Chapter 20
ARCHIE
I spent most of the afternoon marveling at what a good teacher Denver is.
He’s better than most I’ve had. When I was a kid, they tended to grow frustrated with me and with the way I thought and how I made sense of the world around me.
It didn’t fit their nice and tidy worldview.
It ended up with my father pulling me out of the public school system and homeschooling me until he also got annoyed with the way I learned.
It got a little better when I had private tutors, but not by much.
Denver, however, has been effortlessly patient, even with the students who struggle with what seem like easy concepts. My obsession with him was already bone-deep, and now it’s in my marrow. He’s a part of me now, and there’s no way I’m letting him go.
Even if he tries to leave me, I may find it impossible to leave him alone. My little rabbit…I’ll always be on the hunt for him.
In the courtyard, we finish up our sandwiches, my eyes scanning the campus as Denver chews slowly beside me.
He’s a bit of a noisy eater, but that’s not his fault.
He can’t hear the way his mouth moves, and instead of being annoyed by it, I find it endearing.
Normally, the sound of chewing would grate on my nerves, but with him, everything else is eclipsed by how much I want him.
When we finish, Denver stands up and stretches. My eyes move to his ass, and I’m almost violently reminded of what it felt like to be buried inside of him. I would like to tie him up again and fuck him once more. Only this time, I’d like him to be face down, splayed out for me.
It makes my cock twitch in my pants as I move toward the trash can and toss our garbage inside.
I don’t look at Mellie again. I don’t like the angry feeling that welled up inside of me when I thought he and Denver had been together.
I have a feeling that if I ever met anyone he’s actually fucked, I may end up committing murder.
‘Okay, I hate that you were right, but I do feel better,’ he signs as I walk back to his side.
I smirk. ‘I’m right, bing.’
He rolls His eyes and then lets out a laugh. ‘Yes, yes, whatever.’
Fighting the urge to touch him, I squeeze one hand into a fist for a moment, then ask, ‘What’s next? More classes?’
He heaves a heavy sigh. ‘Just office hours, but you can’t be in there for that.’
When I start to protest, he places a hand on my chest. It’s a firebrand against me, imprinting me with his touch.
‘I know. I know. You can hang out across the hall in Fayid’s office.’
I repeat the name sign twice before asking, ‘Who’s that?’
If it’s another person he’s friendly with but might have fucked, it’s going to make for an awkward afternoon. I don’t tell him that though.
‘A friend. Deaf,’ he adds. ‘Quiet. He is working on a project, so no time to chat-chat. You can sit alone and stare across the hall at my office all you want.’
I’m happy to hear his solution, and although I’d rather sit in his office, I’ll accept being close enough that I can take care of him if I need to.
And frankly, Fayid sounds like a good time.
I’m not in the mood to talk to anyone after such a long day of being around too many strange people.
My social battery has been depleted, but his safety is more important, so I ignore the itch in my skin and follow him when he stands up and points to a building not too far away from where we’re sitting.
The offices are up an elevator on the fourth floor and then through a set of double doors, which lead to a lobby. There’s a student receptionist who doesn’t blink twice at us as Denver waves at her, and then he leads me down a short hallway with several closed doors adorned with name plaques.
I see Denver’s on his—and there are old Christmas paper snowflakes and small Pride flags that have been taped to the window in front of the closed blinds. It’s weird and endearing, and somehow very much him.
He stops at the door across from his, and I see the name, curling my lips around the sounds without actually making them. Fayid Khaled.
Denver’s finger jabs a small doorbell to the left of the door handle, and behind the closed blinds, I see lights flicker.
A moment later, a very tall man answers, wearing a button-up shirt, his dark-rimmed glasses sitting low on his nose.
He has dark, shaggy curls that look like he’s been running his hands through them and light brown skin.
He’s very good-looking, which bothers me, but he doesn’t smile at Denver in a way that makes my skin uncomfortable and itchy. And then his grin fades when his eyes catch on me.
‘This is Archie?’ His signs are different from the way Denver moves. They’re a little smaller, almost like he’s shy.
Denver nods to his question, then turns to me. ‘I texted him and let him know you were going to keep him company while I get some work done.’
I don’t bother lifting a hand in greeting. The door’s open, so I move into the small space beside Fayid, propping the door open and grabbing a chair, sitting right in the doorway.
He lets out a huff, and he and Denver chat quickly before Denver steps right into my line of sight.
