Rapture Coil: A friends-to-lovers gay romance

by Knight,Riley

  Although, to be fair, they also got a lot of people who were very serious about skateboarding, some who even competed, and those people were actually a lot of fun to talk to. It was just that that wasn’t exactly the majority.

  Whoever he was expecting, though, it wasn’t the tall, broad shouldered, handsome banker with the piercing green eyes and the short, dirty blond hair that was starting to look just a little bit shaggy.

  Adam had come to visit maybe twice since Liam had gotten this job, and it was always more than a little bit jarring to see him there.

  Not only that, but Adam looked distracted. His fingers kept running into his hair, and Liam had thought that, when Adam had cut that beautiful hair off, he’d broken that habit, but it seemed like it came back the moment that Adam had enough hair to do it.

  “Hey man, what’s up?” Liam asked, his tone casual enough, but he was definitely curious. He could tell this was not a purely social visit, because that just wasn’t Adam’s style. Not when it came to visiting someone at work.

  In some ways, he had to admit, his best friend was a little bit stuffy. That just ended up sort of adding to his charm, though. It was part of Adam, whether because of how he was raised or for whatever reason, and Liam found it frustrating at times but ultimately kind of charming.

  “Look, I just did something really stupid.” Adam got straight to the point, which was a relief. It was clear that he was agitated and it would have been frustrating for them both if Adam had tried to talk around.

  Liam was more curious than ever, and he frowned as he looked at the other man, his head tilted slightly to the side. He reached around Adam suddenly, flipping the sign over so that it read ‘closed’ instead of ‘open’, then gestured with his head.

  “Okay, we have ten minutes at least,” Liam said. Honestly, with how slow it was, they could probably just close up early, but since the shop didn’t officially close for a couple of hours, he felt like he should probably just take a break. He was allowed to, and he hadn’t yet. “What’s going on?”

  Adam ran those gorgeous, long fingers through his hair again, and Liam smiled. It wasn’t like he liked that his best friend was agitated, but he did sort of feel like he had his best friend back. Or like he was getting him back.

  “I did something stupid,” Adam admitted. He leaned against the counter, and it was a strange pose to see someone in a fussy suit doing. Not that Adam didn’t look damn good in a suit. He looked damn good in everything.

  Liam watched with interest as Adam slipped the suit jacket off and loosened his tie, and he couldn’t help but appreciate that look, too. Businessman starting to get a little bit casual, and it made him start to think about just how casual he could get Adam to be. But he tried to keep his mind on what was actually going on. This was not the time to be focusing on how gorgeous his best friend was. Or not much, anyway.

  “Oh?” he prompted, and he slid onto the counter to perch as he looked at Adam.

  “Yeah. Mom tried to set me up with one of her flunkies again and I told her I was already seeing someone,” Adam said, looking back at Liam evenly enough, but there was the hint of desperation in his eyes.

  Liam was not the sort of person who got jealous or possessive. He just wasn’t. So it was strange that he felt a flare of what almost felt like panic as he thought about Adam hooking up with one of these banking girls. Or maybe he already had, and just not told Liam about it.

  After all, Adam was gorgeous. Not only that, but he was wealthy and upwardly mobile. Surely there were people who worked for him that would be more than welcome to attach themselves to his rising star, by whatever means necessary.

  “Oh,” Liam repeated, feeling a little bit like a broken record. Only now, he felt oddly like he’d been kicked in the stomach. “So, are you seeing someone?”

  Was this Adam’s way of telling him that the times they’d had together were over? Or the times in bed, at least? Liam found himself straightening his shoulders, setting them against the horrifying pain that he expected to come. He remembered very clearly when Adam had left the band, and he didn’t want to be hit that hard again.

  Only Adam didn’t land the blow that Liam was expecting. Instead, he just gave Liam a bit of a look, like he couldn’t quite believe he was hearing what he was hearing.

