Liam

by Candice Blake

  It was difficult in a toxic environment like that, where every guy was trying to show their dominance, and trying to take the place of the top alpha. I was impressed by Liam because he’d never make those stupid, ignorant comments about gay people.

  Liam was sensitive like that, and guys would make fun of him for it. His empathy was what I loved most about him. The soft side that he showed to the world was truly who he was, but I could tell his quiet nature was more than just him being sensitive. He seemed to be thinking about things all the time, and he always seemed a bit tense.

  We never really talked about why he was so quiet all the time. I guessed guys didn’t really talk about things like that. Liam, Damon, and I just liked to do things together and we never really dived too deep into our personal lives, except when it was about girls. It was nice to just go to the gym with the guys, and sweat, or play some ball together. I was so curious about Liam’s past, and maybe it was because he was so closed off that I wanted to be the person who he could fully open up to.

  I reached down and pulled my sweatpants down slightly to release some pressure from my hard-on. Some precome leaked from my tip onto Liam’s sweatpants. I hadn’t shaved in a while, so I was hairy as fuck, and now that I had finished midterms, I was definitely going to have to clean myself up. I refrained from rubbing my bare cock against Liam’s ass and waited for him to shift his ass back again. He did eventually as if his ass was a magnet attracted to my cock.

  I put my hand firmly on his side, holding him close to me, putting my face close to his hair to take in his scent.

  What the hell am I doing?

  And why the hell does it feel so damn good?

  I didn’t have a problem getting any girl I wanted on campus. Well, I shouldn’t say any girl. Some girls thought I was too cocky, but they just didn’t know how ambitious my dreams and aspirations were. I was going to make it big one day. I just knew it. I knew how precious life was and I wanted to make the best of it.

  I closed my eyes again and took in the feeling of being close to someone I really cared for. In a way, Liam seemed a bit like a younger brother to me. I had a feeling Damon felt that way about Liam too. Liam was like a rare, delicate flower that needed to be tended to. Maybe it was his upbringing that had made him this way.

  I was excited to see what Liam’s future was going to be like too. I knew he wanted to play basketball, but I also knew his parents wanted him to take over his dad’s business.

  Liam stopped snoring and when I opened my eyes again, he was turned toward me with his eyes widened. He was looking right at my exposed cock.

  “What the fuck?” he asked, quickly moving away from me.

  He moved away so fast that he fell off my bed, and I didn’t even have the chance to catch him before he fell. He hit the floor hard and his body made a loud thump on the carpet.

  I couldn’t have pulled my pants up faster.

  “Why is your dick out like that?” he asked.

  I didn’t know how to answer him, but when I looked at him, he was hard too.

  “You were the one rubbing up against it,” I said, trying to defend myself. “And you’re the one sleeping in my bed.”

  Liam smoothed his hand over the spot on his head that hit the floor.

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  “I’m fine. I just hit my head pretty hard when I fell,” Liam sat up, and closed his eyes tightly. I wondered if he was in a lot of pain.

  “Come here,” I said.

  Liam got off the floor and came back to my bed. I sat up and took a look at the side of his head, moving his blond hair around to see if he was bruised anywhere.

  “There’s a small bump here,” I said. “You should go to the nurse to see if you have a concussion.”

  Liam tried to feel the bump on his head and our hands touched, sending a jolt throughout my body. I quickly took my hand away.

  “I don’t have a concussion,” he said. “I didn’t fall that hard. I think I’ll be fine.”

  “Okay,” I said. “I’m sorry about what I did just now. You were just rubbing up against me and I was so horny for some reason. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.”

  “It’s fine,” he said. “It’s not like you’ve never felt my cock against your ass before, but I always do it in a joking way. Were you doing it... sexually?”

  “No,” I said. “Of course not.”

  It was all I could think to say at the moment. I didn’t want to ruin our friendship because of what happened and I didn’t want anyone to find out either.

