Hang Out with Liam

I did my best to continue things as normal, but lurking in the back of my mind was the knowledge that I was going to watch Kaylee and Sean have sex again. Every lapse in focus had that little nugget worm its way into my head. Even with a few days to mull it over, I still wasn’t sure how I was supposed to feel about it. Excited? Nauseous? Disgusted? Happy? Depressed? Angry? All of the above was apparently what my mind decided on, tossing them all into a blender going max speed.

Staring blankly ahead, I watched myself die for the dozenth time in the past thirty minutes. Beside me, Liam clicked his tongue in frustration.

“Come on man, if you aren’t even going to try…” he said as he set his controller aside.

“Sorry,” I said, mimicking him. My focus was all over the place and clearly not in the places it needed to be. It had been a while since Liam and I hung out, and I was only present in the physical sense. I needed to shake myself out of the funk I was in.

“You okay? Something's been off with you.”

“That obvious?”

“Zoe was verbally taking a bat to you during lunch and you didn’t even give her an angry look. That is nothing compared to whatever weird thing is going on between you and Kaylee.” Shifting on the couch, he turned so he was facing me. “What happened?”

“Nothing,” I said quickly. He was already shaking his head before I finished the word.

“Nope. You aren’t getting out of this one. Spill or I’ll call Faith in to give you a lap dance.”

The absurdity of it caused a laugh to escape me. It felt good to laugh and I felt a lot of the tension I hadn’t realized I was carrying fade. “Aren’t you supposed to say something that the other person would hate?”

“Right?” he said with an animated face. “Yet for some crazy reason, that is somehow worse for you. If that still isn’t enough of a motivator, I’ll have to ask her to give you a blowjob too.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Haha. Good luck with that.”

“Don’t be so quick to write that off. I told you, she’d be more than happy to—”

“Okay, okay,” I said, holding up my hands. “I’ll talk.” Smiling, he gestured for me to continue. Humor aside, it didn’t take long for my smile to fade as the gravity of the situation settled. “So, some things happened that I’ve been thinking about.”

“God, you are the worst storyteller on the planet. The. Worst.”

I frowned. “You want me to tell or no?”

“Should I call Faith in to give you some motivation? Hit the fast-forward!.” He laughed as I gave him the finger.

“I saw Kaylee naked.”

“No shit? Nice! If only we could all be so lucky. I’d certainly be thinking about that all day too,” he said as he nudged me on the arm with his fist.

“Yeah, well she was fucking Sean at the time so… not so nice.”

He blinked twice slowly as he processed what I told him. “Wait. What? Okay, so back up.”

“You told me to make it quick.”

“Not that quick! Come on man, this is serious. How the fuck did you go from seeing Kaylee naked to watching her and Sean bump nasties?”

Shit storyteller or not, I had a captive audience. I gave him a rundown of how me going to dinner with Kaylee after practice led to me going to her place and the context of Sean coming over. Her having sex with Sean wasn’t that much of a story. Her choosing to have sex in her room with me in it was certainly an oddity. Even Liam agreed that it was odd, though it sounded like he believed Sean was pushing her to do it. Maybe I didn’t explain it well enough, but there was no mistake in my mind. Sean may have suggested it, but it was Kaylee who ultimately decided to do it.

“Okay, I could see how that is a bit awkward, but I feel there is something else there.”

Falling silent, I debated giving more detail. So far, I’d been keeping things pretty vague.

I sighed, my mind already made up. I could trust Liam. He’d always had my back before and I needed someone to vent my frustrations to before they drove me crazy.

Feeling my face heat, I cleared my throat. “She called my name when she came,” I said in a low voice.

“She what?”

“Shh,” I said, nervously looking towards his door. “Come on, not so loud.”

“Fuck man. Wow. And she was fucking Sean at the time?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow. What a mental fuck right there.”

My stomach churned just talking about it. “No kidding. That wasn’t what’s really bothered me though.”

“No? Shit man. You’re taking me on a roller coaster here.” I glared at him and he held up his hands before gesturing for me to continue.

“Sean was under the impression that Kaylee was my girlfriend.”

