Page 32 of Gin & Sin

“The very finest.”

Lowen laughs easily, and I feel a little less worried about him.

“Is that how you feel about your guy?” he asks as we turn the corner on our street.

“Yeah. He’s a good match for me. At least for whatever this is we’re doing.”

“Which is? You’re just going over there, fucking him, and leaving?”

The harshness in Lowen’s voice twists something inside my gut. Something protective. “It’s not like that. I’m helping him.”

“Helping?” Lowen raises a perfectly groomed eyebrow. “Is that what they call it?”

I shove his arm. “He’s older and not experienced with men. He feels comfortable with me. It’s a win-win.”

“How altruistic of you. Bonus: you get laid too.”

“Yeah,” I grunt, still annoyed for some reason. “It’s not as cold as it sounds. He’s a really nice guy. It would suck if he was out there trying to hook up on the scene, you know?”

“It’s reality though. You’re going to give him a false impression.”

“I never thought of that.”

Lowen shrugs. “You’re both adults. I’m sure he knows what’s best for him.”

“Yeah.”

As we enter the house and hang up our coats, Lowen goes to the kitchen for his sleepytime tea, but I trudge up the stairs to my bedroom, lost in thoughts of Stewart. Could it get complicated? Sure. But the idea of cutting him loose to explore on his own doesn’t sit right. Besides, I’m having fun too. As long as I’m honest with him, and he is with me, we’ll be fine.

Kind of wish I could send him a text, but it’s late. I’ll do it tomorrow when I wake up. Just to make sure he’s still cool with everything.

It’s what a responsible fuck buddy would do.

TWELVE

STEWART

“Don’t forgetto read chapters fifteen through eighteen. There may or may not be a quiz before we head into winter break.”

Several students groan in complaint as they gather their notebooks and laptops. I chuckle to myself, amused by my own form of torture. If you threaten them with a potential quiz, the majority of students will actually read the material.

A group of three guys and one woman pass me. One of them, Bryant, softly wolf whistles, saying, “Looking good, Professor Hanley,” as they filter out of the room.

I pull my head back slightly, awash in confusion. Do I look good? Is it obvious that I spent a few minutes on my hair today instead of just dragging my hand through it after my shower?

I don’t know why I did. It was a strange urge, like I thought I could run into Kit during my workday. Even if I did, he’s seen me in my natural state. I shake off the weird thoughts and focus on sorting my papers. It’s a quirk I can’t stop, but I insist on printing and alphabetizing every student’s assignments. If I don’t, I’m preoccupied the whole time I’m grading. It also helps me quickly see who didn’t turn it in— something I can’t do digitally.

I have a thirty-minute break before my next class, so I head over to my office to put these assignments in my grading folder.

“Knock, knock.” Theo appears in my doorway with a huge grin on his face. “Can I enter or do I need to contact your people?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re the newest campus celebrity. Haven’t you heard?”

“Still don’t know what you’re talking about.” I shake my head, digging through my messenger bag for the blue folder for this class.

Theo drapes himself over the chair across from my desk. He’s like a piece of silk, elegantly laid out for all to admire.

---