26. Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Six

Sage

I sit up in the bed as Liam walks in, and he looks beat. I force myself not to think the worst and chew my lip in thought as he slips his hoodie and shoes off.

He doesn't say anything for a few minutes, but when he slips into bed, I can't take the silence anymore. "Is everything okay?"

Rather than responding, he wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me to him like I weigh nothing. "I'm so fucking tired, Dory." He lays his head on my stomach.

His words pull at my heartstrings, and I wrap my arms around him.

"I just need a break," he mumbles, and I feel my throat tightening at how torn he sounds.

I kiss the top of his gently, and he squeezes me tighter. "Okay." I kiss his hair again. "I'll be your break."

He kisses my stomach in response, holding me closer.

"Do you want to take your clothes off?" I ask quietly as I rub my hand down his back.

A smirk paints his lips, and I shake my head at his dirty mind.

"I'm not in the mood for sex. Please don't tempt me because I'm exhausted, but I'll let you–"

"Shut up and just get comfortable."

He says he is comfortable, and it takes him a few minutes to gain the energy, but he lazily pulls his shirt off, and his pants follow soon after.

My eyes cast down his perfect body, and a sigh escapes past my lips as I marvel at the art on his skin.

He lays on my stomach again, and I study every perfect line of work on his back. I don't really care for tattoos and don't have any because of the pain and modeling but Liam makes everyone who has a tattoo look like a joke.

I glance at his face, and he looks so peaceful now compared to how lost he looked when he walked in here. I brush an eyelash off his cheek before kissing him softly.

When a smile appears on his face, I kiss him again.

"What are your favorite flowers?"

I feel my brows furrow at how random that was, but I answer anyway.

"Dahlias—or maybe hydrangeas." Both are so pretty, I can't begin to understand how they can form like that. Roses make sense in my brain, but hydrangeas? No clue how they're even real.

"Gold or silver jewelry?"

I laugh softly. "Gold? What's with the random questions?"

He shrugs. "Something my mom said…" He's quiet for a while before he adds, "Capri is my mom's nurse… was my mom's nurse," he starts randomly again, like his mind is on a hundred things at once, but I don't complain as he shares. "I just left after yelling at her and fired her which was stupid because she–" He shakes his head before going on. "Now I'll have to fucking say sorry, and I hate apologizing."

"Why'd you yell at her?" I wait for him to respond but notice he isn't going to. I have even more questions now, but I ask the only one that matters.

"Is your mom okay?" I feel him tense under me, but I wrap a leg around him and rub a hand in his hair. He pulls in another deep breath before pulling my shirt up and laying on my bare stomach.

"I hope so." He sounds like he's asking a higher power rather than answering me, and I don't say anything else as his breaths even out.

I reach over for my phone and reply to a few comments as he sleeps. As I keep scrolling, I notice I've been getting a lot of love lately, but then I realize I have no hate comments.

I keep looking through my post as I respond to my supporters, and I can't find one mean thing. It's good, of course, but weird. Even on posts where I remember seeing hate comments, there's nothing bad under my pictures.

"Are you hungry?"

I don't answer, and I know he heard my stomach growling, but I thought he was sleeping .

"Hmm?"

When I glance down at him, his eyes are still shut. "Not really." I move his hair again, and I think he actually is sleeping, but then he speaks up again.

"Do you want to try to eat?" He sounds like he's literally sleep-talking, and I can't help but smile at him.

"Go to sleep, Lee."

"The food is still downstairs." He lets out a small yawn before sitting up. "I'll get you some."

He makes his way out of bed, but I grab his hand. "What? No, you're going to fall asleep while walking down the stairs. I'll just eat in the morning."

"You can eat now and in the morning, beloved."

I don't usually eat much for breakfast if I have a big dinner and vice versa, but I don't say anything and let him crawl out of bed. When I get up after him, he tells me I can stay in bed, but I follow him into the kitchen. I hop onto his counter as he walks to the fridge. When he lets out another yawn, I shake my head at him.

"Liam, just–"

"No."

I shrug in response, although he can't see me.

"Do you want to try more of the food I got earlier, or do you want something new?"