Liam frowned. “She’s not though? I thought that was pretty well known around school. She corrects people immediately when they make that mistake.” That was a bit of a blow to my psyche there. I already knew it, but it still hurt hearing it.

“I know. Which was why I’m a bit confused why she didn’t correct him.”

“Maybe because she had seven inches of cock in her at the time?” I think my glare could have seared flesh from bone. He scooted back against the arm of the couch, protecting himself from a potential blow. “Sorry! Sorry! That was a low blow.”

“Wait. How do you know his dick size? I don’t even know that and I was there.”

“Faith,” he said as if that explained everything. Actually, it did. Damn, was there anyone this guy hadn’t slept with? Liam’s expression turned serious and he sat up as he realized I wasn’t going to suddenly attack him. “But really, Scott. Maybe she just didn’t hear him?”

“There was no way,” I said, the scene flashing in my mind. That wasn’t the case… right? I could feel doubt creeping in, withering away my confidence in my recollection.

Reaching out, Liam rested his hand on my shoulder. He gave it a comforting squeeze. “I know you are crushing on her hard. I’m afraid you’re reading too much into the situation.”

My eyes flashed wide in surprise. “How—”

“Was that supposed to be a secret?”

“Uh—”

“Because you’ve been about as subtle as a tornado that went over a gas station and is now a flaming tornado that also sucked up a city’s worth of tornado sirens wailing—”

“Okay, I get it,” I said with a pout. “I like Kaylee.”

“I’m not trying to be mean, but… She’s known you’ve liked her for a long time…” he said softly as he trailed off. He didn’t need to spell it out to me.

“And nothing's happened. I get it,” I snapped bitterly. “Don’t you think I know that too?”

He held up his hands defensively. “I know. It sucks. I had a bit of a crush on her too for a bit there when we were becoming friends. Not nearly as much as you, and I eventually got over it, but still. I know it sucks when the person you like doesn’t feel the same way.”

That was a bit surprising. I never knew Liam liked her at one point. It really shouldn’t have been now that I took more than a second to think about it. She was popular with a lot of guys and it always seemed like someone was trying to get her attention.

I let out a long breath, shaking my head as I leaned forward. “I know I’m probably over-thinking it all, but you weren’t there, Liam. You didn’t see the look she gave me.”

“When she was having her orgasm?” I nodded. “I feel like an asshole, but I need to remind you that another guy was the one actually doing the deed. I mean, you were right there from the beginning. She was horny and called Sean over instead of asking you. If that’s not a sign…”

Frustrated, I rustled my hair with my hands. Everything Liam was saying made sense. He wasn’t saying anything I hadn’t told myself a hundred times by now.

“I know, but I was the one who pushed for it in the first place.”

“Yeah, but she could have said, ‘Or you could come over here and take care of me.’ Kaylee is one of the nicest girls I know, but she isn’t shy about speaking up for what she wants.”

I nodded. “Which is why I’ve been trying to let everything go back to normal.”

Growling in frustration, it looked like Liam was going to tear his hair out. “Why do I get the feeling I still don’t have the whole story?”

“Her dad invited me to come with them to dinner to celebrate her mom coming home.” I hesitated, the memory of her asking me to watch her again flashing before me. “After dinner, we went for a walk and…” My voice faded as I got lost in the memory.

“Arg. What? Don’t leave me hanging man!”

“She asked me if I enjoyed watching.” Before he could say anything, I pushed on nearly tripping over words as I struggled to get everything out. “She wanted to do it again. Me watching her I mean.”

“Holy shit.”

“Yeah. She told me she and Sean had a marathon sex session the night before and it wasn’t as good as when I was watching them.”

There was a long silence as we both stared at the TV. The game menu went through its short animation several times before either of us spoke.

“Well, fuck,” Liam said, slumping back into the couch. “What did you tell her?” I winced. I guess that was enough answer for him. “Dude.”

“I know! I panicked, okay? You weren’t there. The way she looked at me… There was no way I could tell her no.”

He blew out a breath, shaking his head. “What are you going to tell her?”

“Huh?”

