Page 12 of Sandcastles & Sunburns (DKAG Summer Shorts #6)

Liam

This was so dumb.

Liam had promised to give Jude space. It had literally been three days. Three days and Liam was back to watching his neighbor as Jude indulged in his morning ritual.

Not that Liam was blaming himself. No, this was Jude’s fault. Totally Jude’s fault. For the first time since Liam had moved in, Jude had a visitor. The guy, a very attractive man with rich red hair and a very nice body, had been over at Jude’s for most of the afternoon and into the early evening.

At first Liam had nearly died with how yummy the scents coming from Jude’s smoker on the back deck. He’d even been trying to think of an excuse to go over and hopefully get himself an invitation to dinner. The food had smelled that good! Then Jude’s visitor had arrived and Liam lost his nerve.

One thing Liam knew for certain. Sound did travel through open windows.

Liam might have opened his kitchen window that morning for fresh air…okay to smell whatever Jude had been cooking, but he definitely could hear the murmur of voices. Not clearly but enough to know that Jude hadn’t been upset by his guest.

Jude had friends.

That should have made Liam happy. He’d been concerned that Jude seemed so alone all the time.

Instead, Liam found himself fighting a nasty case of jealousy.

Now Liam was seriously considering breaking his promise and going outside.

It just wasn’t fair! Liam wanted to be Jude’s friend too. Just because there had been a spark of a connection between them shouldn’t mean that Liam had to give up Jude completely.

Screw it! Liam was going to do it. Picking up his coffee mug from where he’d set it on the table on his back deck, Liam marched to the gate.

Instead of waiting in the spot that had become his morning place, he strolled close to the water.

He spotted Jude’s towel and decided that was even better.

Jude couldn’t ignore him if Liam was literally sitting on his towel.

They were going to be friends! Liam was determined.

He wasn’t asking for anything more.

Jude had already shown that he wasn’t as big of an asshole as Liam had first thought. Actually, Jude was quite the opposite. He was caring and kind. They might have pushed the boundaries too far too fast but that didn’t have to ruin everything.

They were adults, after all. Well, mostly anyway. Liam could be an adult about this.

Sipping on his coffee, Liam watched as Jude turned and began to swim back in the direction of the beach. Wouldn’t he be surprised when he spotted Liam. Liam giggled. This was such a great idea!

By the time Jude stood in the ocean with the water lapping at his knees, Liam had finished his morning brew. He set his mug aside. It was ceramic and the sand would wash off.

Jude walked in his direction with long strides then faltered when he finally lifted his head, spotting Liam waiting on him.

Liam sent Jude a little finger wave.

Jude’s lips twitched as he resumed heading in Liam’s direction. “I wasn’t expecting to see you this morning.”

Liam pushed his bottom lip out. “Does that mean you didn’t miss me?”

Jude chuckled. “You’re the one that tracked me down. Shouldn’t I be asking you that question?”

“I want to be friends,” Liam blurted out.

“I would like that too,” Jude said with a smile.

“Really?” It couldn’t be this easy. The last time they’d talked, Jude had seemed like he never wanted to see or talk to Liam ever again.

Jude huffed before he dropped to sit beside Liam. “I’m very sorry for not telling you that I could hear you inside your house.”

Liam snorted. “I’m not really worried about that. It did get me cookies, after all.” The very yummy cookies. Cookies could solve most of the world’s problems, in Liam’s opinion.

“It did,” Jude agreed.

“So, we can be friends?” Liam asked. This was really a good thing. The best thing. “And you’ll still make me lemonade?” He really missed the lemonade.

“I will keep you in lemonade, sunscreen, and make sure you learn how to build a proper sandcastle,” Jude promised.

Liam grinned. He couldn’t wait to tell Nicky! Or maybe he would tease Nicky a little. His bestie was a bit of a brat. Liam could get some revenge because he knew that Nicky had totally cheated when they played cars.

“And you get to tell me all about your books,” Jude told him.

“My books?” Liam swallowed hard. What about his books? Liam had purposely been vague.

“The gay kinky books you write.” Jude smirked.

“You know about those?” Uh-oh. Wait! This could be a good thing. Liam hated hiding anything.

Jude gently grabbed Liam’s hand. “Because of you I reached out to my oldest and dearest friend.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you.” Jude squeezed his fingers. “I’ve haven’t spoken to my best friend, my old teammates, anyone who knew Sam in ten years.”

He gasped without really meaning to. “What?”

“Yeah, I was fucked-up for a long time after Sam died,” Jude admitted.

Liam clung to their joined hands with his other one. That had to be the biggest understatement ever made.

“Okay, I’m still fucked-up,” Jude confessed. “For the first time in longer than I can remember I don’t want to be this way.”

Had he done that? Liam was pretty damn proud of himself.

“I can see the cockiness,” Jude teased. “Yes, it is because of you. Law came by yesterday. We talked for hours. Caught up.”

Law. That was the name of Jude’s mysterious visitor? “Did you talk about me?” Liam was dying to know.

Jude narrowed his eyes as he pressed his lips flat.

“You did!” Liam exclaimed. Ha, that made Liam very happy.

“You might have come up,” Jude admitted.

Liam cackled. “He probably thinks I’m awesome!”

“He’s a huge fan of your books,” Jude told him. “He showed me a few. Told me about them.”

“Yay! I have a fan.”

Jude shook his head. “I looked you up after he left. You have more than one fan. You’re very popular.”

Liam shrugged. He was always so embarrassed when someone mentioned his books or being a fan.

He never knew how to respond. Liam wrote because he loved the stories.

In his own heart and mind, he questioned if they were good enough, if the books really meant something to someone.

He was just a simple man who loved sharing the worlds that called to him.

“I think you’re blushing,” Jude said.

“It’s…” Liam didn’t have the words, even as a writer to explain it. “Hard to explain.”

“You don’t have to,” Jude replied. “I bought the first book in the series.”

“Are you going to read it?” Did Liam want Jude to read the books? If he hated them, it would be so embarrassing.

“Already started it,” Jude responded. “I had a hard time putting it down. It’s very good.”

“Yeah?” That was a relief.

“You painted quite the picture,” Jude said. “It was obvious to me that you understood the little mindset very well.”

“Thanks.”

“I mean it,” Jude told him. “Sam tried to explain it to me multiple times. As I shared why I liked the Daddy side. Neither of us were ever able to get the words together right. You helped me not only understand myself more but Sam as well.” He gave a short laugh. “I feel like I should thank you.”

Jude’s words were better than any review he’d read. Jude got it. Got him. It was just a shame that Jude wasn’t ready to try again. Friends. Liam needed to concentrate on being friends with Jude. “Friends don’t need to say thank you.”

“And we are friends,” Jude said. “Friends should talk.”

“And play. Make sandcastles. Drink lemonade,” Liam offered.

Jude narrowed his eyes.

“Or talk.” They could talk. “What do you want to talk about, friend? Oh! And you can’t be my best friend. Nicky has already claimed that title. He’s very possessive.”

“I’ll try not to steal his spot,” Jude promised.

“See, that’s a good start to a friendship.” Liam approved.

“Law said I should tell you about Sam,” Jude said quietly.

“I would love to hear about him,” Liam replied sincerely.

Jude nodded.

“When you’re ready. Only when you are ready. Just know that I’m here to listen. That I want to know all about Sam.”

“I’ll try,” Jude said with a smile. “I want to try.”

Liam squeezed Jude’s fingers tight. They would try together.