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He opened his front door, hair sticking up, a mug of steaming coffee in his hand.
“Hey, Liam.”
“Hey, John. You’d better come in.”
CHAPTER FIVE
LIAM
While most of the events of last night had been a blur, I distinctly remembered John had picked me up and definitely recalled how he’d held me close and comforted me.
It was something I’d missed most of all. The hook-ups and fucks in clubs and bars held no meaning for me, but that had been my life since the incident. I kept thinking the next man would be the one who brought sense back to my life, a reason for me being here.
Instead, they did nothing but fill me with self-loathing and disgust at myself for allowing myself to be used that way. Most of it had been consensual, but a time or two, I might have been too drugged up to remember.
I’d wake up with a sore arse in someone else’s place with no recollection of having got there. My clothes would be in a heap on the floor. Occasionally, the overpowering stench of vomit would linger.
Things had improved, and I had got a little better. The absence of drugs helped my decision-making, but I still fell victim at times, especially when my mood or self-esteem was low.
Mood played a big part in my sex life, as much as I hated to admit that.
Last night had been one of those nights when I knew I’d be going home with someone.
The mention of his name had changed all that.
Now here was John Palmer, standing on my doorstep. My saviour. My knight in shining armour.
It seemed he kept turning up like a bad penny. Three times in just over a week. Was fate trying to tell me something?
I invited him in. It was the right thing to do, seeing how it was fucking cold outside.
“Come to check up on me?” I asked and sat on the sofa, tucking my legs beneath me.
“I said I would, and I always keep my promises.” He shifted from foot to foot. What was up with him?
“Huh, if only.” I was feeling belligerent today and hoped I was making him uncomfortable. Stuart would have called it brattish, but he didn’t have a say anymore.
John shook his head. I didn’t think he knew what to make of me. He’d probably encountered no one like me.
He’d been shocked to hear about my relationship with Stuart, but that was my life. ‘Was’ being the operative word.
“I didn’t need to come here, Liam. I had to go to work today, on my day off. I said I would come, and here I am, but I can leave if you want me to.”
Fuck. He was right. He could not have bothered, but the fact that he was here… Maybe he cared?
“Coffee?”
“Not if it’s that instant shit. You need a proper coffee maker.”
“Jeez, John. Someone’s picky today.”
“I’ll take water or tea, if you have it.”
He followed me into the kitchen, and I put the kettle to boil.
Last Christmas, Drew’s parents had sent over a hamper with some tea in it. Neither of us drank it. I dug around in a cupboard, finding the box tucked behind a pack of wholewheat crackers that were probably stale by now.
“How do you take it?”
