Page 46 of Addicted

His phone chimed and Liam absently reached for it with his clean hand, glancing at the screen. A text from Marci streamed across the front.

-sends out Liam batsignal- jessica and alex jumped ship and I NEED u can u serve tonight?

Liam blinked away the rest of his tears. If he was downstairs tonight, then he’d have enough space to handle his post-masturbation remorse. They would only see each other in passing during the event but it would allow Liam to feel out their situation before he had to work with Owen one-on-one again.

He rose, using one thumb to slowly type.sure i’ll come in later.

Marci got right back to him withur a gem!!!followed by about twenty heart emojis.

Quickly washing his hands, Liam pulled the small bag of pills from his wallet, counting them. He was getting low and needed to visit Zach after work but he’d be okay.

He just needed to get through one simple wedding.

A few hours later, Liam sneaked into The Pointe through the side door and beelined to the kitchen, deciding to spend some time with Angelo first. He was still feeling trepidatious about being in the same building with Owen so assisting with prep would calm him before his check-in with Marci. But someone must have ratted him out because he was only there for twenty minutes before Marci kicked in the swinging doors and dragged him out by his jacket. Angelo gave him a smile that saidbest of luckas Liam stumbled after her into the hallway.

“Owen and I have been looking for you! And you’ve been hiding from me in the kitchen?” She huffed as they wound their way around other staff who rushed to and fro, setting up for the wedding reception. “Why didn’t you tell me you were here?”

“Owen was looking for me?” Liam stuttered, curious and trying to misdirect her. It seemed to work.

Putting her hands on her hips, Marci stopped in an alcove so they wouldn’t get run over. “His friend was here and wanted to meet you. He left a few minutes ago after poking around this place forwaytoo long.”

“His friend?” Liam’s eyes drifted to the ceiling as he thought. “Finn?”

“Messy hair, brown eyes, looks like he hasn’t showered in a week? Dresses like he plays bass in a high school band? Is annoying as fuck?” She rolled her eyes and usually Liam would’ve laughed but he was wondering why Finn wanted to meet him, especially after the almost-kiss. Another point went to serving this evening; it had not only saved him from an awkward day in Owen’s office but had also rescued him from a probably-even-more-awkward conversation with Finn.

Liam nodded. “Yeah, that’s him. Um…what did he do? Because you don’t seem to like him.”

“He acted like a smug jerk, like I was offending him because I wanted to know who he was before I let him up to see Owen. Then, when I was distracted, he crept by me when Ispecificallytold him to stay put. What if he was a mass murderer?”

“Then you would have defended The Pointe valiantly,” Liam stated with a grin.

Her eyes narrowed. “Whatever. You’re still not off the hook for hiding from me but why do I think you weren’t hiding frommebut fromOwen?”

Liam watched Dylan scurry by, carrying three chairs on each arm. “What’s the plan for tonight?”

Marci wagged two fingers at him in an exaggerated peace sign. “Twice. You’ve tried to change the subject twice now. Not that I’m counting.” She paused, putting her hand on the earpiece of her headset and giving a few orders before she focused on Liam again, leading them upstairs to the foyer. “Tonight’s wedding has two grooms. They’ve already done the ceremony at a park where they met so it’s reception only. There might be some overtime. Cocktail hour starts in forty-five minutes, there are two hundred guests, the DJ is setting up now, and there’s a full Viennese with Emma doing bananas foster. You have the regular tables. Can you help set up in the main room and then assist Dylan with cocktail?”

Liam nodded, already exhausted; he didn’t know how he used to do this every night or how he was going to do it again. He’d gotten spoiled upstairs. If anyone else was their venue manager Liam might ask for a permanent office job. He liked organizing and assisting, helping The Pointe run in any way he could, and those tasks didn’t completely drain his batteries like serving did. But Liam couldn’t work this closely with Owen for much longer. Too many lines had been crossed.

For the next hour, Liam worked in the main room, placing silverware on tables and adjusting chair bows, and then Dylan kept him busy with bringing food and seating out for the cocktail hour. The foyer slowly filled with guests, the volume of laughs and conversations building along with the crowd. People were also milling about outside, taking selfies in front of the fountain and hugging each other. Some of the faces looked familiar but that was common. Liam had worked so many events that there were bound to be repeat visitors.

As he was wiping down tables a flash of blond hair caught his attention and he skittered to the side, peeking out from behind a pillar.

Owen stood in the doorway to the cocktail room, dapper in his blue suit and patterned tie. It brought out the hue of his eyes, which were scanning the room looking for someone. For Liam.

Ducking back behind the pillar, Liam scurried to the door at the back of the room. It was staff-only and led to the side stairwell, which Liam took downstairs. He was aiming for the storage room but when Marci popped out of the kitchen he darted into the bathroom instead, hoping that he’d be safe there.

“Liam?”

His name was said with familiarity and surprise. Whipping around, it took Liam a moment to place who it was and when he finally did all the blood drained from his face. “Ollie?”

The last person Liam had expected to see was a friend from high school. He and Ollie hadn’t been super close but they’d taken a few classes together; plus, they were both gay, giving them a camaraderie that was stronger than just nods when they’d passed each other in the hallways. Ollie had changed a lot; his short blond hair - which was a shade lighter than Owen’s - had grown out and now surrounded his head in a fluffy curly halo, highlighting his light blue eyes and making him look like an angel. He’d grown an inch or two and lost some weight; his cheeks had hollows and his suit jacket was clearly a size too big but he carried it well. He wore some light makeup with immaculate eyeliner, as well as a very jaunty tie and cummerbund set, and the phone in his hand showed that he’d been taking snapshots in the mirror before Liam had run in.

Before Liam could say anything else he was engulfed in a hug.

“Oh my fucking god. Oh my god. It’s so good to see you! I didn’t know you worked here!” Ollie rocked them back and forth, clearly excited to see Liam. On autopilot, Liam brought his hands up, patting Ollie on the back, but he was gobsmacked, trying to catch up to the pit of dread in his stomach that was clearly trying to tell him something.

“We have to take a pic for Insta!” Pulling away, Ollie extended his arm, quickly taking a photo of the two of them. With a swipe of his thumb, he selected it in the gallery, frowned, and took two more, making a duck face for the last one while Liam gave a weak smile as his hands trembled.

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