltdown. His flailing comes with a smile. Angelic little blonde curls peek out of his black beanie. He kept it buzzed for so long, I almost forgot what his hair actually looked like.
“You’re gonna put holes in Hail’s drywall, asshole,” I mumble.
Once I’m sure his bare feet are planted on the floor, I release him.
I expect another attack from Malek. Instead, he fist bumps Beau. “Hey, man. Good to see you again. You livin’ in the Dallas area now?”
Beau’s eyes dart over to me. “Nah. Just…uh…here for an extended visit.”
My teeth clench together. I don’t want to linger on the idea of him leaving, but I have to remember he has a house in Phoenix. And as much as he might believe his musical career is over, he has the talent to get back out there whenever he’s ready.
“Sorry to hear about Lithos. You were the heart of that band,” Malek says sincerely.
I study Beau for the slightest changes in his expression. He simply shrugs off the comment. “The break hasn’t been so bad. ”
Malek finally turns to me and extends a hand. I blink down at it, expecting some sort of trick. “What the fuck is this, maturity?”
He flashes a wicked grin. “Someone had to grow up when dad retired from the band. Still can’t believe you dropped out.”
“Don’t make me walk back out this door.”
“Liam, noooo!” Malek lunges at me. I snap a hand to his head, keeping him away without much effort.
Griff smacks Malek on the arm. “Quit it with the clingy shit. You know he’ll ghost us.”
I frown. Yeah, the reputation I’ve earned isn’t something I’m proud of.
Malek stalks off with a feigned attitude as Griff turns his focus to Beau. “You any good at Call of Duty?”
“Don’t think I’ve played that one…”
Griff tugs him down the hall by the arm. “Great. We’re getting our asses handed to us by a bunch of ten-year-olds.”
While Beau gets sucked into video games, I haul the cooler into the kitchen where more people linger.
It should come as no surprise that my eyes fall on my best friend’s sister first.
Fuck me.
Stas is sitting behind the tiny kitchen island, waves of golden hair flowing down her bare shoulders. She’s wearing a red sundress that hugs her curves like it isn’t enough of a punch to my gut just to exist in her presence.
Her pretty brown eyes slide up to meet mine, and I know today is going to test my willpower. Would it be so bad if I told everyone I was involved with the two of them ?
Considering it’s no secret among my bandmates that I fuck around, I doubt the news would be well-received.
“Liam,” she greets, offering a shy smile.
My gaze falls to her matching red nails, and I feel the phantom of them clawing at my chest and back when I fucked her last night, right after she rode Beau to her first orgasm.
I’m flooded with the desire to stride across the room and fuse our bodies together. I’d ease a hand behind her neck and bring those full, pouty lips to mine. Hoist her up on that kitchen counter. Spread her out and bury my cock so deep in her body, she’d be sore for days once I’m done with her.
“Stasi.” I strive for an uninterested tone.
Must not be convincing enough because Hail’s watching me with furrowed brows. Yeah, he didn’t miss me checking out his sister. Wouldn’t be the first time. I wish I could promise him it would be the last.
Like the solid fucking friend he is, Hail moves to embrace me. He’s one of the few humans whom I allow to touch me like this.