Page 24 of Romance Languages

“You’re not my—”

The doorbell rang, sending me into a panic for multiple reasons. Nerves tingled up my spine. I heaved out a breath. Why was I nervous? I was helping out a friend.

I yanked the pipe from Greg’s mouth and shoved it in between the couch cushions.

“Hey.” A small wave of relief came when I opened the front door, and Julian nervously smiled back at me. “Come on in.”

“Hi. Nice place.” He looked around, hands clenched on his messenger bag. Greg and Ethan lived in an older house with high ceilings and big rooms. The foyer had an elaborate light fixture at its center that had to be at least fifty years old. It made a statement.

“It’s not mine. I share it with—”

My friends marched over. Greg stuck out his hand. He’d retrieved the pipe.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Greg, and this is Ethan. We’re Seamus’s dads.”

I threw a hand on my face. I lovedandhated my friends.

“They’re not my dads. They’re just being assholes.”

“Son, what did we say about language?” Ethan said.

“We all went tocollegetogether.” I tried to signal with my eyes for them to get lost, but of course, they ignored it.

“We like to look out for Seamus.” Greg clapped a hand on my shoulder.

“He speaks very highly of you,” Ethan said.

Technically, that was true, but it still caused a fresh surge of embarrassment to heat up my face. Julian was amused, at least.

“I told them that you help me keep my shit together.” I shot a look at Greg warning him against another comment about my cursing. It was a miracle Julian hadn’t run away screaming by this point. “Anyway, we’ve all met. We’re gonna go.”

“It’s great to meet you. You guys look way too young to be fathers.” Julian laid it on thick, which my friends got a kick out of.

“We like to give Seamus a hard time.” Greg broke character, letting Julian know that he and his husband were actual normal people. “So what are you guys up to tonight?”

Without intending it, he managed to embarrass me all over again. Julian and I shared a nervous smile.

“We’re going over plans for the foreign language cross curriculum.” Each word was pulled out of my mouth, and I hoped that lie was enough to satisfy them.

“We want to strengthen our students’ understanding of Romance languages. Since French and Spanish have the same root, it can be a way for our students to pick up another language. I came over with lessons.” Julian tapped his messenger bag.

“Huh. Smart.” Ethan nodded at Greg, who agreed.

Julian remained cool, his ability to spout believable bullshit a surprising turn on.

“We don’t want it to be a late night, so we should get to it.” He looked to me for confirmation.

“Yes. We need to do it.”

“Cool. Well, we’ll be up here if you need anything,” Greg said before slipping back into his dad voice. “And remember the rules of the house: bedroom door open and four feet on the floor at all times.”

I darted my eyes at Julian, promising that he was kidding.

“Okay, then. Bye!” I snaked an arm around Julian’s waist and led him to the basement door.

I shut the door tight behind me. The basement stairs creaked and led to an open space that was filled with boxes. Both my room and the bathroom were finished. If I squinted, it felt like I had my own place.

Julian looked around, taking in every detail, which caused me to feel self-conscious. How the hell did this compare to his cushy apartment?

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