Page 53 of Beautifully Complicated

“Younger. He’s thirty-two.”

“That’s only three years younger than me.” Conor winces like that’s too close for comfort.

“And only ten years older than me, so it’s really not that crazy. It’s not like he could be my dad or anything.”

“That’s a thought I didn’t need in my head.” A shiver wracks through his body. “Tell me how can you be sure this guy will wait around until you graduate? No offense, but ten years is still kind of a big deal, and dating a student at the school you work for, even if you aren’t his student, sounds like professional suicide.”

I wet my lips nervously. “After that first night, he tried looking for me. And when he didn’t find me, he took a job at the university because he hoped being in Colorado would make the search easier, since we met in Denver.”

Conor’s eyebrows shoot to the sky. “No bullshit?”

“No bullshit.”

“Okay.” He doesn’t sound totally convinced, but he doesn’t try to tell me I’m wrong either. “Tell me about him.”

“He’s Irish. Or at least his adoptive parents are, and he’s not a bloody bohemian. I checked.” Conor smiles proudly, so I continue. “The Matrix made him want to study computers, but he likes M. Night Shyamalan and the Coen brothers.”

“The dude abides,” Conor recites.

“That’s what I said. He likes IPAs instead of Guinness, he cooked me Thanksgiving dinner—it was a meal kit—but still. He’s merging AI with prosthetics to help his dad get back to running after he lost his leg in a car accident, and he forgave me for pretending I didn’t know who he was when we met. Ooh, he also watched Into the Spider Verse just because I like it. And he’s gorgeous. Tall, dark, and handsome, gorgeous.”

“Damn, A. I was expecting you to tell me superficial shit like his favorite food or favorite color, but you went straight to the deep stuff.”

It hadn’t occurred to me until just now that I don’t know the superficial stuff. I’d rather know the deep things, but the rest would be good to know too.

“This is the real deal then?” Conor asks.

I nod solemnly.

“When do we meet him?”

Whoa, that’s not at all what I was expecting.

“You aren’t going to say it’s too fast or too reckless?” I brace for his answer since Conor always tells me the truth. It’s a rule we have.

“It can be both those things and still be real. I don’t know if you remember when I first started dating your sister, but we didn’t take the long route. We moved in together within the first three months—which really pissed your folks off by the way—and were married about a year after. But she and I knew from the start what we had, so what seemed fast and reckless to everyone else seemed right to us.”

“That’s exactly how I feel about Kier.”

“Strong Irish name,” Conor says. “I like it.”

“You’ll like him, too. When you meet him at graduation.” I stuff my socks and underwear in the suitcase and seal it up. “Drive me to the bus station?”

Conor shakes his head. “You know your mom is expecting me to talk you out of leaving, and now you’re making me complicit in your escape. This is gonna cost you big time.”

“Name your price.”

“Tea party.”

“What?”

“You heard me. Take your niece out for a tea party when we come for graduation. It’s all she wants to do, and if I have to eat any more of those tiny sandwiches that taste like air it just might kill me, swear to God.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll take her out for tea.”

“Good.” Conor beams like he’s just closed a major deal, but before he gets off the bed, he turns serious. “Promise me you’ll be careful, A. Even if this guy isn’t your teacher, it sounds like you both think this thing could be frowned upon if you’re hiding it. Just don’t do anything to jeopardize your future.”

“I won’t.”

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