My lips twitch as Isaac trails off. “You want to say ‘I contain multitudes,’ don’t you?”
“Well, Whitman is right,” he huffs. “Your mind and your heart are endless. You—Library Guy, soon to beporn star, Trevor Slade—aresomany things. Don’t ever forget that.”
I bring Isaac’s hand to my chest, flattening his palm over my heart. “I have a feeling you won’t let me forget.”
“No,” Isaac says firmly. “I won’t.”
Isaac seems to remember at the same time as me that we’re in a ballroom full of people. He clears his throat, drawing his hand away as he glances around. Angela is talking to her parents, no one paying us any mind.
“Let me say bye to my dad, and then we can go,” he says stiffly.
“Want me to come with?”
Isaac shakes his head. “No. I’ll be quick.”
He gives my arm a squeeze as he stands. When he walks off, it’s with his head held high.
Angela catches my gaze. “It was so nice to meet you, Trevor. Tell Isaac I said the same?”
I nod, offering Angela a smile and a warm goodbye before I push out of my seat to find the restroom. After washing my hands, I debate whether I should head back to the ballroom or wait for Isaac near the doors. Before I can do either, I spot the very man Isaac himself was looking for.
Isaac’s dad is standing a ways down the hall, talking to a staff member. The individual walks off, and I approach before I consciously consider the action. Mr. Newport spots me andstands a little taller, one hand in his pocket meant to give off a casual air I very much doubt he feels.
“Mr. Newport.”
“The boyfriend,” he says flatly. “What was your name again?”
“Trevor Slade,” I answer, despite being fairly certain he wouldn’t have forgotten.
He maneuvers his mouth into the appearance of a smile, his eyes following the motion of my hand as I brush my hair back from my face. His expression flickers when he takes note of my tattoos.
“Thank you for your hospitality tonight,” I tell him, earning another faux smile from Isaac’s father. “You know… Isaac has it in his head that he’s a burden to the people around him. He thinks his opinions are too much. His likes unimportant. He thinks having his own dreams makes him a disappointment. That he’s unlikable simply because he’s himself. It took a while for him to believe me when I told him I like him just the way he is. Can you imagine?”
Mr. Newport’s icy gaze doesn’t change.
“I wonder where he could have possibly learned all that. Goodnight, Mr. Newport.”
Isaac’s father doesn’t say a word as I walk back in the direction of the ballroom. I spot Isaac before long, looking as if he’s searching for me.
“Sorry,” I say, grabbing his hand once close. “Restroom. Did you say goodbye to your dad?”
He nods. “Yeah, so let’s get out of here, please? And then I want to burn this suit.”
“Really? I know a future professor who’d look hot in it. Although, to be honest, I imagine you’d look even hotter in a bowtie.”
Isaac’s lips curl into a smile. “Do you have some sort of professor kink I’m unaware of?”
“Just an Isaac kink,” I assure him. I pause to wave a hand at the gift bags waiting near the exit. “Do you want a pocket assistant?”
“Not in the least,” Isaac says, tugging me past the table and out the door.
We wait as my car is brought around, the cool evening air nipping at our exposed skin. Isaac shivers like we’re in the Midwest instead of desert Nevada. He laughs when I tuck my suit jacket over his, but his shivering subsides quickly.
I’m grateful I packed a bag of casual clothes before I left. It makes it easy to drive back to Isaac’s house with the intent of staying.
A few of his housemates are awake when we walk through the door. They shoot Isaac and me quick hellos that Isaac barely responds to. They don’t seem to mind.
Once inside his room, Isaac tugs off his suit jacket like it personally offended him. I chuckle, taking the time to fold my own jacket, my eyes on Isaac as he strips off his pants and bright teal underwear.
