Page 49 of Southie
“I promise, Liam. I’ll hear you out.”
His arms tightened around me, and he took a deep breath then exhaled.
“Regardless of how you take what I tell you, even though I don’t understand what’s going on between us, I want this to work out. You’ve touched a part of me I didn’t think existed. I want you in my life, if you can accept me for the man I am. Not the life I lead.”
Yeah, this wouldn’t be good.
After his confession, I hoped I had enough room in my heart to accept who he was or separate the man from the life he led.
His fingers trailed up and down my arm, sending a calming sensation over my body. I relaxed under his touch, waiting for him to talk as he kissed my shoulder and lay back.
“My childhood was rough. I’m sure you heard some of the things I’ve gone through.”
“Your grandmother said your childhood wasn’t the best, and she held some guilt about that. She thought she hadn’t done enough.”
He exhaled harshly but didn’t elaborate on his grandmother’s feelings.
“We can do this another time, Liam, if it’s too much.
“No, you need to hear this. I don’t think it’d be good if we explored whatever’s going on between us until you hear me out, okay?”
I took in a deep breath, exhaled, and he tightened his arms around me.
“Okay,” I replied.
“My Pops is a cop, but not the typical ‘good cop’ because he has some addictions. Gambling and alcohol, mostly, but a few others. My mother’s a schoolteacher but is addicted to pills. You can imagine how toxic my household was growing up. I won’t go into details about that, but the older I got, my responsibility became taking care of my Pops debts. His debts to Paddy O’Connor.”
“Your boss?” I asked.
“Yeah. My Pops owed him a shitload of money. Fighting has always been my passion ever since I was little, so I joined the underground fight scene just to pay more money towards his debts. Now, I hate my parents, but Nana instilled in me at an early age to put family above everything else, including my hate for them. So, that’s what I did.”
“How old were you when you started paying his debts off?” I asked. “That’s such an enormous responsibility for a kid.”
“Sixteen. When I was old enough to get a job and drop out of school, that’s what I did. Those types of jobs didn’t pay enough, and even when I could hold down a regular nine to five, I’d get called away to pick him up from some bar, whore house, or gambling joint. For money, I did the drug thing for a while too, but that just wasn’t my thing. Anyway, fighting kept him from being killed by Paddy and it was something I enjoyed doing, even if it was illegal. But one night after one of the biggest fights of my career, on the way home, Paddy approached me with a proposition.”
He stopped because this was the point my opinion of him would change.
I shifted and straddled him. He closed his eyes when I rubbed his beard, pecked his lips, and rested my head against his chest while he rubbed his hand up and down my back.
“Liam, I won’t judge you, okay? Please tell me.”
“You promise?” he asked, barely in a whisper.
“I promise.”
His heart rate and his breathing steadily increased. I tangled my fingers in the hairs at the nape of his neck, hoping to calm him down. His breathing became steady, but his heart rate stayed the same.
“You remember asking me who Paddy was?”
“Yeah. I was going to ask Damian about him since he’s from Boston, but I haven’t gotten the chance.”
At the mention of Damian, his body tensed. “Damian?”
“A fighter at the gym. He goes to university with me, too.”
“Is he a problem?”
I laughed thinking about all the times he’d asked me out. “He’s asked me out a lot. I’ve even had other women approach me on campus about him, but I’ve turned him down. He’s too much of a playboy. Let’s get back on track, Liam. Damian’s not important. Who’s Paddy O’Connor?”