This time, Liam looked surprised. “Wait, are you still going to do it?”

“… I told her I would.”

“Scott, I know you like her, but take a moment to think about what you’re doing.” He cut me off before I could say anything. “Just consider one thing before you get all mad at me. What are you getting out of this? I don’t mean that in a selfish, asshole way. A relationship is a two-way street, and friendship is a relationship too. Are you planning on going through all this, which is clearly not sitting well with you, just so she can have a better orgasm?”

“I don’t know,” I said after a moment's hesitation.

“Did you enjoy watching her with Sean in the first place?”

I glanced over at him. “Why are both you and her so intent on that question?”

“Because it’s the crux of all this. If you enjoyed it, I’m not going to stand in your way. Shit, I’d be pushing you to do it since it would be the first time I’ve seen you interested in anything sexual.” I stared at him like he’d sprouted another head. “What? You’ve always been a weird dude. You being interested in something outside the norm isn’t totally far-fetched.”

“Gee. Thanks.”

“Whatever makes people happy. Just look at your sister’s boyfriend. He gets off to Paige treating him like shit. Not for me, but if he’s happy, hey, that’s all that matters, right?”

“Wait, how do you know about Paige and her boyfriend?”

He laughed. “Dude, Faith is her, ‘All-time-bestest-BFF.’ I hear all sorts of shit from her.” He grinned. “Just because you seem to hate your sister, doesn’t mean everyone’s relationship with their siblings is the same way.”

“I don’t hate her. We just have—”

“Different lifestyles?” he finished with a grin.

I glowered at him. “Yeah.”

“You do know that Paige adores you, right?” That got a good laugh out of me. Liam wasn’t laughing though.

“We must be thinking of two different people.”

He sighed. “Not going to get into that, but can I advise bomb you since we seem to be on the topic of relationships? Have you actually tried talking to your sister lately? She’s a sarcastic, prickly sonovabitch, but I can tell she’s your sister. Get through that, and it’s all warm and gooey inside.”

I stared at him for a long time. “Dude, did you sleep with Paige?”

“Wait, that’s what you’re taking from this?”

“I notice you didn’t answer the question.”

“I haven’t, but I don’t see how I would be any different than the countless other guys she’s been with. I just meant that she’s a caring person in her own way if you take a moment to actually talk with her. The problem is she’s every bit as frustratingly quirky as you are but on the opposite side of things. I’m not big on the whole twin superstition thing, but damn if you two aren’t the opposite side of the same coin. You both try so hard to fit this idea of what you believe is ‘normal,’ and you both fail so adorably trying.”

“Can we please stop talking about my sister?”

He held up his hand. “Good idea. So like I was asking before, you like watching Kaylee getting porked by other guys?”

I gave him an incredulous look. “Really? That’s how you’re phrasing that?”

He grinned. “Hey, nothing about your sister, right?” The grin faded fast. “But seriously, Scott. You need to sit there and really think about that question. If you enjoy that, great. I’m happy you found something you enjoy.” His expression turned grim. “But if you are just doing this in the off-chance that it will somehow make Kaylee appreciate you more, we need to have a serious talk because that isn’t healthy for anyone.”

There was a long silence as I considered what he said. I knew it made sense, but it was frustrating that the answer wasn’t immediately obvious. Was I just going along with this because I felt like refusing would let her down? Wanting to see her naked again was easy to understand. Who didn’t want to see their crush naked? Like always, Liam’s words were just what I needed to hear. Maybe that one year difference in our ages made a big deal. He always seemed like the wise old woman the heroine received guidance from on her quest. Even if I didn’t have an answer to his question right now, it didn’t seem so overwhelming anymore.

A loud crunch interrupted my thoughts. Looking over, I found Liam studying me as he chewed noisily on a handful of chips. I furrowed my brows as I watched him take another chip out of the bag and nosily bite down on it. His near unblinking stare unsettled me.

“And you call me the odd one?” I muttered as he burst out into laughter, enjoying my reaction. “Thanks, Liam.”

“Hey, no problem. There is one thing I have to know though…”

“What?”

“So Kaylee… She a natural blond, or…?”