Chapter 12
The Geek Squad Strikes Back
Gavin
Standing outside Doc's door, I'm doing that thing where I pretend to check my phone while actually giving myself a pep talk. Because yeah, I'm nervous about seeing him after last time. He basically admitted he's into me, and I choked like a fucking rookie.
You got this. You talked to Tyler. You know what you want.
What I want is currently on the other side of this door, probably wearing nerdy clothes and looking unfairly hot while scowling at homework.
The door swings open before I can knock.
"Oh!" It's Haru, grinning like he won something. "Gavin! Perfect timing!"
"Hey, man. Doc around?"
"Sebastian!” Haru yells over his shoulder. "Your pupil is here!”
There's a crash from somewhere inside, followed by muffled cursing. Haru's grin gets wider.
"Come in, come in. I must give you a fair warning, everyone is home, and they're all very interested in meeting you properly."
The living room looks like a library exploded. Books everywhere, laptops on every surface, and five guys who all stop what they're doing to stare at me. I recognize most of them.
"Gentlemen," Haru announces like he's presenting me at court, "I give you Gavin, the anthropology project."
"We're not calling it that," Doc appears in the hallway, face flushed, hair messier than usual. Fuck, he looks good. "Hey."
"Hey, yourself." I can feel a smile stretching my cheeks at his obvious panic. "Ready for our session?"
"About that—"
"Wait, wait!" A guy with carefully styled hair bounces up from the couch. "Introductions first! I'm Leo. I do the window scorecards."
"The 8.5," I remember, and he actually squeals.
"You remembered! Oh, I like him already."
"That's JP," Doc points to an Asian guy with purple highlights who waves. "Elliot," tall and Black with amazing cheekbones, "and Max," a shorter white guy with rings in his ears, who salutes.
"And I'm Luca," the last guy adds, adjusting his glasses. "Antonio, technically, but everyone calls me Luca."
He looks familiar somehow, but I can't place… wait. "Are you in Haru's Japanese class? I think I've seen you when I meet him after."
"Oh! Yes, that's me." He brightens. "Advanced Japanese Linguistics."
"That's the one Haru calls—" I catch myself, but it's too late.
"Calls what?" Luca's eyes narrow.
Haru's grinning like the Cheshire cat. "Please, Gavin, do share with the rest of us."
"He, uh. He calls you 'Double Genius.' Because you answer questions in both English AND Japanese. Even when the professor only asks in one."
"I knew that was too much!" Luca spins on Haru. "You said it was impressive!"
"It is impressive." Haru shrugs. "Impressively extra."
Luca goes pink, but he's fighting a smile. "I can't tell if that's a compliment or a drag."
"Yes," Haru says.
"Anyway," Doc cuts in, clearly trying to regain control, "Gavin's here to practice analyzing group dynamics for his psychology—"
"Bullshit," Leo interrupts. "Haru told us about the gay tutoring thing."
Doc turns to glare at Haru, who shrugs unrepentantly. "They asked why a frat boy was suddenly in our group chat. I cannot tell a lie."
"You lie constantly!"
"Not about the important stuff." Haru's smile turns wicked. "Like how you've been checking your phone every thirty seconds for the past two days waiting for texts from—"
"Okay!” Doc's face is crimson. "Who wants to help Gavin with his project?"
Every hand shoots up.
Twenty minutes later, I'm surrounded by the most enthusiastic focus group I've ever seen. They've rearranged the furniture into what Leo calls "an optimal sharing formation," and someone produced snacks from nowhere.
"So you want to understand gay culture," JP says, bouncing slightly in his seat. "Where should we start?"
"Actually," I pull out my phone, where I definitely didn't spend an hour last night typing up questions, "I made a list."
"Of course you did," Doc mutters from his corner, where he's pretending not to watch me while obviously watching me.
"Question one," I read, then pause. Maybe this is too obvious. But fuck it, I'm going for it. "How do you know when you have your first crush on a guy?"
The room explodes.
"Oh my God, are you—"
"Who is it?!"
"Is it someone we know?"
"How long have you been questioning?"
"Guys!" I laugh, holding up my hands. "It's a theoretical question!"
"Theoretical, my ass," Max snorts. "That's the most specific 'theoretical' I've ever heard."
I risk a glance at Doc. He's staring at his laptop, ears pink.
"Fine," I admit. "Maybe not entirely theoretical."
More chaos. Someone, Elliot? Actually claps. I keep my eyes on Doc, who's definitely not looking at me now.
"Okay, okay!" Leo takes charge. "First crush on a guy. Classic signs include: thinking about him constantly, getting nervous around him, noticing weird details like how he holds his pen—"
"Or how his hair does that thing when he's frustrated," JP adds dreamily.
"Finding excuses to be near him," Luca contributes.
"Getting jealous when other people flirt with him," Max says.
"Memorizing his coffee order without meaning to," Elliot chimes in.
They're all looking at me expectantly. My face feels hot.
"That's... very comprehensive."
"Sebastian, you're being quiet," Haru says innocently. "What do you think? How do you know when you like someone?"
Doc's laptop screen reflects off his glasses when he finally looks up. "I wouldn't know. Too busy with school."
"Liar," three people say in unison.
"Remember coffee shop guy?" Leo starts.
"Or EMT Brad?" JP adds.
"We don't talk about EMT Brad," Doc says firmly.
"Who's EMT Brad?" The question's out before I can stop it.
"Nobody," Doc says at the same time Max says, "Gorgeous paramedic who broke Seb's heart last year."
There’s an ugly twist in my chest. "He broke your heart?"
