Page 81 of A Thousand Cuts

Liam scooted toward his plate obediently, keeping their legs attached. He picked up a fry first, popping it in his mouth and licking the salt off the tips of his fingers. It sent Fix spiraling, of course. It was somewhat sad how easy he was to unravel because of this boy. How much power Liam had over him just by existing.

He went to tuck into his own food to distract himself when he noticed Liam’s eyes on his plate. He cut a bite of his steak and offered the fork to Liam.

“Wanna try?” he asked.

Liam snapped his eyes up before shaking his head and pointing to the other side of his plate where the brown sugar-glazed carrots were.

“Can I have one of those?” he asked cautiously, like he was testing the waters.

“You like carrots?”

Liam nodded. “Favorite vegetable. And those look really good.”

“You can have all of them,” Fix said, about ready to tip the entire contents of his plate onto Liam’s when Liam shook his head.

“No, that’s your meal,” he said, looking at his own plate. “We can trade?”

“Sure. One fry for a carrot?”

“That’s hardly fair,” Liam said, already sneaking a carrot off Fix’s plate. Fix pretended not to notice. “You have whole carrots and these are just potato bits.”

“How about this,” Fix said, an opportunity presenting itself perfectly. “You feed them to me, and then that’s fair.”

Liam’s eyes went wide and his pupils dilated. That pink tongue darted out to wet his lips as he whispered, “I can do that.”

Fix resisted more of those caveman urges to pull Liam fully into his lap and whisper what a good boy he was. Instead he held on to the edges of his composure and control, trying to keep it light.

“You got one.” Fix winked at the carrot on Liam’s plate. “So, my turn?”

Liam nodded, picking up a fry delicately and bringing it to Fix’s lips. It shook slightly, but Liam was clearly determined. He put the tip of it against Fix’s bottom lip and he opened his mouth, leaning in to take the fry. Liam went to snatch his hand away in reflex, but Fix circled his wrist with his fingers andkept it there, closing his lips around the tips of Liam’s fingers. He licked the salt away slowly, catching every granule, while he stared at Liam, who was sitting ramrod straight, lips parted and desire painting his face rosy.

Fix released his hand and chewed slowly, smiling both at the flavor and the fact that Liam was squirming in his seat, thigh rubbing against Fix’s in a maddening way. He slid his hand back around it, higher this time, and felt his muscles tense.

“Like I said,” Fix said in a throaty drawl. “Feel free to take all of them.”

Liam’s expression went from dazed and aroused to mildly annoyed and perturbed when he snorted and turned back to his plate, muttering something about falling for the oldest tricks in the book.

“What was that, honey?” Fix asked.

“I’m fine with this one,” Liam said, but the red stayed on his cheeks and he was rubbing his finger and thumb together almost obsessively.

Fix bit back his smile and turned to his own meal, sneaking carrots onto Liam’s plate when he wasn’t looking and dumbly pretending it wasn’t him when Liam questioned how they got there.

Fix didn’t eat a single one. And he didn’t care one bit.

The date lasted for hours, with Fix doting on Liam and showering him with attention. He was fascinated by every new detail, every micro-expression that flitted across his beautiful face. His phone stayed blessedly silent, allowing him to submerge himself in another person for the first time in years.

By the time they were done, the sky was turning a lighter shade of blue on the horizon.

They huddled back into his truck with the heat cranked up as high as it would go. Fix put some soft music on and Liamwrapped himself back up in his jacket and reclined the seat a little bit.

His eyelids fluttered and his blinks got slower and longer. Fix smiled at the sight of him curled up next to him, and reached a hand out to hold Liam’s. Thin fingers wrapped around his and squeezed, and Fix focused on driving while feeling like everything had finally slotted into place. A puzzle completing itself.

He wished they lived on the other side of the world. He wished he could just keep driving, out of Slatehollow into Arcstead and beyond, Liam’s hand in his and a soft melody playing in the background as the sun slowly rose.

He wished he could keep this forever.

All too soon they reached Liam’s building and Fix killed his truck’s engine, turning to find Liam fast asleep. He smiled, brushing his fingers over Liam’s warm cheek.