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There was a beat of stunned silence, then both of them burst into laughter. What were the odds? How was it even possible that the two of them could be thrown together again, and under such dramatically different circumstances.
“I knew you had to be some sort of teacher,” Aled spoke first, scooting closer to the desk.
“Really?” Jamie blinked in surprise.
“Yes. You had a definite teacher energy to you,” Aled went on. “Especially when we were talking about my family.”
Jamie had almost forgotten that aspect of the weekend. Hehadcounseled Jamie through his feelings of guilt about leaving his family that first evening. He’d advised him to enjoy the weekend and to give himself permission to be himself.
Oh God. The young man he was supposed to advise about his academic career had spent a weekend tying him up, hurting him for pleasure, and fucking him.
His thoughts must have shown on his face, because Aled’s smile turned into a concerned and slightly terrified look. “Fuck,” he said. “Is there some sort of policy that says we can’t talk to each other? Is it some sort of conflict of interest for you to be my advisor?”
Jamie was one hundred percent certain there was a massive conflict of interest and that he was probably breaking about a dozen university rules about professor-student relations just by looking at Aled. Looking and getting semi-hard already.
“There might be,” he said, clearing his throat and pulling himself together. “But I’m just so happy to see you again that—”
His impulsive confession that he wanted to see Aled again, that he wanted so much more than just one weekend with him, no matter what the circumstances of their real lives were, was cut brutally short as Dr. Franklin, the Dean of the Psychology department, appeared in his office doorway.
“Ah. Croft. I see you’ve met Mr. Keal,” Franklin said, then invited himself all the way into the office.
Jamie and Aled exchanged veiled looks that said yes, they’d definitely met each other.
They both went to rise, but Franklin gestured for them to stay seated and took the chair beside Aled’s with a smile as Jamie said, “Mr. Keal just arrived to…introduce himself?” he glanced to Aled.
“Yes, it’s a little last-minute, but I’ve assigned Mr. Keal to you as an advisee,” Franklin began, sprawling just a bit in his chair, as if he owned the office. “Mr. Keal has an unusual family history, and I wanted to be certain that our best and most compassionate faculty member was on the case to guide him through these difficult times. You’re the best when it comes to students with family situations.”
The way Franklin spoke had Aled squirming, which made Jamie feel awkward and a little frustrated.
“I don’t require any special treatment, really,” Aled protested.
“Nonsense,” Franklin said. “I assured you when you came to me that your circumstances would not affect the quality of your education, and I stand by that. Mr. Keal has been in the public eye a bit,” Franklin went on, talking to Jamie and blocking Aled out a bit, which Jamie definitely didn’t like. “There was a bit of trouble with his family a few years back,” Franklin went on, mercilessly. “He lost his parents in a murder-suicide that made the news. It was particularly ghastly, and it stirred up every sort of argument about mental health in the nation, arguments over whether his father should be sectioned and the like.”
The more Franklin said, the more Aled seemed to tighten in on himself. Franklin could be a clueless arse sometimes, and Jamie could see Aled was furious with Franklin for blurting out his business, and in such a callous manner. But there was a fair amount of lingering grief and even shame underneath that anger. All of it together made Aled suddenly seem as young as any of the incoming freshmen, which Jamie knew for a fact he wasn’t.
“And you’d like me to be his advisor?” Jamie asked, hoping to pull Franklin away from humiliating Aled and to focus on him.
“Yes,” Franklin said. “You’re the best the department has to offer.”
“Thank you,” Jamie said, sitting a little straighter and clearing his throat. “But I’m not sure—”
He stopped and second-guessed revealing that he and Aled already knew each other. That theykneweach other. Biblically. Franklin was old-school. Really old-school. He was the person Jamie feared finding out about him the most. If Franklin got so much as a whiff of how kinky Jamie was, whether it was right or wrong, he would probably call for Jamie to be sacked. Franklin barely acknowledged that he was gay. He wasn’t overtly homophobic, but that latent prejudice was there in everything the man did. And that was without getting started on the ethical issues of professor-student relationships.
“What Mr. Keal chooses to tell me about his past and present circumstances is entirely up to him,” Jamie said instead, glancing to Aled. “I will do the very best I can to advise him on all academic matters, but beyond that, what he chooses to share with me is his choice.”
He met Aled’s eyes, hoping that he knew that went far, far beyond the office where they were sitting or the university as a whole. Because now that he knew who Aled was, Jamie wanted him more than ever. But really, that choice was Aled’s to make.
TEN
As Dr. Franklinblurted out details of Aled’s life story—a story that he would so much rather have told Jamie himself—all Aled could think was, “Awkward.” He heard that word in Dawn’s voice too, said in the way her teenage friends had always said it when he, the responsible, older brother, had walked in on them all being silly.
That feeling like he and Jamie had just been caught doing something they shouldn’t had Aled feeling restless and jumpy as Dr. Franklin addressed the lovely things Jamie had just said.
“I’m sure Mr. Keal here will feel like he is in excellent hands throughout his academic career,” he said, smiling at both Jamie and Aled, as though he were completely in control of the situation.
Aled knew control. He knew it well. Jamie knew it, too. The two of them shared a quick glance, then both of them turned their attention to Dr. Franklin. Aled tried not to grin as he considered that Dr. Franklin would buckle in two seconds or less if he attempted any of the things he and Jamie had already done together.
“I would be honored to have you as my advisor,” Aled said, his mouth only twitching a little as he smiled at Jamie. “If you think it would work.”
