T-Minus 21

The first thing you became aware of was warmth—comforting, heavy warmth wrapping around your body like a cocoon. The second thing was the dull throb in your head, a clear aftereffect of the **** and weed from last night. You groaned softly, burying your face deeper into the pillow, trying to escape the persistent pull of consciousness. But something felt... off.

This wasn’t your bed.

Your mattress wasn’t this firm. Your sheets didn’t smell like this—like clean laundry and something undeniably masculine. And your room definitely didn’t have this much body heat radiating from behind you.

Still half-asleep, you stretched lazily, extending your arms with a small sigh—

Thwack.

“Ow! What the hell?” a groggy voice grumbled behind you, and you blinked blearily, confused, before turning your head just enough to see the source of the noise.

Liam.

Liam, who was rubbing his forehead where you’d just elbowed him. Liam, whose body was very close to yours. Liam, who had been... spooning you.

Your brain stalled for a second.

His arm had been wrapped around your waist, your bodies pressed together in a way that suggested you had fallen asleep like this—tangled up in each other. The realization sent a slow, creeping heat up your spine, your stomach flipping as the implications began to settle.

“Oh... shit,” you muttered under your breath, blinking rapidly, trying to piece together why exactly you were in his bed.

Liam groaned, still squinting as he woke up. “Did you just elbow me in the head?”

“Uh… yeah. Yeah, I think I did,” you admitted, still dazed.

He let out a low chuckle, his voice thick with sleep. “Nice. Love waking up to a concussion.”

You opened your mouth to fire back, but then you felt it—felt the way his body had been pressed against yours. The way his warmth lingered even after he pulled his arms back to himself, as if he was only now realizing the situation, too.

Slowly, you turned onto your other side, looking straight at him. He looked rough—his dark hair a complete mess, sleep still in his eyes, his lips slightly parted as he ran a hand through his hair.

“Why am I in your bed?” you asked, voice scratchy from sleep.

Liam blinked at you, as if processing the question. “I… don’t know?”

You stared at each other for a beat. Then another.

“Do you remember anything?” you asked hesitantly.

He opened his mouth, closed it, then frowned. “...Not everything.”

Your stomach did a slow flip. “But some things?”

Liam exhaled sharply, glancing at the ceiling. “Yeah. Bits and pieces.”

You could tell by the way he wasn’t looking at you that he remembered enough. Just like you did.

There was an unspoken challenge hanging between you. Neither of you wanted to be the first to say it.

You smirked, tilting your head. “You sure you don’t remember anything?”

Liam narrowed his eyes slightly, catching onto your game. “I might remember… something.”

“Oh?” You rolled onto your side, propping yourself up on an elbow. “Like what?”

He hesitated, then gave a half-shrug. “Dunno. Why don’t you say what you remember first?”

You let out a short laugh, shaking your head. “Uh-uh, I asked first.”

“You also elbowed me in the face, so I think you owe me,” Liam countered, smirking now.

You rolled your eyes. “Alright, fine.” You took a deep breath, as if steadying yourself, before finally saying it. “We had sex last night.”

The words hung in the air between you, heavy and irrevocable.

Liam’s eyes widened, his whole body going still for a second. “We—what?”

You lifted an eyebrow. “We. Had. Sex. You need me to spell it out?”

Liam looked utterly blindsided, his mouth opening and closing like he was trying to find the right words. “Holy shit.”

You couldn’t help but grin. “That’s your reaction?”

“I—just—” He scrubbed a hand down his face, clearly reeling. “Holy shit.”

You laughed, finding his stunned expression almost adorable. Meanwhile, you… well, you weren’t freaking out. You weren’t even that surprised, now that you were fully awake and piecing together everything.

Liam, on the other hand, was spiraling.

“Wait—wait, fuck,” he suddenly blurted, looking at you like he was only now thinking about the _logistics _of last night. “Did we—” He gestured vaguely between you. “Did I—was I wearing—”

You raised an eyebrow, amused. “A condom?”

Liam nodded rapidly. “Yes. That.”

You hummed, pretending to think. “Hmm. I don't think so?”

Liam’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. “You think?”

You broke into laughter. “Relax, dad. It’s fine.”

His brows furrowed. “It’s not fine! I mean—I mean, what if—”

“Liam,” you cut him off, still grinning. “It’s fine. I don’t get periods.”

That seemed to shut him up real quick.

He blinked at you. “You… what?”

You rolled onto your back again, stretching your arms above your head, feeling way too entertained by this. “It’s not part of the transformation, at least not yet. I recently realized that since I don’t get periods, it means I don’t ovulate. Which means…” You turned your head, giving him a teasing smirk. “No risk of pregnancy. No matter what we did last night.”

Liam exhaled, looking almost dizzy with relief. “Jesus Christ.”

You laughed again. “You’re cute when you panic, you know that?”

He shot you a look. “I was being responsible.”

“Uh-huh.” You reached over, lightly poking his cheek. “Adorable.”

Liam groaned, flopping onto his back dramatically. “This is the worst morning of my life.”

