Chapter 23
“Derek,” Shawn said, closing the door.
Derek didn’t look up from his computer. “Not now. I’m busy and you’re… you’re too distracting.”
Shawn smiled. “Distracting, huh?”
Derek shot him a glare, but it was half-hearted at best.
“Come on, just tell me already!”
“No special treatment,” Derek said. “You’ll learn your grade when everyone else does. Tomorrow.”
Leaning back against the door, Shawn bit his lip. “Did I fail?”
He wasn’t sure. Derek had helped him a lot lately, explaining a lot of the stuff Shawn had missed at the beginning of the semester. Shawn had thought his understanding of the subject improved and that he’d done pretty well on the exam, but now, looking at Derek’s grim face, he wasn’t sure anymore.
“No,” Derek said. “You didn’t fail.”
Shawn breathed out. “So what did I get? A C, right?”
Derek pursed his lips. “You got a B.”
Shawn’s mouth fell open. “Really? Wait, did you—”
“No, I didn’t give you any special treatment,” Derek said, his tone somewhat defensive. “You did a good job. You’re not unintelligent. If you actually bothered to attend classes, you wouldn’t have had any problems at all.”
Shawn grinned, feeling stupidly warm and giddy. He took a step toward the desk, but Derek snapped, “Don’t.”
“Why?”
Derek fixed his eyes on the screen in front of him, his jaw clenched. “I told you. You’re distracting. I have to work.”
Shawn didn’t want to go. He wanted to hug him. He wanted to kiss him. He wanted to celebrate with him. “But…”
Derek sighed through his teeth. “Fine. Come here and kiss me. One kiss. Then you will go.”
Shawn went there and kissed him.
And kissed him again.
And again.
And one more time.
When their lips finally parted, Derek brushed his thumb over Shawn’s cheek. “Good job, Mr. Wyatt.”
Shawn grinned and pecked him on the lips. “Thanks, Professor.”
A reluctant smile appeared on Derek’s face before he scowled and pushed him off his lap. “Now get out.”
* * *
When Shawn opened his eyes the next morning, he found Derek watching him.
“Morning,” Shawn murmured, their faces just inches away on the pillow. It felt unbearably intimate. “Sleep well?”
“No, I didn’t,” Derek said, his arm heavy on Shawn’s back. “Your bed is terrible. I almost fell off twice.”
Shawn smiled lazily. “No one’s forcing you to sleep here.”
Derek drew his lips into a thin line and averted his gaze for a moment before looking back. “It will be much more convenient if we use the bed in my house.”
Shawn blinked. “You know I can’t leave the kids on their own.”
“I have a spare bedroom for them.”
Shawn stared at him. “Are you asking me to move in with you?”
Derek’s face was blank. “It would be convenient.”
“Convenient?”
“Yes, convenient.”
Pressing his lips together to keep himself from laughing, Shawn nodded solemnly. “Very convenient.”
“Shut up, Wyatt,” Derek said.
Shawn grinned slowly and looped his arms around Derek’s neck.
They looked each other in the eye for a long moment, and Shawn felt something tighten in his chest. He said softly, “I love you, too, Derek.”
Derek stared at him for what felt like an eternity before he said, a little breathlessly, “Yes.”
Shawn laughed. “Okay, we’ll have to work on that—”
Derek shut him up with a kiss.
The End
JUST A BIT OBSESSED
(#2 in the Straight Guys series)
Alexander Sheldon likes order and control in his life. He isn’t happy when his girlfriend invites another guy for a threesome. Alexander believes in monogamy, and he’s never been good at sharing his things. It doesn’t help that Christian rubs him the wrong way from the beginning.
But what starts as animosity turns into something else. Something unexpected and very wrong.
He was never supposed to touch Christian. He was never supposed to feel possessive of the guy. And he most definitely wasn’t supposed to want Christian more than he wants his girlfriend.
It’s a recipe for disaster.