I take a second to think, and I really don't want to bother him with cooking, but one thing comes to mind. "Can I have chocolate chip pancakes?"

He turns to me like he either didn't hear me or understand what I just said.

"For din–" He shakes his head. "Whatever you want, Dory."

A smile grows on my face as he gets everything he needs, but I speak up again when he grabs the chocolate.

"Maybe without the chocolate chips, though? How many more calories would the chocolate be?"

Liam doesn't answer me as he dumps a pound of them into the bowl. I feel myself smiling, but don't tell him I don't want to eat anymore, and it's not because of the chocolate.

I read somewhere that eating at night makes you gain weight, but I know he'll shut me down if I bring it up. I glance down at the tile but look back up when I remember something.

"My brother almost always eats breakfast for dinner, and I think he's rubbing off on me because I also had waffles the other night." It was also all I had that day, and Liam was upset even though he tried not to show it.

At the reminder of my brother, I turn my head in thought as I watch Liam. "Do you have any siblings?" I swear he freezes, but before I blink, he's back to mixing everything in the bowl.

I wait for him to respond, but it's clear he isn't going to. "You know, I feel like I don't know much about you."

"Is that so?"

"It is."

He adds the butter to the hot pan in silence, and I study him. "I feel like you were an only child. Don't take this the wrong way because I think you're a great person, Lee, but your meanness gives me the vibe that you never had to share your toys and always got your way. Only child or the youngest, for sure."

He doesn't respond as I go on. "Maybe it's because I'm comparing you to my siblings, and August is the oldest, by like thirteen minutes, but he's the sweetest. Then Sire and I are the middle ones, but he's younger and can definitely be a bit mean. Then there's Lis, and she's definitely an ass sometimes."

"Sire is younger ?" He says, almost to himself.

"Yup." I bring my legs up and sit criss-crossed on the counter. I sit in thought, and when I don't add anything else, Liam steals a glance at me from over his shoulder.

"What?"

I shrug in thought. "I'm trying to think of whether or not they'll like you and–"

"Who cares?"

I try to answer, but he goes on.

"Don't answer. I don't."

The kitchen fills with my laugh, but Liam seems serious. "I care, rude . They're my brothers."

Liam pours a small circle of batter into the pan before turning to me and leaning against the counter. "You really care what they think about me?"

"Of course I do."

His face morphs with confusion but also like he didn't like my answer.

"What?"

He keeps his focus on me for a beat before crossing his arms. "What if they didn't like me?"

I let out a laugh because I could definitely see that being the case, but Sire doesn't like many people, and August likes everyone besides who I'm with. "Honestly, I don't think we'd be together very long if they didn't like you. They have a way of knowing when guys aren't good for me. The only boyfriend of mine they didn't scare away was also the only boy who never made me cry. He was the sweetest and would–"

"Yeah, I don't want to hear about your amazing ex." He turns again, and I bite back a laugh. "You wouldn't seriously break up with me if they hated me," he says it matter-of-factly, but he's wrong.

"Sure I would."

He turns around and looks pissed, but I don't get why.

"My siblings are the most important people in my life, and I care a lot about their judgment. I wouldn't be with someone they hated. I've stood with people they didn't like, but if they hate you, then you're the problem because Sire and August don't hate anyone. They're the best."

He stares at me blankly before rolling his eyes. "You're biased."

I laugh softly, but he looks off to the side now, almost annoyed.

"Maybe, but you don't even know them, everyone loves my brothers they're… well they're Sire and August." I shrug as if that says enough, but it sort of does. "And hates a very strong word, they wouldn't hate you."

He steals a glance at me and watches me for something but only shakes his head before turning back to the stove.

"Back to you," I start.

"Not back to me. "

"Yes."

He shakes his head and gets back to flipping pancakes.

"Where'd you grow up?"

"Earth."

I stare at his back, and I can imagine the bored look on his face. "Ha ha," I reply dryly, but he doesn't turn around. "Seriously, where'd you graduate from?"

"UC Davis."

I light up at his answer but then feel my shoulders slouch. "Oh… my brothers went to UC Faye, but I think I remember something about the two schools not liking each other." I almost asked what year he graduated, but I don't remember what year the boys graduated, and I doubt they encountered each other. Even if they did, I doubt Liam remembers.

