“Oh my!” Franklin said, nodding approvingly. “Very handsome.”
“Come in,” Rory said. “Although I’m afraid we’re not quite so fancy.” He glanced at his flannel shirt and then Franklin’s rosy pink sweater. “Maybe we should change?”
“No,” I said quickly, stepping inside, then greeting them both with a kiss. “I just wanted to dress up because I needed to say something. I mean, because I realized something.” I scratched my head, my heart beating so fast I couldn’t make my damn lips cooperate. I hadn’t intended to just blurt everything out the second I saw them, but now they were standing there, doing that thing where they looked at me…
“Fuck,” I said. “I mean I had something to ask.”
Rory leaned back against the couch, then nodded. “Go on.”
I took in a breath, happy to be reunited with the scent of their home, and my confidence grew. “I found a woodworking class,” I said. “I’m going to sign up for it once I get enough money together. Get some real training behind what I already know. And I decided to start driving for Lyft, too.”
“That’s good,” Franklin said, his voice encouraging. “I think that’s a smart plan, Asher.”
I shook my head quickly. “That’s not exactly what I meant…” I reached, taking first Franklin’s hand, then Rory’s. “I’m trying to get my shit together,” I explained. “I will get it together. But I just want you to know…” I looked down at myself again, torn between feeling shy and feeling confident, unable to say what I was truly asking of them. “I’m going to be good enough for you,” I said finally. “Good enough...”
It wasn’t exactly right, but I couldn’t bring myself to say what I really meant.
Good enough that you could love me.
Rory extend his free hand, clasping my shoulder and sending a shudder of pleasure through my body with his approval. “Do you want to be ours, Asher. Our boy? Our boyfriend? Ours?”
My heart seized in my chest. “You want me to be yours?” I asked. “Just like I am?”
Franklin stepped forward and pulled me closer. “No other way,” he said.
Franklin took me into the kiss first, crashing his lips against mine before Rory joined us. Our hands and lips roamed together, and I tasted each of them in turn and felt the hot friction of their beards, pleasuring my cheeks.
When we pulled back, Rory’s eyes lit up behind his glasses. “I just had the most wonderful idea,” he said.
Franklin arched an eyebrow, his hand still on his husband’s side. “Oh yeah?”
“I was going to skip it,” Rory said, “but there’s a faculty cocktail hour this evening.”
I squinted my eyes. “What does that mean?”
“Just people in the college and some partners, enjoying free drinks and appetizers. It’s usually a little too fancy for my taste, but considering you’re already spruced up.” He adjusted his glasses, then smiled. “What do you say? Will you be our date?”
RORY
The faculty cocktail hours usually sounded like an absolute nightmare to me. Everyone would try to impress each other by talking about their research, and colleagues would snipe each other over old grievances no one else knew. I left the event to those who were trying to climb the ladder or roost at the top of the coop, figuring my time was better spent working anyway.
That particular night, though, I had an urge to show off. Maybe I was just feeling particularly enamored with Frankie and Asher and pleased that our new arrangement had fallen into place. Perhaps I had spent one too many evenings telling myself I had to hide from what we were doing, and I had finally tired of it, ready to stand proud.
Or maybe it was the simple fact that I knew Dorothy Pearson would be there.
“She’s going to flip,” Asher said as walked in. He kept adjusting his tie, then running his hand over his smooth face. “You can’t blame me if she fires you.”
“She can’t fire him because of tenure,” Frankie explained, opening the door to the bar.
“That’s true, although I would like her to know that I am not embarrassed or afraid of her,” I said as I walked inside with my guys. “Anyway, she’ll need to keep up appearances, so she won’t make a scene.” I smiled to Asher. “Just know that she’s having a miserable time, deep inside.”
“I can drink to that,” he answered with a grin.
I looked around the large, open bar, dotted with faculty members of all disciplines. Soft jazz music played over the speakers, and waiters paced around slowly, replacing drinks and taking empty glasses away. A thrill shot up my spine to be here with Asher. When I caught a glimpse of our group in the mirror, my eyes trailed over my gray suspenders and checkered shirt, across Frankie’s cardigan and to Asher’s slim build and his tattooed arms.
How many people are going to think he’s my former student? I wondered. How many people are going to look at us and laugh when they realize we’re together?
But then the crowd parted, and I saw Dorothy Pearson, the same moment as she saw me. Her eyes turned to ice, and I straightened my back. I rested one hand on Frankie’s back and other on Asher’s and felt a swell of pride.
You stopped caring what other people thought a long time ago, I reminded myself.
I didn’t care about anyone else’s opinion when I fell in love with another man, a geeky, clumsy guy with a heart so strong he glowed. And I didn’t care when I decided to pursue the academic subjects that interested me, instead of following in the set path.
And I most certainly didn’t care now, when Asher showed up and told us that he needed us.
“Let’s get a seat,” I said. “There’s a good table right there at the top of the stairs.”
“Prime realty,” Asher teased. “You really do want everyone to see your hot young thing, don’t you, Daddy Rory?”
I chuckled as I led the guys up toward the stairs. “I’ll probably never come back to one of these cocktail hours. Might as well give them a good show.”
Frankie grabbed a cocktail napkin, then held it over his face like he was hiding from the paparazzi. “Please, no pictures. If you have any questions, please reach out to our publicist. Her name is Marlene Dietrich, and she’s a poodle.”
Asher plopped down in the table, then leaned forward, planting a quick kiss on my cheek while he purred under his breath. “Just in case anyone was trying to figure it out,” he said with a wink.
I looked up and burst out with a laugh when I saw my chair’s wide eyes. I might well have to pay some sort of price for this, but I was having way too much fun to care.
“Hey now,” I said, nodding to Frankie. “Fair is fair.”
Asher laughed, then planted a wet one on Franklin’s cheek. The waitress came around, greeting us with a warm smile, and we all took a glass of wine.
“I think we’re getting more approving stares than anything else,” Frankie said, glancing around the bar quickly.
Asher nodded. “The other poodle publicists are definitely gossiping,” he said. “But the buzz is good.”