Page 52 of Complete Me

Bjorn laughs. “That’s clever. You should message the company and tell them to use it as the slogan.”

“It is their slogan. I read it on Mister Pierre’s website.” Kaino raises their eyebrows so high it makes me laugh. “What?”

“You went to the website?”

I shrug. “I wanted to see what they had.”

They grin wickedly. “And what did you think?”

I fan myself. “Some of the clothing is… Well, let’s call it inspiring.”

Bjorn laughs, pulls out his phone and in less than a minute he’s scrolling, his eyes darkening with arousal at whatever is on his screen. “Oh, I see a shopping trip in my future.” He glances up from his phone, pinning me with a heated stare. “Xander, you’d look incredible in any of this.”

“I really would. But so would the both of you.”

Kaino grins and nudges me with their shoulder, keeping their voice low. “Behave, brat.” They turn back to Bjorn. “Anyway, back to my suggestion. It’s just that. Something to think about.”

The idea of the wrist cuff restraint is exciting to me, but imagining myself immobilized by rope sends spikes of anxiety through me, and I know I wouldn’t like it. “I’d be okay with having my wrists or ankles tied, but anything more is a hard no.”

Kaino strokes their long fingers over my wrist, and I shiver as pleasure zings along my nerves. “Then we won’t do anything more. And you can change your mind at any time, either way. Thank you for telling me, Kit.”

I want to lean in and kiss them, tease into their mouth with the tip of my tongue, but I don’t because of where we are. Bjorn clears his throat, and we turn back to him. “Anyway, yes, I’ll think about it. Now, back to dinner on Sunday. Will you come?”

It’s an obvious redirect of the conversation, but I’m willing to go with it. As Kaino said, no decisions need to be made right now. “I’ll be there. Can I bring anything?”

“Besides your gorgeous self? No. Thanks for offering, but we’ve been doing this for so long that we have it down to a science now.” Bjorn turns hopeful eyes on Kaino. “How about you?”

“I’ll be there.” They wink at Bjorn. “And I’ll bring some rope, just in case.”

20

Xander

“Dr. Neilsen.” Closing my eyes, I wonder if I can pretend I haven’t heard the bane of my work existence call my name. I keep walking. “Dr. Neilsen!” The nasal, slightly whiny, very nerve-grating voice of the head of my department cuts me to the core. With great effort, I silently count to ten and turn around. “Dr. Neilsen, might I have a word with you?”

I make a half-hearted effort to smile. “Dean Koontz. Just one? I think I have time for that.”

The unamused purse of his lips tells me exactly what he thinks of my humor. He waves in the direction of my office. “Let’s talk in private.”

Since it’s where I’m going anyway, I choose not to be contrary and instead, unlock my door, stepping aside to wave him in. “After you, Dean.”

He sweeps past me, immediately settling himself in a chair in front of my desk, and waits for me to take my seat. I debate delaying things by making a coffee, but then I’d have to offer him one, and Alfred Koontz is not worthy of my glorious coffee beans. I deposit my leather messenger bag beside my desk, take a seat, and wait for him to start. And wait.

After a minute-long stare-down, he buckles. “It’s come to my attention that, a few days ago, you were seen in a cafe close to campus, visibly affectionate with two separate men. And these men were equally affectionate with each other. While I accept that people express themselves in all manner of ways, there’s a time and a place.”

I blink, shocked. That’s not at all what I expected to hear from him. In truth, his point is well taken. Although we weren’t falling all over each other, ripping clothes off, or shoving tongues down each other’s throats—and let’s be honest, I’ve seen students do just that in that very location—I should have been more aware of my surroundings. “I agree.”

This seems to take the wind out of his sails and give him pause, probably because, in the entire time he’s been head of the department, we’ve rarely agreed on anything. Now that we have, it unfortunately seems to encourage him to continue. “Look, I was young once. I know how hormones can take over, clouding good judgment. They’ve made all of us do things that we normally wouldn’t at one point or another.” For a brief moment a picture of a horny Alfred Koontz flashes in my mind and I mentally blanch before shoving the image as far away as possible.

“But I’m sure you understand that to be taken seriously, the faculty must maintain a level of respectability. We have appearances to uphold. And prior to this instance, you were doing a decent job of that. Even though you’re gay, you’ve maintained a circumspect lifestyle and kept your private life private. I’m hoping that this mistake at the cafe was just a momentary lapse in judgment. We obviously can’t have that kind of thing happening again. That kind of deviance isn’t something we want in our faculty. If students see professors being promiscuous with multiple partners, they’ll assume it’s fine for them to do as well. While they’re still young, that kind of behavior might be overlooked, but as a responsible adult, such proclivities are frowned upon and should be avoided.”

In future, I will be able to say that I understand the term ‘seeing red’ from firsthand experience. I’m beyond furious. My cold rage manifests as calm even as it boils my blood. I should have known he would take this conversation there. Alfred Koontz is, and always has been, a judgmental, moralistic, stick-in-the-mud and a prime representative of all that is wrong with the Boomer generation. Not that subsequent generations are perfect, but Jesus Christ, the man is a walking embodiment of human garbage. “Excuse me? Are you saying that adult, consensual polyamory is deviant behavior?” Okay. Technically, by definition, it might be, since polyamory isn’t a usual or customary way for the majority of people to be. At least in this country. But it is a valid and accepted type of relationship. Who cares that only four or five percent of the population admits to being in a consensual non-monogamous relationship? Fine. I’ve been researching it. And it’s people like him who keep that number artificially low. Who wants to admit to living outside the norm when asshats like Alfred Koontz blast them with negative judgments?

“Yes. By definition—”

I cut him off. “I do not consider myself a deviant. Nor will I allow you to sit here and call me or my partners that.”

He sits up, eyes wide. “So you admit to being in a relationship with both men?”

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