Page 30 of The Swap Masquerade

“Nah, they’re still pricks and probably always will be, but my cousin grew up and he started going to the gym. Soon, he was bigger and stronger than them. Those assholes quit messing with him once they knew he could kick their asses.”

The wicked glint he got in his eyes made me laugh. “I never knew you had a gay cousin.”

“Yeah, well, maybe it’s time we both get to know each other better.”

“That sounds like a good idea. I could use a friend if you’re up to the task. I should warn you though, I come with a decent amount of baggage.”

A smile broke out over his face. “I’m not afraid of some heavy lifting.”

I swiped the back of my hand over my eyes, wiping away my leftover tears, then I stood up. The past week and my emotional confession had left me drained and I had an early class the next day. I walked towards my bedroom but stopped right inside the doorway, turning back to look at Adam who was flipping through the channels on the TV. He looked over when he saw me stop. “How did you get to be so good at this talking shit?”

“You may not know this since you’re gay and all, but you can’t date a girl and get away with not talking about your feelings. Seriously, not gonna happen. They want to know all of that shit and break it apart, piece by piece.”

I was still laughing as I walked into my bedroom and shut the door. I undressed quickly and then climbed into bed, switching the light off and fluffing my pillow so it would lay the right way under my head. As I drifted off to sleep, I thought over our conversation. I’d come home from the game feeling depressed and alone, but talking with Adam had made me feel better, lighter almost, like I no longer had to carry the weight of my secrets all by myself anymore. I was lucky to have such an amazing friend in my life. I only wished everything else in my life could go that smoothly.

Chapter 12

GAVIN

I looked at all the parts and pieces laid out on the floor then turned a skeptical eye on my two best friends. “Are you sure we’ll need all this stuff? I mean, how many babies are you actually adopting?”

Curtis laughed. “Only one, but it certainly does look like it could make more than one crib, doesn’t it? Although, the salesman assured us that this model was the top of the line in both safety and functionality. The reviews were all very positive with people commenting on how sturdy it is.”

“That would explain why it took all three of us to carry it in here from the van.” John walked into the room carrying three bottles of beer. He handed one to each of us then sat down with us on the floor.

“No kidding. I think I pulled a muscle in my back.” Curtis winced as he rubbed a hand over his lower back.

John leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “Aww. Poor baby. I’ll give you a massage later.”

“Oh, really?” Curtis purred; his pain forgotten for the moment as he leered at his husband.

Like the mature adult I was, I pretended to make gagging noises. “If you two are going to start making out, I’m leaving.”

John threw his hands in the air like he was under arrest. “I’ll keep my hands to myself, I promise. Please don’t leave me. I can’t put this crib together by myself.”

“Hey! What about me?”

John leveled his gaze at Curtis who was busy pouting. “Honey, you’re great at designing buildings, but let’s face it, you haven’t spent a lot of time actually building anything.”

Curtis stared at him for all of two seconds before his lips started to twitch. “Fine. You may have a small point.”

“I know you too well,” John laughed.

I looked around the room as the two of them continued their playful banter. They’d chosen a baby animal theme for the nursery and hired an artist friend of theirs to come in and paint murals on the walls. The result was adorable with miniature versions of elephants, giraffes, and baby hippos staggered here and there around the room. There was even a baby monkey painted right over the spot where the crib would go, so once everything was put together, it would look like the monkey was dropping down to see the baby.

It was all very cute, but it also served as a reminder of how lonely my own life was. Especially now that I no longer had time with my mystery man to look forward to. But he wasn’t my mystery man, was he? He was my student and therefore completely off-limits. I was well aware of the college’s rules regarding teacher/student fraternization. I knew that to be caught messing around with a student would be grounds for immediate dismissal. So then why was it so hard to stay away from him? The answer came to me immediately. I missed him.

“Hey! Earth to Gavin.” Curtis snapped his fingers in front of my face, snapping me out of my reverie. I blinked a couple of times and when I focused again, I found both of my friends staring at me with identical looks of concern on their faces.

“Sorry. I must have drifted a bit.”

“I’ll say. We said your name at least five times. Are you okay?” John asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little tired. I haven’t been sleeping well lately.” I pasted a smile on my face, hoping they’d let the subject drop. I should have known better.

Curtis studied me through narrowed eyes. “You aren’t sleeping, you barely touched your lunch, and you’ve been distracted all day. If I didn’t know any better, I would think you’d met so…” His eyes went wide, and his mouth dropped open. “Ohmagawd, ohmagawd, ohmagawd!”

I buried my face in my hands, but I could hear John asking, “What did I miss? What’s going on?”

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