Liam

by Candice Blake

  Damon was having a conversation with one of my cousins, who he was seated next to.

  At one point during the dinner, Shawn left the table and I thought he went to go to the bathroom. But when he returned, I noticed he had a mischievous grin on his face.

  “What are you smiling about?” I whispered to him.

  “Nothing,” he whispered back.

  Then I noticed his lips were slightly stained a red color and I knew what he’d been up to.

  “I know what you just did,” I said.

  “Go up to your room and you’ll see,” Shawn said.

  I looked at everyone at the table. Everyone seemed too involved in whatever they were talking about to notice me, so I quietly got up and headed upstairs.

  When I went into my room, I saw an open bottle of wine next to Shawn’s bag. It had a different label on it then the vintage wine my parents were serving that evening, so I knew Shawn had brought it himself.

  I didn’t know if it was a good idea to drink from it. My parents would kill me if they found out. But I was feeling a burning desire to be a little bad for once. To do something that was against my parents’ rules. It wasn’t like I even lived here anymore.

  I heard footsteps treading up the stairs and I panicked, wondering if it was my parents. When I saw it was Shawn, I could breathe again.

  “Did you see it?” Shawn asked with a smile.

  “Of course, I saw it,” I said. “You didn’t even bother hiding the bottle.”

  “Well, I don’t think anyone’s going to come in here besides us.”

  Shawn picked up the bottle and took a swig, then handed it to me.

  I hesitated before taking it from him and I took a long sip which instantly made me feel less tense.

  “I can’t believe you brought this,” I said.

  “I knew we were going to need it. Relax, it’s not like I stole it.”

  “Save some for Damon,” Shawn said. “I tried to tell him just now, but he was so consumed in the conversation he was having with that girl that I gave up.”

  I handed Shawn the bottle and he took another swig. I felt a rush of adrenaline from doing something I wasn’t supposed to. Something I would’ve never done had Shawn not been there.

  “We shouldn’t go back down together,” Shawn said. “It’ll be way too obvious. Why don’t you go down first, and I’ll come down in a couple of minutes?”

  “That’s a good idea,” I said.

  I returned downstairs to the dining room and sat down. No one seemed to notice I had gone. I felt a slight buzz from drinking the wine so quickly, and being around my family became a bit more tolerable. Shawn returned moments later and we gave each a smile.

  We ate more food. I had more of an appetite after drinking a little. Yet, I couldn’t help but notice my mom looking toward me from the head of the table once in a while, and I started getting paranoid like she knew what we were doing. I wiped my mouth with the napkin, hoping my lips weren’t stained from the wine.

  When everyone finished eating, my dad brought out dessert. Shawn left the table again and I knew he went upstairs for more wine. I was tempted to join him, but with my mom looking at me like that, I decided against it.

  It was already pretty late when dinner was finished, and I felt a bit relieved when some of the guests started leaving. All I wanted was for everyone to go home and my parents to go to sleep, so I could hang out with Shawn and Damon.

  Damon, Shawn, and I were helping to clean the table.

  “Can someone explain this to me?” my mom asked.

  I looked up and gulped. She was holding the bottle of wine Shawn and I were drinking.

  My dad walked into the dining room and furrowed his brows. “We don’t drink this cheap wine. Where did you find that?”

  “Upstairs in Liam’s room,” Mom said.

  My heart started racing and I was ready to take the blame for it because I didn’t want Shawn to take the heat from my parents.

  Damon looked at both me and Shawn with a confused expression on his face.

  “It’s mine,” Shawn said.

  My mom’s eyes widened. “Are you of age to drink?”

  Shawn shook his head. “I’m not, but will be in a few months, but I don’t see the harm in having a bit of wine with dinner.”

  Shawn didn’t seem the least bit afraid of my parents and his voice was unwavering.

  “It’s not allowed,” my mom said. “You’re not of age. Do you drink in the dorms too?”