You grinned, enjoying his suffering way too much. “C’mon, don’t be so dramatic. I wasn’t that bad, was I?”

Liam groaned again, covering his face with his hands. “Oh my God.”

You couldn’t stop grinning. Oh yeah. This was going to be fun.

The playful teasing between you and Liam settled into a comfortable silence, the kind that came from knowing someone for years. The sheets were warm, the pillow soft, and despite everything—the hangover, the lingering haze of last night, the fact that you had just woken up in Liam’s bed after sleeping with him—it was nice.

You exhaled deeply, your body still curled up against him, but as your thoughts began to clear, a new weight settled over you. The clock was ticking.

Liam was the first to say it out loud.

“You know you’ve got three weeks left, right?”

You blinked, turning your head to look at him. “Huh?”

“The curse.” He shifted slightly, lying on his side to face you. “You have exactly 21 days left until it’s been six months.”

Your stomach flipped.

You _knew _that, obviously. It wasn’t like you’d forgotten. But hearing it laid out in exact numbers made it feel more… real. More urgent.

Liam’s gaze was steady. “And now you only have three more people left to sleep with.”

You huffed out a laugh, trying to shake off the seriousness. “Well, thank God we fucked last night, huh? Now I only need three more instead of four.” You smirked at him. “You’re officially number four on the cursed list. Lucky you.”

Liam rolled his eyes but smiled slightly. “Yeah, real honored.”

You stretched, arms above your head, body still comfortably relaxed against the mattress. “Honestly, three men in 21 days? That’s not even a challenge.” You gave him a playful grin. “I could do three in one day if I wanted to. Three in three days, easy. The real problem is making it happen naturally.”

Liam exhaled, looking at you carefully. His next words weren’t teasing.

“You ready?”

You scoffed. “Liam, it’s sex. It’s not like I have to climb Mount Everest. All I gotta do is get horny three times in three weeks.”

Liam then looked at you sincerely, and tapped the side of your temple with his finger.

You frowned, confused. “...My head?”

Liam rolled his eyes. “No, dumbass. Your brain. Your mind. I’m asking if you’re ready mentally.”

That threw you for a loop. You blinked, thrown off balance by the sincerity in his voice.

“Like, yeah, sure, you can just ‘get horny three more times,’” he continued, making air quotes. “But that’s not really what I’m asking.” His voice softened slightly. “Are you feeling okay? With having to sleep with so many people just to keep from turning into… y’know, her permanently?”

Your breath caught.

He was asking about the mental part of it. Not the logistics, not the sex itself, but the fact that you were being **** to do this. It was the kind of question only Liam would think to ask.

A sudden warmth spread through your chest, an ache that had nothing to do with desire and everything to do with how genuinely he cared.

You didn’t say anything at first. Instead, you scooted closer, pressing yourself against his chest, arms sliding around his torso in a slow, deliberate hug. His body was warm, solid, familiar. You felt his breath hitch slightly before he relaxed, one arm coming up to wrap around you in return.

“Damn,” he muttered. “Didn’t expect that reaction.”

You exhaled a small laugh against his skin. “Shut up. Let me have this.”

He huffed a chuckle, squeezing you lightly in return. And for a moment, you just stayed like that—warm, close, wrapped up in something unspoken but deeply comforting.

Then Liam, in classic Liam fashion, completely ruined the moment.

“I mean, you were so good in bed last night that I’m not even getting morning wood right now.”

You froze.

Then, with an absolutely incredulous laugh, you pulled back and smacked his arm. “Are you serious?!”

Liam grinned, looking entirely unrepentant. “What? I’m just saying, you, uh… drained me.”

“Oh my God, Liam.” You shook your head, still laughing, rolling onto your back as you groaned dramatically. “You just had to ruin it, didn’t you?”

Liam turned onto his back as well, still smirking. “I regret nothing.”

You groaned, shoving his face with your hand. “I hate you so much.”

Liam just grinned against your palm. “No, you don't.”

You looked over at him, shaking your head, lips twitching despite yourself.

Yeah. If nothing else, at least you had Liam in your corner.

You stretched one last time before sitting up, running a hand through your messy hair as you cast a teasing glance down at Liam. “Well, if I was that good in bed, I should probably leave before you start getting attached.”

Liam scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, because that’s my biggest concern right now.”

You smirked, feeling a little too pleased with yourself, and swung your legs over the side of the bed, standing up with a soft groan. Your body ached in places it hadn’t before, but the soreness wasn’t unpleasant. It was a reminder of last night—of his hands gripping your hips, the heat of his breath against your skin, the way he felt between your legs—

You cut that thought right there.

Not the time.

Liam sat up as well, rubbing a hand over his face before stretching with a satisfied groan. “Bathroom first?”

You hummed, cracking your neck. “Let’s just say if I don’t brush my teeth in the next two minutes, I will be dying a slow, painful ****.”

Liam smirked. “Nothing new.”

You flipped him off and made your way to the bathroom, Liam trailing behind you.