Page 26 of Just a Footnote

“New York will be a good fit for me,” Archer replies, rubbing at his chin, looking thoughtful. “I’m just happy as long as I can play. And you’ll definitely be attending NYU Medical School in the fall because you’re such a smartie.”

Emotion chokes Aiden for a moment, the feeling of Archer believing in him so deeply is something he’ll never get used to no matter how often Archer does it. He looks away from Archer and back at his textbook, signaling the end of their conversation to Archer. The dorm quiets around them. Archer yells out a goodbye as he heads out, leaving Aiden to sit alone with his thoughts. Which he hates. He hates thinking, he hates being in his head. Before he can talk himself out of it, he grabs his phone and texts Liam.

Archer went to stay at Mile’s for the night

His phone vibrateswith a text from Liam before he even sets it back down.

Want me to come over now? :)

Whenever

You eat yet?

Aiden frowns down at his phone. He hasn’t eaten but that’s not the point. Actually, whatever, if Liam wants to bring him food there’s no harm in that.

Is that a come on?

…….. no. do you want food or not?

Sure

Be there soon

A strange setof nerves hits Aiden. He can’t stop his knee from anxiously bouncing. Instead of sitting on the couch losing his mind, he ambles to the bathroom. Taking a quick shower, he brushes his teeth, then puts on some of the cologne he’s taken to wearing the past few years. A few old hookups really liked it. Maybe Liam will too.

Wait. That’s weird. Why does he care if Liam likes his cologne?

He doesn’t care. He’s just being polite. Making himself smell nice for Liam.

A soft knock at the door interrupts his quickly spiraling train of thought. He eyes himself in the mirror, taking in the freshly tousled look of his hair, the slight redness in his cheeks because the shower he took was way hotter than he meant. Whatever. Liam won’t notice.

“I brought Tex-mex.” Liam pushes through the door, right past Aiden, to stroll into the kitchen. Aiden watches him make himself at home. Nothing about it should be unusual, Liam has been in their kitchen a million times. There’s a familiarity to his movements as he grabs plates, silverware, and dishes out the food he brought.

Upon closer inspection, Liam even ordered his favorite meal: a burrito bowl with extra guacamole; he even got the cilantro lime rice that Aiden prefers.

“How did you know what my order is?” Aiden asks suspiciously, eyes narrowed in Liam’s direction.

Liam shrugs. “I’ve picked it up enough times over the years. It’s in my app under my favorite orders.”

That makes Aiden feel a little weird. Kind of itchy in his skin. He’s got to shift the mood. He steps up behind Liam, presses his front to Liam’s back, smelling the familiar smell of oranges that Liam always radiates. Squeezing Liam’s hips, he nips at Liam’s bicep, enjoying the shiver that pulls out of Liam.

“Can I eat you first?”

“Jesus,” Liam swears softly.

Liam spins in Aiden’s arms, and Aiden uses that as his chance to run his hands up Liam’s broad chest, over his ribs. A pained hiss escapes Liam’s lips, he quickly tries to cover the sound up by dipping down to kiss Aiden. Aiden pulls away, head tilted to the side, then lifts Liam’s hoodie and shirt to inspect his ribs. A dark, angry bruise mottles the skin across Liam’s ribs.

“Liam?”

“It’s nothing,” Liam grumbles, hurriedly yanking his shirt back down.

Aiden frowns deeply, worried. “Doesn’t look like nothing to me.”

“I’m fine.” Liam levels him with a serious look that says he’s done talking about it. But, well, the thing is that Aiden isn’t sure he’s done talking about it. Archer has come home with his fair share of bumps and bruises over the years playing hockey. He knows how much they hurt and for how long.

Aiden pulls away from Liam to grab one of Archer’s frozen ice packs from the freezer. He guides Liam into the living room so they can eat their food comfortably. Pressing the ice packunder Liam’s shirt, he watches as stark relief falls over Liam’s face.

“You’re kind of an idiot,” Aiden points out.

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