  Shawn nodded. “Everyone drinks in college, but we try to do it responsibly.”

  “Drinking underage is anything but responsible,” my Mom said. “Liam, do you have anything to do with this? Have you been drinking wine tonight too?”

  I’d never lied to my parents before and I didn’t want Shawn to be the only one getting blamed for this.

  “Liam didn’t know about this,” Shawn said before I could answer. “I brought the bottle of wine and I was drinking it myself.”

  My mom shook her head and looked toward my dad.

  “You can’t stay here tonight, unfortunately,” Dad said. “We don’t allow this kind of behavior in our house.”

  “Dad, you can’t kick him out, he’s our guest.”

  “Well then, maybe he should’ve followed the rules. I don’t know what kind of guys you are living with, but underage drinking should not be allowed. I’ll be having a talk with the Dean next week.” Dad shook his head toward Shawn, Damon, and me. “I’m going to have you transferred out of your room. You cannot be living with such a bad influence.”

  I couldn’t believe what Dad was saying and it scared me, because I knew my dad always did what he said he’d do.

  12

  Shawn

  Twenty-seven years ago

  We’d just got kicked out of Liam’s parents’ house on Thanksgiving. It was embarrassing, to say the least, but I didn’t feel bad about it.

  We were eighteen and had a bit of wine over dinner. It was what college students did. I didn’t purposely do it to make Liam’s parents upset. I did it because it was what I did at social gatherings. I did it to take the edge off that evening.

  “What are we going to do now?” Liam asked, as we stood on the sidewalk in front of his parents’ house with all our bags.

  “I’m not sure,” I said.

  “Maybe we should head back to campus,” Damon said. “It’s late and I just want to get some rest. I can’t believe your mom found the wine bottle. Why didn’t you guys share some with me?”

  “I tried,” I said. “But you were sitting across the table talking to a girl, and I didn’t know how to tell you there was wine upstairs.”

  Liam sighed, looking down to the ground. “I’m sorry my parents are so strict.”

  “It’s not your fault,” I said. “If anything, I should be the one apologizing. I assumed they’d be easygoing like my parents were.”

  “They’re okay with you drinking?” Liam asked.

  “Well, they don’t encourage it, but they knew I had the occasional drink at parties in high school. I grew up in a small town and there wasn’t much to do on weekends besides drinking with friends. I’m sure they did it when they were younger too.”

  “Have they always been this strict with you, Liam?” Damon asked.

  Liam nodded. “I thought it’d get better now that I’m in college, but sometimes, I still feel like they want to control every aspect of my life, from who I hang out with, to what they want me to do after I graduate.”

  “That’s fucking horrible,” I said. “I want to go back in there right now and give them a piece of my mind.”

  “Don’t,” Damon said, putting a hand on my shoulder. “We don’t need to make things worse tonight. Let’s just figure out what we’re going to do now.”

  I took a deep breath. Damon was right. Those were Liam’s parents, not mine, but I always felt this need to protect Liam because he didn’t know how to stand up for himself.

  “I have an ide
a,” I said. “Let’s go to my parents’ this weekend. I feel responsible for us getting kicked out and I don’t want our first Thanksgiving together to be a bad one.”

  “Don’t they live far away?” Liam asked.

  “They do,” I said, checking my watch. “But, the last train runs at midnight. If we hurry, we can still catch it and they can pick us up at the station. They don’t live in a fancy house and we’re not going to be served a five-course meal, but it’s a nice, quiet place where we can relax. Plus, I really want you to meet my parents. They’re the best people in the world. I look up to them so much, especially my dad.”

  “It seems like such a hassle,” Damon said. “And they’re not even expecting us to come this weekend.”

  “Yeah,” Liam said. “I’d feel like I’m intruding.”

  “They’re not like that,” I said. “It’ll be fun, taking a midnight train out of the city for the weekend. We’ll have a cool story to tell when we get back on campus, rather than just hanging out there alone together.”

