Page 76 of Beautifully Complicated

“If the quote fits.” I pop a bite in my mouth.

“No wonder you’re so well-versed in movies from my era.”

“Conor’s actually an engineer, very process-oriented in a lot of ways, but he has a silly side and a heart of gold.” I break off another piece of the pastry and chew it thoughtfully before adding. “He asked when he could meet you.”

“What’d you tell him?”

“Graduation. I assume you’ll be there.” I don’t know why I hold my breath—I have zero doubts about Kier or our future together—I think I’m just in the habit of waiting for the other shoe to drop.

First Bennet chooses someone else, then there was finding Kier and knowing we had to say goodbye, followed by finding him again only to have the conflict with Kier working at the university. Even though those things are in the past, it’s hard to believe we’re really in the happily ever after phase when we have several months before things can be official.

“I’d like to be.”

“That’s not a yes.”

Kier reaches across the table to hold my hand. “If I come to graduation, I’d like to be there as your boyfriend, not your mentor.”

“That’s what I want too.”

“Are you sure?” He brushes his thumb over the back of my knuckles. “Because being there as your boyfriend will raise some eyebrows.”

“Aren’t we ignoring the eyebrows since we’re forming our own company?”

“Yes and no. We aren’t giving people the opportunity to question my recommendation because I won’t write one. But that won’t stop the gossip, and most of that will revolve around whether I’m so enamored with you I’m not thinking clearly.”

“I thought you said anyone who really knows you knows that wouldn’t be the case. And that once they met me, they’d understand.”

“That’s true, but the people who don’t really know me will talk. And while I’m confident people will see your brilliance once they work with you, up until that happens, they may question why I’d give up my job to start a company with you.”

My stomach does an uneasy somersault. “Why are you telling me this?”

“So you can decide what you want people to know and when. I’m established enough that a seemingly uncharacteristic decision will appear strange, and people will quickly shrug it off. You might have to live with the stigma a little longer. I’ll do everything in my power to prevent that, but I want you to be prepared for that possibility. That’s why it needs to be your decision whether I come to graduation or not.”

I start to shake my head. “I don’t want us to hide any longer than we have to.”

“I don’t either, Leanbh. But I don’t want you to make a rash decision. I’ll be part of your future no matter what, so if you want time to establish yourself in the field before we go public in order to avoid any potential scrutiny, I have no problem with that. I’ll just skip the graduation ceremony and meet your family afterward. Think about it, okay.” He squeezes my hand.

My first instinct is to say I want him there no matter what, but a part of me hears what he’s trying to say. I’ve busted my ass to earn my reputation as the top student in my class, and even though I achieved that prior to Kier’s arrival, people are likely to forget that if there’s even the slightest appearance of a scandal. Their minds will jump to a salacious scenario, even if we can prove I didn’t benefit from our relationship, simply because our time at this school overlaps by a year.

“Okay.” I nod. “I’ll think about it.”

***

“So, where were you this weekend?” Damien has the audacity to feign innocence when I get home Sunday night.

“I’m sure you can figure that out.” I head to the fridge to grab a Gatorade, just to give myself something to do.

“I could, but I bet it’d be a lot more satisfying if you just tell me. Secret boyfriend to secret boyfriend, you can spill the tea.”

“Don’t you have enough sex on your own without having to use my relationship for inspiration?”

“So you’re having sex again. Good for you.”

“Does Bennet’s no sex outside the bedroom rule apply to talking about sex? If not, it should. Where is he anyway?” I try to peek into the living room to see if he might save me from this line of questioning.

“He’s sleeping off the blow job I gave him.” Bennet stuffs some sort of gooey concoction in his mouth.Must be a cheat day.

“Who’s sleeping off a blow job?” Jagger asks.

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