The lovely Liam Livings, fellow UK Meet organiser and all round nice guy, has new book out, and he’s here to share an intriguing excerpt from it today.

Darryl’s on the run – from controlling boyfriend Chris, an air-conditioner called Dave (deceased), an intolerable, claustrophobic situation and a person he just can’t be any more. The trouble is, he doesn’t have a plan – or any money – and all he knows is he needs to get away from everything. That’s where a lucky lift to Glasgow comes in, which turns out to be just the beginning of a whole new life …

Escaping From Him is available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com

EXTRACT – Darryl is hidden under the kitchen table

Once in the kitchen, he carried on shouting my name. He looked under the table and our eyes met. His bright green eyes crinkled at the edges as he smiled. "What sort of a wally are you? Hiding here, again?" He knelt on the floor and shuffled next to me under the table. "I’m going to miss this, when I move out."

"Me too." I put my hand on his knee. "How was your day?"

He leant forward and kissed me, lingering a bit with his tongue.

I felt his smooth face on mine. "What was that for?" I smiled, holding his pale hand as it rested on my knee.

"For being you. For letting me stay here. For being here, under the table, again. For making me smile at the end of a long day. For being silly. For being a wally. All these things."

I shrugged. "Oh, right." I became intensely interested in a corn flake next to my shoe.

"I love you."

That was the first time he’d said those words to me, but it felt so normal, natural, right, easy. It was hardly a Julia Roberts-Hugh Grant rom-com setting, under the table with the mud and cereal, but those three words meant so much to me. Those three words were in such stark contrast to when I’d heard them the whole time I’d spent in that little flat in north London. "I love you more." I smiled to myself, still avoiding eye contact.

About Liam Livings

Liam Livings lives where east London ends and becomes Essex. He shares his house with his boyfriend and cat. He enjoys baking, cooking, classic cars and socialising with friends. He escapes from real life with a guilty pleasure book, cries at a sad, funny and camp film – and he’s been known to watch an awful lot of Gilmore Girls in the name of writing ‘research’.

He has written since he was a teenager, started writing with the hope of publication in 2011. His writing focuses on friendships, British humour, romance with plenty of sparkle.

You can connect with Liam

Twitter @LiamLivings

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/liam.livings

Blog http://www.liamlivings.com/blog