Page 68 of Liam

"I'm good with coffee, a fruit salad, and some dry toast."

Erik called the server over and placed our order. With a steaming cup of coffee in front of me, I opened the conversation. "I'm seeing someone."

"A man?"

I wrinkled my brow. "Of course, a man."

Erik grunted. He didn't approve. He'd never come out and been homophobic toward me, but I could tell he was disappointed in me for being gay.

"His name is Jamal," I pressed on. "And he's the coordinator for the Rainbow Youth Centre."

"That gay place you told me Noah volunteers at?"

"LGBTQ+."

"Is he foreign?"

"He was born in Canada." Pretty sure. He'd talked about elementary school in Victoria. I knew how this was going to sit with Erik. Me dating the child of immigrants. Which was insane. Both he and my birth mother were first-generation Canadians. The difference, they were white. My heritage was from Norway. Both sets of my birth grandparents still lived there.

Erik grunted again.

I rolled my eyes and sipped my molten hot, black coffee. There was no point engaging in a political conversation with him. We'd hashed out our differences many times.

"Does this Jamal have a university degree?" Erik asked.

"He has a Masters of Social Work." Noah had told me when Jamal first took over running the centre. He was beyond excited about Jamal's educational qualifications.

Erik chuffed out a sharp laugh. "Not surprising. You seem to surround yourself with soft liberals or the undereducated. Or has Noah gone back to law school?"

There were so many things I wanted to say, but instead, I packed my thoughts and feelings down. I kept my answer simple. "Noah is happier running the pub."

"Such a waste." Erik pointed at me. "Not unlike you. If you focused, you could become a psychiatrist. Instead of that useless Arts degree, you could take a science direction.

My cheeks warmed. "I don't want to be a psychiatrist. If I did go back to school, I'd become a counsellor and support youth who want to transition." It was the first time I'd slid those specific puzzle pieces together. It had taken me to be infuriated to put them in place.

Jamal would be so excited by this discovery.

My mind started spinning with possibilities.

Erik sighed and shook his head. "No wonder you don't fit in with my family. Both Jason and Julie are top surgeons." I didn't need to be reminded. He threw it in my face every time I saw him. Liamthe disappointmentwho would never be good enough for Erik's perfect family.

The server placed my food in front of me. I'd lost my appetite.

I was constantly hit from both sides. My birth mother, Freya's family were overachievers as well. And here I was afraid to reach. More concerned with my body and my sexual conquests.

I hung my head. Why the hell was Jamal with me?

Chapter Fourteen | Jamal

I was four hours into my day when a stranger walked into my office without knocking. I immediately knew who he must be. The resemblance was uncanny despite the work Liam had done. Unlike Liam's blond, the man had salt-and-pepper hair, but the same blue eyes as his son.

Why is he here?

Liam had come back from surfing yesterday and stopped by the centre before he'd even visited his apartment. Ethan had been happy to check in on his coffee shop down the street and leave Liam to visit with me. The door locked; Liam had given me the most incredible blowjob.

Then he'd told me about meeting with his birth father.

"Are you Jamal?" the man asked.

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