"Twenty-three isn't old."
"Says the guy who knew at twelve."
"Knowing and accepting are different things." His voice goes quiet. "I knew at twelve. Didn't tell anyone until college."
"Why not?"
"Italian Catholic family. You do the math."
Right. I think about my own family, about Dad's comments over the years. "Yeah. I get that."
We sit in silence for a moment. It's not uncomfortable exactly, just... heavy.
"So," I say eventually. "What else is on your PowerPoint?"
He laughs, actually laughs, and opens his laptop again. "Way too much. I got carried away with the research. If we're doing this, I want to do it right for you." His grin takes on a mischievous tilt. "Especially since you are so old to start learning these things."
"Hey! I resemble that remark!"
We laugh together, and it feels really good.When he laughs, his eyes actually fucking twinkle… oh no…
As the laughter settles, I scratch at a mark on the table, not quite meeting his eyes and searching for words that don't sound too sappy. "But seriously, man. Thanks for... You know. Taking this seriously. Not making me feel like an idiot about it."
Doc's ears turn bright red, and a flush creeps up from his collar.That's so cute… I wonder how far down the flush goes?
He clears his throat and opens his laptop again. "Shut up. Do you want to learn about hanky code or not?"
"Hanky code?"
"Oh boy." He spins the laptop toward me. "So back in the seventies..."
He launches into an explanation about colored handkerchiefs and back pockets, but my brain's doing that thing where it pretends to listen while actually going completely rogue. Because now I know what a twink is.
And Ethan? Definitely a twink. Tyler's boyfriend, with that reddish hair and those green eyes, is a classic twink.
Fuck. I thought Ethan was hot. That should probably have been my first clue, right?
But Doc... I glance at him while he's gesturing about left pocket versus right pocket. He's smaller than Ethan, even. When he leaned over to look at my notes, I could've rested my chin on top of his head. My hand would probably wrap entirely around his wrist.
Huh. So I like tiny guys. Interesting.
"—and that's how they communicated before apps," Sebastian finishes.
"Right. Absolutely." I have no idea what he just said.
"You weren't listening at all."
"I was! Handkerchiefs. Pockets. Very educational."
He rolls his eyes, but there's a smile threatening at the corner of his mouth. "Moving on. Let's talk about drag."
"Like RuPaul?"
"Basically, yeah. It's the art form of performers dressing and performing as different gender expressions."
"Oh! Like Sylas at Halloween."
Sebastian's eyes go wide. "Sylas? Do you mean Sylas Wells?
