Palma caught Vic’s attention by sitting in Tawson’s seat. They hadn’t seen her even get up to move around the table. They’d been a little too focused on how easily Tawson fit inwith all their family and friends.
“How are you doing, baby?” Palma asked. Her voice was low and soft. She was nearing her eighties but still going strong. She’d always been soft spoken in volume but she’d speak her mind on anything and everything.
“I’m doing good, Grandma.” Vic turned their head to look at her. They offered a small smile. “How are you doing?”
“I’m still kicking, Hun. But you-” She leaned her body over, nudging her shoulder into them. “You seem to have an eye on someone.”
“Oh no, Grandma.” Vic’s nerves shot up quickly and they tried to hide the reaction. “I’m not-”
“Hey, Vic.” Tawson’s words were low, like he was trying not to make it known to everyone. Palma was the only one close enough to hear him at the moment. Everyone else was otherwise occupied or up getting their own dessert. He stood behind Vic and reached around to set a plate in front of them. “I wasn’t sure what you wanted, so I grabbed both chocolate options. One, your mom made and the other I think I heard someone named Gretchen made.” He leaned further down to whisper. “I have no idea who that is so hopefully it’s a good recipe.”
Vic’s grandma laughed, pulling a few stares in their direction. Tawson continued to stand behind Vic, since Palma was in his seat. Vic tilted their head back to look at Tawson and thanked him for getting it.
“Did you want anything, Grandma?” Vic asked. “You can share one of these with me. I’m not going to eat both.”
“Oh no, Hun. I’m okay. Probably shouldn’t eat all those sweets, as good at it looks.” She lifted her hands to the edge of the table. Vic knew she was having some issues with her hipsand getting up was sometimes hard for her. Vic and Tawson seemed to have the same thought, though, because they both reached a hand out to help her up. “Don’t fuss over me boys,” she said once she was standing up. “Tawson, you take your seat back.”
After a quick protest, Tawson and their grandma switched places. She placed her hands on both of Vic’s shoulders and bent down to whisper something. “He seems like a good one, Hun.”
Vic turned in the chair to look at their grandma. She smiled warmly down at them. She and their mom looked so much alike. The same nose, eyes, face shape. She lifted her hands to cup Vic’s face in them and kissed each cheek. “Don’t be afraid to be yourself, baby. We all love you no matter what.”
Vic didn’t think before they stood and hugged their grandma. She was always supportive, and of course she didn’t know the full extent of everything, but her blanket statement was exactly what they needed to hear. “I love you, grandma.”
“I love you too, Hun.” She dropped her arms after a few seconds. “Now, finish that dessert before I change my mind.”
Chapter Twenty-One
~ Tawson ~
Vic wasn’t kidding when they said everyone came out for the holidays at the house. The tables were crowded, the kitchen a mess of pure chaos as everyone tried to make their plates. But it was fun. It reminded him of his family back home. He’d called his mom earlier that day, before heading to the house. They talked for twenty minutes and he promised to come back home to see them over the semester break.
But now, they were back in the swing of school. He and Vic were back to sneaking around on the weekend. Vic joined him for a few lunch hour meals. But Tawson had finals to plan for his students and Vic had finals to study for. It was almost whiplash going from spending days together to barely seeing each other.
He threw himself into his work, knowing that each day passed meant they would have almost three weeks away from the school. And the best news of all, the Queer club had been the most popular by votes and they’d won the pizza party. The Thursday after Thanksgiving break was a fun time. Rachel hadplans on what they would do with the two hundred dollar gift card. She ran the idea by Tawson after the meeting. One of the members of their club was going through a rough time. Their family just lost their house and they were working a full-time job with a full course load, on top of helping to babysit their younger brother.
Tawson reached out to the student and asked them to meet in his office. Rachel was there to hand them the card. They ended up crying, thanking them over and over. Tawson comforted them while Rachel slipped out of the room and closed the door behind her. He ended up sitting there for forty minutes with the student, letting them dump everything onto him. How they came out as trans, their dad couldn’t accept it and left the house and cut them off. Tawson texted Megan, asking if she was okay with him passing along her information. An idea formed in his mind to see if Megan would want to come onto campus and guest speak with the Queer club once or twice a semester. It would be beneficial to a lot of students. Tawson had firsthand experience with how welcoming and good she was at her job.
By the time Friday rolled around, Tawson was getting antsy. His classes were all in finals mode. He tried to make it as easy as possible, giving them the chance to make it open book. Each student had the choice of taking the closed book multiple choice or to do an open book essay style final. It was split down the middle which they preferred and would make more work for himself grading wise, but whatever helped his students.
He had two more hours of office time before he’d pack it up and go home for the weekend. Before he could see his partner. His love. He wanted to say the words to Vic so many times during their vacation. They’d almost slipped out time andtime again. When they made love that first night. When Vic sat on the counter talking about nothing and everything while he cooked breakfast the next morning. When Vic was curled up on his lap.
A knock on the door caught his attention and he called out that it was open. He closed the folder he was looking through. They had one more club meeting before the break and they were going to be playing some generic holiday games. He’d finish it up on Monday, though.
“How can I-”
The words died on Tawson’s tongue when he saw who was standing in the door. Both of them. He shook his head, almost not believing his own eyes.
“What are you doing here?”
“It’s nice to see you too,” Meredith said. She smiled, like he would welcome her in. “You’ve done good for yourself.”
His ex- best friend was standing more in the hallway. He couldn’t see all of him, but it looked like he was holding something. Or pushing something that Meredith was blocking. Tawson didn’t know what to think or where to look. Meredith’s hair was longer, a shade or two darker than he remembered. Her eyes held the slightest hint of bags under them, covered by a layer of makeup. She was wearing nice clothes. The other guy was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. He didn’t look any different, maybe a bit more muscle. Victor didn’t really care enough to look further.
“You’re not welcome here,” Tawson said. “I made it clear I have nothing to say to you. To either of you.”
“We’re trying to make amends,” Meredith started to argue. Tawson held up a hand to stop her.
“I don’t want to hear it. You’re not here for me. You weren’tthere when I really needed you the most, you weren’t trying to make amends with that email, and you’re not here for anyone but yourself now.”
