Author's note: Oh! My! God! You guys are just so amazing. I know I keep saying that, but it's true. Thanks to all of you, the last chapter of "Consumed" hit #17 on the top stories list under the Gay Male section of Literotica. I'm just so stoked. I got over double the number of votes and comments. Thank you so much! I've enjoyed all the comments, so I hope you'll keep sending them.
When Liam opened his eyes on Sunday morning, he found the kids gone and Rick lying next to him in bed, watching him.
"Good morning." Rick said, a smile spreading across his face.
"Morning, where are Chris and Cassie?" Liam asked.
"They're watching cartoons." Rick said, as he reached his hand out and gently brushed up along Liam's face. "I want to kiss you again."
Liam leaned into the touch, closing his eyes and relishing the warmth of Rick's hand. "I want you to kiss me again too." He whispered.
Rick leaned in until their lips met. This kiss was gentle and sweet. Not urgent and aggressive like last night. Liam felt Rick's tongue brush along his lips, silently asking for entry.
"No." He said, shaking his head slightly. "Morning breath."
"I don't care." Rick mumbled against Liam's lips. "I just want to taste you, just a little taste."
Liam opened up and they shared a long, slow, sensuous kiss.
"Mmmm, you've got the sexiest pair of lips I think I've ever seen... Or tasted, for that matter." Rick said, pulling back from the kiss.
"Yeah, well you sure know how to kiss, but didn't we agree that we weren't going to do this?" Liam said, as he leaned in again for another kiss.
"Yes, we did." Rick replied between kisses. "But, you're very hard to resist. Especially when you keep making passes at me."
"Oh, ho, no, no, no, me? Making passes... At you? If you would stop teasing me so much, maybe we wouldn't have this problem." He said, shaking his finger at Rick and laughing slightly at their banter.
Suddenly, Rick got a serious look on his face. "Liam, what do you still need to resolve with Jack? Do you think you'll be able to work through this and get back together?" Rick asked. He was afraid to ask, afraid of the answer he would get, but he needed to know.
"Rick, I honestly don't know. At this point, I'd say there isn't anything to resolve. Jack's treatment of Chris is unforgivable. But, we've been together for so long. It's just hard to fathom that it could be over so quickly and so easily. I..." Liam said, but was interrupted by Chris entering the room, Liam's ringing cell phone in his hand.
"Your phone's ringing, Uncle Liam." He said, but just as he handed it to Liam, it stopped ringing.
"Thanks, Chris." Liam said, looking at the caller ID. "It was Jack." He said, looking up at Rick. "I guess I should call him back."
Liam could see hurt in Rick's eyes, but there wasn't much he could do about it now. "You go ahead. Chris and I will go see if we can rustle up some breakfast." Rick said, and then turned to Chris. "Come on Chris, let's go see what damage we can cause in the kitchen."
After Chris and Rick had left, Liam called Jack.
"Shit, Liam, where have you been? I've been trying to call you all night. Why haven't you been answering your cell phone? I was worried. I tried calling your parents this morning too, but no one's answering there either. Where are you?" Jack said, before even saying hello.
"Sorry Jack, I had left my phone in the bedroom and didn't hear it ringing." Liam started to explain, then stopped, wondering why he was apologizing. He didn't really owe Jack any kind of explanation.
"Well, it doesn't matter. Can you come home so we can talk? I'm really sorry Liam. I overreacted. I was stressed. Things have been very stressful at work lately and when Chris ruined my proofs, I just freaked. I'm sorry." Jack pleaded.
"That's just it Jack, I told you that Chris wasn't the one who ruined your proofs. It was Cassie and it was an accident, but you keep blaming Chris. I don't understand what you've got against him. He's only seven years old, for christ's sake."
"I don't have anything against him. I was just stressed and I overreacted." He said again. "Just... Come home... So we can talk."
"Shit...Fine..." He said, as he pressed his thumb and index finger to the bridge of his nose, trying to stave off the headache that was developing. "I need to pick up some more of our stuff anyway. But, you know, you're not going to change my mind. The kids and I are moving out. I'll be over there in a couple of hours." Liam added, before quickly hanging up the phone.
Liam took a couple of minutes to compose himself before he joined everyone in the kitchen. Rick, Chris and Cassie, were all busily getting breakfast ready. Both Chris and Cassie were standing on chairs in front of the stove with Rick right behind them. Chris was pouring pancake batter into the pan and Cassie was waiting, rather impatiently, with the spatula to flip the pancakes.
Rick looked over at Liam. "So, how did it go?" He asked.
"Fine, I'm going to head over there and get a few more of our things." Liam said.
"Oh, okay." Rick said, obviously uncomfortable about the idea.
"Uncle Liam, we're making pancakes for breakfast. See?" Chris said, thrusting the pitcher of pancake batter towards Liam so he could see, and almost spilling the batter in the process.
"I'm fipping." Cassie said, showing Liam her spatula.
"Yep, I see. Be careful, you don't want to spill the batter. It looks like you both are doing a really good job. I hope you're making a lot, because I'm really hungry." Liam said, as he planted a kiss on both Chris and Cassie's cheek.
"The coffee just finished. Cups and the sugar are in the cupboard above the coffee maker and milk is in the fridge. Help yourself." Rick said.
"Thanks. You want a cup?"
"Nah, I'll wait until breakfast." Rick said, as he turned his attention back to the kids.
"So, other than getting your things, do you guys have any plans today?" Rick asked.