‘Thank you. See you soon.’
‘I can see you now.’
He snorts. It’s cute, making my lips quirk slightly. I have never smiled as much as I do with him.
‘I’ll be done soon, then we can go home,’ he adds, signed small and just between us.
That settles something in my chest. Home. Not officially ours, but it’s starting to feel like it.
I dip my chin and watch his gorgeous ass move away, disappearing into his office, though he doesn’t close the door all the way. I’m satisfied nothing will happen to him while I’m here, even if I can’t actually see him when he’s sitting at his desk.
A hand flicks toward me, and I turn my gaze a moment to look at Fayid.
‘Want drink?’ he offers. He grabs something from a minifridge and pulls out a water.
‘No.’
He nods and settles into his chair, unbothered by how abrupt I am.
My eyes move back to Denver’s open door, and I adjust my chair so I can keep an eye on any movement in and out of that space as well as peruse the pages of the book Fayid has open on his desk.
I don’t mean to see it, but now that I have, I’m intrigued.
‘Egyptian tombs,’ I sign when he looks over at me and catches me staring.
His eyes glitter, and he nods as he adjusts his glasses. ‘Yes. You like?’
I shift in my seat and shrug. ‘I like ancient burial rituals.’ It’s so much more than that, but I’ve been better about info dumping on total strangers, so I leave it there. ‘You teach about tombs?’
He shakes his head. ‘Art history, but much of that involves burial sites.’ That makes sense to me.
I lean over and see all the notes he’s taking, and I point to the page. ‘For-for?’
His eyes light up even more. ‘I’m working on a research paper about Egyptian tomb paintings.’
‘Why?’
He grins like my questions aren’t annoying. ‘My family Egyptian, but I grew up here. I’ve never been to see where my parents grew up.’ His hands hesitate, and then he shrugs. ‘I want to be part of it and someday take back all the artifacts the British stole.’
I can’t help a small snort, mostly because he gets a look in his eye that I can relate to. Yes, I think I like this friend for Denver. Especially since he doesn’t seem to have any interest in him at all.
Turning back to look at Denver’s door, I see that a student is approaching, and I sit up in my chair a little more. But the girl looks harmless, and I could easily slit her throat, so I relax.
Fayid makes a small noise to get my attention, and I turn back to him. ‘Why you here with Denver?’
I don’t like that question. My first instinct is to tell the truth, but Denver made a good case about why we shouldn’t talk about it. Unfortunately, I typically need time to plan my lies, and it irritates me that I’m being put on the spot. ‘I thought you quiet and not chat-chat.’
He lets out a laugh at that, soft and raspy. ‘You started it. You his boyfriend?’
‘We…’ I almost say fuck but then remember how annoyed he was when I told Mellie that, so I add, ‘We’re friends.’
‘Only friends?’
I stare at him long and hard, but he doesn’t seem deterred. He rests his elbows on the desk, and although I’m not anywhere close to meeting his eyes, I can feel his on me. His patience is a thing that should probably be studied.
Taking a breath, I decide that I want to opt for honesty this time because I don’t want to lie about what Denver means to me. We haven’t had any kind of talk yet about what we are, but I don’t care. ‘Not just friends. He’s my boyfriend.’
The word settles nicely in my chest. I like how it feels there.
Fayid’s eyebrows rise, and he huffs another laugh. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen Denver with a boyfriend before.’
I like that a lot. I want to be the only one in his life, past, present, and future.
‘What happened to your face?’ he finally asks, dragging a finger down his cheek, indicating my scar.
I don’t mince words. No point, and I’m not in the mood to play nice. ‘Knife.’
‘Interesting.’
‘Yes.’
He tilts his head and then pushes the book open on his desk toward me. ‘Okay, enough chat-chat. I need to work. Have deadline. Go ahead, read if you want. Give me any thoughts you have.’
‘Lazy?’ I wonder, head tilted as I stare down at the open page.
He grins wider. ‘Efficient.’
I take the thick book and place it on my lap before glancing back to Denver’s office. He’s still in there. I can hear the sound of his beautiful voice as he speaks with the student who wandered in a minute ago.
He’s safe, I remind myself. I can read and let myself enjoy the silence while also knowing that if anything happens, I’m right here. No one will ever touch him again.
At least, not if I can help it.
When Denver finally wanders out of his office, he looks exhausted. His tired eyes shift between me and Fayid, and he tilts his head. ‘You okay?’