  “Yeah. You.” Adam looked at him, and there was a hint of panic in his eye. “I mean, I know that you and I never …” Adam paused for a second, and then tried again. “We never did anything official. But when I found those words coming out of my mouth, I was thinking about you.”

  Well, that certainly took the wind out of Liam’s shoulders, and his strong pose sort of wilted as he looked at the other man. Adam had been thinking of him in a serious way. Maybe even as a boyfriend. Certainly as someone he was seeing.

  “Oh.” Damn it. Liam knew other words, he did, but right then, he was having a hard time coming up with any. And he was supposed to be a songwriter.

  Adam was giving him a very concerned look, and Liam felt numb. He didn’t do dating, but if he ever would consider it, it would be with this man. Having that handed to him so suddenly, it was just a little overwhelming.

  “Uh, okay. Anyway, she invited you over for dinner Sunday night. Well, she invited my ‘girlfriend’ over, because she assumed it must be a girl, of course, but I couldn’t think of anyone else that I would want to come with me.”

  Liam looked at him. Dinner at Adam’s parents’ house. God. That sounded like an incredibly miserable experience.

  The thing was, Adam’s father had never seemed to care about Liam, or anything else, much. He went to work, he worked hard, and then he came home and didn’t say much to anyone about anything. Liam wasn’t honestly sure how he felt about anything.

  Adam’s mother, however, had never, ever liked Liam, and had never even pretended that she did. So to go into her house, when she was expecting a girl …

  That would be funny as hell.

  Maybe part of Liam was never going to grow up, because the idea of tweaking at the proper banker who had always been very snippy and borderline rude to him, it appealed to him.

  “Okay. Count me in,” Liam said, smirking. The truth was, he would go just for Adam, but to get a chance to play this sort of prank on Adam’s mother, it was just too good to miss.

  “Yeah?” Adam brightened up. “You’ll really go?”

  Honestly, Liam wanted to go, because he wanted Adam to be his boyfriend. He had always wanted that, and maybe that was why he’d never been interested enough in anyone else to be involved in more than just a fling with them. So to have Adam reach out to him, well, there could be no doubt that it touched him. Maybe he wasn’t the only one who felt that way.

  On top of that, though, there was this chance … And even beyond the prank, maybe, just maybe, it was time and passed time for Adam’s mother to accept Liam as a permanent part of Adam’s life.

  So there were many reasons for him to say yes, and it didn’t even really occur to him to say anything else.

  “Are you kidding? I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Adam

  Adam just didn’t go to his haircut appointment.

  He couldn’t remember the last time that he hadn’t gone to an appointment. Even if he were running late, he would always call and make sure to let them know. In this case, though, he just didn’t go, and his hair continued to grow.

  There were excuses he could make. He’d been running late that day, for instance. The branch had closed later than expected because of a late minute walk in. Maybe they would have tried to get her in another time, but she was bringing quite a bit of stuff over from another bank.

  And so that, the acquisition of wealth, was enough to keep all of the employees late. That’s what the bank cared about, and Adam had thought that he didn’t care anymore, but he found that he did.

  There was tension building inside Adam, making him feel like he wanted to scream with frustration. Thing
s that he’d taken for granted now seemed almost insufferable.

  So Adam missed the appointment to cut his hair on Saturday, and he felt much better when he realized that he’d run so late that he couldn’t possibly make it in time. His hair would keep on growing, and on some level, he must have wanted that.

  Well, he couldn’t have long hair at work. It was against the Code of Conduct. But he could always go to cut his hair next week, he figured.

  After work, Adam grabbed dinner, and he was pretty hungry since he’d skipped lunch that day, so it just made sense when he grabbed a lot of Thai food. Besides, he could always have leftovers.

  It wasn’t until Adam found himself in Liam’s neighborhood that he admitted to himself where he was really going. After a long day at work, normally all he wanted to do was be alone, but right then he wanted to be with Liam.

  Honestly, not even just right then. He wanted to come home and find Liam there all the time, and the fact that he very much doubted that Liam would ever be into such a thing didn’t stop that urge.

