“Then we’ll go slow,” Victor said easily. Victor kissed the top of Tawson’s head and then gripped his chin between his thumb and index finger. “I hate that I have to go to class, but will you stay with me here, tomorrow night? We have the Queer club and you have to be here Friday anyway.”
“I don’t know if we should risk that,” Tawson said. His hands ran down Victor’s back. “I can’t afford to lose this job, Vic.”
“I get it,” Victor said. He tried not to pout, but he was also tired of the once a week sleepover. “But I’ll see you this weekend?”
“Yes.” He leaned closer and kissed him. Victor let the kiss linger, but neither of them took it any further. “Just give me until Friday, okay?”
“As long as you need, Tawson.” Victor stood up and held his hand out for Tawson to stand as well. He wrapped his arms around the man and held him tight. “Text me when you made it home, okay?”
“And you be careful going out tonight.”
“I will,” Victor said. “I’ll text you when I’m back all snug in my bed.”
Tawson gave him one more kiss and then let him go so he could get dressed. True to his earlier statement, he sat back on the bed and watched Victor get dressed. Victor sent him a glare when he heard him laugh at the way his cock was fully hard. He liked when Tawson watched him, apparently.
“I’ll hang back for a few so we aren’t walking out together.” Victor had already locked his bedroom door. He’d decided,while getting dressed, that he would bring the underwear and skirt home this weekend. Tawson shared his past, the worst moments of his life, with him. It was hard to hear, hard to understand. But he understood the panic attacks, how his body forced him to stop from moving forward.
He trusted Tawson without reason. It was an instant attraction and he didn’t know how they would navigate it but he was willing to make it work. He kissed him once more before he opened the door and walked out of the building.
Chapter Eight
~ Tawson ~
Tawson spent Wednesday night wondering if he’d fucked everything up. He’d spilled everything to Victor, more than what he planned to share. He shouldn’t have put all of that on him, at such a young age. He was worried that getting involved with him would keep Vic from having fun, from being able to experiment and find who he really was. He was grateful that the only thing he had on Thursday was office hours and then the Queer Club. He would see Vic. His goodnight text had been the only thing that relaxed Tawson enough to even get a little bit of sleep last night.
The club was large, something that surprised Tawson the first week. Daniel was at the first two but now it was his to run solo. Not that he ran the club on his own. They had a whole team of students that were elected to run the club, set up activities, booths, raise money, and so on. He just had to sign off on most of the things. Tawson gave the welcoming speech as everyone settled. He spotted Victor sitting at one of the middle tables with a few other students.
Tawson didn’t share much about himself personally. But heexplained how he met Daniel, coming out in high school, how he loved to see so many faces in a welcoming environment. He also loved all the different flags that were represented. From gay, lesbian, bi. There was also trans, nonbinary, the all inclusive flag. It was two hours of just love and acceptance. He made his way through the crowds, introducing himself to several of the students that he hadn’t met before. He eventually got to the table where Vic sat with three others.
“Good speech up there, Professor Lancaster.” Vic greeted him when he stood by the table. He smiled and when no one was looking at him, he winked.
“Thank you,” Tawson said. He looked at each of the other students. “I’m glad you could make it tonight.”
“This is my first time here,” one of the girls said. She didn’t look to be taller than five feet, maybe an inch or two over. She had short hair that didn’t cover her ears, green eyes.
He stayed and talked to the table for a few minutes. They all introduced themselves and explained how they knew each other. They shared a social studies class and had formed a study group. He finished his rounds while the VP of the club went to the stage to talk a bit. She shared her story and went over the major activities for the semester. They would have a guest speaker in a month and would be looking for volunteers to help man the booth for the Halloween celebration in a couple months. He was a bit hesitant about Halloween. It no longer held the best memories for him.
By the time their two hours were up, Tawson was exhausted. He hadn’t slept well and he still had a half hours’ drive back home. Vic’s words from yesterday popped up into his mind. He could just walk the five minutes to the apartment. He was just about to pull out his phone to text him when someone tappedhim on the shoulder.
“Hi,” the guy said. He only came up to Tawson’s chest. He had platinum blonde hair and the brightest blue eyes. He didn’t look like he was old enough to be in college. “I’m Ryan. I’m a Freshman here this year.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Ryan. I’m glad you could join us today.” Tawson slipped his phone back into his pocket, putting his hands in his pockets. He didn’t like to cross his arms when he was talking to new people; it made him feel stand-offish. “How are you liking classes so far?”
“They’re not bad,” he said. “I’m going for a fashion degree.”
“Oh, that’s awesome!” Tawson smiled. “I have very little fashion sense, but I’ve been known to watch a runway show or two.”
Ryan laughed at the joke and Tawson smiled. They chatted for another minute before Ryan said goodbye. He decided to just go back to the house. He needed to clean up if Vic was coming up tomorrow.
He checked his phone when he got in his car and connected the Bluetooth. He had a text from Vic.
I wish you were staying tonight. Also, I don’t like you talking to the other students. I should have all your attention all the time. (PS: you claim you’re clingy but you haven’t seen anything yet).
The text was accompanied with a picture. It was Vic, already in his apartment, standing in front of the full-length mirror in his bedroom. He was wearing nothing but his sweats and socks. He’d cropped his head out of the picture, something that was smart but also slightly infuriating because Tawson wanted to see his face. Instead of texting him back, he decided to call him.
“Miss me already?” Vic asked when he answered the phone.Tawson rolled his eyes.
“I’m pretty sure you’re the one that sent me a shirtless pic.” He pulled out of his parking spot and started out of the parking lot. “Are you heading to bed?”