  I looked down again and Liam was still hard, but I didn’t say anything because I was throbbing too.

  The door opened and Damon walked in, giving us a weird look as he put his backpack down on his desk.

  “You guys are always in bed together,” Damon said with a suspicious look on his face. “And why do you guys look like you just saw a ghost?”

  “We just woke up,” I said. “And just to clarify, Liam’s always in my bed.”

  “Well if you guys didn’t make me take the top bunk, I’d probably sleep in my bed more often,” Liam said.

  “We didn’t make you take it,” Damon said. “You were the last one to move in, and Shawn and I claimed our beds before you did.”

  Damon took off his shoes and climbed on his bed across from us.

  “How’d the midterm go?” I asked.

  “Terrible,” Damon said. “I think I failed it. I don’t know why I decided to take an upper-year econ class in my freshman year.”

  “I’m sure you did alright,” Liam said. “You always think you’ve done poorly, but you always end up with good grades.”

  “Let’s hope you’re right,” Damon said. “All I want is some dinner now and to go drinking tonight. Are you boys up for drinks later?”

  “We can’t,” I said.

  “Why not?” Damon’s eyes widened in shock, probably because I’d never said no to drinks before.

  “We sort of have a date tonight,” I said.

  Damon looked even more shocked now. “You guys both have a date?”

  I knew his question was geared more toward Liam since he’d never really been on any dates yet since we met him.

  Liam exhaled. “It’s not a date. I don’t know what it is. Shawn asked Casey to go to a movie tonight with both of us. So, I’m probably just going to be the third wheel.”

  “That’s... interesting,” Damon said, scratching his head.

  I put my hand around Liam’s shoulder. “You’re not going to be the third wheel. I’m just making it easier for you to hang out with the girl you’ve been talking about forever.”

  “That’s not a terrible idea,” Damon said. “I support that, even though both of my best friends are ditching me tonight to hang out with a girl.”

  “You actually think it’s a good idea?” Liam asked.

  Damon nodded. “It’s a great idea. Shawn’s good at making social situations less awkward. It’ll be fun, Liam.”

  “I don’t know why you both think this is such a good idea. I just have a feeling it’s going to end in disaster.”

  “Don’t have that mindset,” I said to him. “Everything’s going to be alright. I promise. If not, we’ll just come back here after and hang with Damon.”

  Liam furrowed his brows and looked blankly into space. I could tell how nervous he was.

  “Have you guys eaten yet?” Damon asked.

  “No,” Liam and I said at the same time.

  “Let’s get dinner then,” Damon said. “Unless you guys also have dinner plans for your little date tonight.”

  “No, it’s just a movie,” I said. “Let’s eat. I’m starving.”

  Damon got off his bed and put his shoes back on. “I’ll meet you guys out in the common room then.”

  He left the room so it was just Liam and me again. Liam got off my bed first, and I noticed his bulge hadn’t gotten any smaller.

  I reached into my pants and adjusted my cock so my hard-on
wasn’t so visible, and then went to the closet to change for dinner. I put on jeans and a different t-shirt and Liam and I left the dorm room for dinner.

  7

  Liam

  Twenty-seven years ago

  It was the evening of the date. Damon, Shawn and I finished dinner and we were hanging out in the dorm room.

  “What should I even wear?” I asked, flipping through all my clothes in the closet for the millionth time.

  “Don’t ask me,” Damon said. “We all know I have the least fashion sense out of all of us.”

  Damon was in bed drinking his first beer of the evening, even though he didn’t have any plans yet.

  Shawn was sitting at his desk doing some reading and came over to help me. He flipped through some of the clothes in my closet, which consisted mostly of hoodies, t-shirts, sweatpants, and jeans.

  Shawn went over to his own closet and handed me his green hoodie. “Wear this.”

  “Really? A hoodie on a date?” I asked.

  “Yeah, we’re going to see a movie, not an opera. You don’t have to overthink it. This green matches your eyes.”

