Page 5 of Puck'n Bully
Suspended in this moment with Liam, I feel like I’m in a different universe.
Here, I’m just a regular guy enjoying a bowl of noodles with someone who’s a friend. I don’t have to hide who I am. I can be myself without the fear of being an outcast for simply being me.
Liam continues to eat without asking me anything. His quiet acceptance of me is like a balm, soothing the wounds I’ve always carried within me.
“Leave the dishes in the sink,” Liam says after a while, yawning. “I’ll wash everything in the morning. For now, I just want to hit my bed.”
“Oh, you want me to leave?”
“It’s past midnight, Pirate,” Liam says, stifling another yawn. “Of course, I’m not throwing you out of the house tonight. Especially, when it’s still raining so hard.”
It’s no longer thundering like before but I can still hear the sound of the rain hitting the glass panes of the kitchen window.
“Can I sleep with you?” I ask, wanting to see how far Liam’s acceptance will stretch. “I don’t want to be alone tonight.”
“Sure,” he says with a nonchalant shrug.
I follow him as he walks out of the kitchen and heads to the staircase at the end of the hallway.
“What were you doing out there tonight?” I ask as we head up the stairs.
“I was cooped up all day writing my report for a school project,” Liam replies with a backward glance at me. “I’m studying Physics at Kingston U, by the way. Anyway, I needed to get out of the house even though a storm was about to hit us. I was on my way home when I spotted you among the waves.”
He comes to a halt at the top of the stairs and turns around to face me. “Promise me you won’t do something like that again, Pirate,” he says in a grim tone. “Promise me you’ll fight no matter what life throws at you. If you need to talk to someone, you can count on me to listen.”
My chest tightens with a foreign emotion and all I can do is nod my head in reply.
Liam walks down the hallway and opens a door. “This is my room,” he says, striding inside.
I follow him into the room and find myself in a modest space that’s filled up with a bed, sparse furniture, and wooden shelves crammed with thick books. Superhero posters, especially of Spiderman, cover most of the walls.
A smile comes onto my lips as I realize my Liam is a hardcore nerd.
Wait...did I just think of him asmyLiam?
“Night,” I hear a murmur and find him slipping under the covers.
I stand by the bed, feeling unsure whether to climb in beside him. Barely a few minutes pass by when I hear a soft snoozing sound.
Liam has already fallen asleep.
Surprise flickers through me. How can he sleep so soundly with a guy around who’s just confessed to being gay? I could yank the covers off his slim body and force myself on him right now and he’d have no way to escape me.
Liam trusts me, I realize with a start.
Another wave of warmth suffuses me, melting more of the icicles surrounding my heart, allowing it to throb with a powerful emotion. I’ve never felt this feeling of wanting to be around someone so strongly before.
With a smile on my face, I climb under the covers beside him and close my eyes. My exhaustion and the warmth of Liam’s bed easily lull me into a deep sleep, allowing me to escape my tormenting memories.
2
Hayden
My eyes gently open, revealing a strange ceiling over my head. The sound of singing birds reaches my ears, making me sit up and look toward the windows draped with light curtains.
As the sheet falls off my chest, I become aware of the tight clothes I’m wearing.Liam’s clothes...my mind whispers.
Looking down at the bed, I find Liam gently snoozing. He’s still deep in sleep, his beautiful face utterly relaxed.
