Always Faithful

Chapter 21: Wicked Game

Liam patted his body dry from the shower, and pulled on a pair of jeans before walking back to his bedroom. He looked towards Bragnae's room – her door was closed, but he could hear her playing music. She was presumably getting dressed for the day just as he was aiming to do.

Having her stay with him for the past week was more than he could have hoped for with everything going on. Bragnae was comforting, fun to be with and brought happiness back into his life.

As much as he loved having her around, she was also a painful reminder of losing Drake. Not only did he lose his best friend, but he hadn't waited long before being with his fiancée. Liam tried not to be so hard on himself, but he couldn't help but feel a sense of betrayal – like he let Drake down by moving in on his girl so quickly. When he wasn't chastising himself for being with her, however, he appreciated every moment he had with Bragnae.

They had grown closer and more comfortable with each other since that first night. It was almost unnerving how easily they got along. Even as Bragnae was now, essentially, living with him, everything seemed to flow. They fell into a relaxing routine of coming home from work, making dinner together, and then ending the evening with a glorious and fulfilling night of sex.

Liam could admit he felt ashamed of jumping immediately into bed with Bragnae, for Drake's sake, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't thoroughly enjoy being with her. It was everything he wanted since the night he met her, and now it meant more than he ever thought it could. The love he felt for Bragnae was amplified when their lips finally connected in a real kiss – something he desperately wanted since that night in Takayama.

It was relieving and extremely satisfying to be able to openly look at her and touch her the way he desired. And whether or not Bragnae had real feelings for him, Liam found comfort that she seemed to enjoy being with him too. Eventually, they'd have to sit down and talk about their relationship and what it meant for both of them, but until then, he didn't mind throwing a Band-Aid over the situation. Holding her, laughing with her and fucking her was more than enough for now.

Liam grabbed his phone and sat down on the bed. He thumbed through his social media apps quickly before pulling up his pictures. Scrolling up, Liam came across some images of him and Drake at a training exercise last fall before Drake deployed. He stared at his friend's face.

"I miss you, buddy. I hope I'm doing everything right – I hope you don't hate me for being with your girl so soon," Liam said out loud.

Before he could reminisce for too long, Bragnae knocked on his door.

"Come in," he told her.

"Hey, I think I left my bra in here," she announced as she walked into his room.

Bragnae was wearing a fitted sea-green t-shirt – clearly without any support for her full breasts – and lacy, blue underwear. Liam felt heat rise on the back of his neck as his eyes trained on her nipples pushing against the fabric of her shirt.

"I put it on the chair over there," he responded before looking down at his phone again.

"You okay, Liam?"

He looked back up at her. "Yeah. I was just looking at some pictures of me and Drake."

Bragnae walked over to him, and ran a steady hand through his hair, lightly massaging his scalp. Liam leaned into her, resting his head against her stomach as she affectionately held him there.

"You want to talk about it?" She asked.

"No, that's okay. I don't want to get you upset."

Bragnae sat down on his leg and draped an arm around his neck. "Liam, I want you to feel like you can talk to me about this. You and I are here to support each other no matter how hard it is for the other person. We had two very different types of relationships with Drake, but that doesn't mean that we both aren't hurting and missing him all the same."