Angel made an aborted sound, sat back on the bed, and stared at the floor for a moment.
“Angel—”
“Shush,” he snapped, holding up a hand and not looking at him.
Dev waited, knowing it was the only thing he could do.
“So you’re telling me, you’re dating my professor, who is a decade older than you, and hishusband, who is, what, around the same age ourdadis?” Angel’s tone was dangerous now, like he really couldn’t accept what he was hearing and was getting angry about it.
“There is a thing called polyamory, Angel,” Dev said gently, carefully, hoping not to rock the boat more but out of other things to say.
“But you’ve never once said you were poly, Dev. What the fuck do you think you’re doing with—” He stopped himself, then started again. “My professor, Dev. Do you know how fucking weird that is for me?”
“Well, it’s not like I fucking planned any of this!” Dev finally snapped right back.
Angel fumed, obviously beyond reasoning. He got mad extremely rarely, but if he really did, Dev knew he needed to cool off before he could be talked with.
“Dev, what if you break them up? What if they breakyourheart? What if you’re just a fucking plaything for them?”
Dev’s jaw dropped. A whoosh of something swept over him. “Yes. Because why thefuckwould two guys like them want me, right? What could they get from me except ass?” He got up and glared at Angel. “That’s what you’re saying, isn’t it?”
For some reason Angel seemed to snap out of his anger and raised his hands. “No, Dev, that’s not what I’m—”
“No.No.I’m done with this conversation. Get out of my room, Angel.” He couldn’t help the way his hands curled into fists and his whole body tensed for a fight that he logically knew wouldn’t come.
“Dev,” Angel said in a pleading tone.
“Get. Out.”
Angel looked upset, angry still, but he knew he’d hurt Dev, so he did as he was told and left the room.
Once Dev was sure Angel had gone downstairs, he sat on his bed and forced his fingers to unfurl. His hands were shaking, and he realized Angel had touched a nerve he’d managed to keep hidden. WhywouldSeth and Leaf want him? What if he was a passing fancy, something to spice up their life for a bit? In any case, he still wanted them in that moment.
He couldn’t stay in the house with Angel right then. He grabbed his phone from his desk and called Seth.
“Hey, Dev. How’s the packing?” Seth answered, sounding happy, and it almost made Dev choke up. He must’ve made a sound, because Seth was instantly on high alert. “Dev? What’s wrong?”
He could hear murmuring from the background, and somehow that made things better and worse at the same time. “I… I fought with Angel. A-about us. He knows.”
“Oh, honey….”
Seth put him on speaker, and Leaf’s rumbling voice came through. “Sweetheart, do you need us to come pick you up tonight?”
“If it’s not too much trouble? I’m almost packed but….”
“Do you need more time to pack?” Seth asked in his serious, organized tone.
“Half an hour, maybe. Can you bring the SUV, but without the dog things? I may have a shitload of stuff I’ll need….” He was sheepish, which he knew he shouldn’t because he was the one doing his lovers a favor, not the other way around.
“Half an hour is fine. We’ll be there,” Leaf promised.
“It’s okay, Dev. I’ll go make sure there’s space for your stuff in the study, and we’ll be there in half an hour. See you soon, honey.”
“Okay, thanks.” Dev ended the call and sighed.
Trying to relax didn’t seem to work, so he got up again and went downstairs. Angel sat in the living room, staring at the TV, but Dev could tell he wasn’t really seeing anything. The way he tensed spoke volumes of his mood right then.
Dev ignored him and went to the garage for a couple of plastic bins. He wanted his stuff safe, even if the trip wasn’t long, and cardboard boxes could always rip or lose their bottoms when lifted. He went back upstairs and gathered all the things he needed.
