Page 15 of Hate To Love You
TongueTiedInKnots
I need someone to make me smile. Is your lightning-farting butt a Zeus reference?
Liam is surprised to find the message quickly read, followed by the dancing dots of a reply.
Hate2LoveU
It should be! Are you feeling down, Fireball?
Liam smiles. Already, he feels a dozen times better. He gives a few breadcrumbs about his day without saying too much—feeling overworked, underappreciated, and dealing with an infuriating jerk in the workplace—and then apologizing in his usual way for sounding so whiny.
Hate2LoveU
You don’t sound whiny at all. You want to hear whiny? Let me introduce you to my dad. He complains about his life all the time. And also about my life. He thinks I’m worthless.
Liam stiffens up, surprised. How could anyone think this guy is worthless? To Liam, he’s like a shining knight in a sea of bitter darkness, leading him safely to the other side of the underworld of his day-to-day life.
TongueTiedInKnots
Don’t let him bring you down. You’re not worthless. In just our short time getting to know each other, I know you’ve got a big heart and a good head on your shoulders.
Hate2LoveU
Don’t forget the lightning-farting ass!
Liam laughs out loud, grinning, then leans back against the wall next to the mirror, typing away.
TongueTiedInKnots
You make jokes, but I know you’re a good guy.
There’s a pause after the message is read. Liam can imagine in a thousand ways what this Hate2LoveU might look like as he feels Liam’s message, letting him touch him. Liam sure does hope it’s touching him. He wants him to feel good in the same way he helps Liam feel good.
Hate2LoveU
You’re not a bad one either, Fireball.
A knock at the door. Liam looks up. “Just a minute,” he says, which is promptly responded to with: “I don’t got a minute, dude, I got a lot less than that before somethin’ bad happens on this side of the door!” It’s one of the cashiers, Elliott from the sound of it. “I need in. Like, right now.” The door rattles from him shaking the handle. “Why’s this dang thing locked?Mother lovin’ …”
With a smile he can’t wipe off his face, Liam quickly tells his favorite person on the planet that he’s got to get back to work, then pockets his phone and heads off.
It was exactly what he needed. As usual, Hate2LoveU lifts his spirits and sends him back into his day with a lighter step. Liam is humming a tune to himself as he restocks a shelf. He’s bobbing his head to the song playing over the intercom radio as he checks on the displays in the front and helps with a spill by the front doors. Even when Teague has a needy moment of not remembering how to unlock a challenging cabinet by the bakery, Liam does so with a lightness to his every movement, which even seems to catch his alleged trainee off-guard. “You’re in a sudden good mood,” he says with a smile, to which Liam replies, “And it has entirely nothing to do with you,” then whistles as he saunters away, cabinet unlocked.
The good mood lasts for exactly twenty-eight minutes.
It’s on the twenty-ninth minute that he’s caught by a chipper Mr. Michelson by the cash registers. “Liam, can I have you do me a favor and run a quick errand out to Gary’s ranch? We’re running low on produce and they’re preparing an order for us. It’s a fairly big order, so you’ll need an extra set of hands—”
“And a truck!” puts in Teague excitedly, appearing so quickly out of thin air that it makes Liam jump. “I can drive.”
Liam crosses his arms stiffly. “I can pick up the order myself, Mr. Michelson.”
“Oh, I’ve seen your car,” says Teague with an annoying nudge into Liam’s ribs, “and figuring how big our order might be, it won’t fit. My whole bed is clear, clean, and ready to Freddy.”
“What in the heck does ‘ready to Freddy’ mean??” blurts Liam before he can stop himself.
Mr. Michelson, taking this back-and-forth to be just friendly banter, chuckles lightly and nods. “I’ll reimburse you both a littleextra if you grab an order for Nadine’s restaurant, too, if you have the space in your truck, Mr. Jenson.”
“Sure do!” he exclaims. Liam is sputtering for a reason to stop this train from leaving the station. “Just leave it to us! We’ll take care of your errands!”
