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Chapter Eighteen

LAIKEN

“This is really good,” Nason says. “You’ve mastered Korean barbecue.”

I nod as I chew and swallow. “Thanks. Definitely my best to date.” I keep my attention focused on my plate so I’m not staring at Lie. He’s sitting quietly on Nason’s left, Miranda on Nason’s right. I’m across from Nason and Lie at the bar outside.

“You’re not working tonight?” Nason asks.

“Nope,” I say, shaking my head. “I was thinking about checking in at the Cantina. They’ve been having staffing issues, but…” I shrug. Honestly, I’m tired. I’d like the night off.

“We appreciate lunch,” Miranda says. “This beats deli sandwiches every day.”

Lie and Nason nod in agreement.

“I don’t know. I love a good sub,” I disagree.

She sighs. “Why is it that you can buy a sub for $8 at the café down the road and it’s delicious? I can literally put everything in one of their sub rolls at home for half the price, and it doesn’t taste the same.”

“The same reason I can’t match my mother’s macaroni salad, even when I made a batch beside her,” Nason says, shaking his head.

“It’s probably mental,” Lie says. “You know, like the placebo effect. If you believe something will happen by taking this water pill, your body might produce that effect. If you don’t think your sandwich will be as good even when you make it the exact same way, then you’ll taste something different. ”

Miranda hums.

Lie reaches for his glass, and my gaze locks on his fingers, wrapping around it.

Then, I swear, this little fucker slides his hand up the wet surface, covered in condensation, and back down again before picking it up.

I meet his eyes briefly, not missing the flicker of a smile just before he covers it by bringing the glass to his lips.

“Do you really need to paint your nails, Elijah?” Miranda asks. “That’s so feminine.”

“Miranda!” I snap.

“Don’t,” Nason says, turning his body to face his wife, blocking his son from her.

Miranda looks at us both with wide, surprised eyes. “What? I’m sorry. I just?—”

“You just don’t think before you speak. Do not criticize our son’s choices about what he wears or how he accessorizes. Nail polish isn’t gender specific, despite what society outside of Kala tells you,” Nason says. “I’m tired of having this conversation with you.”

I look at Lie. He’s not paying attention and looks entirely unfazed by the whole thing. At this point, I think he’s tuned her out. His eyes meet mine for a second and that same small smile touches his lips before his attention returns to his plate.

“Anyway,” Nason says, pointedly turning his attention away from Miranda and looking at me again. “What about you? When are you going to tell me about the person you’re seeing?”

Everything inside me turns cold and for a second, I can’t move as my breath is punched out of me. I look up to find that he’s got a huge smile. He nudges Lie, nodding his head in my direction.

I look at Lie. Holy fuck. Did he tell Nason? Is Nason okay with it? My heart races. Oh fuck. Oh?—

Lie very subtly shakes his head, eyes wide.

Disappointment floods me. For one second, I thought maybe he’d be… supportive. I’m not sure that’s possible.

“Well?” Nason prompts.

I shake my head. “Nothing to tell.”

“Sure. Keep it to yourself then,” Nason says as he gets up. “We still can’t convince either of you to join us at the school for the fundraiser?”

“I’m going to enjoy my day off,” I tell him.

Lie shakes his head. “I’m going to help Laiken clean up and head to Cash’s.”

“Okay.”

Miranda kisses the side of Lie’s head, holding him there for a minute with her hand on the other side. “Love you, baby. Have a good afternoon.”

Lie nods. “Love you, too. Good luck with your fundraiser.”

Miranda smiles brightly. “Thank you.”

Nason takes Miranda’s hand, and they walk through the side yard separating our houses. I watch them go before looking at Lie. “I really thought she was getting better about saying stupid shit to you.”

Lie shrugs. “Whatever. Not a big deal.”

“It is a big deal,” I disagree. “She’s your mother. She has no problem supporting everyone else in however they express themselves, but for some reason, that doesn’t apply to her son.”

He meets my eyes, and that same small smile touches his lips. I want to lick it off. “You and Dad have always tried to protect me from the things she says.”

The first time I heard Miranda comment on something like his nail polish or the things he wore or tried to set him up with a girl after he’d already said he liked guys had absolutely floored me. I’d stared at her, horrified and dumbfounded. And then promptly lost my shit.

When Nason got home, he’d echoed my reaction.

That was six years ago. It hasn’t stopped, though she hasn’t tried to set him up with a girl again.

“I’ll forever protect you, Lie.”

His smile spreads a little as he looks down. A beat passes before he slips from the bar stool.

