Chapter 7 Steam and Secrets
Unexpected Opportunities
The hug should have made things awkward.
At least that was what Liam expected.
He'd spent most of Monday evening preparing for exactly that.
Surely Tuesday morning would be uncomfortable.
Surely one of them would become self-conscious.
Surely the easy rhythm they'd built over the past few weeks would finally crack beneath the weight of everything neither of them was saying.
Instead, Mason knocked on the door at eight o'clock sharp.
Liam opened it.
"Morning."
"Morning."
A small smile appeared.
The familiar smile.
The one Liam had become far too fond of.
And just like that, everything felt normal again.
Or at least as normal as two people with increasingly complicated feelings could manage.
Mason stepped inside carrying his usual collection of tools and supplies.
The repairs were entering their final stages now.
The house looked noticeably different than it had when the burst pipe first flooded the kitchen.
Fresh drywall covered previously damaged sections.
New piping replaced corroded lines.
The visible signs of disaster were slowly disappearing.
Liam should have been thrilled.
Part of him was.
Another part felt strangely unsettled.
Because repairs ending meant Mason wouldn't be coming around every day anymore.
The thought appeared unexpectedly.
And stayed.
Liam quickly pushed it aside.
He had enough problems without borrowing future ones.
For now, Mason was still here.
That would have to be enough.
The morning passed quietly.
Mason worked in the dining room replacing trim while Liam attempted to focus on university assignments.
The keyword was attempted.
His concentration had become increasingly unreliable.
Especially whenever Mason happened to be nearby.
Which was often.
Around ten o'clock, Liam's laptop chimed.
The notification appeared in the corner of the screen.
University Graduate Studies Department.
His stomach immediately tightened.
He'd almost forgotten about the application.
Almost.
Several months earlier, one of his professors had encouraged him to apply for a graduate program.
At the time, it had seemed impossible.
Something ambitious people pursued.
Not him.
Yet after enough encouragement—and pressure—he'd submitted the paperwork anyway.
Mostly because he assumed nothing would come from it.
Apparently he was wrong.
Liam stared at the email.
His pulse quickened.
Across the room, Mason glanced up.
"You okay?"
"I don't know."
The honest answer escaped before Liam could stop it.
Mason set down a measuring tool.
"Good news or bad news?"
Liam opened the email.
The answer wasn't immediately obvious.
His eyes moved quickly across the message.
Then slowed.
Then widened.
"Oh."
"What?"
Liam read another section.
Then another.
His heart pounded harder.
"I got in."
For a second, the room remained completely silent.
Then Mason smiled.
A genuine smile.
"That's good, right?"
"I think so."
The answer sounded slightly panicked.
Mason laughed.
"You're really selling it."
Liam ran a hand through his hair.
"It's complicated."
"Why?"
The younger man turned the laptop around.
The details remained displayed across the screen.
Program acceptance.
Scholarship opportunities.
Housing information.
The works.
Mason read silently.
Then looked back up.
"This seems impressive."
"It is."
Liam swallowed.
"Really impressive."
"So what's wrong?"
The question was simple.
The answer wasn't.
Liam leaned back in his chair.
The excitement remained there.
Bright.
Hopeful.
Real.
But so did the fear.
The uncertainty.
The overwhelming reality of what accepting would actually mean.
"It's in Washington."
Mason frowned.
"That's not exactly another country."
"No."
Liam laughed nervously.
"But it's not here either."
The smile faded.
"It would mean moving."
Understanding immediately appeared in Mason's expression.
The situation suddenly felt more real.
Much more real.
For several moments neither spoke.
The silence wasn't uncomfortable.
Just thoughtful.
Eventually Mason crossed the room and leaned against the dining table.
"What do you want?"
The question caught Liam off guard.
"What?"
"What do you want?"
Mason repeated it calmly.
"Not what your professors want."
Another pause.
"Not what your parents want."
The older man's gaze remained steady.
"What do you want?"
Liam opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Because he didn't know.
Or maybe he did.
And that possibility felt even scarier.
The rest of the morning passed beneath the shadow of the email.
Even while helping with repairs, Liam found himself thinking about it.
Graduate school.
A fresh start.
A new city.
New opportunities.
Everything he'd spent years working toward.
The logical choice seemed obvious.
So why did it suddenly feel complicated?
Around noon, they stopped for lunch.
The conversation inevitably returned to the topic.
"You should be proud."
Mason opened a bottle of water.
