Page 5 of The Swap Masquerade

Once we’d placed our order, I leaned back in my seat, a glass of sour goodness in my hand. My tongue darted out, capturing a bit of salt off the rim of the glass before taking a sip. The margarita was cool and delicious, and I felt myself relax, letting go of the stress of a long work week. I smiled as I looked across the table at my closest friends. “So, what’s up? You seem even more excited than usual. Did you win the lottery or something?”

“Something like that.” I gave John a quizzical look, waiting for him to explain but Curtis grabbed a chip and scooped up some salsa then practically shoved it in his husband’s mouth, stopping him from whatever he’d been about to say.

“No, you first. Anything new? How was your first week of the semester?” My brow furrowed as my gaze darted back and forth between them. They were acting strange, but that wasn’t anything new. They were adorable together, but they had that strange way of communicating that only couples who had been together for a long time seemed to have. Like they could have an entire conversation without even saying a word. It was a language no one outside of the two of them would understand. My parents had shared the same thing and I’d always thought it was weird.

I took another sip of my drink then set it down in front of me. Whatever was going on with them, I knew they would tell me when they were ready. “It was good. Busy, but good. The dean decided to add two additional courses to my workload which will make things a little tricky, but I can handle it.”

A worry line creased John’s forehead. “Why do they keep doing that to you? You already had a full workload last semester with all the tutoring you did.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “According to Dean Kirkland, there were a lot of students requesting my classes. She didn’t want to turn away their interest and honestly, I don’t mind the extra work if it gets the kids thinking about the world outside of TikTok and Instagram.”

Curtis snorted. “I’m sure they’re thinking of more than just that when they’re in your class.”

“What does that mean?” I ran a chip through the salsa and popped it in my mouth.

“Oh, come on. Have you even seen yourself lately? You are sexy, my friend. I mean, you’re gorgeous enough in jeans and a t-shirt but slap a bow tie on you and maybe a pair of Clark Kent style glasses and you’d be every student’s naughty teacher fantasy come to life.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

I laughed hard. “I don’t even own any glasses or bow ties. Plus, the kids act like anyone over the age of thirty is ancient. They’re probably waiting for me to break a hip trying to walk to class.”

“Whatever. You’re not old. If you’re old, then that would mean we’re old too and I refuse to be old yet.” Curtis shuddered dramatically.

We were still laughing as the waiter approached with a large tray of food hoisted onto one shoulder. We waited until everything had been set out on the table and then John ordered one more round of margaritas for each of us. The next hour was filled with delicious food, more drinks, and even more laughter.

As an Indiana State Trooper, John was never in short supply of a good story and he regaled us with a few crazy ones that had happened recently. By the time he was finished, we were all laughing hysterically and wiping tears from our eyes. Curtis then filled me in on what was going on with him. His firm had recently acquired a huge account where they would be designing a new wing for the Indianapolis Children’s Hospital and he’d been appointed lead architect on the project.

“This is a huge deal. They’re finally starting to notice what a creative genius they have working for them.” John’s voice was brimming with pride as he kissed his husband’s cheek. Curtis blushed shyly, but I could tell he was pleased with John’s praise.

They listened intently as I told them about the volunteer project I had put together, explaining how it would coincide with my lessons on social inequalities throughout history.“I always knew you’d be the one to change the world,” Curtis said when I was finished.

I scoffed. “Hardly. You’re building a hospital wing for sick children and John’s an actual police officer. All I’m doing is trying to raise my students’ awareness of things that need to be done and ways they can help.”

John pinned me with a glare that had I been a criminal, would have stopped me in my tracks. “Don’t do that. Don’t diminish all the good things you’re doing. You don’t simply tell people what needs to be done, you actually get in there and put your ideas into practice.”

“John’s right, you don’t give yourself enough credit. I don’t know anyone else who volunteers so much of their free time and money to help others. You’ve got the biggest heart of anyone I know. Speaking of which, have you been out lately? Met anyone interesting?” Curtis gave me a hopeful grin.

I shook my head. “You know my situation.”

“Just because you work in a conservative town doesn’t mean you have to live as a monk,” John pointed out.

“I know. The powers that be at the college know I’m gay and according to them, they’re fine with it, but we have an unspoken agreement that I’m to be discreet. I can date whoever I want, but they don’t want me leading any parades through the middle of town, that’s all. They’re afraid it might shake up their quiet little campus if someone finds out they have a gay professor teaching there.” My words were heavily laced with sarcasm. It was a situation which had been decided when I’d first been hired, but years later, while the rest of the world had grown more accepting, the sleepy little town I worked in had refused to change.

“It sucks. I know you like working there, but I wish you’d at least consider a change. If you moved to Indianapolis, not only could you get a job at a bigger school, but you’d have all kinds of bars and nightclubs to go to so you could meet someone. Plus, you’d be closer to us so we could hang out more.” John smiled smugly as if he’d just solved all the world’s problems.

“I have thought about it. A lot. I’d love to be closer to you guys and of course, it would be nice to be able to go out to a gay club without worrying about running into one of my students, but for now, I’m happy where I am. I love my job and I’ve made friends with some of the other professors.”

Curtis’s eyes darted around, making sure no one could hear then he leaned in and whispered. “But what about…you know…your needs.”

I laughed. “Trust me, I have ways of taking care of those.” I didn’t get a chance to elaborate because the waiter walked up right then. After checking to see if we needed anything else, he left the bill on the table and walked away. John slapped his hand over the top of it and slid it his way before I could touch it.

He winked at me. “You can get it next time.” Once he’d paid, the three of us walked out to the parking lot. Beside me, Curtis reached his hand out toward John and the two of them held hands as we made our way over to their truck.

“Thanks again for dinner. It was good to catch up,” I said as we reached the tailgate.

“We need to do it more often. Only seeing each other once every few weeks doesn’t work for me,” Curtis complained.

“Well, we wouldn’t want you to be unhappy, now, would we?” John teased, pulling his husband in for a kiss.

I laughed as I turned to leave but spun back around as I remembered something. “Oh, hey! Didn’t you guys have something you wanted to tell me earlier?”

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