"What about your family?"

He takes a while to respond this time, but he eventually does. "I have one, like most people do. These things don't matter, Dory." He tries to brush me off, but I don't let it offend me.

"I think your family matters a lot." I hear him let out a breath, but I don't understand why my curiosity is bothering him. "If you don't mind me asking–"

"I do." His words are cold now, and my mouth slowly closes. Okay… now I'm a bit offended.

I don't say anything for a minute or two, but the silence is killing me, so I hop down from the counter and walk over to him. He keeps his eyes on the stove, and I lean against the counter beside him with my arms crossed.

"You know if we're dating now–"

"What do you mean if? " He glances at me as he waits for me to answer.

"I mean, I should know more about you. Like your favorite color or food and–"

"I sleep with you every other night. My favorite color does not matter."

I feel my face scrunch as I wave in front of me as if I'd be able to wave away his ridiculous sentence. "Sex is not all a relationship is about, Liam, and I know that's how we started, but–"

"My favorite color and food is what a relationship entails?"

"I get the feeling you wouldn't know what a relationship entails."

He turns to me slowly, and I can't tell if he genuinely doesn't care about what's coming out of my mouth or if he's too tired to care.

He turns back to the pancakes without a word, but then it clicks.

"You never had a girlfriend before."

"Yes, I–"

" After high school!"

He doesn't respond, and my jaw slightly drops.

"Oh my God, I'm your first real girlfriend!" I'm at a loss for words, but Liam just flips another pancake before shaking his head at my epiphany.

"I don't think I want to date someone who doesn't have past experience." I think out loud and–

"I think the way I make you scream my name shows just how much experience I have."

"That–" Nothing else comes out, and when I shut my mouth, a smirk grows on Liam's face. "That is not the kind of experience I meant, mister."

"No?"

"No."

He raises his brows like he doesn't believe me and serves our food. "It's the only experience that matters." He walks over to the counter, but I'm stuck in place.

"No, it's not." I shake my head at him as he takes a seat. "I was this guy's first girlfriend in college, and it was exhausting teaching him how to be a boyfriend. By the time he was half as good, I was done with the relationship, and when I was literally on my way to break up with him, he sent me a two-line breakup text!"

Yes, I'm still annoyed about that because I had the decency to do it in person, and in the end, I didn't even get to do it first. At least it was mutual… sort of.

"Sounds like all the experience you have was bad. This is why I don't date. It's exhausting," He buries his face in his hands. "like now." He sounds exhausted, too, but I stop in my tracks. I notice him steal a glance at me before shaking his head softly.

"That's not what I meant; you're not exhausting. I just–" He runs a hand down his face, but I don't say anything as I grab my plate and take it to the couch.

"Dory…"

I grab my iPad beside me and get back to editing the thumbnail for last weekend's vlogs. Liam comes next to me on the couch and doesn't say anything, but I feel his eyes on me.

"Eat your food." His words are soft, but I only lean into the couch.

"Sorry I made you get out of bed to cook, but I'm not hungry."

"Dory–" He lets out a breath as if he really is tired of me, and I get up to go to bed. "Stop being like that, come here." He grabs my hand as I pass him and makes me sit on his lap. I keep my eyes on the screen as he kisses my cheek a few times and rubs my thigh.

"You're not exhausting." He kisses my neck before leaning his head on my shoulder. "I said ‘like now' because I'm fucking tired right now. I'm not tired of you or our conversation."

He lifts his head from my shoulder and turns my head to kiss me, but I don't move an inch. He pulls away and looks between my eyes like he's offended. "Kiss me back."

He leans forward to kiss me again, and when I don't return it, he lets out a breath before kissing my cheek and leaning back on the couch. He's quiet for a while, and when I steal a glance at him, his eyes are shut. I try to stand, but he keeps his arm around my waist.

"Please eat." He sort of whispers before laying more comfortably on the couch, his arms still around me.

I grab my plate and eat two of the mini pancakes before putting them aside. When I get up, Liam doesn't grab me, and I realize he fell asleep.