“Churros.”Will picked up his glass, looking altogether too serious.
Theo looked at the lot of them.He joined them.“To doing this again soon.”
Corvin brightened.“Yup, that’s the one.”
Their glasses made a sweet, sparkling sound when they brought them together.I don’t actually feel bad about skipping class anymore.How odd.
Theo’s guilty conscience caught up with him later in the afternoon.They’d stopped by the bookshop Corvin had wanted to go to.All of them had bought something, though Will had taken ages to pick out a single notebook with a beautiful flower design.Theo had gone for a cis-het romance that was in all the charts and that he thought was going to make for a good paper, at least.
After that, they’d all filed back into Carl’s car.
Carl held up the cozy fantasy romance he’d found.“Fellas, I have to go home and read this.How about I drop you all off where you belong?That sound good to everyone?”
Corvin leaned forward from the back seat.“Only if we do this again.Carl, you don’t talk much, but you’re fun.”
“Thanks, Coconut.I’ll carry those books into the house for you.”
Corvin petted his extra-large shopping bag fondly.“Oh, it’s just a handful.I can manage.”
Theo groaned and turned in the passenger seat as Carl started the car.“Is that why you got that many?So that Carl would carry your shopping?”
“Huh?No.I read a lot.”He looked at the pile, frowned, and pulled out a collection of reimagined fairy tales.“Although… I have this one already.Ooops.”He turned to Will with a calculating expression.“Hey, do you want this one?Mike always makes me rehome any duplicates I have.”
Will’s eyes went wide.“Are you sure?”
Carl chuckled.Theo turned back, a stupid smile plastered on his face.They were almost at Corvin’s house before he realized that possibly, he’d managed to find a group of friends while lying to Peter and not going to class.
Theo ended up alone with Carl in the car as they pulled away from Will’s house, with its wildly overgrown garden.
Carl cleared his throat.“I don’t mean to pry, and I know the boss probably said it already, but just so you know, if you ever need a hand, a place to crash or whatever, Kira and I have a guest room.Just putting that out there.”
Theo turned to him, shocked.“I’m not breaking up with Peter!I lo—I really like Peter, okay?”
“Okay.”
Theo gnawed on his bottom lip.“It’s just that he doesn’t let me doanything, and I’ve never done that.I’ve never done nothing.”
“Double negatives what they teach at school these days?”
Theo eyed him.“Carl, are you making fun of me?”
“The correct answer is no.”
“Yeah, I heard the unspoken ‘but’ there.I’ve always worked to keep myself above water, okay?”
“Okay.”
Theo narrowed his eyes.“You’re not saying the ‘but’ again.I can hear it though.You’re not-saying it very loudly, Carl.You know we’re trained to work with clients, right?Celeste puts a strong emphasis on listening skills.”
“I know you’re retired.Anyway, all I was saying is, a lot of people might like a sugar daddy, you know.”
“Sugar daddy!”
Carl repositioned his hands on the wheel in a way that made him look nervous.“That’s not a bad thing.It can be enjoyable.Besides, if I had a mate, I’d want to be their sugar daddy too, if they wanted to use that term.”
Theo crossed his arms.“Vampires don’t have mates.I should know.Peter and I have a contract.”
The contract was what had brought them together in the first place and what had bound them.What was still binding them.Theo mentally patted himself on the shoulder for remembering it and for not going sappy about his…emotions.About how he’d grown to…like Peter.A contract was easier, and he had to keep that in mind.It was tidier, safer.Safe was good.