“I nearly had a freaking heart attack when I thought you’d told your father,” I say, keeping my voice down as if there’s someone around to overhear us.

He chuckles. “I know. I forgot to tell you the other day, but he said he thought you were hiding a lover or something. I hadn’t thought about it again until he just brought it up, or I would have warned you.”

We pile plates and glasses into two piles while we talk and head into the house.

“What am I doing that he suspects something?” I muse. “It’s not like I’m sneaking around anywhere. I go to work with you. I come home with you.” I set my pile of plates on the counter and turn to take Lie’s stack. “If he’s going to suspect me, then why isn’t he also suspecting you?”

“I’ve been sneaking out since I was fourteen,” he says, amused. He shuts the sliding glass door behind him and leans back against it. “It’s nothing new.”

“He knows you’ve been sneaking out since the very first time,” I tell him. “We followed you.”

He looks at me with his mouth open. “What?”

I chuckle. I grab the front of his shirt and pull him to me. “He stormed into my house, freaking out that you were sneaking off somewhere instead of just telling him you wanted to go out and do something. I suggested we follow you. So we did.”

Lie huffs. “That’s crap. Let a teenager teen!”

Quiet laughter makes me shake as I press my lips to his. “Believe it or not, he was really proud that all you did was meet Cash and lie in the grass talking all night. He stopped following you after a while when he realized you weren’t doing anything wrong.”

“Except sneaking out.”

“Except that, but as you said, let a teenager teen. Besides breaking that rule, he was happy that you didn’t find the need to set the island on fire or vandalize.” I run my hand along his ribs, bringing his shirt up as I go. “He’s always been so proud of the good, intelligent kid you were.”

“Maybe that’s why I feel like such a failure,” he says, sighing. “I feel like I’m letting Dad down.”

“You’re not at all. I promise.”

He smiles. His mouth hovers in front of mine, so close that we’re sharing oxygen. I drop my hand to his ass and pick him up. I love how his long legs wrap around me.

Does he feel how hard my heart beats for him? How hard my dick gets for him? He makes me feel like a teenager all over again.

“I want to ride you,” Lie murmurs. “I want your dick in me, Laiken.”

I groan, capturing his mouth with mine. We leave everything on the counter and head for my room, where we make quick work of tossing clothes off. Then I get him on his hands and knees, fingering and spreading his hole.

He’s already somewhat lubed and loose. “You planned this, didn’t you?”

Lie laughs in the middle of a groan. “Yes. I’ve been dreaming about your dick in me since I first saw it.

I might have ridden my silicone cock this morning in the shower—though it doesn’t measure up to yours at all—and decided that today I was having the real thing, so hurry up and get inside me, Laiken. ”

I don’t hurry, even as he demands me to over and over again. I love the way his body trembles, how whiny he is, the erotic moans he fills the room with.

With him loaded with lube and a condom on, I press my cockhead to his ready hole. I move slowly, rocking gently and giving him a little at a time.

I didn’t think his sounds could get sexier, but I’m wrong. There’s nothing more beautiful than how needy he is. I spread his cheeks, helping to stretch him further as I make room inside him with my cock.

“So big,” Lie gasps. “I love this. I want it all. Every inch, Laiken. Make your balls slap my thighs.”

I gently rub my hand along his back as I work my way inside him. So beautiful. So… small. So young.

I can’t believe he’s here. He’s here with me. He wants to be. Knowing this leaves me breathless.

Then I’m inside. So fucking deep inside him. He gasps, his body trembling. He pushes back against me, keeping me where I am. Feeling my every fucking inch.

Holy fuck. I grip his hips tightly and then loosen my hold as I stroke his skin softly. Pull his cheeks apart to stare at the place where his body stretches wide to wrap around my dick. God, there’s nothing hotter than this.

“Laiken, you home?”

My eyes widen. My head snaps in the direction of the door. Lie stares at it over his shoulder. I imagined that, right?

I hear a chair scrape against the floor. “Fuck,” I whisper and gently pull my cock from him. Lie bolts upright, wincing as he does. He looks at me with wide, panic-filled eyes.

“Closet,” I murmur. “Go.”

He practically dives inside and disappears into the dark. I don’t have time to get dressed as I hear Nason call my name again. I grab my towel from this morning and wrap it around my waist. I wrench the door open just as Nason gets to it.

He’s grinning, peering past me into the room. My heart is ready to jump out of my chest. Fuck.

“I knew you were hiding someone. Did they climb out the window?” Nason asks.

I place my hand on his chest and stop him from coming any further. “Look. I need you, just this once, not to push. Okay?”