Page 39 of Addicted

Once Marci hurried off, Liam hid in the side stairwell and pulled up The Pointe’s website on his ancient phone.

The page was minimalist with soft floral accents and the photos looked great, especially the shots from the sky. Liam took a quick virtual tour and was beyond impressed. There was a calendar with availability right up front and a very user-friendly section where new clients could book. True to Marci’s word, this year and a lot of the following year were already reserved.

His eyes caught the wordstaffat the end of the menu, almost hidden in the top right corner. Clicking on it, the screen filled with various pictures of everyone in action and Liam’s breath caught, his heart hammering as a candid of him and Owen sat right at the top.

Somehow that photographer had captured them in the main room when Liam had come down to ask a question. Owen was in profile, his head turned to the side as he focused on Liam, who had been explaining something. They looked good together. Liam hadn’t expected that. He still thought of himself as a high schooler and Owen as this big adult but standing side by side they were now two men. Liam’s teenage years had left him; although he was several inches shorter and much thinner than Owen - who was broader in the shoulders and carried more muscle - they fit, complimented each other.

It made Liam’s head spin. No matter how much he smothered his feelings they still grew and grew and this only encouraged them, pointing out that he and Owen might not be as mismatched as he thought. To be honest, their shared history and shared pain looked good on paper and they enjoyed each other’s company - which still astounded Liam. Plus, Owen always seemed to know what Liam was thinking, like he’d effortlessly cracked Liam’s code.

But Owen was a pipe dream. Even if all those long stares and favoritism meant something more than friendship, familiarity, or pity, they couldn’t be together. Aside from the usual long list of reasons, a romantic relationship between them would ruin any chance Owen had at custody. Owen had to be a model citizen because if Enemy Number One found out that her soon-to-be ex-husband was with their neighbor’s son, someone twelve years younger whowastwelve when they’d moved into the neighborhood, it would ruin any chances Owen had of ever seeing Michael again.

Liam didn’t want to add to Owen’s problems; he wasn’t worth it. He was barely alive, only a thin human crust over a yawning canyon of grief. Owen could dosomuch better.

Swiping away the website, Liam took in a deep breath, feeling his heart slow down as his morning dose kicked in more. It lifted him and he grabbed on, trying not to think about pictures or parties or gifts; instead, he busied himself with one final sweep of the building, checking for any missed paperwork, but the search left him empty-handed. He drifted back to Owen’s office once it was close to lunchtime, ready to volunteer for sandwich duty, but Owen sidetracked Liam with excitement the minute he walked in the door.

“Guess what?” His grin was ear-to-ear as he hung up the phone. He was now in his midday office attire, with his sleeves rolled up, tie gone, and the top button of his dress shirt open, a few wisps of chest hair teasing out of the collar.

“Okay, what?” Liam stopped by the desk, reminding himself not to ogle Owen’s chest.

“Mrs. Rushio just booked.” Owen raised an eyebrow, looking smug.

Liam blinked. “That was fast. You were right.”

“And sometimes I’m left,” Owen grinned, basking in Liam’s eye-roll. “She acted like I never yelled at her.” Standing, Owen walked around the desk and leaned against the front of it. “And she took the first price we offered her, immediately putting down more than half as a deposit.”

“Wow.” Liam was still a master at conversation.

“I’m not sure Marci would use the same word. She thinks we’re free of that woman for good.” Then his expression changed back to excitement. “Oh! And this arrived!”

Turning, Owen bent over behind the desk to retrieve a large oblong box. The position stretched his pants to the limit, the fabric highlighting every delicious inch of his ass and thighs, and Liam’s cock stirred. He quickly looked away, not wanting to deal with an erection in the middle of this conversation.

Placing the box on the desk, Owen started to open it with only the strength of his hands and Liam continued to study the wall like it was the most interesting thing he’d ever seen.

“This is the new scanner you’ll be using. It comes with software that is easy to follow.”

Liam carefully brought his gaze back to Owen, watching as he knocked the empty box off the desk with his elbow, putting the plastic-wrapped scanner in its place.

“And since you can’t do all this onmycomputer, I also ordered a laptop,“ Owen declared, pulling the plastic away and unwrapping their new machine.

“What?” Liam thought his eyes were going to fall out of his head. “B-But-”

“You need to finish the filing project and I would like something portable for when I’m downstairs so it will benefit both of us.” He seemed amused by Liam’s shock.

“Oh…okay. Um. Thank you,” Liam stammered out, leaning against the side of the couch for stability.

“Don’t thank me yet. There’s still a bunch of work to do. Digitizing everything, showing the staff the new filing system and how to store recent contracts, and I’d love it if you could double-check the website blurbs. You know, make sure everything is spelled correctly.” Owen turned a little sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Mm-hmm.” Liam nodded, still a little shaken that Owen would buy all these things. Any reasonable person would understand that the new equipment was needed but somehow Liam felt more favoritism leaking through. Defending him to clients, the health insurance, the shiny new scanner,anda laptop? Owen was spoiling him.

“Have you taken a look at the site yet?” Owen asked, leaning over the desk and bringing it up on his monitor. “Web design is not my forte so I used a template. It’s nothing special but I think it’ll hold us until I can get someone in here to work on it and our social media.”

“I saw it this morning. I-It looks great.” Liam stumbled over his words, the photo of the two of them still too fresh in his mind.

Owen gestured at his chair and Liam hesitantly made his way around the desk, sitting down. A shadow fell over him as Owen put one hand on the back of the seat and leaned in, pointing at a box on the screen.

“Not only is there a place for new bookings but I’m thinking about putting in a page so vendors can register. It will compile who’s worked here the most. I was toying with the idea of letting our most popular ones advertise in the lobby and The Pointe could get a small commission from their sales.”

“That’s, um, a great idea,” Liam hoped he was making sense because he couldn’t concentrate. Owen wassoclose that Liam could barely breathe and when he did Owen’s scent washed over him. It was the usual mix of oranges and spice but underneath it all was Owen’s unique fragrance. It made Liam’s skin tingle, had him wishing that he could roll around in Owen’s sheets.

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