Choices - 4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The buzzing of the phone, signaling an incoming message, made Liam smile. It was Nathan responding to his last text. They’d been messaging each other off and on since Marty brought him home.

“I guess that smile means you heard from Nathan again?” Marty’s teasing voice startled him.

“Jesus, Marty. Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

“Puh-lease. You’re sitting on a couch with your feet up.” His best friend set a glass of juice and a couple of pills on the coffee table beside him. “Time for your pain meds. Breakfast will only be a few more minutes. I made that frittata recipe of my mom’s you like so much.”

Liam reached out to grab the other man’s hand. “I know I’ve already thanked you, but I really do appreciate all of this. You’re spoiling me.”

The taller man leaned down, and pressed a kiss into Liam’s dishevelled brown hair. “Any time, bro. I mean that.”

Liam nestled back against the cushions and listened to the sounds of Marty puttering around the kitchen. It was nice having another person in the apartment with him. Although Alek didn’t stay the night often, they did spend a lot of time in Liam’s home. He hadn’t realized how comfortable he’d become with another person being in his space until Aleksei was no longer there. With a groan, Liam squeezed the bridge of his nose. He really needed to stop thinking of his ex-boyfriend.

“Are you all right?” Marty called from the kitchen. “Is your pain getting worse?”

“It’s nothing,” Liam lied. “I just moved too quickly.”

“You know,” Marty commented as he set two plates on the coffee table. “I’ve always been able to tell when you’re attempting to lie. You really suck at it. Eat up before the food gets cold.”

Liam sat up to make room beside him. “This looks delicious.”

“It is delicious. Next stop: my own cooking show. Now, what aren’t you telling me?”

With a suppressed sigh, Liam dug into his meal, making appreciative noises as he chewed. “This is amazing. Why does food taste better when someone else cooks it for you?”

“Shorty….”

“Fine. I was thinking about Alek.”

“What’s that douchebag done now? Do I need to kick his ass?”

A surprised laugh had Liam choking on his bite of egg. “Fuck, Marty. You can’t say shit like that while I’m eating. Besides, I took a class in kickboxing last year. I think I can do my own ass-kicking.” To prove his point he flexed his leanly muscled arms, and made an exaggerated show of puffing out his chest.

Marty’s mouth twitched with a smile, although he still looked irritated. “I’m serious. What did he do?”

Swallowing his food, he put down his fork and met his friend’s gaze. The tight jaw and angry glint in his eye indicated how serious Marty was.

“Alek didn’t do anything. He came to see me at the hospital.”

“Seriously? How did he even know you were there?”

“His garage was called in to deal with the wreckage on the highway. He saw me there, and I guess he was worried enough to check on me at the hospital.” Liam shrugged, trying to act nonchalant.

“You’d better not be considering taking him back again.”

“Of course not,” Liam scoffed with a shake of his head.

“I hated seeing how hurt you were every time you took him back, and nothing changed. He let you down so many times.”

Liam knew his best friend was being protective, so he ignored his sudden surge of irritation. Marty did have a point. He had taken Alek back too many times, and their situation never got any better.

“I appreciate your concern, Marty, but I have no intention of taking Aleksei back. Besides, he’s with someone else now... a woman.”

“Isn’t he gay?”

“Yep. He is.” Liam took another bite of his rapidly cooling breakfast. “Now, can we stop talking about my ex-boyfriend, and enjoy this great meal you slaved over for me?”

“Damn, that’s fucked up,” his friend muttered as he scooped a bite of food.

They spent the rest of the morning and afternoon in each other’s company, watching movies, and catching up on the little things they missed in their emails and telephone conversations.

“You’ve questioned me about my love life, so I guess it’s only fair if I ask how yours is going.” Liam said, raising an eyebrow at his friend. “Are you seeing anyone?”

“Nah. I started dating this girl a couple of months back, but it didn’t work out.”

Although he tried to sound indifferent, Liam could hear the touch of sadness in his friend’s voice. Marty hadn’t had a serious relationship since he broke up with his high school sweetheart, Amy, a couple of years ago. After a long time together, she’d told Marty she wanted more out of life than Halifax had to offer. She moved to Japan teach soon after. Liam felt badly for his friend, but they were young, and Amy’s wanderlust wasn’t a complete surprise. Not for the first time, Liam thought it was too bad Martin wasn’t gay, or that he didn’t think of Marty as anything other than a brother. They might have actually been good together… okay, scratch that. They would have killed each other. Liam felt his eyes becoming heavy as he reminisced about the past, and was startled when a large hand patted his thigh.

