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Adelaide slid into the seat across from a man who was a few years older than most of the other people in the room. She held out her hand and introduced herself. He slipped his roughened palm into hers, his hand cool to the touch, and shook. “I’m Kingston, but everyone calls me King. You look lovely tonight.”
“Thank you, you look great too.” Adelaide looked him over. Dark hair and dark-brown eyes, with a close-cropped beard, he was handsome in an understated way. His clothes matched her first impression that he was unpretentious perfectly—light-blue shirt and a brown suit jacket. He had the classic professor vibe about him. All he needed was suede patches on his arms and a set of wire-rimmed glasses. Adelaide licked her lips, eyeing him over and yet trying not to stare. He really was gorgeous. Lost for words, Adelaide had no clue how to start the conversation with him.
He laughed and scrubbed his hand over his beard. “My friend suggested I come here tonight. I’m not great at conversation starters, as you can see.”
Adelaide grinned, relieved that he could laugh at himself. “How do you know your friend?”
“We’ve worked together for a few years now. We both teach maths at a high school here on the Coast.” She grinned. She’d been spot on about the professor look he sported. “What about you? Are you based here or are you visiting?” The gallery was a two-minute drive from the centre of Surfers Paradise and was being spruiked as a must-see. She could understand why Kingston had asked the question.
“I’m local. I’ve lived here on the Coast nearly all my life. My parents separated when I was young, and we moved back from Brisbane to be closer to my nan and pop.” She paused and regarded him, simply enjoying looking at him. A blush stole over his cheeks and he bit down on his pouty bottom lip. Damn, she loved that shy-guy look as much as she did the professor vibe. He really was incredibly handsome, in a nice-guy, boy-next-door type of way. “Why maths? Are you a number genius, or do you love torturing your students?” She laughed as his mouth curled up in a grin, his eyes sparkling. Adelaide reached for his hand before she could think better of it. Patting it gently, she added, “These things are important to know.”
“I resent that you’ve described me to a T.” The pout he gave her had Adelaide giggling and he continued, “I’ve always loved maths. The universality of it, the fact that it’s the building blocks for everything. It’s certain, yet there can be so many unknowns too. And now I sound like a complete nerd.” He rolled his eyes and Adelaide’s belly flip-flopped. This man was something special.
“It’s okay, I like smarts, and I love that you’re passionate about your job. Is it rewarding teaching kids?”
“It is. They can be moody brats sometimes, but seeing them work hard and get through the teaching materials is great. When they have those lightbulb moments where they suddenly get something they’ve been working on and struggling with, it’s the best. I’ve always tried to be one of those teachers that twenty years after they finish school they’ll look back fondly on my classes. But given what I teach, if I can get them to remember me as anything other than the ogre who taught them maths, I’ll be happy. These kids often just need someone to listen to them, and help them figure things out for themselves, you know?”
Adelaide had no idea what to say. That kind of passion was inspirational. She loved that he adored what he did and was genuinely trying to make a difference in his students’ lives. She hadn’t minded school—it wasn’t something she was ever overly excited about, but she hadn’t hated it either. Maybe having a teacher like Kingston would have given her some sort of direction for her future.
“What do you do for a living?” he asked, seemingly unaware of how much he had moved her.
Adelaide swallowed. She hadn’t told anyone she’d met so far that night the truth of what she did. But something told her to be honest with King. “I run parties like Tupperware or Avon, but for adult toys. I also have a video series on Patreon where I talk about stuff related to that. It’s not porn.” She waited, watching his expression, but he had a hell of a poker face. He blinked, seemingly absorbing her words.
He opened his mouth, hesitated, and said, “I love that.” He smiled, a genuine dawning of understanding in the curve of his lips. “It’s great that people can choose things to make them feel good without having to go to an adult store, but when you’re shopping online do you really know what you’re getting? Having videos that give them more information is great—is that kind of what you do?” She nodded and he continued, “Yeah, being in the privacy of their own home with a real person in front of them, and then being able to watch a video related to the product they’re looking at, would make heaps of people feel more comfortable with asking the difficult questions. I bet they would still have fun with it too. Inviting a group of friends over and laughing over the different size butt plugs would be a hoot. Do you love it?”
“I do, but I’m stuck in a bit of a rut too. I didn’t see myself selling sex toys when I started this gig a few years ago.” The light on their table flashed and Adelaide looked down at it, disappointment swirling in her belly. She liked Kingston, and would happily keep talking to him, but their conversation was about to get cut short. “Can I—”
“Ah, I’m not sure we can do this and totally cool with you saying no, but do you want to ditch this place and maybe see the rest of the gallery, or grab a coffee at the restaurant?” King’s words came out as a rushed jumble, his hands clenched together until his knuckles turned white. He seemed nervous, and Adelaide found it adorable that a man who could happily talk about his work, and who literally stood up and spoke publicly for a living, could be so shy.
