Page 2 of Addicted

Liam squeaked again as Mr. Parker’s face appeared inches from his, his bright blue eyes focused on the dashboard.

“They finally gave you the car, huh?” He nodded, flashed a brilliant thousand-watt smile full of straight white teeth that blew Liam’s socks off, and straightened up.

Liam peeked out after him. “You knew?”

“Of course!” Mr. Parker winked and Liam hoped that he wouldn’t have to deal with a hard-on in front of everyone. “Your dad has been hounding me for weeks with questions about the best kind of car for you.”

Liam glanced at his father, who stopped taking photos to shrug. “He’s right. What do Iknow about cars?”

“Speaking of which, you should bring the Subaru over to my place for a checkup, Logan. It’s overdue.” Mr. Parker reached out for the phone. “How about I take a picture of the three of you?”

“Yes! That would be wonderful!” His mother clapped her hands, clearly loving the idea. Liam got out of the car and they gathered by the side of the vehicle, their arms around each other.

“Okay, everyone smile!” Mr. Parker looked down at the screen, framing them. Liam, still fighting a hard-on and his feelings, smiled shyly, the corners of his mouth curving up far too little for someone that was just given a car. Something about the man in front of him made him feel like he was full of bubbling rushing energy. Energy that made him bashful. Of course, his mother was grinning ear to ear even as she scolded her husband for making faces at the camera.

“You’re not giving me smiles!” Mr. Parker’s laugh was just as sexy as his voice. “How about this? Why can’t melons have weddings?”

They groaned collectively as a family. The only bad thing about Mr. Parker was his sense of humor, which consisted of corny dad jokes that amused him far too much.

His bright white smile flashed again. “Because they cant-elope!”

Silence reigned for a few seconds. Then Liam’s mother began to giggle, setting his father off, and soon they were all laughing, holding each other tightly. Somewhere outside the hilarity, Liam could feel Mr. Parker snapping away, taking shot after shot, and suddenly he didn’t feel bashful. He felt grateful. And he vowed to print and frame one of the pictures so he could freeze this joyful moment in time and bring it with him to college and beyond.

1

LIAM

THREE YEARS LATER

Liamjoltedawaketohis phone alarm, the blaring sound wringing a gasp from him. He scrambled, his elbow hitting the wall as he stabbed a finger at the screen, trying to stop the noise.

It finally went silent and he collapsed back with a groan, staring at the ceiling through bleary swollen eyes. He felt terrible, as usual. He’d fallen asleep on the floor again, in the space between the bed and the wall, and he did not feel like moving anytime this week. It was safe in his cocoon. All he could see was the mattress on one side, a white wall on the other, and the stretch of matching ceiling above. There was barely room enough for him and he liked it that way. It felt like one of his mother’s hugs, a place where he was secure and untouched by the world.

But the world reached out, poking him as his phone chirped with three texts in quick succession, piggybacking the alarm. Dread pooled in his stomach. He only got messages this early if something was wrong at work and he was already starting the day off badly, he didn’t need any extra help.

He thought about getting up to chuck the phone out the window but that required far too much movement; instead, he let out a long sigh and brought the phone back up to his face, squinting at it. Sure enough, it was Marci, his oversharing, overly-chummy boss who might be considered a friend, but he didn’t have those anymore.

john the jerk is here omg help me can u come in early plz plz?

I need you -sends out liam batsignal-

plz liam plz

As maitre d’ of The Pointe, Marci would usually have things in order but the catering hall they worked at had been on shaky ground since their venue manager had quit three weeks ago, creating chaos right in the middle of wedding season. John, the owner, hadn’t been handling the lack of manager well. He didn’t really handle anything well which was why the manager position was empty at the moment. Since they didn’t have someone who could properly run the place, the stress level was very high.

Liam sighed. He wasn’t looking forward to dealing with John and his flagrant rudeness, especially after a night of crying and sleeping on the floor; besides, if Marci needed Liam there early, then she should have asked him last night, not now, when he’d just woken up and was aiming for barely-on-time. He needed at least an hour to ruminate in the shower and get the swelling in his eyes down. But Marci was kind to him, letting him take breaks when he needed and allowing more than the occasional call out, so he couldn’t turn her down. Despite her potent personality, she was a good person and Liam respected that. He just hoped that they found a new venue manager soon because he wanted to go back to being another boring server instead of Marci’s reluctant second-in-command.

Wiping a hand down his face, he breathed hard through his nose and typed.

i’ll be there as soon as i can, don’t worry john never stays long

It was true. John came from money and was good at owning things but not good at managing them, and he seemed allergic to working more than a few hours. His interest would most likely wear out by midday and he’d leave the staff in relative peace.

Liam’s phone beeped again.

i luv u liam have i ever told u that?

Liam snorted, the ghost of a smile on his face.

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