Page 90 of Just a Footnote

“What?”

“I just think we’re kind of opposites?”

Confusion washes over Liam’s face. “How so?”

“Well…I can fuck anyone. I don’t normallyfeelanything about anyone though.”

“Oh.”

Aiden awkwardly clears his throat. “Except for you.”

A slow, hesitant smile spreads across Liam’s face. “You feel something about me?”

Aiden can’t help but roll his eyes. “Yeah, we’re friends.”

Liam nods tightly. “Right.”

“So have you been with other guys?” Aiden doesn’t know why he keeps talking or why he keeps asking questions. He doesn’t really want the answer. He does, but he doesn’t.

“Nope,” Liam admits, staring down at the table like he can turn it back into a tree through the power of thought alone.

Aiden changes the topic to hockey because he doesn’t want to make Liam uncomfortable. Afterwards, they clean up dinner like they always do with Liam washing and Aiden drying the dishes. Aiden zones out a little as he dries, staring out the window as the sun fades away. The snow has stopped falling and the clouds have cleared. Everything looks still and quiet outside. So serene. Yeah, that’s the word for it.

Afterwards, Liam drags him up to the loft. Everything is so muted and soft. They don’t even do anything besides hold oneanother. The warm press of Liam’s so familiar body lulls him into a sense of safety that nothing ever really has before in his life. Liam runs his fingers through Aiden’s hair, kisses his forehead, then his cheeks.

“I love the freckles here,” Liam admits quietly, running his fingers over said freckles. “Little kisses from the sun. I’m jealous they get to stay there forever.”

“Alright, Hallmark,” Aiden teases even though the words secretly make his heart race.

Liam lets out a soft laugh. “You’re such a little shit.”

Aiden just smiles sweetly at him. “Yeah.”

Liam kisses him, soft and slow, and it doesn’t go any further than that. Just soft kisses. Darkness seeps into the bedroom as day turns into night. They kiss for so long that Aiden’s body feels like it’s buzzing, his lips feel swollen and tender. Finally, Liam pulls away with a sigh. Liam drags them towards the bathroom to shower before bed.

Liam turns the water up high, just like Aiden likes it. The smell of his familiar citrus body wash is now something that smells oddly like home. He’ll have to buy it when he returns home for nights he finds it hard to sleep. They wash each other in the shower, reverently, and it’s all almost just a little too much. Especially when Liam dries him off after, just as tender as he’d washed him in the shower.

Once dry, they tumble into bed together to hide under the fluffy blanket. Liam talks to him about books he’s read. About how he’ll make a list for Aiden to listen to and they can reread his favorites. Aiden wonders if Liam will have a bookshelf in his house. The house with the picket fence, wife, and two kids playing inside of it. Maybe he’ll have an office for his books. A study. Someplace real intellectual and warm. His kids will hop onto his lap as he sits in a chair and reads.

Suddenly, it’s the middle of the night and they’re still bothawake. Just because they like talking to each other so much. Because it’s comfortable and nice and Aiden’s hearthurts. Leaving Liam in a few days is going to break his heart into a million little pieces.

“So, why Bigfoot?” Liam asks, genuinely curious.

Aiden suppresses a wince. “It started when I was a kid.”

Liam waves his hand to indicate for Aiden to go on, then curls his other into Aiden’s hair. The movement of his fingers on Aiden’s scalp is relaxing. Calming. His eyes fall closed.

“I learned about Bigfoot fromHarry and the Hendersons. I scoured the library about Bigfoot. Learned everything I could. And I thought, well, I wished I could hide as well as Bigfoot could. Maybe if I could hide that well mom couldn’t hurt me. I could disappear.”

Liam makes a tortured sound before brushing his lips across Aiden’s jaw. “I don’t want you to disappear.”

“No? I dick you down too well.”

“Yes,” Liam says gravely. “That’s the only reason why.”

“I know.” Aiden rolls over in the bed, propping his chin on Liam’s broad chest. He runs his hand up Liam’s bruised ribs, letting his palm come to rest there. “Does it hurt?”

“Nah. It felt fine the day after I took the hit.”

---