Page 32 of Cosmo

“I like that! Lulu!”

They stopped at a shop that was next door to a place that served coffee, and Abs insisted they go inside for a cup. As far as Liam was concerned, Abs had had enough caffeine, but…

“One triple shot, fat-free latte with stevia, and throw in a splash of that sugar free white chocolate.”

“Are you watching your weight?” Liam teased.

“Ass,” he said as he laughed.

When Liam was up, he ordered a plain coffee with three real sugars and a scone. After he paid, he sat at a table near the front window, and Abs was already there, watching people walk by.“You know, Haze is a painter. We go eat, or get coffee, and he watches people go by. I never thought about it until I met him. He sees things in people I never saw.”

That was something Liam could relate to. But he was also sure he saw people much differently than anyone else. The woman rushing by with her purse clutched tightly to her stomach and her chestnut hair blowing away from a face that was stony with focused consternation. What others might see as her being in a hurry, or worried she’d have her purse stolen, to him, he thought she seemed to rush home to find some way to hurt her unsuspecting children.

“What does he paint?”

“Everything. He finds inspiration in so much. His room isn’t as much a room as a studio. It’s so full of canvases and he’s got three easels, all of them with a partially painted canvas on it.”

“It must be nice to have that kind of hobby.”

“Yeah. I like music, art, and stuff too, but nothing like Haze likes art and Hippy’s into music. He’s all about jazz and blues and stuff like that.”

Liam had nothing that interested him in that way. He read and worked out in prison, and he enjoyed reading, but that couldn’t be considered something like their interests.

Then again, he loved it. It hadn’t only been to wile away the hours. Genuinely liking the stories he’d read, Liam thought he could try more of it, now that he wasn’t inside the walls of the prison.

“Maybe I can try to up my hobby game a little.”

Abs’ smile was wide and genuine. “Me too. Maybe I’ll start doing makeovers, like I’ve always wanted to do.”

“Makeup and clothes? You’re great at it. I got a ton of compliments the other night.”

“Okay, that’s it then! Whatever you’re thinking about, and me with my makeovers. We’ll have rooms full of our hobbies too.”

“I’m thinking books for mine,” he confessed. “I liked reading when I was…”

“Yeah. I read in jail. Nothing else to do. Great! Maybe we’ll go to the library later this week.”

“I’d like that.”

If he didn’t want a family, he thought having a couple friends couldn’t hurt. And Abs was sweet. So was Goldie and the others, as far as he’d seen so far.

“Oh, you have to buy a case of condoms.”

Liam chuckled at that, but Abs was serious. “Okay, why?”

“You get laid a lot. None of us have a steady guy, except Mims, but he has a new one every month. We don’t have time for them, usually, so without a steady guy, you’ll get so much dick. Or ass, whichever you prefer.”

“I’m kind of in the middle.”

“Not me. I’m a total bottom.”

He kept to himself how easy it was to guess that. “So, condoms. And where do you guys fuck?”

“Are you asking if we bring guys home? I mean, duh. Murphy doesn’t have rules for that. Just, you know, keep your real name to yourself for as long as you can. Condoms and lube packets. Just in case. You tend to get hookups on the fly, so be prepared.”

“Got it.”

The shopping trip was a whirlwind, Abs dragging him around, making him buy this top or those pants, and he never thought in his life he’d own more than two pairs of shoes, but there he was, carrying bags with five pairs.

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