The day passed by without anything exciting happening which I was okay with. It was nice having boring days for once in my life. I was ready to go home and finish my homework so I wouldn’t have to worry about it tomorrow night when Liam and I would be alone.

Seth was off work tonight so he was cooking us dinner. He made a delicious stew and we reminisced about old times. We talked about Blue and how he passed away a couple years ago from old age. Liam was heartbroken over it for a while since that dog was with him since before the meteor even landed.

“Remember when we were searching that house and we found makeup and you let me draw a monocle and mustache on your face?” Liam said laughing at the memory.

“I didn’t necessarily let you do that, but that’s what ended up happening,” I smiled.

“Did anything happen when I was gone in the past six months?” Seth asked Liam and me.

“Nothing noteworthy. It seemed like everything was calm,” Liam stated.

“Are you sure? You two aren’t sleeping well and I’ve noticed that,” Seth said.

“Oh! That’s just because it’s hard to adjust to this new life. We just talk late at night and then go back to bed,” Liam replied quickly.

“Liam, I’m done with this,” I stated and his eyes grew wide in shock. “Seth, Liam and I confessed our love for each other on my 15th birthday and have been in love since then.” I said the statement in a flat voice and tried to make it as matter of fact as possible.

“Excuse me?” Seth said dropping his spoon in the stew he was eating. He looked from me to Liam with a deadly expression. I could feel the anger coming off of Seth in waves and didn’t realize he would be this angry. Seth formed the darkness scythe with his power and swung the blade at Liam. Liam’s negating power dispelled Seth’s scythe on impact with Liam and I was frozen in fear not knowing what to do. We were in our apartment, but I didn’t want anything getting damaged.

“Seth! Calm down!” I shouted at him. I sent waves of calmness at him and he glared at me before his breathing evened out and I got his anger down to an annoyance with Liam.

“That’s my sister Liam. We talked about this. I trusted you with her life,” Seth said coldly to Liam.

“I know. I’m sorry Seth. I love her with my whole being. I will do whatever it takes to protect her life and make sure she is happy,” Liam replied.

Seth looked at me. “Are you happy with him?”

“Of course I am! I wouldn’t date him if I didn’t love him back,” I said.

“God, this is hard to take in. I guess I have to accept this. You’re already like a brother to me, Liam. If you do anything to hurt her, however, I’m on her side,” Seth warned Liam.

“If I hurt her in anyway then please feel free to do as you see fit to me.” Liam was looking at me as if he was making the promise to me that he would never hurt me intentionally. I felt my heart flutter in my chest and I wanted nothing more than to reach out and hold him. I resisted the urge out of respect for my brother.

“And just please be safe and smart about things,” Seth said with an insinuating tone. I blushed in embarrassment and Liam also looked really embarrassed.

“We haven’t…”

“It’s okay, Ash. I don’t want anymore details. And this does not mean he can sleep in your bed. At least not while you live with me!” Seth interrupted me before I could tell him anything and I just let it go. I felt better after telling him the truth and I was glad he accepted it even though at first it wasn’t clear if he would. That night I slept really well.

The next night Seth had left for his work retreat for team building and Liam prepared a romantic dinner. I couldn’t wait for the after dinner activities and barely ate anything I was anticipating it so much. It was hard to keep my hands off of him during the clean up after dinner. I could tell he was anxious about things. He was a little slower in his movements to get things done and I think he was worried he wouldn’t meet some expectations he imagined I had.

“What’s going on Liam?” I asked him concerned about his nervous expression. I reached up to take off his headband from his eye, but his emotions were still blocked from me and I got hurt.

“I’m just nervous and don’t want you getting nervous too,” he said.

“It’s too late for that. I’ve been nervous since this morning,” I smiled at him. “But I’ve also looked forward to this and really want to do this. I’m giving you consent to have me however you want tonight.”

He grinned at me and pulled me into my bedroom. He pushed me onto the bed and we began the familiar dance of kissing. His hands were trembling in the slightest as his fingers explored my body as he had done several times over the past year. We stripped off our clothing and I put my hand over his to guide him to the spots that I liked him to touch. He seemed more confident with my hand over his and then he finally let his guard down and I could feel his emotions once again.

After so much foreplay I couldn’t take it anymore. I felt like I was about to explode and I wanted release. “Please, Liam. Tell me you found protection,” I breathed to him.

“I bought some the other day.” He reached over to my nightstand drawer that I obviously never checked because I didn’t notice the box of condoms in the drawer. He pulled one out and unwrapped it. He put it on and we got ready. Everything that came next was everything I had imagined it to be. Liam was perfect in comforting me while it hurt at first and then we continued until it felt good for me. I appreciated that Liam paid close attention to me and looked for my signals. The feelings we exchanged made the experience that much more precious. I would never forget my first time with Liam, or the several other rounds we had throughout the night until the morning.