"Oh my god!" he sighed. Part of him was scared, but part of him was intrigued. He wanted this, but he didn't understand why.

"What?"

"Nothing... It's just... I didn't expect-"

"Liam, it's ok. If you don't want-"

"No! Theo, that's not it... I just-" he wasn't sure what to say. He'd never paid for sex before. He'd never been with a man before "this isn't right"

Theo laughed from where he stood on the other side of the room. "Liam, you don't have to do this. You don't have to pay me to experiment with you." Liam's eyes grew wide as Theo stepped closer, smirk on Theo's face. "I'd let you do whatever you want for free" he winked.

Liam blushed at this. Why does he always do that? Why does he wink at me all the time? Liam finally asked him. "Why do you wink at me like that?"

Theo laughed amused at the question. "Isn't it obvious?" Liam shook his head feeling small. He felt like a toddler. Theo moved so close there was no room in between them. Liam's heart was beating through his chest. His blood was pumping. His breath was catching. He could hardly see through blurry eyes as Theo leaned down, lips ghosting Liam's, and said "because I'm impossibly attracted to you."

Liam wasn't sure what to say. All he could do was blush. He wanted to say the same things about Theo. He wanted to be as confident as Theo. How was he so confident? How am I supposed to do this? We know each other now. How is this not awkward for him? "Theo I-"

"Kiss me" Theo said. He was demanding and firm, yet somehow still sweet. "If you kiss me and you don't like it, we don't have to go any further. I promise."

"Ok" Liam said, feeling every bit as timid as he had sounded in his voice.

Theo closed the space in between them. It was a slow kiss, in a way that excited Liam. It wasn't like

anything he'd expected. He didn't know what it would be like to kiss Theo, or another guy in general, but this definitely felt like what he thought a kiss should be. Theo wrapped his arms around Liam, one around his waist and one around the back of his neck. "Fuck" Liam breathed out heavily as they separated.

"FUUUCCKKK!" Liam's alarm was blaring in his ear, and he took a minute to register where he was. He shut it off and rubbed his eyes. As he yawned, he looked at the time and that's when he realized it. He was dreaming about Theo. Again. "Fuck." He whimpered. Whyyy do I have a boner again?! Liam rolled out of bed with the images of his dreams two nights in a row embedded in his brain. He grabbed his clothes for the day and took as cold of a shower as he could stand, hopefully getting rid of his problem. Why does this keep happening to me?!

He got out of the shower and got dressed and ready for work, stopping only to make coffee and check his phone. Mason texted him to let him know he'd be there in about ten minutes and that he'd stopped for breakfast. He felt a little guilty at Mason always getting his food. Theo had been right. Liam needed to step up and be an actual adult. Mason and Theo made it look so easy. They had things they enjoyed and still made rent and vehicle payments and bought groceries. Liam seemed to always feel like he was scraping by, and they had their shit together.

Mason's car horn broke Liam out of his thoughts. The guilt was still there, though. He grabbed his phone, wallet and keys and slid his shoes on at the door. Mason looked happy for being awake at 6:30 in the morning. He'd always been more of a morning person anyway. "Hey dude. Thanks for this."

"Don't thank me yet. I am seriously questioning this whole breakfast. That McDonald's is super sketchy sometimes and I should have just went to Hardee's" Mason laughed.

"Well, if I don't get food poisoning from this McGriddle, thank you" Liam laughed tiredly. He had been up for about forty-five minutes trying to keep the thoughts about Theo out of his head, and he had already drunk three cups of coffee. He wasn't understanding why he still felt so tired.

"Here. I got you a coffee too" Mason said softly, but Liam's eyes were wide and expressed his true and undying love for his friend, which caused another small laugh from Mason.

"Thank you! I'm sooo tired and I don't even know why" Liam said kind of exaggeratedly.

"What time did you get up?"

"Like six. Maybe a little earlier because my first alarm" Liam sipped his coffee.

"Aaannd what time did you go to sleep?"

"I don't know? Who knows what time they fall asleep?"

"What was the time the last time you checked your phone before bed?"

"Umm... like three someth-"

"And there is your answer" Mason snorted. "Liam, dude, you have got to take better care of-"

"I KNOW!" He shouted, which threw Mason for a loop, but he didn't question it. "I know... I just... It's hard. I'm not as put together as you..."

"Dude, I am SO not put together" Mason laughed. "Do you know how far behind I am on car payments? Or car insurance? My dad pays most everything! That's why I wanted to move on campus where it would be cheaper. I knew we were both struggling so I thought it would be easier to struggle together" Mason smiled a genuine smile that reminded Liam of why he was Liam's best friend. He was definitely smarter than Liam.

When Liam got dropped off at work, he felt more at ease. He was working checking, at least that was where he was scheduled, but he'd still have to do room service and cleaning with the way the day seemed to be going... and he couldn't wait for the day to be over with.

"Hey gorgeous" Not him. Anyone but him. "I was starting to wonder if Theo had told you something unsavory about me" Brett said, somehow condescending even this early.

"Oh yeah like what?" Liam deadpanned, glaring as if he would murder him given the chance.

"Well... If you can't be nice to me, I'm not sure I want you to know my business. After all, friends are supposed to be... well, friendly" Brett smirked at Liam, making his skin crawl. He really wasn't sure it was worth hearing it from Brett. He was sure it would be twisted anyway.

"We're not exactly friends" Liam rebutted.

"We could be" Brett flashed a charming smile that Liam was sure would make anyone who hadn't witnessed his actual behavior swoon. He was handsome after all. It was just the way he was with Theo and himself that was creepy.

