I ease the door open and find myself a few feet behind him, peering into the full lecture hall. It’s just as intimidating as I’d been imagining, with high ceilings and dozens of smart looking people all taking notes on their laptops while Percy drops some knowledge on them. And, fuck, he sounds smart as hell, talking about religious practices of some tribe or something. Theuncertainty that’s in his voice so often is nowhere to be found. He’s commanding and confident… It’s hot as fuck.
I quietly shuffle inside and lean against the doorframe, holding the coffee I brought for him and listening as he wraps up the class.
“I apologize that I don’t have your essays back to you yet. I’ve just been a little… ehm… busy lately. But I promise I am working on them. Don’t forget to read the chapter on burial rituals before the next class.”
The students take that as their cue to pack up, and suddenly the room is filled with the noise of papers shuffling and chairs squeaking. Percy gathers up his own set of notes and powers down his laptop, oblivious to the fact that I’m here and that I’m completely awestruck seeing him like this. A couple of students stop to ask him questions, and he answers them just as confidently as he gave the lecture. And then finally, he turns and spots me. His eyes go wide, and he startles, then laughs.
“Holy shit, you just scared the hell out of me. What are you doing here?” He glances at the coffee in my hand, then back up to my face with a sweet smile. “How did you even know where to find me?”
“Juno.” I hold the coffee out for him. “Pretty sure I got your order right. At least I hope so.”
He takes it and sips. “Thank you, this is so nice. No one has ever brought me coffee before.”
My chest puffs up a little. I don’t like that no one has noticed him the way he deserves until now, but a selfish part of me definitely likes being so many firsts for him. Several students eye me on their way past, but even more glance at Percy with barely concealed interest. I move a little closer to him and hope they take the hint.
“I only caught the last couple of minutes, but damn, Rocky, you’re some hot shit professor. I thought you were still a student.”
He takes another sip of his coffee and chuckles. “I am. Part of doing the PhD program is being a TA for the introductory classes. I think the official reason is because most PhD students go on to become professors, so it’s training for that. But honestly, I think the professors are just happy to fob off their boring one-oh-one classes on us.” He slings his messenger bag over his shoulder and nods towards the door, brushing his fingers against mine as he moves past me to lead me back out into the hallway. “Come on, I’ll show you my office.”
“Damn, you have your own office too?”
He laughs again. “Don’t get too excited. It’s basically a janitor's closet that they shoved a couple of desks into.”
“I’m still impressed.” We haven’t talked about it since we had that moment of sharing our insecurities with each other, but that nagging sense that Percy is way out of my league makes my chest feel hollow and has me reaching for his hand.
He gives me another surprised smile but doesn’t pull away.
We reach his office, and he opens the door. He wasn’t lying, it is basically a closet. But it’s still badass to see a sign with his name on it outside and stacks of papers he’s responsible for grading on one of the desks.
“Here it is, my home away from home.” He drops my hand and waves to show off the space. “Desk, chair, mini fridge… and that pretty much concludes the tour.” He sets the coffee down on his desk and then takes a seat in his chair, sitting up straight and looking very official. “Still impressed?”
“I am.” I shuffle inside and close the door behind me, awkwardly stuffing my hands into my pockets so I won’t accidentally knock anything over. “This is seriously cool.”
“Thank you.” He preens.
“Is that your plan? To be a professor?”
He moves the stack of papers off his desk and I lean against the edge of it.
“I don’t know, maybe.” He shrugs. “I haven’t thought too much about it, to be honest. But there aren’t a lot of jobs in academics. You usually have to wait for a tenured professor to die or retire and then compete with the dozens of other people who got the exact same PhD you did for that one spot.” He chews on his bottom lip and looks down at his desk like he’s trying to decide whether he wants to admit something or not. “I thought it might be cool to write books.”
“Like Dan Brown shit?”
Percy sputters a laugh. “No, like anthropology books, but more accessible. Maybe it’s dumb, but I think people do have a general interest in other cultures and religions, it’s just that no one wants to read a dusty old textbook to learn about it. I thought maybe if someone—ifIwrote some simple, funny, easy to read books on different anthropological topics, they might sell well.”
“I think that’s an amazing idea. And, hey, if you need a test subject to make sure they’re dumbed down enough, I’m your guy.”
He laughs and puts his hand on my thigh, tilting his head up in a way that’s subtle but unmistakable. I lean over and brush a kiss to his lips.
PERCY
I can’t get over the fact that Butch went out of his way to come to campus and bring me coffee. I smile into the kiss, running my hand up and down his huge, sturdy thigh and wishing I didn’t have my own class to attend in fifteen minutes.
My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I reluctantly break the kiss to check it. It’s a text from John asking about drinks on Friday night again. I stare at the text for a few seconds and then close it without responding.
“Anything important?” Butch asks.
“Not really. Another one of the guys in my program told me some people are getting together for drinks on Friday to celebrate the end of midterms, and I told him I’d think about it.” I’m sure by Friday a drink will sound amazing considering the paper I need to finish revisions on this week and all the exams I’ll need to grade. Juno’s been pestering me to be more social with John and the other students in the program, but it feels too late now. They’ve all been hanging out for months, and I’ll be the odd one out if I try to insert myself now.