She stood and held her hand out. “That sounds brilliant.” He looked up at her then down to her hand, a smile spreading slowly across his face. Genuine surprise mixed with a little relief too, lit up his eyes. He slid his hand into hers and stood, looking around them. A round of applause broke out and Adelaide froze, her eyes locked on the shy man in front of her. King blushed again, colour rising in his cheeks and spreading down his throat to the V in his open collared shirt. “Hands off, ladies and gents, this one’s coming with me.”
King’s jaw dropped and he choked out a laugh before reaching to relieve her of her umbrella and jacket.
They wandered through the tables past the stage where Connor nodded to her, and Adelaide waved to Katy and Levi. “Friends of yours?”
“Yes, I’ve known Connor, the man who’s performing, for years. He was a year level above my brother in school. When I started at the same school, people in his year level were buddied up with people in mine. He was my buddy, and we kept in contact via social media after he finished and joined the army. We reconnected when he got back. Levi and Katy are his life partners.”
King nodded slowly and asked, “As in a poly relationship?”
“Yeah, the three of them are together. Connor and Levi have been best friends since they were kids. Levi met Katy just after they finished school. The two of them have been together since, and then with Connor after he came back from active service. Why’s that?”
“I just wanted to make sure I didn’t misunderstand their relationship.” He squeezed her hand and added, “I’m bisexual, so it certainly wasn’t to hate on them.”
Adelaide was sure she wore a secretive grin, and the amazing thing was that she’d been lucky enough to snag him. There were only a handful of people in the room who’d gotten a glimpse of King. How was he still single? Smart, sweet, thoughtful and for tonight, at least, her company. She couldn’t believe her luck. They wandered through the hall lit up to showcase the paintings hanging along its walls, pausing to admire local artists’ talent, and pointing out pieces that they particularly liked. Each piece was complex and intricate—even the ones that looked deceptively simple—and the gallery left them in awe.
Their conversation flowed effortlessly the entire time, as did the laughter between them.
“Do you share your sexuality with the people you work with? Are there issues if you do?” Adelaide asked, wondering whether there were protocols around that at the school.
“I’m open about my sexuality, but it’s a sensitive issue for the school. I’m a firm believer in the adage you can be what you see. If students see me living my life as an out bisexual man, then they know they can be comfortable with that too, but I work for a Christian school—albeit a progressive one—so I have to be careful about how I frame it, if that makes sense.” He looked to her, a frustrated twist to his lips, and Adelaide nodded her understanding. He had to be age appropriate, and she guessed would have to frame it in more of a “I love the whole person like God would” kind of way.
She ran her thumb over his hand in silent support. Even after only having spoken to him for a few short hours, she already knew she wanted to see him again. In fact, she’d rather the night not end.
“Of course, I don’t go telling the kids I have a girlfriend or boyfriend—we keep our private lives private so there’s a bit of distance between us—but as the volunteer LGBTQIA staff member on the gay straight alliance, I talk to the kids about every aspect of sexuality, self-respect, coming out, dealing with violence. You name it, I’ve had the conversation. We’ve also had specialists come in to talk about sexual and mental health and a whole range of topics that both students and teachers benefit from.”
“I really admire you. My brother would have killed to have had that kind of support in school—he’s bi too,” Adelaide explained as she wandered out of the paintings room into the wide corridor lined floor to ceiling with glass. Rain bucketed down outside, water streaming along the windows to blur the lights from the high-rise towers across the river. She leaned back against the stainless steel railing and added, “He was bullied in high school until he was sixteen. But he got lucky too. A new kid started at the school, and they hit it off. Liam, his best friend, was one of the popular jocks, so Eli suddenly had protection by association. The bullying might have stopped, but Eli still had trouble coming to terms with his sexuality. Even though we’ve always been open and honest about every element of sex with Mum—she’s a nurse—it was years before he felt comfortable enough to tell Pop or myself. A decade at least before he actually felt proud of who he is. A teacher like you could have changed that for him.”
“That’s the aim—help people to be proud of who they are and take care of themselves and those around them.” He paused as if he were thinking about how to phrase his words. “It’s funny, you know. It’s easy to talk to the students and give them advice and reassurance. But following that same advice isn’t easy. It’s one of the things I struggle with the most.”
