Page 61 of Steam

“Yeah, no, it’s totally an act,” Will said, narrowing his eyes at his student. “When I come to class, it’s with a fashion hangover, not a real hangover.”

Daniel snorted.

“What do you want, Daniel?”

Daniel bit his lip and in a smooth movement, he unlocked the phone. Will’s hard, pierced cock was still maximized on the screen. He held it up and Will blanched.

“I’m just curious about this,” Daniel said.

Will’s jaw went tight and he dropped his eyes. “Are you gonna blackmail me or what, kid? Cause I gotta say, I’m sure you could find a better target. Look around yourself.”

Will’s little studio apartment wasn’t half bad as far as Daniel was concerned. It was tiny but nicely furnished, big framed band posters on the walls, a mattress on a low slat bed, and piles of books as far as the eye could see. For somebody in their thirties, it wasn’t great but it was definitely more of a grownup apartment than Daniel’s place.

There was also, Daniel noted, no sign of there being another man in the apartment. No pictures of Will with somebody, no extra set of keys on the counter...

“Or is it a grades thing?” Will guessed. “Because you’re already making an A in my class and—”

“I wouldn’t blackmail you, Jesus,” Daniel said. “Just, don’t you think it would be better for us to discuss this instead of trying to finish the semester pretending like it never happened?”

“Absolutely not. I like the pretending idea. Can we go back to the pretending idea?”

Will’s voice was thick—the alcohol must have kicked in.

Daniel was far too sober for what he was about to propose. He swung around to join Will on the other side of the counter, sweeping the shot glass up and pouring his own shot of bottom-shelf whiskey. When he swallowed, he knew it was far less graceful than Will’s movements had been, but it got the job done. It burned all the way down and he chased it quickly with what was left of his cheap beer.

“Tell me more about whoever it is that calls you daddy,” Daniel said. He was close enough to Will in the little kitchen to count his eyelashes.

“It was an honest mistake,” Will said, taking a step back.

“Fair enough, but if that text was meant for someone you’re exclusive with,” Daniel said, taking a step forward and closing the distance between them again, “I’ll get lost.”

* * *

Daniel was giving him an out.

Will could lie, could say yes, he and the random internet dude were exclusive—very exclusive, so exclusive, exclusive like you wouldn’t believe, Daniel, so yes, please, get out of my apartment and I can add this evening to the ever-expanding list of reasons why I detest myself.

“He’s just someone from the internet,” Will said, every rational part of himself screaming at him. “We text.”

“And what’s with the daddy thing?” Daniel asked.

Hearing the word drop again from Daniel’s mouth was simultaneously one of the best and worst moments of Will’s life thus far.

This is some next-level fantasy shit that I am not prepared for.

“Honestly couldn’t tell you,” Will said, swallowing hard again, painfully aware of the proximity of Daniel’s body.

“So, it’s not something you two meet up to do?”

Will snorted. “I don’t think I could bring myself to say it out loud in real life.”

Daniel wet his bottom lip, his eyes lingering on Will’s lips for a beat before he spoke again.

“You won’t know that until you try it,” Daniel said through a smile that had all of the blood in Will’s body re-routing itself.

Will saw it happening. He had enough time and wherewithal to stop it. But as Daniel leaned forward to kiss him, Will didn’t push him away. He didn’t step to the side so that Daniel got a face full of kitchen wall.

Instead, he made the worst possible decision. He buried his fist in the fabric of the neon green Shipt polo Daniel was wearing and pulled his student forward, meeting him in the middle for a searing, completely ill-advised kiss.

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