  Liam could have someone over. A friend, or even a lover. It wasn’t like they’d talked about not being with other people, after all, and Liam wasn’t the type to commit.

  Then again, neither was Adam, and here he was right on the edge of being more than willing to do so.

  Adam parked and knocked on Liam’s door, bracing himself for what he might see inside. He had to be ready to leave in case Liam was busy doing something (or someone) else.

  God, that thought made him sick to his stomach to even think about.

  * * *

  When Liam opened the door, there was something that was clearly going on with him. The man was flushed and his eyes were that bright, intense violet color, and Adam was sure for a shameful second or two that there was someone else here.

  But there clearly wasn’t, or if so, Liam was even more shameless than Adam would have thought, because the other man wrapped his arms around Adam and pulled him close, heedless of the bag full of containers of Thai food that he carried. He hugged Adam tightly, and then, before Adam could even fully get through the door, Liam was kissing him.

  “Liam, what …” Not that Adam didn’t enjoy the kiss, and after his own self doubts it was nice to be so enthusiastically greeted, but it was an extreme reaction from Liam, and not at all usual for him.

  Liam smiled down at him, and he moved suggestively against Adam in a way that Adam never would have thought he would find appealing from a man. From Liam, though, feeling that obvious hardness even through his clothes was enough to make his knees feel week.

  “Come to bed with me,” Liam murmured, and Adam gazed at him, amazed by just how much this man could turn him on. Even after their few times together, Liam was already starting to know just how to look at Adam to reduce him to nothing but need and desire.

  “Food,” Adam said, holding the bag up. He felt a little bit like a caveman, unable to make his dry mouth form anything other than the one word. It was ridiculous, but then again, he was sure that he was harder than he’d ever been before, and so suddenly.

  “Later.” Liam’s deep voice was seductive, and when he took the food from Adam, Adam didn’t even consider stopping him. He watched as Liam moved away for just a second to put the bag on a counter, and then his best friend was right back with him. “Adam, I need you.”

  A man needed him. No. His best friend, and maybe his lover, needed him, and that seemed to have nothing to do with gender. Liam was Liam, and Adam would need him right back no matter what.

  “Come on.” Adam wrapped his arm around Liam’s waist, feeling from the heat of his body that Liam needed this as much as he did. How had he ever thought that coming here might be a bad idea? Being with Liam was always so good.

  Adam knew where Liam’s bed was, and he knew, too, that they were going to go further that night than they had to this point. He knew that he wanted to give Liam everything that Liam would take, and Adam should have been nervous, and he even was, but it also seemed to take forever to walk that short distance from the small kitchen to the bedroom.

  It took so long because neither of them could keep their hands off of the other. Adam didn’t know why Liam was so thrilled, he didn’t know what had put that color in his cheeks, and later, he would find out. At the moment, though, he was just far too enthralled by the other man, and he needed him. It was a weird, new thought, but it was true.

  He found himself wanting to explore Liam’s body in ways that he’d been too shy to even think about before. He had to stop and press Liam against the wall so that he could feel the firmness of his chest and pecs under his fingertips, so that he could toy with his nipples, so that he could hear Liam’s moan of pleasure as he tweaked them lightly.

  It wasn’t just him, though. Liam seemed just as eager to get his hands on Adam. As Adam played with his body, Liam shoved his hands down the back of Adam’s pants, right into his work pants, which made it somehow seem dirtier. Liam’s strong hands cupped Adam’s ass, and Adam groaned as he felt the callouses on them from all of the guitar playing scrape over the sensitive skin.

  Over and over, they kissed, and by the time they finally made it to the bedroom, Adam wanted Liam more than he would have even thought possible. He was positive he had never been this hard. He actually felt like he might burst right out of his pants.

  “Here, let me help you with that,” Liam said, his eyes sparkling in a way that made it very clear that he knew just what Adam was going through. Not only that he knew, but that he approved, too.

