Chapter 23
Trent
Magnus livingup to his name is a sight to behold, and if I live a hundred years, I don’t think I’ll ever watch something as magnificent as him bringing the board of trustees of a not-insignificant university to heel. Magnus did to them what he did to me, preparing slides to answer their anticipated questions, and he met every word of contention with logic and a hefty dose of social shaming. By the end of the meeting he’d volunteered and confirmed a date for a university round table discussion about the role of sex work in society and how social structures going forward could change to include the sex industry as an accepted and practical part of a healthy society.
He literally convinced a room full of old white dudes that they should be on the side of legalizing and regulating all forms of sex work, and he did it in under an hour. It’s a good thing this guy doesn’t actually want to conquer the world, because I think he could probably convince a billionaire or ten to back him. Fuck, Magnus with ten billion dollars would be… divine, probably.
“I deserve ice cream,” Magnus declares as we walk back to our dorm after we finally escape the meeting. It took us an hour to get out of there after President Barsamian dismissed themeeting because half of the board of trustees wanted to talk to Magnus, and a few of them even wanted to talk to me.
That wasn’t what I’d expected. I thought some of them would have questions for me, but mostly I was just another body standing with Magnus. I answered one question, and it was posed by Magnus, asking me about any comments during any of the livestreams that I thought might be related to our stalker.
The board members who talked to me afterward mostly asked me about my future plans and how they related to Magnus. The most salient thing about me during that meeting was how important I am to Magnus, and it’s a bit humbling to realize that.
“Trent?” the man of the hour says, bumping me with his shoulder to pull my attention away from my thoughts.
I wrap an arm around his shoulders as we continue walking, self-aware for the first time how the way we’re walking together is going to look from an outside perspective. I’m not afraid of homophobic violence against us on campus. Regardless of the stalker and his attitude about us, the university as a whole has a healthy and thriving LGBTQ+ community.
“You do deserve ice cream. Do you want to go to that ice cream shop on Fifth, or do you want to buy some pints from the store and take them back to the dorm?”
“Ice cream shop. I like watching them mix my bits in,” Magnus replies with the giddiness of a child in his voice. An hour ago he was bringing a room full of old rich people to heel, and now he’s excited about getting gummy bears mixed in with his berries and cream ice cream.
I lean over and kiss the top of his head. “I fucking love you, man, but it is a trip being your friend.”
Magnus startles at my words, looking up at me wide eyed. “What? What’d I do?”
“You convinced a room full of people who exist to make sure nothing disrupts the status quo unless they approve it that both professors and students shouldn’t be penalized for using the adult entertainment industry as a means of supplementing their studies and careers while working for or attending this school. You’re like a brand new star that just exploded into existence, and I’m fairly certain nothing is ever going to snuff you out. And now you’re excited about watching someone add gummy bears to your ice cream.”
“Itisexciting to watch someone add the good stuff into your ice cream, and I never would have even known about it if it wasn’t for you. If I’m a star, you’re my planet, giving my existence life and meaning,” he replies, and that is the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me, except he’s not trying to be romantic, and that hurts a little. Not a bad hurt, just a small one, an impatient one. I’m still figuring out how to woo him, but someday he’s going to say something like that and he’ll be talking to his lover.
“Huh,” I grunt as I have a realization. “I was thinking just now how humbling it is to realize I genuinely don’t matter except for how important I am to you. The trustees only wanted to talk to me because I mean something to you, but that’s not as bad as I thought it might be. You’re a star and I’m the planet, and yes, my only importance to other orbiting bodies is how much influence I exert on you, but you and I are locked together, and those other orbiting bodies barely affect you at all.”
Magnus studies my face as I lead him through the dark to the parking lot where my car is, trusting me to guide him safely. “That is an interesting analogy. It would make our stalker a rogue comet. If he hits you, it could destroy you, but if he hits me, I’ll just consume him. Apt. Scary, but apt. I’m going to make sure he hits me.”
I huff a little laugh, pulling my keys out of my pocket and unlocking the car. “You’re sexy when you’re protective,” I tease him, opening the door for him.
He beams up at me as he sits. “Did I turn you on?” he teases back.
I shoot him a wink, closing him into the car. Not sure if I’m supposed to admit that he turns me on yet. I can admit that to myself, but I’m not sure how he’ll react yet. I don’t want to lose my chance because I jumped ahead. Magnus deserves my best effort, and part of that is being patient and wooing him slowly.
I take a deep breath of the crisp March night and walk around the car, taking my time to regain my composure, confidence, and calm.
Best effort, Trent. You got this.
***
The problem with having sent out the link to our paywall to the people that live where we do, is that the foundation of our fanbase is people who see us in person everywhere we go. So, after Magnus watches one of our fans mix gummy bears and worms, sprinkles, and cherries into his mixed berry ice cream and we sit down to enjoy our celebratory desserts, we become the center of attention in the little shop, which gets more crowded the longer we’re here. The watchers are subtle—I’ll give them that—but only because Magnus’s attention is fully occupied with his ice cream.
Since the majority of the customers are girls, and the rest of them are guys giving off a queer vibe, I assume our location has been leaked to some kind of fan group somewhere and we’re being fan-stalked.
Magnus’s obliviousness makes me smile and I shoot a wink at one of the groups of girls watching us from a close table.
“Oh hey, did you get the hotel sorted?” Magnus asks before dropping a gummy worm into his mouth with an excited little wiggle.
A half smile lifts one side of my face at how much delight he gets from simple pleasures, but I shake my head. “We’re stuck with one bed. The person I spoke to said that they didn’t have any open rooms with two beds, but they upgraded us to the honeymoon suite for the inconvenience. I only had to pay an extra ten bucks a night for it.”
Magnus blinks twice and tilts his head curiously. “Does that mean we have an in-room hot tub?”
I chuff, nodding. “Yep, and a two person shower, and a balcony view of the ocean, not to mention a bed big enough for an orgy if we decided to get adventurous.”
