The Better Side of Me - Jerry Cole Page 0,42

bliss the likes of which Kirk had never known.

So why was Kirk in bed alone tonight? He wished he knew. Lance had been acting strange all night. When they had watched a movie together, he’d refused to sit too close. When they had eaten, he had demanded that he pay, and got angry at Kirk for joking that it was usually he who paid. When Kirk tried to escalate after the movie, Lance made some dumb excuse about having to be up early the next morning. And then, when Kirk joked that this hadn’t stopped him before, Lance had actually snapped.

“Did you ever think how tired I am at work?” he had complained as he hurriedly put his shoes on. “My job requires me to be in full physical condition – and staying up all night doesn’t help.” He then went for the door, threw it open and barely even said goodbye before rushing from the place like it was on fire.

Something was certainly wrong.

To make matters even worse, it was as Kirk was beginning to drift off to sleep – after several hours of feeling ill with thoughts of Lance – that his phone started to ring. Naturally, Kirk assumed it to be Lance, calling to apologize or explain. He was up in bed, reaching for the phone... only to shrink back when he saw that it was his ex-boyfriend, Gregory, calling.

Kirk threw the phone across the bed and lay back down. He then spent the next minute with his eyes open, listening to his cell vibrate across the floor. It would then stop, only to pick back up again. Gregory had always possessed the innate ability to insert himself into Kirk’s life when things were at their worst.

Kirk spent the entire next morning trying to get in contact with Lance. Something was wrong and Kirk wanted to know what. He stopped by the gym first, but Lance wasn’t there. He then tried to call, and call, and call, but Lance didn’t pick up. He left two voice messages, and three texts asking for Lance to call him back. Nothing but radio silence.

The only piece of good news came just after lunch when Kirk’s mortal enemy, Clarice Bucker, waddled into the staff room. Looking as morbidly obese as ever, even going so far as to have a tub of Nutella in her pudgy hands, the site of Clarice’s usually smug face always put Kirk in a bad mood. Today though, he barely even took note.

“Professor Little Man,” Clarice sneered. She approached where Kirk was sitting and stood over him as if trying to assert herself. Again, Kirk barely noticed. “You must be feeling pretty pleased with yourself.”

“Huh?” Kirk blinked and looked up.

“Pleased. You must be feeling just so darn proud of yourself.” There was a teaspoon in the jar of Nutella, and Clarice used it to get for herself a large scoop of the chocolate spread.

“What are you talking about, Clarise?” Kirk sighed.

“The Symposium!” she said through a mouth of Nutella. “Oh, don’t act like you don’t know – so tasteless!”

“Clarise, I really have no idea what you’re—”

“You got it! There! Happy!” She shoved the spoon back into the jar and pulled out an even bigger serving. “I don’t know who you’ve been sleeping with – it can’t have been your classes that convinced them! Huh! This whole university is as pathetic as a—” she shoved the spoonful into her mouth, turned and stormed from the staff room.

It took Kirk several moments to register what Clarise had just told him, and even when he had he didn’t really believe it. The Symposium, the one that was taking place in Hawaii in a month’s time, had completely slipped from his mind. He had been so preoccupied with his gym workouts, and then Lance, that he hadn’t given it any thought.

But they had picked him. The Head of the Department, and the rest of the teaching body including the Dean, had actually chosen him over Clarise. Kirk could hardly fathom it.

Without thinking, he whipped his phone out, scrolled down to call Lance and then... and then he stopped. He couldn’t call Lance. The man had been avoiding him all day! And even if he did answer, Kirk got the sense that the Symposium was the last thing he’d want to talk about.

A sharp stabbing pain tore through Kirk’s stomach. Just one day ago he had been so happy and now—

His phone vibrated in his hand. Kirk’s heart skipped a beat until