Liam looked up.
"What?"
"Getting accepted."
The answer sounded matter-of-fact.
As though there was no room for debate.
"That's not easy."
Heat settled unexpectedly in Liam's chest.
Not because of the compliment.
Because of who was giving it.
Mason rarely handed out praise casually.
When he said something, he meant it.
The realization mattered.
More than it should have.
"I didn't think I'd get in."
The admission slipped out quietly.
Mason frowned.
"Why not?"
Liam laughed softly.
Because explaining years of self-doubt in a single sentence felt impossible.
Instead he shrugged.
"I don't know."
The answer wasn't entirely honest.
Mason seemed to realize that.
Fortunately, he didn't push.
Instead he said something far more dangerous.
"I did."
Liam blinked.
"What?"
Mason looked genuinely confused.
"I thought you'd get in."
The younger man stared.
The statement arrived so casually.
So naturally.
As though success had always been obvious.
As though Liam wasn't someone who constantly questioned himself.
The warmth spreading through his chest became impossible to ignore.
"Thanks."
Mason shrugged.
"I'm serious."
The conversation moved on.
Yet the words remained.
Following Liam through the rest of the afternoon.
By the time Mason packed up for the day, sunlight streamed through the windows.
The weather had finally broken.
Blue sky stretched above the neighborhood for the first time in what felt like forever.
"Think about it."
Mason adjusted the strap of his tool bag.
"The program."
Liam nodded.
"I will."
"Good."
The answer carried surprising conviction.
Then Mason headed toward the door.
A moment later, he was gone.
The familiar truck disappeared down the street.
Silence returned.
For a long time, Liam remained standing in the entryway.
Thinking.
The acceptance letter still sat open on his laptop.
The opportunity remained exactly as exciting as it had been that morning.
Nothing about that had changed.
Yet something else had.
Before Mason entered his life, the decision would've been easy.
Graduate school.
New city.
New beginning.
End of discussion.
Now it wasn't.
Because for the first time in years, Oregon felt different.
The town felt different.
Even the house felt different.
Not because of the repairs.
Because of the person helping complete them.
That realization followed Liam upstairs later that evening.
It stayed with him while showering.
While making dinner.
While staring out the bedroom window as the sun disappeared behind distant trees.
Eventually he sat on the edge of his bed and opened the acceptance email again.
Prestigious program.
Excellent opportunities.
A future he'd once dreamed about.
Everything looked perfect on paper.
So why wasn't he more excited?
The answer arrived before he could stop it.
Mason.
Simple.
Dangerous.
True.
Liam closed the laptop slowly.
The realization settled heavily inside his chest.
For weeks, he'd assumed his growing feelings were manageable.
Temporary.
Something he'd eventually work through.
Now he wasn't so sure.
Because for the first time, the possibility of leaving Oregon didn't just mean leaving home.
It meant leaving Mason.
And that was the thought he couldn't seem to shake.
Long after darkness settled outside, Liam remained awake.
Thinking about opportunities.
Thinking about futures.
Thinking about choices.
And wondering something he never expected to ask himself.
Did he even want to leave Oregon anymore?
Midnight Messages
Mason spent the evening trying not to think about Liam.
Unfortunately, Liam had given him plenty to think about.
The acceptance letter.
The graduate program.
The excitement hidden beneath the anxiety.
And the question that kept returning no matter how often Mason pushed it away.
What did Liam actually want?
The drive home had been unusually quiet.
Not because the roads were empty.
Because his mind wasn't.
The younger man's uncertain expression had followed him all the way back to his apartment.
Most people would have celebrated immediately.
Most people would have already started planning the move.
Liam wasn't most people.
That realization made Mason smile despite himself.
He unlocked his apartment door and stepped inside.
The familiar silence greeted him.
A small living room.
A kitchen that rarely saw much use.
A television he barely watched.
The place wasn't bad.
Just empty.
Most evenings followed the same pattern.
Dinner.
Paperwork.
A little television.
Sleep.
Then another day of work.
Routine.
Predictable.
Safe.
Tonight felt different.
Mason tossed his keys onto the counter and glanced toward his phone.
The urge to text Liam appeared almost immediately.
He ignored it.
At least for fifteen minutes.
Then he checked his phone anyway.
Nothing.
Which somehow felt disappointing.
That realization annoyed him.
He was thirty-four years old.
Not a teenager waiting for messages.
Still, he found himself wondering what Liam was doing.