Page 50 of Something Forever

It’s never been like that for me before. So… connected.

I don’t have time to read too much into it. I can already feel sleep calling me, exhaustion settling into my bones. Just as my eyes are fluttering closed in a post-orgasm bliss, I swear I hear Liam mutter next to me, “I don’t think once is going to be enough.”

20

LIAM

Iwake up in my bed.

Alone.

The sun breaks through my window, unusually bright. I normally close my blackout curtains to sleep through the morning, but last night… well, last night was different.

Unexpected. Amazing. The best sex of my fucking life.

When I watched Whitney dancing at the club, I could hardly contain my hard-on. I saw that arsehole put his hands on her, and I almost lost it; I wanted to knock him out right there on the dance floor. I could feel my heart beating out of my chest, an unexpected burst of lust rushing through me. But then I saw her face, and the way she looked up at me with such an open expression of desire and… trust.

I couldn’t help myself. I needed her. Needed to possess her, to own her. To taste her.

I should’ve walked away. Should’ve walked through that door and gone straight to my room. But I couldn’t. Any ounce of self-control I had left inside me has dissipated entirely. And now that I know what she tastes like? That she’s sexy and sweet and everything in-between? I’m screwed.

And now… she’s gone.

She did say it would be a one-time thing.

Fuck. What the hell was I thinking? In the moment, it felt like the right thing to agree with her terms. Honestly, I would have agreed to anything. I figured we’d get it out of our system, like she said, but now that I know what she tastes like, what she feels like when I’m buried deep inside her… I need it again.

And again, and again, and again.

Shit.

I crane my head, listening for any trace of her in the apartment. What if she’s here? How am I supposed to act? As embarrassing as it is to admit, Whitney’s the closest thing I have to a friend these days, and I don’t want us sleeping together to ruin things between us. I’ve come to actually enjoy her company.

Suppressing a sigh, I roll out of bed. It’s not like I expected her to hang around and share her innermost secrets, but I’d at least thought… I don’t know. I don’t know what the hell I thought would happen in the morning. I wasn’t thinking that far ahead, but I sure as hell didn’t think she’d just sneak off in the middle of the night like it meant nothing.

Doesn’t it?

I crack open my door, glancing down the hall. Not a peep. She must be gone. I tiptoe into the kitchen, trying not to make a sound as I make my coffee.

With a sigh, I slip my phone out of my pocket and scroll down my contacts until I find Tim, an old friend of Luke’s and mine from uni. Last I heard, he was working for QuestBridge, the scholarship organization. He’s probably the only person I know who can help me out with Luke’s foundation. Is a phone call aggressive? Nobody calls anymore, but I hate texting, and I don’t want him to blow me off.

Shaking my head, I press the call button. A few rings later, Tim picks up.

“Hello?”

“Tim? It’s Liam Clark, from uh… Columbia. I don’t know if you remember me, but?—”

“Liam! Of course I remember you, mate.”

I suppress an eye roll. At least he remembers who I am.

“What’s up? I heard you were still at Columbia getting your masters?”

I really should have thought this through before I called him. “Yeah, erm, it’s a bit of a long story, but listen — are you still working at QuestBridge?”

He chuckles. “Yeah, I actually just got promoted.”

“That’s great.” I hesitate, then take a deep breath. “Any chance you’re free this week to grab a coffee or a pint? I kind of want to pick your brain about something.”

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