Summary: Part 2 of a 4 part series chronicling the months before Drake left for college and his relationship with Liam.
Drake stripped off his cap and gown immediately following the graduation ceremony. “I’m so glad to be done with this place.”
“It wasn’t all bad, was it?” Liam questioned. “You had me, Maxwell, and Olivia, plus most of guys on the football team were cool.”
“I don’t know if I would put Maxwell and Olivia in the plus column.”
“Admit it Drake, no matter how much they annoy you, they are your friends. You will miss us all.”
“I’ll be just fine seeing Maxwell and Olivia twice a year or whatever on school breaks. That is more than enough. You though, Liam, I will actually miss.”
“You know Drake, my father’s offer still stands for you to attend university here with me. Think about how much fun we’ll have.”
“Liam, I can’t mooch off your family forever. This is just something I need to do.”
Drake was going to miss Liam. So much in fact it hurt to think about it. But that was another reason he needed to go. Neither he nor Liam brought up that night on the football pitch again, but Drake couldn’t get it out of his mind. It was absurd, and had to be a fluke, for both of them. So why couldn’t Drake just forget about it? His codependency with Liam had reached new heights, tricking Drake into believing he had romantic feelings for Liam. There was no other explanation. Liam was his world, and Drake desperately needed to expand his world apart from Liam.
“It was worth a shot, but there’s still time to change your mind. I have a feeling this summer will be epic.”
“Speaking of ‘epic’,” Drake said, “what’s the deal with the party your brother wants to throw for us tomorrow night?”
“My father and Regina will be away on diplomatic matters over the weekend, so Leo wants to throw us a graduation combined with congrats on winning nationals party.”
Leo and Liam weren’t particularly close, but Leo had just finished college himself, and liked any excuse for a party. Leo also knew Liam and Drake were a packaged deal, so it was thoughtful of Leo to include Drake. It’s not like anyone else would be throwing him a party.
“Should be an interesting night.”
“Yes, probably more interesting than our family dinner tonight.”
“Well, I’m not technically family so-”
“Drake, you are not getting out of this. Father and Regina are hosting this for us. Savannah and Bastien will be there too.”
“Fine,” Drake acquiesced. “But we are escaping as soon as we can.”
Dinner was as long and dull as Drake imagined it would be. The food was okay, but Drake would be just as happy with a good steak or burger rather than expensive cuisine. And seven courses was at least five too many in his opinion. Two and a half hours later, dessert was finally served, and Drake and Liam were free to go.
“Okay Drake, you were so eager to get out of there. What are your big plans for tonight?” Liam asked.
“Not a clue. Maybe we could take the boat out again.” Drake smirked.
“Very funny, Drake. I told you I’m never doing that again after we almost died the last time.”
“We were fine after I saved your ass. You know I would never let anything happen to you. How many times have I gotten you out of trouble already?”
Liam cocked an eyebrow. “And how many times did you get me into that trouble in the first place?”
“Fair enough. Since that’s out, what do you suggest?”
“Hmm…” Liam paused thoughtfully. “I’ve got nothing. Why don’t we just watch movies or play video games in my room? We haven’t done that for awhile.”
“Works for me,” Drake agreed. Liam had a pretty nice setup in his room and it was one place they were never bothered by palace staff or anyone else. They had been so busy in the last month with exams and football, the two of the hadn’t really just hung out together in quite a while. Even though they still hadn’t talked about what happened, things didn’t seem at all strained between them, so maybe Liam really hadn’t thought about it again. Just two guy friends hanging out together. Nothing more to it.
They started off playing FIFA obviously, as they were both obsessed with the sport. They tired of it after awhile and decided to watch a movie on Liam’s laptop so they could stream Netflix.
“How about Iron Man?” Liam suggested.
“Sure, I haven’t seen that yet. I wonder if they will ever make a Captain America movie?”
“I know you have a thing for him, Drake,” Liam teased. “I’ve seen the stash of action figures in your room.”
“They are collectibles! It’s not like I play with them.”
“Sure Drake, whatever you say.”
Drake threw a pillow at Liam’s head. “Just start the movie.”
It wasn’t uncommon for Drake and Liam to watch movies huddled together on Liam’s bed. But it felt different now. Drake tried to keep some distance between them because he wasn’t sure where his thoughts would take him if there was any physical contact. This meant Drake had to awkwardly strain his neck to see, and it did not go unnoticed.
