Page 81 of Just a Footnote

Aiden nods tightly. “Yes. I need you to be with me.”

Climbing into the bed together, naked, Liam curls around him in a protective gesture that would normally irritate Aiden. But tonight it doesn’t. Liam wraps an arm under his neck, holding him close. Aiden should feel claustrophobic but he doesn’t. He just feels…held. A possessive hand settles on his hip, thumb rubbing at his hip bone, before Liam buries his face in Aiden’s neck. Breath puffs across his skin, making goosebumps rise down his arms and back. He closes his eyes and lets himself relax against Liam.

He falls asleep that way, held in Liam’s arms, safe.

11

Morning sun filters through the windows of the cabin as Aiden blinks sleep away. He sits up slowly, even though it’s difficult because of the possessive arm slung around his waist. Goosebumps appear on Liam’s skin where Aiden trails his fingers in a path down his spine. He likes touching Liam when he’s asleep. In the deepest parts of his heart, he imagines no one else has ever touched Liam like this, when he’s most bare to the world. That it’s new and something that’s just his own.

“Morning,” Liam mumbles, turning his head on the pillow. His eyes are sleepy when he opens them to peer at Aiden. “It’s early.”

The sound of Liam’s sleep husky voice sends a thrill through Aiden. Waking up beside him, smelling his skin, it’s something he could get used to. The idea should terrify him, but it oddly doesn’t. Not for now at least. All he feels is deeply rooted comfort.

Aiden feels his lips quirk up at the corners. “My body is still on New York time.”

“I forgot.” Liam tries to tug him down, but Aiden pinches his bicep. “Hey!”

“Let's get up. I need coffee and I want to explore.”

“You’re one of those,” Liam complains, sounding whiny and slightly put out.

“What?” Aiden asks in confusion.

“You don’t relax on vacation.”

Aiden frowns down at Liam. Is that what this is? He’s not sure he’s ever really had a vacation. Unless he counts traveling with Archer for games? But that felt more like work than a vacation. Liam sits up to press a warm kiss to Aiden’s cheek.

Aiden eyes him. “What was that for?”

Liam only grins back at him. “Just because.”

The blankets fall away when Liam climbs out of the bed, his muscles flexing as he tugs on a pair of sweatpants. Aiden climbs out of bed, pulling on a pair of his own sweatpants. Before he can change his mind, he grabs one of Liam’s shirts from his duffle bag, tugging it on. The shirt is too big on him, but it smells like home. In the bathroom they stand side-by-side to brush their teeth. Liam’s grin is cocky when he spots Aiden in his shirt.

“It’s too big for you,” Liam points out while spitting toothpaste into the sink. A glob gets stuck at the corner of his lips. Aiden reaches out to brush it away, feeling Liam’s lips curve into a deeper smirk against his thumb. “It looks good.”

Aiden scoffs. “You’re a caveman.”

“So?”

Aiden spits his own toothpaste out. “You like that I’m wearing your clothes.”

Liam’s hands fall on Aiden’s hips, their eyes meeting in the mirror. “You like that I like that you’re wearing my clothes.”

That’s true. “Whatever.”

A little while later, Aiden sits at the kitchen counter, watching as Liam makes them coffee, and fluffy omelets. The refrigerator is well stocked. Liam must’ve paid someone toensure they had enough groceries for their week stay. They eat together at the kitchen counter, legs brushing each time Aiden moves slightly on his chair.

Aiden gets Liam going by asking him about his team. Liam doesn’t like Seattle as much as Aiden had thought. He’s lonely. He has a few friends on the team, but it’s not the same as college. Aiden bites back all his teasing remarks, every asshole thing he so badly wants to say. Instead, he just lets Liam talk. It’s nice to hear Liam tell him things, how he feels, he’s always liked that.

Sometimes it feels like he knows a version of Liam that maybe not everyone else does. Liam is so self-assured around everyone else but with Aiden he lets his worries show. His anxieties.

“Do you think you’ll try for a trade someday?” Aiden asks.

Liam shrugs. “Sure, I don’t have a reason really yet though.”

“You could look for a team closer to your dad.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Liam sounds kind of put out though. Like that’s not really what he wants.

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