The Endless Road to Sunshine - Nicky James Page 0,111
and Hunter want to go out on Wednesday night. They miss me. They’re having karaoke at some little bar downtown, and you know I can’t say no to karaoke, right? It’s my thing. Hunter said he won’t participate, but I think I can convince Mav to get up there with me. I told them I’d go.”
“Sounds like a good time.”
“Exactly. Anyhow, they made a fuss about me spending all my time here, so I’ll probably just sleep at home that night and hang out with them. Is that cool?”
“You don’t need my permission. It works out, actually. I made plans with a friend on Wednesday. I was going to tell you that I’d be out until late anyhow.” The independent film festival was this coming week, and Reggie had reminded me three times about my promise to go with him to see his students’ work.
Skylar shifted and stared up at me slack-jawed. “Oh my god, you have a friend? Is he imaginary?”
I flicked his nose, and he batted my hand away, laughing. “Yes, you little shit. I have a friend. Kinda. I don’t know. We don’t know each other all that well. He’s… odd.”
“And here I thought I was the only one. Who is he?”
“Just another professor from the university.”
“Oh, I see how it is.” Skylar made his voice all hoity-toity as he shifted back around to lie on my lap. “Just another professor. Will you talk about your students? You all get together and gripe about us, don’t you?”
“Probably, but only the bad ones.”
“Will you talk about me?”
“No.”
“Will you tell your friend all about our secret sexual adventures?”
“God no.”
“Not even the killer blowjob I gave you this morning? It was epic. I thought you were going to tear my hair out of my scalp. Not even that?”
“No.” I flicked his ear, making him laugh.
“Bummer.” Skylar sighed dramatically. “I knew I embarrassed you.”
I didn’t bother with a response, but my cheeks tightened with a smile. They came easier and easier this week, and it was all because of the man lying on my couch, in my lap. He’d crawled into my heart against my better judgment, and when I managed not to fret for five seconds, I enjoyed him being there.
Night had fallen, and with it, the temperatures had plummeted. It was damp and drizzly. A typical fall evening in Southwestern Ontario. October was at an end, and the last vestiges of warm weather had vanished. I had a feeling we were going to get an early winter. Snow was imminent.
There was a long line of people outside the theater, waiting to buy tickets for the eight o’clock showing of Silver Angels and Running Devils. I’d convincingly talked Reggie out of having dinner together, so we’d driven separately to the theater. We met in the parking lot across the street before making our way to the end of the line, both of us bracing against the wind.
“These must be a lot of your students,” I said, nodding at the groups of young men and women waiting to get in.
Reggie blinked his usual quick blinks as he scanned the crowd, rain pattering his face. “Some, yes.” He turned his back on them and faced me with a shy smile. “I don’t like to get friendly with students. Better to draw a distinctive line in the mud and ensure they understand why it’s there, am I right? Professional boundaries.”
I looked away, studying the wet street and the cars driving by. Their headlights reflected on the pavement, making it glisten. My cheeks warmed under Reggie’s intense stare as a momentary tickle of guilt ran through me. “That makes sense. Professional boundaries.”
Reggie rarely talked about his classes or students. I, on the other hand, tended to linger on the subject far more extensively, relying on work to break the ice whenever we got together. I didn’t know what else to share. My life and relationship were secretive.
“You aren’t like that though, are you? I’ve noticed.”
I flinched and fixed my face to something neutral when I glanced back. “What do you mean? Noticed what?”
“You have office hours. You encourage students to come and talk face-to-face and one-on-one if they want to. I keep my correspondence to emails. More impersonal. I don’t like students thinking they can get too chummy with me.”
I knew it wasn’t a pointed comment referring to Skylar, but it still made my heart beat a little faster. There was no way Reggie could know.