Page 108 of Teach Me Your Ways

“Reminiscing?” he asked and nodded at the album in my lap.

“Yep.”

“I’m sorry, Grady,” he said quietly. “For the shitshow.”

I closed the album and put it on the table between us. “I’m sorry for involving you. I hope there’s no blowback on you.”

“If anyone can weather a scandal, it’s you. But maybe not a scandal with a grad student.” His voice was calm, but I knew he was pissed. He had warned me over and over.

“What do you think my options are?” I asked, swirling the whiskey in my glass.

He shrugged. “You can appeal to the board. Hire a lawyer. The dean’s not letting this drop. You might scrape by on this one, but she’s going to keep looking for a reason. When it’s time to renew your contract, she’ll never let it happen.”

I sighed. I had come to the same conclusion. “Yeah.”

“There’s always the bar. You could walk away from academia.”

I snorted. “Ten years teaching, thousands of students. I’ve built something. I can’t just walk away if there’s a chance.”

“I get that. Hell, I respect that. But no matter what, I’m here for you.”

I closed my eyes to the sun. “Thanks.”

He took another slow drink.

“I know you’re dying to tell me you warned me,” I said.

He chuckled. “Nah, I don’t need to. You know.”

He picked up the album and opened it. I watched him flip through the pages. He stopped on a picture of the two of us in Egypt. It was from our first big dig together there. We were standing in front of the Great Pyramid of Giza, both of us covered in dust and sweat, grinning like idiots. I remembered that day like it was yesterday. The sun had been brutal, baking the sand until it felt like walking on hot coals. I had sand in my teeth, eyes, and my ass crack, and I had never felt more alive.

“That was a hell of a trip,” Felix said. “Remember when you got that scorpion sting? I thought you were going to die on me.”

I chuckled thinking back to Felix turning into my personal bodyguard. “Yeah, and you were the one freaking out, running around like a madman trying to find the antivenin. I was fine.”

“Fine?” Felix raised an eyebrow. “Your hand was three times the usual size and I swear you were hallucinating.”

“That was Cambodia.”

Felix laughed. “Idiot. What have I told you about double-checking unfamiliar jungle berries?”

“To do it,” I said.

“Yeah, do the research,” he said, shaking his head. “Or end up thinking you’re a monkey until we drag you back to civilization.”

“Was that what happened?” I chuckled. “I thought I just wanted more berries.”

“Either way, you’ve always been a little reckless. But not like this.”

“Apparently, I should probably start listening to you. You’re like my guardian angel.”

“If I was your guardian angel, I would manage to keep you out of the shit you always step in,” he countered.

“I do have an uncanny knack for finding trouble.”

“Have you talked to her?” The question was quiet and he didn’t need to specify who he was talking about.

“No.”

“I liked her,” he said.

“Yeah, but maybe that’s because neither of us actually knew her.”