  Damon and Liam looked at each other, considering my offer. After meeting Liam’s parents and what they did to us, I wanted to show Liam what parents were supposed to be like.

  “Let’s do it,” Liam said with a smile.

  His smile made me feel so warm inside.

  “Alright,” Damon. “Let’s go. I’d rather spend a weekend with you guys out of town than go back to the dorm alone.”

  “You guys won’t regret it,” I said.

  The three of us headed back to the subway station to go to the train station. When we arrived, I used a payphone to call my parents.

  “Hello?” my dad answered.

  Hearing his deep voice made me feel good.

  “Hey, Dad,” I said. “Happy Thanksgiving. There’s been a change of plans.”

  “Son? I don’t recognize this number. Are you calling from a payphone?” Dad asked. “Is everything okay?”

  “Is that Shawn?” It was my mom’s voice in the background.

  “Yeah, it is,” my dad said to her.

  “Everything’s fine, Dad. I know I told you I’ll be at Liam’s for Thanksgiving, but there’s been a change of plans. I’m wondering if Liam, Damon, and I can come home instead.”

  “Of course,” Dad said. “We’d love to have the three of you. Do you want me to pick you guys up at the dorm? I know it’s a bit late right now, but I don’t mind driving.”

  “We’re at the train station right now, actually, and we’re planning to take the midnight train. Can you pick us up from the train station by our house?”

  “You got it,” Dad said. “I’m excited to spend some time with you boys this Thanksgiving weekend. Plus, we have a surprise waiting for you when you get home.”

  “A surprise?” I asked.

  “Yeah, you’ll be really excited. I’ll meet you at the station by our house in one hour.”

  “Thanks, Dad,” I said.

  I got off the payphone, and Liam and Damon walked back toward me. Liam handed me a ticket.

  “You bought the ticket for me?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” Liam said. “It’s the least I can do for letting us stay with your parents this weekend.”

  I smiled. “Thank you. But you didn’t have to. I just talked to my dad and they’re excited for us to be there.”

  Damon glanced up at the big clock on the wall. “We should go to our platform so we don’t miss the last train.”

  The three of us walked to the platform together. The train had already arrived, so we went into one of the cars, and I was surprised to see how busy it was. I guessed it was because it was a holiday and the last train running.

  There were two empty seats in the front row, but we couldn’t see any other available seats in that car.

  “You guys take these two,” Damon said. “I’ll go find a seat somewhere.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” Damon said. “I’m pretty tired, so I’m going to try and take a nap before we get there. I’ll find a seat in another car.”

  I nodded, and Damon opened the door to the next car.

  Liam and I put our bags on the rack above. I gave Liam the window seat and I sat down next to him.

  The train left exactly one second past midnight. Because it was the midnight train, they dimmed all the lights in the cabin so people could sleep. I glanced over at Liam, his face was illuminated by the city lights coming in through the window.

  “How are you feeling right now?” I asked.

  Liam looked over at me and smiled. “I’m feeling alright. Just thinking about my parents, and how they said they were going to notify our Dean about us drinking.”

  “I don’t think they’re actually going to do it. What kind of parents would sabotage their child like that?”

  “My parents would. I don’t want anything bad to happen to us. What if the Dean actually splits us up in the dorms? I’ll be devastated without you and Damon.”

  “Trust me, our school is going to have our best interests in mind. We’re the ones who are actually attending the school, and it wasn’t even like we were drinking on campus. We were drinking at your parents on a Thanksgiving weekend, off-campus. They can’t do anything to us.”

  “My parents are one of the biggest donors to our school,” Liam said. “I don’t think the Dean’s going to just brush off their concerns.”

  “We’ll figure something out,” I said. “All we really have to do is tell the Dean how close we are, and if they do split us up, all they’ll be doing is stressing us out even more. We’ll let them know how much we need each other. We do practically everything together. It’s not like we’re bad students. We’re varsity athletes who have an honor-roll standing. Fuck, I’ll even get my parents involved if I have to. They’ll for sure have our back.”