  Liam did help, though. He slid the button of Adam’s pants free and, almost gently, as though to counterpoint how desperate Adam was, he tugged those pants, and Adam’s underwear, down over his hips.

  It felt strange to be in his shirt and tie, but bare from the waist down. Undoubtedly hot, though, and from the way Liam was looking at him, he definitely approved as well.

  Liam shifted away just a little and he started to strip himself off, and Adam’s gaze naturally followed him. He almost blushed at what he saw, because there was a mirror on the closet door and Adam had no idea just how wanton he looked, his shirt not quite long enough to hide the way his cock jutted out from his body.

  He got to watch as Liam stripped, and he was utterly fascinated. He’d always known that his best friend was a gorgeous man. Even before he’d let himself think about what that meant, he’d known it. It was like he was seeing him with all new eyes, though, and he couldn’t look away.

  “Liam,” he whispered, and then he couldn’t help himself. He was kissing his best friend again, overwhelmed by just how much he wanted him, and how much he was feeling for him that went far beyond friendship.

  Liam’s fingers were at his throat, loosening his tie, and then his shirt was removed and he was finally naked. Completely naked, and so was Liam, and that felt just about perfect to him.

  “I love you,” Liam said suddenly, and it could have been a friendship thing, but somehow, Adam didn’t think so. Not when Liam was giving him that intimate look, not when they were naked and pressed together.

  It took very little for Adam to topple them both over into bed, and he did so, and deliberately twisted as he fell so that Liam fell on top of him. Any doubts that he’d been having were long gone as he felt Liam’s body on top of him, as he read the sincerity in his eyes.

  Once upon a time, he never would have even considered this. Even kissing another man would have been impossible to think about. But this wasn’t just another man. This was Liam, and Adam knew that he needed Liam desperately. He knew that there was no one else on the planet he’d do this with. Only Liam.

  “I love you too,” Adam said, and he might not be completely, one hundred percent sure what Liam meant when he said it, but that didn’t really matter. Adam knew what he meant, and that was good enough. “I need you.”

  Liam’s eyes flared and that intense color got deeper and more vibrant. Liam didn’t even pretend to misunderstand, though, which Adam was grateful for
. These things were new enough to him that he didn’t really know how to put them into words fully.

  “How?” Liam asked, and Adam took a deep breath. He knew the basic mechanics of sex with men. After all, it wasn’t that different than with women. What he wasn’t sure about were the details. How was it possible to make it feel good? He wasn’t at all sure.

  “I want you. Show me how to do it.” Adam closed his eyes briefly. To actually ask for this, it almost defied belief. But this was Liam, and he knew he could trust his best friend with everything. “Fuck me, Liam.”

  There. That was clear enough, wasn’t it? Belatedly, it occurred to him that he might be being presumptive, that maybe Liam didn’t want to go there with him. But that doubt was very soon washed away when Liam leaned down and kissed Adam hard.

  “Are you sure?” Liam asked, and Adam was grateful that Liam wanted to make sure, but at the same time, it was a little bit frustrating. He knew what he wanted. Finally, he knew what he wanted, and he wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of it.

  Then he saw the hope in Liam’s eyes, and he realized that Liam had to make sure because he wanted it so badly. Adam relaxed a little, then slid his fingers into Liam’s long hair and pulled him in to kiss him hard. If Liam had to make absolute sure that Adam wanted this, Adam could help him with that.

  “I’m sure,” Adam murmured, and it seemed to him that it was already a nice setup. Liam was on top of him, and his weight felt perfect there, comforting and arousing at the same time.

  “I’d let you go first,” Liam said, though when he moved against Adam, Adam could feel how hot and eager he was, how the head of his cock leaked precome against Adam.

  He couldn’t say he wasn’t tempted, but Adam didn’t really know a lot about how it worked. Oh, the basics he got, but how to make it good, that he didn’t know. Not with another guy. He was reasonably sure that Liam did, and he wanted to learn from him.