  I took off my shirt to put the hoodie on.

  “I’ve always liked that color on you,” he said.

  I looked in the mirror, unsure whether it was the right thing to wear, but Shawn seemed confident about it.

  “You look good,” Damon said. “Just try to have a good time. You’ll be fine.”

  “Thanks,” I said.

  I went back over and sat down on Shawn’s bed since he was sitting at his desk.

  “What time is the movie again?” I asked, looking at the alarm clock.

  “It starts at nine thirty,” Shawn said. “Casey should be coming over soon.”

  I waited anxiously for her to arrive. I could feel the jitters throughout my body. I’d never been on a date with a girl in college. What the guys didn’t know was I’d never dated anyone before. They probably wouldn’t make fun of me for it, but it was still an embarrassing thing to admit to, considering how much game both Damon and Shawn had, Shawn especially.

  There was a knock on the door. It was so quiet that I wasn’t sure if someone was actually knocking. My heart beat a little faster.

  Shawn looked up from his book and turned to me. “What are you waiting for. Go open the door.”

  I got off his bed and walked to the door. It was so much more awkward with Damon and Shawn there with me. I felt like I had been put on the spot.

  I took a deep breath and opened the door. Casey was standing on the other side, wearing a white shirt and light blue jeans, under a black trench coat. Her blonde hair was fastened in a bun.

  “Hey,” she said quietly. “Are you going to let me in?”

  I didn’t realize I was just standing there looking at her.

  “You look beautiful,” I said with a smile. “Come on in.”

  “Thank you,” she said. “I like that sweater on you.”

  I stepped aside and she walked into the room. I couldn’t believe Casey actually came that evening to go on a date with me and Shawn.

  Damon had sat up a little straighter and Shawn had closed the book he was reading.

  “I’m going to head out to the common room and see if anyone wants to go out tonight,” Damon said, getting off his bed to leave the room. “Have fun.”

  “See you later,” I said.

  Damon stepped out of the dorm room and closed the door.

  Shawn smiled at Casey.

  “Are you excited to see Titanic?” he asked.

  “I am,” Casey said. “I’ve been trying to avoid spoilers, but it’s hard because everyone seems to be talking about the movie.”

  “We all know they’re all going to die in the end,” Shawn said.

  “I don’t think everyone died on the ship,” I said.

  “I just hope Leonardo DiCaprio doesn’t die,” Casey said jokingly.

  Shawn and I laughed.

  I went to my minifridge and pulled out my favorite craft beers, giving two of them to Shawn and Casey. I opened one for myself and took a long sip.

  Shawn let Casey sit on his chair, while I sat on Shawn’s bed, and Shawn sat on Damon’s bed. When we moved in, we’d considered buying a couch to put in the dorm room so there’d be a place to hang out, but we were used to hanging out on our beds by now.

  “So, what do you study?” Casey asked me.

  “I’m in business,” I said. “How about you?”

  “I’m studying political science right now, but I want to switch.”

  “Why do you want to switch?” I asked.

  “I didn’t realize how easy the classes were going to be,” Casey said. “A lot of things I’ve learned in class are things I already know. My dad is in politics so there are always newspapers lying around our house.”

  “Sounds like you’re just smart. “I smiled. “Isn’t easy a good thing? Why make it harder than it should be?”

  “Well, I want to feel like I’m actually learning something since I have to be here anyway... but my Dad’s not going to like it if he finds out I’m switching majors. He wants me to study political science.”

  “Sounds familiar,” I said. “My parents have made me take business because they want me to take over my dad’s real estate company one day.”

  “God, why can’t parents just let us do whatever the hell we want?” Casey said with a smile. “Do you hate business school because your parents are making you study it?”

  “I don’t really hate it,” I said. “I’ve realized that some of the things I learn in class come quite naturally to me. Maybe I get it from my parents because they’ve always been quite business-minded.”

