Page 7 of Devilry

Harper laughs, the tension between them dissipating at the sound. “When the third guy in a row refused to look anywhere else but my tits,” she chimes in, “I gave up trying to play nice.” She finishes off her wine and places the empty glass down with force. “I’m here for nothing more than that beautiful paycheck. And the notoriety.”

“They’re a nice set of tits,” Miles says with a smirk.

She backhands his shoulder. “Fuck off.”

“I’m kidding. Kind of.” He takes a long pull of water, finishing off the bottle before continuing. “I’ve sworn off women. For a while, anyway. You and your tits are safe.”

“Thank you?” Her shoulders rise in confusion. “Either way, I don’t shit where I eat, so the point is moot.”

“So elegantly said,” Miles teases.

“I only use my good words when I’m getting paid for it,” Harper sasses back. “So, what about you, Cole? What will you be teaching?”

Their attention shifts to me, and thankfully distracts themfrom their bickering. “I’m floating between the Arts and History faculties, but Studies of Religion is my specialty.”

“So you’re religious,” Miles says as more of a clarification, and less of a question.

“Definitely not,” I respond with a shake of my head. “I majored in teaching, minored in history, and here I am.”

“And you?” He turns to ask Harper.

“I’m the new head of the languages department.”

Impressed, Miles whistles. “So, what are you doing slumming it over here?”

Avoiding our gaze, she fiddles with the stem of the wine glass. She cocks her head from one side to the other. “He looked so lost, and you could barely stand up. You guys needed me.”

I watch Miles’ eyes soften, as Harper unsuccessfully tries to sound nonchalant. Without the alcohol overindulgence he seems like a nice enough guy.

“So, what, we’re your friends now?” He gives me a slight smirk as he begins to wind her up again.

“You’re on probation. If I catch you staring at my tits, we’re done.”

“Tell her how nice they are though, Cole.”

I roll my eyes at him.“Sorry, man, I wouldn’t know good tits even if they hit me in the face.”

He looks at me thoughtfully and I hold his stare, wanting to see his reaction. “It’s all about the dick for me.”

He doesn’t flinch, and I’m impressed. His acceptance, or anybody else’s, isn’t an issue for me. I don’t care how the rest of the world perceives me, because they aren’t living my life. I am, and I’ve always done it on my terms.

He looks back at Harper. “Sorry, sweetheart. Out of the three of us, my dick beats your tits as most popular. You like dick. He likes dick. I’m the winner.”

Harper makes a gagging noise with her mouth and I bark out a laugh. “Sorry, man, I don’t think you’re either one of our type.”

He raises up his hands in defeat. “I’m kidding.” He looks pointedly at both of us. “I promise I’m not as creepy as I’ve made myself sound tonight. Let’s just say it’s been a rough week.” Harper coughs and he smiles. “I’m going to get myself a soda. Let me grab you both a round to apologize and we can start fresh.”

Feeling more comfortable, I’m content to not end the night anytime soon. “Hendrick’s and tonic, please.”

A sigh of defeat sounds beside me, and I bite back my smile. “Fine. I’ll take a pinot grigio.”

“He’s not that bad,” I say as he retreats toward the bar. “I think his bark is bigger than his bite.”

“I like the way you handled that.” She catches me completely off guard, it takes me a few seconds to process what she’s talking about. “I know you shouldn’t even have to worry about telling other people, but you found the perfect segue and ran with it.”

“I've had a lot of practice.”

“Is it hard? Being gay, and having to worry about what people think?”

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