“I think the third degree is tuckering you out. Get some sleep. We can talk later. I’m here all week.”

With a tired nod, he pulled the blanket over his shoulders, and fluffed up the cushions. It wasn’t long before he was fast asleep.

When Liam woke up, the house was quiet, although he could hear the muted clack of computer keys from somewhere in the house. Sore from sleeping on the couch, he rose stiffly, and followed the noise to the kitchen where Marty had set up a home office at the table.

“Hey there, Sleeping Beauty,” Marty greeted with a grin. “Did you have a good nap?”

Liam yawned and shuffled over to the fridge. “I’m sleeping too much.” He grabbed the orange juice, and turned to see his friend scowling at him. “What?”

“You were in a major car accident. Your body is still healing. Cut yourself some slack, Shorty.”

“Something smells great,” he replied, instead of responding to the comment.

Marty’s smile returned as he stood and walked to the stove. “I made marinara. I thought you might like spaghetti and meatballs.”

Liam’s stomach grumbled in anticipation, causing him to flush in embarrassment, and Marty to chuckle. Shooing Liam to a seat, his best friend stood, poured him a glass of juice, and then put the carton away.

“I’m not an invalid, you know,” he griped.

Marty sighed, and crossed his arms over his chest. “Listen, you stubborn brat, you were in an accident. So shut up and let someone take care of you. Don’t make me tie you to the couch.”

“Never knew you were into the kinky stuff.”

“Guess you haven’t seen me in a while.”

Liam choked on his juice, making his ribs ache. “Fuck, you’re cruel to an injured man.”

Marty looked momentarily concerned before his mouth curved up into smile. “Don’t play the game if you can’t handle a good offence.”

Liam stuck out his tongue and then took another sip of his juice. “It’s not my fault you’re a crazy perv.”

Marty made a derisive noise. “It’s not like that’s a big secret. Now sit there and relax while the master finishes making dinner.”

Liam laughed and shook his head. “Fine, I’ll be a good patient and sit here quietly while I wait for you to feed me.”

It was fun watching Marty work; making the salad, prepping the meatballs, and slicing the garlic bread. As he watched, Liam thought again about how much he missed having someone in the house with him, before a buzzing sound drew him from his musings.

“I think that’s your phone,” Marty said, wiping his hands on a dish towel, and hurrying out of the room. He returned quickly, handing over the device.

Liam punched in his code to get to the home screen, and saw another message waiting from Nathan.

‘Maybe I can grab a pizza and come over tomorrow? The three of us can watch a movie?’

Liam considered the request. Did it count as a date if Marty was there too? Was Nathan even asking him out, or was he just a nice guy who wanted to make a friend?

“You’re thinking awfully hard over there. Is something wrong?”

He looked up at his friend, and shook his head. “No, nothing’s wrong. Nathan asked if he could come over tomorrow. He offered to bring pizza and a movie.”

“He asked you on a date?”

“I’m not sure. He said the three of us could watch a movie together. That doesn’t sound like a date… does it?”

“Pizza and a movie would be great, as long as he’s not into those chick flicks. I refuse to spend a night watching Matthew McConaughey or Gerard Butler.”

“Hey, Gerard Butler is hot.” Liam chuckled, and typed a message back to Nathan. “There. I told him we would love to have him over, and asked what movie he had in mind.”

His friend winked, and turned back to the stove to stir the sauce. “My money is on this being a date, but he’s too polite not to include me.”

Could this be a date? Liam wasn’t sure how he felt about dating right now. Even ignoring the fact that he was injured and getting around was difficult, his personal life was still in a shambles. Alek showing up at the hospital had stirred up a lot of emotions he thought he’d gotten past. It proved he wasn’t over the man… not yet. Was it fair to drag Nathan into that?

“You’re still thinking way too hard about this,” Marty said as he walked to the table with a bowl of spaghetti in one hand, and a platter of meatballs in the other. “This doesn’t have to be a date if you don’t want it to be. He sounds like a nice guy. Maybe he is only looking for a friend.”

“I guess,” Liam responded quietly, chewing his lip.

“If Nathan does push for more, you can decide what you want then. There’s no point in working yourself up for nothing.”

“You’re right. I just don’t think I’m ready to put myself out there.”

“Of course, I’m right.” The big brunette put the garlic bread and sauce on the table, and then returned to Liam’s side, giving him a gentle, one-armed hug. “Now come to the table. It’s time for dinner.”

