Page 80 of Grounding the Baker
“You haven’t lived here for the last four months,” said Kieran. “You already said your goodbyes.”
“So why am I still paying a quarter of the rent?”
“I’ll hold your hand when you say goodbye tomorrow,” Kieran replied, making them all laugh again.
They’d had their difficulties over the past six years of living together, four of them in this flat. He was closer to Milo, as he’d known him longer, but he would miss seeing all of them every day. Liam had made the right decision in moving home, though. It had always been the plan, and Milo had moved in with Edward, which made sense given how high profile his job was. It meant fewer opportunities for them to be photographed together in public. They’d both had enough of that for a lifetime. Liam knew he wouldn’t lose touch with Milo, not after everything they’d been through together. He just hoped he didn’t drift apart from the other two. Their lives weredifferent, and Liam didn’t live in the city anymore. He would do all he could to make sure that didn’t happen.
Madame Hoes was packed,as was common on a Friday night. Add to that they were having an April heatwave, so a bit of sun always brought the gays out in droves– namely to see hot guys in tight vests and shorts. Liam might be loved up with Austin, but he was still a gay man who could appreciate biceps and thighs.
They’d gotten a table. Well, Hassan had sorted it. He knew the manager, Eric, who was also the owner’s brother. Hassan just had a way of getting people to speak to him, and usually spill all their secrets. It had to be a doctor thing. The bedside manner trick. He’d make some guy happy one day, although Liam wasn’t sure what his type was. There was nothing similar in terms of looks about the guys Liam had seen coming out of his room over the years. They were of all ages, shapes, and sizes. The one night they’d slept together had been fun, and the guy knew what he was doing. Definitely on the bossy side, but it had been a one-off. Liam hadn’t known he’d also slept with Kieran at some point. They’d kept that quiet, or had thought it obvious so it didn’t need mentioning.
“What time are we going to Mickey’s?” asked Liam.
“The show finishes at midnight,” said Kieran. “So after then, probably.”
“After midnight,” said Liam and Milo together.
“Just because you’re both dating old men doesn’t mean you need to become one.”
Liam was about to protest that Austin wasn’t old, but that wasn’t the point Kieran was making. He looked at Milo, and there was a silent agreement between the two of them.They were both going to show Kieran that they could still keep up with anyone else in their twenties.
Liam was convincedhe’d died and woken up in hell. That explained how he was feeling. It took him a few seconds to realise he was in his old room at the flat. He’d moved all his things out already, so apart from the bedding covering him, there was nothing else here.
He groaned as he rolled onto his side, the devil’s daggers stabbing into his skull. There was a recollection of doing shots, and a faint memory of him dancing with his shirt off. That wasn’t unusual for him to do on a night out. He had an impressive body and was insecure as fuck; it was a simple decision that he’d flash some skin in order to get attention. Not that he needed that sort of attention now he had Austin. A flash of memory hit him, the kind you get the morning after you’ve done something embarrassing and are flooded with shame.
Cringing, he reached for his phone, which he’d thankfully put on charge before passing out. There was a notification that he had a message from Austin, causing his heart to beat faster and him to feel nauseous. Before he could overthink it, he opened the message.
Austin
Haha. Sounds like you had a great night. I’ll answer all your questions when I see you on Sunday night xxx
The message had been sent at six o’clock in the morning. It was almost nine, and based on the timestamp, he’d last messaged Austin at four.
In bed now, stroking my cock and imagining you fucking me until I can’t breathe
That was cringy, but was something he would probably say to Austin’s face. He realised it was one of ten messages he’d sent Austin over the space of four hours. Hopefully, the fact he hadn’t replied until the morning meant he hadn’t woken the guy up.
I wish you were here. Would you like to lick all this sweat off my body?
When are you going to fuck me against that tree in the woods like you promised?
We should get tested so I can have your cum in me while I’m baking your chocolate orange muffins!
Would it be weird for you to eat chocolate orange muffin batter off my arse? It would be like your two favourite foods being combined!
If you had to give up eating chocolate orange muffins or my muffin forever, which would it be?
Okay. That one was embarrassing. He kept scrolling.
I bet you couldn’t make me cum five times in one night. Do you accept the challenge?
He was sure Austin would accept, but Liam wasn’t sure he’d be able to move for days once the guy was done with him.
Could we get a mould of your dick made, and then I can experience it from both ends at the same time?
You know you’ve ruined me for other men, and not just because you have a horse cock, but because you’re the most wonderful man I have ever met. And it doesn’t matter about other men, because you’re it for me!
That was far too soppy, and thankfully Liam had made no big declarations, but that was very close to it. I mean, what more could he say other than the L-word. He wasn’t ready to say that out loud yet. Hopefully, the last message hadn’t backed him into a corner.
