Todd shifted closer, standing behind Jamie’s back so he could fully read the note. He set his hands on Jamie’s shoulder and leaned down, his almost woodsy scent surrounding him. Damn… he had wanted Jamie for days, but he’d been holding back because Jamie was right: there had been a lot of changes for both of them. But screw that. His heart rocketed, and he felt the pull toward Jamie with every cell in his body. Still, he had to keep his head clear, no matter how much he wanted to tug Jamie to his feet, strip him down, and lick him like an ice cream cone.
“Look here. This says that every professor must upload an exam to the college system.”
“Okay.”
“It doesn’t say that you have to upload the one you’re going to use. It just says that you must upload one. So do that. Put an old exam out there, one that you don’t care if it’s used. I mean, I’m sure you’re one of those people who makes old materials available for students to use. Grab one of those and upload it. Whoever is behind this cheating will have what they want, and the people who are cheating will get nothing they didn’t already have before. Meanwhile, you’re in line with what the college wants, and you can then give the actual exam that you prepared without worrying about it being used for cheating.”
Jamie saved the document before turning in his chair. “I don’t know if they’re going to buy it.”
“What? Do you give the exams on the computer system?”
“We can if they are multiple choice, but that isn’t the kind of learning I want my students to do. I want them to understand the concepts, not just recite facts back to me, so I have essay exams, and those they write in test booklets that I provide. Once those are done, I take them home and spend days grading them. Then I enter the results in the system for grading purposes, and those results go against the entry that I made for the exam.” He nodded slowly. “The college needs the test entry, but I suppose they don’t care what’s in the original entry.” Some of Jamie’s tension drained away, and he turned back to his computer. Todd rested his hands on his shoulders and slowly massaged him. Jamie relaxed under his hands.
“I wonder if you couldn’t put a question in your test that you post that would be a giveaway. Something that isn’t in the book and that they would need to ask about. Some question that in the fake test is worth a lot, but isn’t in the class material and would identify them if they asked about it… you know that I mean?”
Jamie nodded and grinned. “Exactly.” He pushed the chair back, and Todd got out of the way as Jamie hurried to his office. He returned with a book and leafed through the pagesuntil he found what he wanted. “I have it. It’s perfect. We used this material on the Intelligent Design movement when I was an undergraduate, and it’s just obscure enough to enlist a question from someone. I’m sure it will be framed very innocently, but the question will be asked.”
“That’s exactly what you want.”
Todd left Jamie to finish what he was doing. “The exam is uploaded to the system, and from here, we’ll see what comes of it.”
Todd sat down next to him. “Okay. Now, do you have a colleague that you trust to keep quiet?”
“About this? Yeah. Dr. Grendel. He’s been at Dickinson for twenty years. He’s another professor whose concerned about this. But they aren’t listening to him either.”
“Tell him what you’re doing. That way, if something does come of this, he can back you up. Show him the exam that you’re giving, as well as a copy of the one you uploaded with the trick question. Then if you do discover who is behind all this, you can have a better case.” Todd shrugged. “People will twist things around if they feel it will help their case. And often the messenger is the one who gets killed.”
“I’m aware of that. It’s one of the things I’m worried about. They may just silence me rather than actually deal with the problem. Since I’m not tenured, they’ll simply decide that I’m no longer needed.”
Todd came up behind Jamie once again. “We’ll just have to see that doesn’t happen.” He swallowed hard. “You did all this for me, and I just want to help do something in return. You set these people up, and once we have someone, we’ll talk to them and get them to tell us where they got the information.”
“It almost has to be more than one person,” Jamie said, turning toward him as he bit his lower lip.
“Don’t be so sure. The more people involved, the easier it is for someone to talk. The tests can all be distributed through the internet, and the people getting the results may have no idea who is behind it. You can buy just about anything through certain websites.”
“What, you mean like eBay for cheaters?”
Todd shrugged. “Why not?” He drew closer. “All it takes is someone enterprising, and anything is possible. So just wait and see what happens.” He gently touched Jamie’s chin to lift his gaze, then kissed him. Jamie returned it and slowly stood. As soon as he was on his feet, Todd drew him closer, wrapping his arms around him, kissing Jamie hard. Damn, this was what he had dreamed of as a teenager, and over the past week, his desire had grown by the day. While Jamie was at work, Todd spent time at the house thinking about him, wishing for this, and now it was happening.
Jamie quivered in his arms, and Todd adored that reaction. He held him tighter, his hands sliding down Jamie’s back before cupping his butt in his large hands. “I can’t believe this is happening,” Jamie whispered when their lips parted.
“I’ve wanted this almost since I saw you again,” Todd said softly, holding Jamie against him, his cock straining in his pants.
“But….”
“What?” he asked breathily. “I know we said we needed to take things slow….” Everything in him urged Todd to press Jamie down the hall to his room. Hell, he wanted to lift him off his feet, toss him over his shoulder, and carry him caveman-style to the bed.
“I want you too. But….” He put a hand on Todd’s chest to hold him still. “Kenny is in the next room, and….” Jamie stepped back. “He needs you more than anything else. You have to give your energy to him and not to me.” He breathed deeply, his chest rising and falling, eyes wide. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, butit’s too soon. Kenny needs stability, and this would only add the opposite. You and I need to know more about what we’re doing.”
“You mean that I need to get my life together?” Todd wasn’t sure how he felt about that.
“In a way. We need to be together when things are clearer for you… and for me. I don’t want to rush into anything. There’s too much at stake here, for both of us.” Jamie closed his eyes, and Todd tried to push down his instincts so he could think clearly.
He took a deep breath, then lowered his eyes to the floor. “It’s difficult being rejected, you know.”
“I’m not,” Jamie said. “I’m saying that emotions are really running high for both of us. You are putting your life together again, and that’s difficult. It has to be like an emotional roller coaster. So, when we do decide to take things further, I want that roller coaster, or at least the worst of it, behind you.” He swallowed. “You have to understand that my record with relationships sucks. And I want to know that whatever happens is about you and me and not whatever else is going on. Okay? It just has to be this way.”
“Maybe you’re right,” Todd said softly.
