And he chose me at the cost of Taylor as well.
Jesus, poor Taylor.
“Damon, I’m so sorry. I never should’ve made you take sides like I did.”
He stops me before I can pull the door open and places a hand on my chest, pushing me off the main sidewalk so we don’t block traffic.
“Hey, you didn’tmakeme do anything, Liam. And I would make the same choice time and time again, do you hear me? I’m always on your side. And your dad has no one to blame but himself for how things turned out between him and Tay. He shouldn’t have hidden it from you, and he definitely shouldn’t have used my brother as a scapegoat for his cowardice.”
The fierceness in his eyes makes my chest warm.
I’m pretty sure no one has ever loved me like Damon Landry.
But as this realization hits me and lessens my anxiety, Damon’s brows pinch together, and his jaw clenches.
I put my thumbs on both sides of his jaw and rub, trying to ease his tension.
“What’d I say?” I ask, wondering what sent him to this place.
Before he can answer, Owen and Storm approach us on the sidewalk.
“Ooh, I hope we aren’t interrupting,” Owen says playfully.
I drop my hands from Damon’s face. Instead of looking relieved, though, he watches my hands fall with a sadness I don’t recognize, and I become determined to get to the bottom of what the hell is going on as soon as we’re back at the cabin.
“Not at all,” I tell him. “Just annoying my bestie while waiting for you guys.”
Storm reaches over and grabs the door handle before placing a hand on Owen’s lower back, guiding him inside. “Shall we?” he asks, moving behind Owen, but holding the door open for me to take over.
Instead of walking through it first, like I normally would, I take a page from Storm’s book, holding it open. Stepping to the side, I try the move on Damon, putting my hand on his back as I gently usher him through the door.
He looks back at me and cocks a brow, clearly askingthe fuck are you doing?
I shrug. It seems like such a responsible, mature thing to do, and so what if Damon’s not my date? Does that mean I can’t make the gesture for him? Lord knows he does plenty of shit for me that most people would only do for a spouse.
I almost pull his chair out for him at the high-top table, too, but admittedly, that’s a little much.
Once we’re seated, time flies, and when we leave three hours later, my head is swirling with thoughts and ideas. The four of us talked about everything from business ownership—which Damon and Storm enjoyed since D works for his dad’s company, and Storm runs the business aspect of their bed-and-breakfast—to travel and what makes a place feel welcoming, which Owen and I ran with, being the extroverts of the group, and the ones most likely to strike up a conversation with a stranger.
Damon discreetly picks the tab up so there isn’t that awkward table fuss.Let me pay. No, no, me, I insist.After telling our new friends goodnight, I stop to use the restroom on the way out. When Damon and I finally leave the restaurant, we turn the corner to find Owen and Storm embraced in a passionate kiss, where it looks like Storm is manhandling the shit out of Owen.
“Oh,” I whisper.
I know it’s rude to stare, but I can’t force my eyes away from the pair. I mean, I’ve known queer people my whole life. Hell, I was around Taylor literally every day growing up, but I never really paid attention…which I’m realizing is both good and bad.
It never stuck out to me like something was wrong with it, but I never paused to see the beauty and power in it, either.
And my dick is letting me know we like beauty and power.
Chapter 13
Damon
Liam is watching Owen and Storm, but I’m watching Liam, trying to figure out how he’s going to react.
When he says, “They make it look kind of hot, don’t they?” I realize I’m part of the problem. The thought that Patrick and I are in the same camp when it comes to assuming Liam is somehow fragile and can’t handle life’s truths is reprehensible on my part, and quite frankly, unforgivable.
My only excuse is that I love Liam so fucking much, I want to create a safe and carefree world for him, and the harsh reality is that being queer in today’s world has never been safe or carefree.
