Page 66 of Liam

"Erik." I turned and leaned against the table I was waiting near. "You here surfing?"

"I came with Jason. We're doing some father and son bonding."

I did my best not to cringe. That was a shot at me. Erik and I had spent next to no time getting to know one another, never mindbonding. He'd gone on to have a family after dumping me.

"I'm here with my good friend, Ethan." I crossed my arms. I couldn't stop myself. No matter how he treated me, he was my birth father. I yearned for his acceptance. "Can we meet?"

Erik sighed then nodded "Sure. I can get away for an early breakfast."

"7 am at Rosie's?"

"As long as we make it quick. I want to hit the waves with Jason."

"I want to get out there too." I'd need to ask Ethan to wait for me. He wouldn't mind. Any chance to sleep in—he was all over it. His early morning work schedule was insane.

My order number was called.

Without another word, order in hand, I jogged back to the B&B.

I dumped the bag of food on the little table in our room and headed for the shower to warm up. The hot water took a while to thaw me out. Ethan was eating when I returned to the room.

"God." He put up his hand, blocking his view of me as I crossed the room in search of my warm clothes. "Put on some clothes. Your massive cock is scaring me."

I smirked. "Jamal is a fan."

"I would be too if I were your boyfriend. But I'm not and it's putting me off my food."

After gathering up my clothes, I put them on, shielding myself from the chill in the room. I sat across from Ethan and peeled away the lid from my Tom Yum Goong soup. It was the only time I didn't mind my food mixing. I loved the hot and sour lemongrass and shrimp feast.

I allowed myself to finish it all. I hadn't been sure I would, considering I had partially eaten a burger in Parksville. I wasn't worried. The next couple of days were going to burn a lot of calories.

"I ran into Erik."

"Yeah?" Ethan looked up at me, abandoning his Pad Thai. "How did that go?"

"We're meeting for breakfast tomorrow."

"Yay … I get to sleep in."

"Only until eight. We're hitting the waves after that."

"What's Erik doing in Tofino?"

"Surfing with his son."

"Jason the asshole?"

"That's the one. Pretentious prick."

Ethan went back to eating, scooping large clumps of noodles into his mouth. I stole a piece of the tofu I had added to the order for him. It tasted yummy covered with the Pad Thai sauce.

"Want to watch a movie before bed?" Ethan asked.

"Honestly, I want to crash. You can watch something. I'm too tired to notice."

After we cleaned up our food containers, I crawled into bed. Ethan sat with his back against the headboard and flicked on the television. I was right. I drifted off even with the sound which Ethan kept as low in volume as he could. I woke slightly when he lay down.

We lay back-to-back, reminding me of when Charlie and I slept together. Being in bed with Jamal was infinitely different than that. The last night I had stayed over, we'd curled up like a monkey puzzle. He'd even used his hand to sling his leg over my thigh to bring us closer. I was surprised when he applied pressure to my ass to keep me close. He explained he was capable of some movement and had some sensation in his legs. I stroked his thigh as we fell asleep.

---