“What are you doing over there? Get closer so you can actually see.” Liam reached his arm around Drake’s shoulder, coaxing him to scoot closer. If Liam was okay with this, Drake could be too. He just had to focus on the movie, and not how good Liam smelled or that every incidental touch lingered on his skin. So far it wasn’t working.
“You’ve been quiet, Drake. Where’s all your typical sarcastic commentary?”
“I guess I’m just tired. Thinking I should just go to bed.”
Liam placed his hand on Drake’s thigh, his soft gaze fixed on him. “Are you sure there’s nothing at all you want to talk about”?
Drake felt heat rise in his cheeks, and his heart beat faster. Either Liam was totally oblivious to everything, or he knew exactly what was going on and wanted Drake to say it out loud. Drake was still trying to wrap his head around his own feelings that were admittedly getting harder and harder to deny. He wasn’t ready to blurt it all out to Liam and scare him off if it was all one sided.
“Nope, just tired.”
“All right then…I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yep, see ya,” Drake replied and swiftly retreated to his room.
–
Drake watched as multiple kegs of beer were wheeled into the palace. “How many people did Leo invite?”
“Well, he invited our entire graduating class, plus a bunch of his college friends and other nobles.”
“Great…Is it too early to start drinking?” Drake didn’t know what he expected, but he shouldn’t have been surprised that every young noble and socialite in Cordonia would be there. It was Leo making the guest list after all. Drake was just hoping for something smaller and more laid back. At least there would be plenty of alcohol to get him through.
The party guests trickled in and before long, the palace was packed, the music was playing, and Drake was a couple beers in and actually starting to enjoy himself. Drake found himself hanging out with Liam, Olivia, Maxwell, and a few of their other noble friends.
“Let’s play a game!” Olivia suggested. “How about truth or dare?”
Drake groaned. “You know I hate that game.”
“Exactly,” Olivia replied. “If you are too afraid to play, you can go drink by yourself because lord knows you don’t have the social skills to strike up a conversation with anyone outside of this group.”
Drake didn’t want to give Olivia the satisfaction. “No, I’ll play.”
“Okay then, Liam, why don’t you start,” Olivia directed.
“Maxwell, truth or dare?”
“You know I have no fear,” Maxwell asserted. “Dare.”
Liam looked around the room. “I dare you to go hit on one of Leo’s friends. Bonus points if it actually works.”
“I thought you were going to give me a challenge. Watch the master at work.”
Maxwell walked up to a petite brunette. They were out of earshot but Drake could see her smiling. “I can’t believe it. Is this actually working?” She proceeded to take Maxwell’s phone and appeared to be typing her number in it.
Maxwell walked back with a huge grin on his face. “That was too easy. Her name is Jenny and she’s an American exchange student.”
“Let me see that.” Drake grabbed the phone. “Her phone number is 867-5309? Doesn’t that sound family, Maxwell?”
The whole group burst out laughing but Maxwell was clueless. “I don’t get it.”
Liam shook his head. “Maxwell, even I have heard that song one hundred times. Hopefully you can get over your rejection quickly because it’s your turn to choose someone.”
“I’m sure there will be plenty of other ladies lining up for me, especially after I pull out my break dancing moves. But back to the game, Olivia, truth or dare?”
“Truth.” Drake was not surprised. Olivia never held anything back.
“Okay, how many people in this circle have you hooked up with?” Maxwell inquired.
Olivia looked around at the 9 other people in the group. “It depends on how loosely you define ‘hook-up,” but I’m going to say four.”
“Wait,” Maxwell appeared perplexed. “I know about, Nikos, Eleanor, and Luca. Who’s the 4th?”
Drake held his breath. It happened one time and they swore it would never be repeated. He and Olivia were both a little drunk and stupid. The didn’t have sex, but close enough. After that, they went back to outwardly hating each other because it was much easier that way. Drake prayed that Olivia was as afraid to let that secret out as he was.
“Too bad you didn’t ask the right question Maxwell. You only asked how many, not who,” Olivia replied and Drake breathed a sigh of relief he hoped nobody noticed. “Drake, truth or dare?”
Fuck. Of course she would pick him. There was no good option as Drake was sure she would be out to embarrass him either way. He decided on dare, figuring that was the better bet rather than having her try to dig out his deep dark secrets. “Dare, I guess,” Drake muttered.
“Excellent. I dare you to kiss Liam…on the lips.”
“Not going to happen,” Drake declared. “Try again.”