  “I’m excited to meet your parents. They sound so different from mine.”

  “I can’t wait,” I said. “Our house isn’t anything fancy, so I don’t want you to get your hopes up and expect a big house like yours.”

  “I don’t expect that,” Liam said. “That stuff doesn’t really matter to me.”

  “I’m surprised by how different you are from your parents.”

  “I guess that’s why we don’t really get along since we don’t share the same values.”

  “You’re a good guy, Liam. You deserve better.”

  Liam smiled and leaned his head against the side of the train carriage.

  “Get some rest,” I said. “I’ll wake you up when we get to the station.”

  “You’re a good friend,” Liam said.

  Liam put his hand on my thigh and squeezed it. His touch sent an electric current through my body. Liam removed his hand and placed it back on his lap.

  “Leave your hand there,” I said quietly. “It feels good.”

  My heart beat a little quicker in my chest as Liam put his hand back on my thigh.

  “Like that?” he asked.

  I nodded. “Like that.”

  I put my hand on his thigh too and massaged it gently.

  For the hour-long train ride, Liam had his hand on the upper part of my thigh, and I had my hand on his. My cock ached in my pants, and I was glad Damon wasn’t sitting next to us so he didn’t see us touch each other like that.

  I closed my eyes and drifted to sleep.

  When I woke up again, Liam’s head was resting on my shoulder.

  “Halton Hills, last stop,” the announcer said over the intercom.

  I shook Liam gently to wake him up. “We’re here.”

  Liam opened his eyes and looked out the window.

  “Wow, we really are in the middle of nowhere,” he said.

  I smiled. “Let’s go find Damon.”

  Since we were at the last stop, the train was much emptier than when we got on. Liam and I got our bags and went into the other car to find Damon. He wasn’t there, so we walked to the next, and the next. Finally, we found him seated next to an elderly man.
r />   “Hey,” I said, shaking him gently to wake him up.

  Damon opened his eyes and smiled. “You guys found me.”

  “Of course, we did,” I said. “Come on, let’s go.”

  The train stopped and all the passengers got off. We walked through a gate to get to the parking lot, and I recognized my Dad’s pickup truck which was parked right in front of the station. He was leaning against the side of it, looking around like he was trying to find us.

  “Dad,” I called out.

  He turned to me and smiled. I put my bag down and ran into his open arms, pushing my face in his chest and taking in his familiar scent.

  My dad smoothed his hand on my back like he did when I was younger. “Son, it’s so nice to see you on Thanksgiving. What a lovely surprise.”

  I looked up at him and smiled. “I’m sorry this is so unexpected. I hope it’s alright.”

  “Don’t say things like that,” my dad said. “You’re welcome home any time.”

  I turned to Liam and Damon who were standing behind me. They looked intimidated by my dad’s size. Dad was only one inch taller than me, but he was much more muscular from years of training and working out. His dark-brown hair was the same color as mine, although it was starting to turn grey on the sides.

  “You remember Liam and Damon from when I moved in, right?” I asked.

  “Of course,” my Dad said. “How could I forget these handsome faces.”

  Damon and Liam smiled, and Dad shook their hands. “Are you boys hungry?”

  “A bit, after the long train ride,” Liam said.

  Liam’s face turned a bit rosy like it always did when he was talking to someone he didn’t know well.

  “Perfect,” Dad said. “Shawn’s mom is heating up our leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner. It’ll be ready when we get home. Hop in the truck. Let’s get you boys home.”

  I got in the passenger seat, and Damon and Liam climbed in the back.

  Dad had the country music station on quietly in the background as he headed toward our house.

  “What’s the big surprise you have for me?” I asked.

  Dad smiled. “It’s waiting for you at home. I know you’re going to be excited.”