"Can we please—"
"Total fuckboy," Leo spits. "Led him on for months, then suddenly 'wasn't ready for anything serious.'"
"Leo—"
"With a man. Wasn't ready for anything serious with a man."
"Oh." The ugly thing in my chest grows teeth. "Fuck him."
Doc stares at me. "What?"
"Fuck him. His loss." The words come out rougher than intended. "Anyone who can't see how incredible you are doesn't deserve—" I catch myself. "I mean. Objectively. You're clearly a catch."
The room goes suspiciously quiet.
"Objectively," Haru repeats, grinning so wide it must hurt.
"Right," I continue, because apparently I have no self-preservation. "Smart, funny when you let yourself be, passionate about your work. Plus, you're—" I gesture vaguely at all of him. "You know."
"He doesn't know," Leo stage-whispers. "Tell him."
"I'm what?" Doc's voice is weird. Soft.
"Beautiful." The word falls out simple and honest. "You're beautiful."
Someone makes a noise like a dying whale. Pretty sure it's JP.
Doc's staring at me like I just spoke in tongues. "I—what?"
"Next question!" I blurt, scrolling frantically through my phone. "Um. Shit. Here… how do you know if someone's interested back?"
"Oh my God,” Max practically screams.
"Well," Leo says, visibly vibrating with excitement, "there are obvious signs. Like, they find excuses to touch you—"
I think about Tuesday. My hands over his on the axe.
"They remember things you tell them—"
He brought up my sports psych minor unprompted.
"They get jealous when others show interest—"
The face he made when Rex called me hot at the bar.
"They blush when they compliment you—"
Fuck. I'm definitely blushing right now.
"And," Haru adds gleefully, "There is a phrase... 'heart eyes'? Yes. They have severe heart eyes when looking at you.”
Every head swivels between Doc and me like they're watching tennis.
"This is ridiculous," Doc mutters, but he's fighting a smile.
"Speaking of ridiculous," Leo jumps up, "we should take Gavin out! Show him the scene!"
"The scene?" I echo.
"Gay bars! Dancing! Men in tiny shorts!" JP lists off on his fingers.
"I don't—"
"You HAVE to," Max insists. "It's part of the education!"
"Doc?" I look at him, trying to read his expression. "What do you think?"
He bites his lip, and I absolutely don't track the movement. "You'd probably hate it."
"Try me."
"It's loud. Crowded. Very... gay."
"I'm counting on it."
There’s a shift in his expression that I haven’t figured out yet. "You sure?"
"Doc." The nickname makes him twitch. "I'm sure."
"Oh, this is happening!" Leo claps. "Okay, we need to dress him. Who has clothes that might fit...?" He looks me up and down. "Jesus, you're built like a truck."
"A very sexy truck," JP adds, then immediately covers his mouth. "I said that out loud."
"Yes, you did," Elliot confirms.
"I mean, he's not wrong," Max muses. "Look at those thighs. You could crack walnuts with—"
"Okay!” Sebastian's on his feet. "If we're doing this, go find clothes. Now. Before I die of secondhand embarrassment."
"I'd lick them," JP whispers, apparently having lost all filter.
"What?" I ask, even though I definitely heard him.
"Nothing! Nothing. Going to find clothes now!" He flees.
The others scatter, talking over each other about what might fit me. I catch "those shoulders though," "bet nothing fits those thighs," and "climb him like a tree" as they disappear down the hall.
Climb him like a tree. Huh. That's new… I kinda love it here.
And suddenly it's just Doc and me.
"Your friends are..." I search for words.
"Insane? Embarrassing? Currently planning to dress you like a go-go dancer?"
"I was gonna say awesome."
He blinks. "Really?"
"Yeah. They clearly love you." I move closer, noting how he doesn't back away. "Very protective."
"They're ridiculous."
"They told me about EMT Brad, so they could make sure I'm not like him."
"You're not—what?"
"I'm not like him," I repeat, closer now. Close enough to see the gold flecks in his brown eyes. "I wouldn't do that to you."
"Gavin—"
"The other night. What you said in the truck." My hand finds the counter next to his hip. Not touching, but close. "I handled it badly."
"We don't have to—"
"I like you." Simple. Direct. Tyler would be proud. "A lot. Been trying to figure out if it was just a general gay awakening or specifically you, and it's definitely, specifically you."
He's stopped breathing. "Oh."
"So if you're still interested—"
"We found clothes!”
We jump apart as the herd returns, arms full of fabric.
"Mesh or no mesh?" Leo demands.
"No mesh," Doc says quickly.
"Is that my shirt? Umm… Did you get those out of my truck?"
"Boo, Seb, you're no fun, and yes, Gavin, we raided your gym bag. Absolutely nothing we have was gonna fit you without coconut oil and a prayer to get you into it." Leo's grinning at both of us, completely fine with breaking into my truck. "JP, show him what we picked."
"They look like they're very tight," JP warns, holding up black compression shorts that I wear under my gear so my dick doesn't move around when I'm working out.
"Yeah, they are," I say, watching Doc, who's turned an interesting shade of pink.
"This is going to be a disaster," he says.
"Maybe Doc… But it might be the best kind."
He ducks his head, biting his lip, but the corners of his mouth twitch up anyway. My chest goes tight and warm.
Yeah. Definitely, gay for him at least.
"Stop flirting and start stripping!" Max orders. "We have a baby gay to corrupt!"
Doc covers his face with both hands. "I'm going to murder all of you."
"After the club," Leo chirps. "Murder us after we show your man a good time."
Your man. I could get used to that.