Chapter Three #4
Liam knew where this was going. “I did,” he confirmed. “Oh, are you checking on me after I got my tattoo? You don’t need to. It’s my first one, but I handled it like a champ.”
“I don’t care about your tattoo, although please, show it to me so I can make fun of it. I want to know about you and Ethan.”
“There’s no me and Ethan. He’s a great artist, though.”
“We know that. Come on, Liam. What happened between the two of you?”
Liam picked his mug back up and took a sip. West looked amused, but Austin looked like he was about to explode if Liam didn’t give him what he wanted. Apparently, what he wanted was to talk about Ethan. It was a good thing that Liam wanted the same.
“He told me what he is.” Liam looked around, but the kitchen was empty except for the three of them. “And that one of his animals is a dragon.”
Austin blinked. “He told you?”
“Yeah. I would never have been able to guess. I don’t think I’ve ever met another shifter like him.”
“I know I haven’t. They’re pretty rare.”
“I guess it makes sense considering how most people treat them.”
“And you’re okay with it?” West asked.
“Why shouldn’t I be? He didn’t choose to be a chimera shifter any more than I chose to be a dragon shifter. I only care about the kind of person he is, and from what I know about him through you and the few times we’ve talked, he’s a perfectly nice person.”
“He is, and he deserves unconditional support.”
“And I can give him that.”
“Does he know how enthusiastic you are about this? Because that isn’t the reaction I would’ve expected from you.”
“I think he does, considering the number of questions I had for him, but if he doesn’t yet, he’ll find out when we go out for coffee.”
There was only a second of silence before Austin exploded. “You asked him on a date?”
“I don’t know what it was, to be honest. I just knew that I wanted to spend more time with him, so I asked him if he wanted to grab coffee sometime, and he said yes.”
“Do you want it to be a date?” West asked.
“Very much so.”
“Maybe you should be honest with him when you see him, then. Maybe he believes it’ll just be getting coffee between friends.”
“I’m a little afraid to send him running, but I won’t hide it from him. I want him to trust me.”
West clasped Liam’s shoulder and squeezed. “He will eventually. Just be patient with him. Honestly, I’m surprised he already told you what he is. It took him a lot longer to trust Austin and me.”
Liam batted his lashes. “Maybe I’m just that trustworthy.”
“Because we’re not?” Austin asked, sounding questioning and offended at the same time.
Liam laughed and walked away. They were trustworthy. In fact, Liam trusted them with his life. He wasn’t the only one. Everyone at the station felt the same, which was why he wasn’t surprised at the way they’d reacted when they found out about Ethan.
His phone vibrated in his pocket, but he waited until he was away from Austin and West to check it.
It was his mother, wanting to know how Liam was and if he was eating enough.
Liam rolled his eyes. Yes, his mother was asking because she cared, but did she really have to treat him like he was a teenager who didn’t know how to feed himself?
Well, to her, he supposed that he couldn’t.
She hadn’t taught him how to cook, so in her eyes, he shouldn’t know.
Hell, in her eyes, he shouldn’t be doing it. That was his wife’s job.
The problem was that he didn’t have a wife, and he never would.
He didn’t want a wife, anyway. No, he wanted a sweet tattoo artist who would probably make his parents question what he was thinking, but he didn’t care, and in the end, they wouldn’t, either.
They’d be hesitant, but they’d welcome Ethan because it was the right thing to do.
When someone was a guest, they were to be welcomed, but Ethan would be much more than a guest.
Liam couldn’t see the future, but he knew what he wanted.
For now, it was to get to know Ethan and find out more about him and the kind of shifter he was.
Liam suspected that if Ethan could be completely honest with him, the biggest hurdles between them would be over.
Liam just had to be careful and make Ethan feel at ease with him, but somehow, he didn’t think that would be a problem.
Ethan already felt at ease with him. He wouldn’t have told him about being a chimera shifter otherwise.
Liam wasn’t sure what he’d said or done to earn Ethan’s trust, but he was glad he had it.
He was going to do everything in his power not to lose it.
It was clear that Ethan hadn’t had an easy life, especially when it came to relationships and people who cared about him.
No matter what happened between them, Ethan could use having someone on his side.
He had his friends and Austin and West, but as far as Liam was concerned, one could never have too many people who cared.
And now, Liam was one of those people. He wasn’t sure Ethan knew that just yet, but he’d find out.
Liam would make sure he did.