The food was delicious, and his friend’s company was even better. Liam tried not to think about how much he missed Marty. It had been tempting, after his last breakup with Alek, to run back east and move back to Halifax. If there weren’t so many painful memories surrounding his father’s death, he might have done just that.

They talked for so long about their past escapades that dinner took almost an hour to finish. Liam found himself laughing more than he had in ages.

“I missed this,” he said as he watched Marty clear the table.

“What, me cleaning while you sit on your ass?”

“No, you jerk. I miss hanging out with you. We haven’t done this in a long time. It seems as though neither of us has time for more than a weekend every couple of years.”

Marty put the pasta bowl down, and sat beside Liam, taking his slim hand in his much larger one. “I miss you too, Li. I miss having my brother around whenever I want to see him.”

“I almost moved back to Halifax last year.”

“I know.”

“How...?”

“You’re pretty easy to read. I could tell how much the breakup hurt you, and how badly you wanted to escape.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“You were in pain, but I knew you loved Kingston. The Liam I know wouldn’t let anything keep him down for long. From what I can see, you’ve built a great life here.”

Liam snorted. Great life?

“I’m serious. You have a job you enjoy, a boss you adore, and the possibility of going back to school to further your career. You have a great life, Li.”

“You’re not here.” Liam could hear the pout in his voice, and winced at how needy he sounded.

“Well,” Marty said, looking away. “That might change.”

“What?” Liam sat up straighter, causing his back and ribs to twinge. He ignore the pain and stared at his friend. “What do you mean?”

“I mean my bosses have been talking about possibly transferring me to the Ontario office.”

Liam’s heart thumped in his chest. “Are you serious? Are you going to take the job? When would you start?”

“Easy there, Shorty,” Marty interrupted with a laugh. “Nothing is set in stone. It’s just in the talking stages right now.”

“Would you move if they asked, though?” Liam fidgeted as he waited for the answer.

“In a heartbeat.”

Lunging forward, Liam threw his good arm around the bigger man, ignoring the protest from his injured body. “Oh my, God! It would be amazing to have you so close.”

“Don’t get too excited, Liam. They could decide to scrap the whole idea.”

“Don’t you dare ruin this for me,” Liam scolded as he held onto his best friend. The idea of having Marty only a couple of hours away….

Marty laughed and gave him a squeeze before extracting himself. “I promise, when the decision is made you’ll be the first to know.”

For the remainder of the evening, Liam couldn’t wipe the smile from his face. If Marty moved to Toronto it would be a dream come true. He tried not to get too excited, but knew it was a losing cause. He’d just taken off his t-shirt when his phone rang. He answered without looking at the caller ID, grinning happily.

“Li?”

Liam froze, the smile slipping from his face. “Alek? Why are you calling me?”

“Please don’t be mad. I just wanted to make sure you were home, and being taken care of.”

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes, and gripped the phone tightly. “Marty flew in from Halifax. He’s staying with me for the week.”

“That’s great. I’m relieved someone is there for you.”

“Yeah, he’s a great guy.” Liam fidgeted uncomfortably, not sure what to say.

“I know you don’t want to talk to me. You don’t trust me, and you have every right to feel that way. I messed up… a lot. I was a selfish prick, and I hurt you. I promise I’ll make things right. I want to be someone who deserves you, even if you never take me back. I love you, Liam.”

“Alek….”

“I know… I’m sorry,” Alek responded with a sad-sounding sigh. “I have no right to say that… and I won’t say it again until I can prove it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll respect your wishes and stay away for now, but I needed to make sure you were being cared for.”

“Alek, what’s going on?” Confusion was giving him a headache.

“I promise to tell you everything soon. I’m making some changes in my life, but I still have a lot of work to do.” There was silence over the line for a few moments before Alek spoke again. “You don’t owe me anything, but promise you’ll let Marty and Corey help you? I know how stubborn you can be.”

Liam snorted. “I already got that lecture from Marty, but yeah, I promise.”

“Thank you. Goodbye, Liam.”

Liam stared at the phone when the line went dead. What the hell was that all about? What did Alek mean? More confused than ever, he climbed into the shower, and tried to put the conversation out of his mind. He needed to forget, if he was ever going to get over Alek.

I'd like to send my editor and friend. Gary a   and a   for all of the extra beta work he did on this chapter.  He works so hard to help me become a better writer.  Thank you to all of you who are reading and supporting this story.  

You can chime in with your thoughts on the Alek v. Nathan debate here