  “That’s just Liam’s way of saying he doesn’t need to study to get really good marks,” Shawn said.

  Casey smiled like she was impressed by me. “I think business school is fascinating. It’s so applicable to the real world. What’s your favorite class?”

  “Definitely my entrepreneur class. We get to look at case studies and find out why some companies succeed and why some fail.”

  Casey squinted toward me. “You sound like you’re interested in business school, or is it a pretense because your parents made you get into it? How do you really feel about it?”

  “I enjoy it.

  In the corner of my eye, I could see Shawn smiling at me. The expression on his face looked like he was proud of me for actually having a conversation with Casey. It seemed a bit easier than I thought it would be. Casey was easy to talk to and also easy on the eyes. But with Shawn there, I couldn’t stop thinking about what would happen at the end of tonight. Would Casey want to spend time with me afterward? Or would she want to spend time with Shawn? Surely, she couldn’t end the evening with both of us.

  I’d always been a bit anxious like that, never really able to be completely in the moment. I was always overthinking what could go wrong in the future.

  Shawn looked at his watch. “We should head to the movie theater soon. It starts in half an hour.”

  The three of us finished our beers and we left the room. We saw Damon in the common room as we waited for the elevator, and he was drinking with some people over by the couch.

  Damon smiled and winked at me and Shawn when he noticed us, then mouthed, have fun.

  We went into the elevator and went down to the main floor, then headed toward the fairly close movie theater.

  Casey touched the watch on my arm. “This is nice,” she said. “Where’d you get it from?”

  “It’s Shawn’s actually,” I said.

  “Well, it’s Liam’s now,” Shawn said. “I gave it to him as a gift because he’s late all the time.”

  Casey smiled toward Shawn. “You guys must be close. I can just tell from the way you guys are around each other.”

  “Liam’s probably my favorite person in this world,” Shawn said. “That’s not a joke. He’s an incredible guy.”

  I wasn’t sure if Shawn was just trying to boost my confiden
ce or whether he genuinely meant it, but either way, it was nice to hear something like that.

  “What makes him such an incredible guy?” Casey asked.

  Shawn furrowed his brows. “I don’t know actually. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why he’s special to me.” Shawn looked over at me and smiled. “Initially, I thought he was incredibly cold, but after spending so much time in our dorm, I got to know him better and I just feel really close to him now.”

  “That explains why the three of us are going to a movie together,” she said. “When I told my friends earlier I was going to see a movie with two guys, none of them really understood what was going on, and I’m still a bit confused.”

  “Well, there’s no pressure tonight,” Shawn said. “We’re just three friends going to see a movie. Aren’t we?”

  “I guess you’re right,” Casey said.

  Casey continued talking to me during the walk to the theater, and Shawn remained fairly quiet the entire way there. I could tell he wanted me to get to know Casey, even though I knew he was somewhat interested in her too—after all, he did spend the entire night with her yesterday. I always knew Shawn was a generous person, but that evening, I realized just how much he cared about me, to be able to give up someone he liked to give me a chance. I knew I couldn’t force Casey to like me, but Shawn was helping me out a lot and giving me a huge boost of confidence.

  When we got to the lobby of the movie theater, there were only fifteen minutes before the movie started.

  “You get the tickets, and I’ll get the popcorn,” Shawn whispered in my ear.

  I nodded, and Shawn left me and Casey at the ticket booth.

  I got three tickets and handed one of them to Casey.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  “My pleasure.”

  Shawn waved us over to help him carry the snacks. He’d bought two bags of popcorn, three drinks, and some candy.

  We went into the theater. As expected, it was a busy night because it was a weekend, and a lot of students were done with midterms. A movie trailer was playing on the screen, and most of the seats were full. The three of us scanned the room to see if there were empty seats anywhere, and I spotted three in the middle of the back row. We walked up the steps and Shawn led the way. He sat down first, and because I was right behind him, I sat in the middle, while Casey sat next to me.