“Drake I said you didn’t have to play if you don’t want to but a dare’s a dare. You don’t get a options.”
Okay, he didn’t have to make this a big thing. Drake leaned in and gave Liam a quick peck on the lips. “There are you happy now?”
“What even was that? That doesn’t count. Give him a real kiss this time,” Olivia demanded.
Drake tried to protest again, but the whole group was egging him on at this point. This was a terrible idea, but he was starting to feel the alcohol and just wanted to shut everyone up. He grabbed Liam by the shoulders and their lips crashed together. Liam parted his mouth without hesitation and wrapped his arms around Drake, pressing their bodies close together. That probably would have been enough to satisfy Olivia, but Drake got lost in the moment and kissed Liam deeper. Liam could have pushed Drake away at any time but he responded with equal hunger, all the sexual tension between them dissipating into one another. Drake came back to reality and abruptly ended the kiss. Liam stood silent and motionless, matching the rest of the crowd who seemed uncertain of what they had just witnessed.
“My god Drake, do you and Liam need to go get a room?”
“Shut up Olivia. I just did what you wanted. Although I probably do have a better shot with him than you ever will. I’ve had enough of this game already. I’m out.” Drake walked away and into the kitchen where the kegs were to get another beer. He sat down at a table alone to try and get drunk enough to forget how much he liked kissing Liam and how obvious it probably was to everyone who saw.
“Drake Walker, sulking by himself…what an unexpected surprise.” Leo’s tone was dripping with sarcasm. “You look like you could use something stronger than beer.” Leo pulled out a bottle of whiskey and two shot glasses.
“No thanks, I usually stay away from the hard stuff.”
“Have you tried this? Come on, I think you’ll like it.” Leo poured them each a shot. Drake took the shot and immediately started coughing. Leo laughed and poured him another shot. “The second one usually goes down easier than the first. Lets try this again.”
Drake downed the second shot. “It burns less this time. I guess it doesn’t taste so bad.”
“So you want to talk about whatever has you down?” Drake shook his head no. “Good because I really didn’t want a listen, but maybe I can cheer you up another way. Hey Sophie come here.” Leo motioned over a pretty blonde girl about Leo’s age. “Sophie, this is Drake, my brother’s best friend and guest of honor number two. He needs some cheering up.”
“Hi Drake. You are pretty cute…are you 18 yet?”
“Yep. Have been for half a year.” Drake replied, oblivious at the time as to why this was relevant. He still wasn’t really up for conversation, but she kept talking and he didn’t ask her to leave. Before he knew it, she was asking Drake to take her back to his room. He was sober enough to realize what was happening, but drunk enough to not care that it was an impulsive decision. They passed back through the room where the group was still playing drinking games. Out of the corner of his eye, Drake saw Liam watching him walk out with Sophie. He didn’t dare turn back to check the expression on Liam’s face. It was better not to know.
=====
Drake woke up with a raging hangover and a foggy recollection from the night before. “Fuck, I’m never drinking whiskey again,” he said out loud to himself. The other side of the bed was empty and that was probably a good thing, but then he remembered he hadn’t come back alone. Leo’s friend, what was her name? Sophie. Someone who caught him in a week moment after he let his feelings for Liam get out of control.
He was an idiot on so many levels. Losing control and kissing Liam like he had never kissed anyone before. Realizing Liam was as into it as he was and freaking out. Bringing a girl he just met back to his room, in front of Liam, as if to try to prove to everyone the kiss meant nothing. If he was honest, he was trying to prove it to himself more than anyone else. Unfortunately he failed at that.
Things started off fine with Sophie. They made out on his bed, and she was a decent kisser from what he remembered in his drunken state. Then the clothes started to come off. Sophie had unzipped Drake’s pants and pulled his boxer briefs down with them, taking him in her mouth. Maybe it was the whiskey, maybe it was that she wasn’t Liam, but he couldn’t keep himself hard. Sophie took that as her cue to leave, and it was probably for the best. He really had no business hooking up with some random friend of Leo’s, especially after what happened.
Drake made a point to keep himself as busy as possible after that night. He wanted to talk to Liam, but he wasn’t ready yet, so he did anything he could to avoid him. He trained and conditioned for football several hours each day which was kind of something he needed to do anyhow. College athletes would be bigger and stronger than what he was used to and he had to be ready. He had Bastien find him odd jobs around the palace wherever he was needed. By the end of the first week, Bastien told Drake he was working too hard, and ordered Drake to go fishing with him. Fishing had been Drake’s thing with his dad, and he appreciated Bastien trying to fill in for him. It wasn’t quite the same, but Bastien stepped up when Drake and Savannah’s mother couldn’t, and that meant everything to Drake.
