“I don’t have any condoms,” Tawson said. Vic’s legs fell from around him but he didn’t look disappointed. In fact, he was smiling. “Vic, I’m not going bare. I can’t do that.”
“No, no. I wasn’t going to ask that.” Tawson sat back and let Vic stand up from the bed. “I was going to say I have one in my car. Well, in my wallet. Not for myself. I mean, I can use it, obviously, but.”
“Vic.” Tawson moved and reached out to take Vic’s hand. “Shut up and go get it.”
Tawson laughed to himself watching Vic smile and then head toward the door. Their hair was ruffled on one side already and their cheeks flushed. They practically skipped to the door. Tawson stood up and walked to the fridge, grabbing two bottles of water to put on the nightstand. He only made it halfway back to the bed before Vic whipped the door open and nearly slammed it shut. They had their backpack hanging from one hand.
“My dad is here.” Vic moved quickly to the table. Vic started unzipping their bag while talking. “I told him you were helping me with my studying. He’s wanting to check on you with your car.”
Tawson wanted to laugh at the situation. Sneaking around with Patrick’s youngest, with a student ten years his junior.He had no idea how his life got to be like this. A knock on the door had both of them looking toward it. Tawson glanced over at the bed. It was definitely wrinkled, like someone had been laying on it. But they both still had their clothes on. It was fine. Tawson set both waters down on the table and moved to the table.
“Hey, Patrick. Come on in.” Tawson stepped to the side to let Patrick step through the door. He didn’t move any further into the house. Where Tawson was just shy of six foot and had a slight build, Vic’s dad was the opposite. He stood several inches taller than Tawson himself and seemed almost too big for the space.
“I was just stopping by to see if you needed any help with your car,” Patrick said. “I was heading into town tomorrow.”
“Oh, um, Victor had actually offered to drive me in tomorrow. I can call my insurance and get it sorted.”
Tawson saw the way Patrick’s eyes flicked to Vic and back. Tawson reminded himself to breathe. There was nothing to suspect. Vic already had their book out and was flipping some pages. They didn’t seem worried that they’d nearly been caught about to have sex. It made him wonder if Vic really thought through the implications of what they were doing. As much as Tawson liked being around Vic and enjoyed their stolen moments, what they were doing was toting the line of typical. He suddenly understood Vic and the reservations they held about their family.
Not to the total extent, because Tawson knew Vic was going through a lot more than just a
secret relationship. But Tawson suddenly had this stone in his gut that maybe the Lawson family wouldn’t see their relationship as something that could happen.
“It’s really no problem,” Patrick said. He seemed oblivious to the tension that Tawson felt stiffening his shoulders. “Lord knows I’ve fixed a car or two in my day.”
“Yeah, it should be fine.” Tawson turned toward the table, avoiding Vic’s eyes. He picked up the bottle and took a few gulps. “I have the tendency to leave the dome light on from time to time. Probably just a dead battery.”
“Okay,” Patrick said. “If you need anything, or if my son is bothering you on your days off, just let me know.”
“Thanks, Dad.” Vic rolled their eyes and pointed a pen toward Tawson. “He was the one to offer though, not that him just mumbling all the answers is really helping me.”
A witty remark was on the tip of Tawson’s tongue, but he swallowed it down. He finished off his water while Patrick and Vic quipped back and forth for a minute. It was mostly just making small jabs at each other, a familial thing.
“I won’t be much longer,” Vic said to Patrick. “I have a couple more pages of this.”
“Tawson, did you want to come down for supper? Pax and Zaya said they were making food for everyone tonight.”
“I appreciate it,” Tawson said. “But I just went to the store today and I have some grading to get done.”
“No problem,” Patrick said. “I’ll see you around. Victor, don’t stay up here too long.”
“I won’t.”
They said their goodbyes and both of them let out a long sigh when the door shut again. They didn’t move, didn’t dare to continue the plan before they got interrupted. Tawson sat in the other chair at the small table. Neither of them spoke for several minutes.
Tawson didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know if therewas anything to say. Vic seemed to be in the same boat. They were staring at the textbook, pen clicking against their teeth as they shook it nervously.
“Um. I should probably go.” Vic whispered the words after another minute. They closed the textbook and started putting their things away. Tawson didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want Vic to leave, but they’d been caught up in the moment and he knew sex wouldn’t happen either tonight. It wasn’t until Vic stood up and started toward the door that Tawson’s body reacted.
“Hey, wait.” Tawson stood and reached out for them. In the small space of the tiny home, it wasn’t hard to catch up. It took maybe one step. He pulled Vic’s body around so they were facing each other. There were tears in the corners of Vic’s eyes. “Oh, Vic.”
Sobs hit his ears and Tawson pulled Vic into his body, wrapped his arms around them tightly. Tawson didn’t know what the tears were for, but he didn’t comment on it. Just let Vic cry in his arms. He moved them to the small couch and situated both of them so they were comfortable. Tawson laid with his back against the arm rest and his legs on the cushions. Vic clung to Tawson’s chest, essentially laying on top of him. Tawson tucked Vic’s head under his chin.
“This is so not how I wanted us to spend our time,” Vic mumbled after calming down a bit. “I’m sorry I’m so messed up.”
“You are not messed up,” Tawson said. “I was a bit scared too when you said your dad was out there. It was close, Vic, but I know that it was more for you.”
Vic lifted their head and Tawson moved one hand from their back to wipe Vic’s cheek. The stains were still there and theirnose was red, but their eyes were clear of fresh tears now. That was a good sign. “There’s no chance of salvaging this, is there?”