"I'm not sure Theo would appreciate that" he said it before he even realized it. What? Why? That was a weird thing to say. It sounded kind of gay, right? Maybe not. Stop thinking about it!

Brett laughed like he was expecting Liam to say that. "Well, we wouldn't want to upset your friend now, would we?" Brett snorted another laugh. "I swear some things just don't change."

"What happened? Between you and Theo." Liam asked, voice shaky.

"I thought you guys were friends. He should have told you. Although, he was always kind of secretive. I can't really see that changing in the past few years" Brett was trying to get under Liam's skin. It wasn't going to work.

"He's not like that. He's told me things. Things he's never told anyone" Liam didn't understand why it made him mad that Brett was trying to paint this picture of Theo. Everyone has secrets.

"Oh? Like the fact that he's a hooker?" Liam paled at Brett's words. How did he know. His own friends didn't know. Brett laughed patronizingly. "You think you're the first person he's ever confided in? Ha! Get a clue, kid. Theo Raeken is a whore and a liar and you're better off without him."

"How do you even know him?" Liam had to know. He couldn't know these things if they weren't close.

"We dated for a few years. We were each other's firsts. Then he started working at that damn club and he changed. He wanted as much attention as he could get from anywhere he could-"

"That doesn't sound like Theo" Liam blinked up at him.

"Doesn't it? He is a stripper and a bartender and then he moonlights as a call boy? Maybe you just don't know who he really is" Brett purred into Liam's ear before silently walking away.

Was he right? Was he giving Theo too much benefit of the doubt?

"Hey Liam. You decided to come in today after all?" Speaking of Theo.

"Yeah. I- uh- I need the money and I couldn't exactly tell people why I would be calling out..."

"I get that. It's not exactly your fault though. You know that right?"

"Yeah... Hey where did you come from?"

"Work" Theo gave Liam a look that let him know what job he was referring to. It made Liam feel nauseous. Maybe his friends didn't exactly have it all together like he'd initially thought. Theo was working two jobs and one of them wasn't even legal.

Liam nodded. "Ah. And how was it? Like was there any weird 'ban them from the hotel' or 'restraining order' vibes?"

Theo laughed at the insinuation "It's not like that with everyone. It's just when people can't play by the rules."

"So, this person was ok then" Liam asked, still nauseous. Man, he was going to kill Mason if he got him food poisoned breakfast.

"For once, it was actually good. It was about me. I didn't know the guy's name, which is a rule of mine anyway, but I also never saw his face" Theo said smiling as he remembered the previous night.

"How could you not see his face?"

"He blindfolded me when I entered the room, and it was dark" Theo huffed a laugh, but Liam was not amused.

"Theo! That's not safe! How are you supposed to know the exits and-"

"Relax mom. Trust me, I thought the same things. I just... I don't know. It went away after he started doing... everything. It was just... what?"

Liam watched Theo and couldn't help but smirk a little. He wasn't sure what he'd hear when it came to Theo's work, but it was pretty much the same as Mason taking about Corey or anyone he liked. "Nothing" he laughed.

"Really. What is it?" Theo looked blissful and dazed and irritated and relaxed and restless at the same time and Liam couldn't help but laugh at him.

"You like this person, and you don't even know his name. That's truly precious" Liam snorted out.

"Don't be dumb. I like the way he fucks" Liam choked on his coffee and Theo laughed with no remorse for almost killing him "That's what you get." This can't be the guy Brett is describing.

"Hey cutie" Goddamn it. What now?

"I have a name. It's right here on my nametag" Liam spoke with hatred but could be confused with professionalism if you didn't know any better.

"So, it is" Brett said sarcastically. "How could I have missed that? Maybe I was just so busy admiring your adorable face and the adorable way you pout at me that I must've missed it."

"Look. Please stop. I'm Friends with Theo, regardless of what you say about him. I'm not gay, and if I were, I'm sure you wouldn't be not my type."

"But Theo is?" Brett laughed but he was genuinely curious.

"Just because we're friends doesn't automatically-"

"I can see that you're not 'just friends'. Why do you feel the need?"

"Need to what?"

"To defend him. Defend your sexuality. See him as this perfect thing" Brett huffed with an eyeroll.

"I'm not sure what you mean, but he was my friend before I met you. He gets first dibs on my trust. He hasn't given me a reason not to, so it's not up to you" Liam glared as he said he next words "and as far as my 'type', since you asked, I prefer someone who doesn't go behind another person's back and tell stories about them. True or not, it's just wrong."

"You and Theo are exactly the same" Brett sighed. "You ask me a question, I answer, and I'm being treated like the bad guy when it wasn't what you wanted to hear. You two deserve each other."

Liam felt gross. That is actually true. He did ask. He made Brett tell him what happened between him and Theo. Then he'd called him a bad person for telling him. Maybe Brett was telling the truth and Liam was just not able to handle it. Maybe he was just not processing losing a friend very well after he'd just got him.

"Brett leave him alone!"

Liam snapped his head back at Theo. He thought Theo had left earlier at checkout, and it was obvious he had if his clothes are any sign of it.

"Theo mind your business" Brett rolled his eyes. "This conversation doesn't concern you" he spat out.

"It absolutely concerns me if I'm being talked about, Brett! So, what did you tell him about me?" Theo demanded. Brett kept his mouth closed, looking between Theo and Liam.

Liam looked between Theo and Brett and the other hotel guests and finally broke the awkward tension "not here! Let's go outside" he suggested.

When they were finally outside, Theo demanded "Well, Brett? Come on! What do you have to say about me?! Because There's plenty, I can say about you!"