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But then he’d have to meet my parents, and I wasn’t quite ready for that.
It was silly and superstitious, but both of my parents had liked Adam so much before they’d found out about the reality of our situation that I was worried about themlikingDaniel almost as much as I was worried that theywouldn’t. Either opinion seemed like a bad omen.
It was just a matter of time, though, before Daniel would have to meet the Mandels in all their dysfunctional glory. I took comfort in knowing he wouldn’t even blink, given his own family situation.
But until it became unavoidable, I hoped to sidestep the issue for a while longer.
Dropping him off on the Hill near the main Biology building before heading out to try to find parking for the Volvo, I was pleased when Daniel leaned over and gave me a fast peck on the cheek. Public displays of affection were something I’d never had before, and he didn’t even think twice.
“Bye. I’ll meet you at the library near the close of your shift.”
“Bye,” I said, my voice a little tight.
He ducked back into the car. “What? You okay?”
“Yeah,” I said, smiling and touching my cheek where he’d kissed. “I just…that was…”
He leaned back into the car and pressed a kiss to my lips. “Bye.”
“Bye,” I said again, watching him stride into the brick building ahead.
The day passed easily, but I wondered off and on whether Daniel had located Minty and what, if anything, he’d been able to get through to him.
Work went well, too. By nine o’clock, I was busy clearing up the front desk and preparing to hand the space over to April, who’d stay there until the library closed at midnight.
“Here comes your man,” she said, nodding across the room.
“What?” I looked up and my heart thumped in my chest. It was Daniel, sure enough. I’d seen him just that morning, but somehow, he looked so good that I couldn’t breathe. His blue shirt made his eyes look an even crisper brown, and his jeans fit so well that I had to refrain from fanning myself.
“Yeah,” I said. “But how’d you know?” I’d never told April I was gay, much less introduced her to Daniel.
“I’m a little psychic,” she said, in all seriousness. “But also, if he’s not your man, he has no business looking at you like that.”
I flushed. Daniel’s eyes were set on me in a very appreciative way, it was true. Memories of all the recent naked times we’d spent together tumbled through my mind, and I watched him step up to the desk with a silly, almost bashful, smile on my face.
“Hey,” he said. “Ready?”
“Yeah, um, let me just—”
“Go,” April said. “I’ve got this.”
Daniel slung his arm around me as I came around the desk and pressed a kiss to my temple, before releasing me. “How was your day?”
I glanced around to see who might have witnessed that display, but no one was looking our way. “Fine, good. But that’s not important. How was yours? Did you find Minty? Did you talk to him?”
Daniel sighed as we walked toward the exit. He held the door for me to leave first. “I found him, but he saw me coming and went the other way.”
“Are you kidding?”
“Nope.”
“What’d you do?”
He snorted. “I didn’t chase him. I went back to his dorm and waited there, but he never showed. I heard from Windy—I had lunch with him when I couldn’t find you—”
“Sorry, I was with Jennifer in the UC.”
“We should have made plans to meet up. Next time. Anyway, I heard from Windy that Minty’s planning to be at Tilt-a-Whirl tonight, and I thought—” he glanced at me, a shy smile on his face, “maybe we should go? It’s been a long time for both of us, hasn’t it?”