Drake and Bastien sat quietly in the boat waiting for the first fish to bite before Bastien broke the silence. “So Drake, what’s gotten into you?”
“What do you mean?” Drake asked, trying to pretend his behavior hadn’t been out of the ordinary.
“Between all the training and the odd jobs you are picking up, you hardly have a moment to yourself. I figured your last summer before college you’d be off with Liam living it up and having a good time.”
“Bastien you know I need to stay in shape for football. Plus I’ll need money when I’m on my own in college.” Bastien knew Drake well, and Drake wasn’t sure if he was convincing enough.
“Drake, I’ve know you most of your life. I can tell when something’s going on. If I didn’t know better, I’d thinking you were trying to avoid Liam.“
“Why just Liam? I have other friends too you know.”
Bastien cocked his eyebrow. “Sure you do. But also, I know Liam has been stopping by your room frequently to try and find you, but you are never there.”
“Fine, I just needed some space, and no I don’t want to talk about it, so please don’t ask.” Having the head of security looking out for you on a personal level really had it’s disadvantages sometimes. Of course Bastien would know what Liam was up to. It was his job. He probably didn’t know about all the texts Drake was ignoring at least. Drake would shoot one back every now and then saying how busy he was, hoping Liam would buy it. It was the truth, but it was all of Drake’s own choosing. Drake had no clue what Liam was thinking about everything but he was afraid to find out, hoping the longer he could keep him at bay, the more likely Liam would be to just let it go.
Drake and Bastien finished out the trip in relative silence which was fine with Drake. That’s how fishing was supposed to be anyhow. Drake didn’t feel like going back to his room so he went to the stables to see if there was any work to do. He liked horses. They were good company, and they didn’t talk back.
Drake hadn’t been there long when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around ansd internally cursed himself for telling Bastien where he was going. “Liam, hey. What are you doing here?” He asked, already knowing the answer. Liam was wearing jeans and his favorite football jersey. His jet black hair was slightly tousled and there was softness in his dark eyes. If Drake thought time apart would cool things down between them he was severely mistaken. The electricity between them was palpable.
“You cant just avoid me all summer until you leave.”
“I wasn’t, Drake protested. “I was just bus -”
“Save it, Drake. You’ve been acting weird for awhile now, and I haven’t seen you since the party. We both know something happened between us and we need to figure out what that means.”
Drake exhaled a deep breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “Does it really matter Liam? There’s so many reasons why this isn’t a good idea. First, I’m leaving in a couple months.”
Liam stepped closer and cupped Drake’s cheek in his hand, his eyes locked on Drake’s. “All I’m thinking about is now, and how much I want to kiss you again. Tell me that’s not what you want too.”
Drake’s head told him to push Liam away. To turn around and not look back. “I…fuck it.” Drake pulled Liam up against him and kissed him roughly with hunger and need. Liam didn’t hesitate to respond.
Drake guided Liam back to a bed of hay in an empty stall. The explored each other’s bodies with their hands, only parting their lips momentarily to come up for air. Liam moved his hands down to the button on Drake’s pants and paused to wait for Drake’s reaction.
“Are you sure, Liam?” This was new territory for both of them.
Liam nodded his head. “I want to make you feel good Drake. Let me do this for you.”
Drake was hesitant, but gave Liam permission. Liam unzipped Drake’s pants and freed his already rock hard cock. He stared it as if he was amazed by the sight before gripping the base in one hand and taking the tip in his mouth. Drake was so charged up already that it was almost too much.
Drake unzipped Liam’s pants and took Liam’s length in his hand. He had never touched a man like that before, but he had plenty of experience getting himself off. Liam took Drake in deeper, covering his whole shaft between his hand and his mouth. Drake let out a strangled moan and started to pump Liam’s cock faster.
Liam moaned against Drake’s length in return and it pushed Drake over the edge. He spilled his cum into Liam’s mouth and he swallowed it down. Drake could tell Liam was getting close too. He increased his pace and massaged Liam’s balls with his other hand.
“Oh fuck! Drake,” Liam cried out as he came. They both laid back on the hay and stared silently at the ceiling, the only sound coming from their labored breaths. For better or worse, there was no going back now.