realized that Chris was at school with his students. It was only noon, and he still had hours left to go.
“Dude! Food!” Ethan called from the outer room of our apartment. I smiled as I got up from my desk before I winced at the knot in my back. Damn. I’d been sitting there for too long without moving.
“Hey, you want…you’re not even dressed. Come on, man. I’m hungry.”
I looked at Ethan, rolling my eyes at his dramatics. “Give me two minutes to get dressed, and we’ll go to the cafeteria and grab something to eat.”
Ethan nodded, and then he was gone. I closed the door and quickly changed, pulling on a long-sleeve shirt with a pair of faded jeans. I stuffed my feet into my tennis shoes, grabbed my phone and wallet, and left my room. I found Ethan leaning against the door, looking at his phone.
“Ready?”
“Yeah. I texted you earlier, asking you to meet me at the cafeteria, but you didn’t respond, jackass.”
I felt bad about that because I’d started ignoring my phone since Anderson had sent a few messages, upset because I didn’t show up at his office. I wasn’t going to this afternoon either. But he didn’t know that yet.
“Sorry, man. I must have turned my ringer off.”
Ethan shrugged before he walked through the door. I was so thankful he accepted my answer and I didn’t have to talk to him about why I’d turned my ringer off.
I set myself a reminder to email Chris when we got back, and then I pocketed my phone and caught up with Ethan. My stomach growling let me know that yes, I should have eaten breakfast. We kept granola and protein bars in the tiny little kitchen area because it was rare that we got up early enough to make it to the cafeteria before our first class.
“Hey, question.”
“Answer.”
I smiled because that was just how Ethan was. “You’re a grad student. How soon did you get your application and paperwork in for it?”
Ethan paused at the bottom of the stairs. “I thought you didn’t want a bunch of student loans?”
“I don’t. But the job hunt doesn’t look too good right now. And apartments off campus are crazy expensive. I’m hoping I can live here and continue on with my degree.”
“Talk to your academic advisor. They’ll hook you up with everything. And it’s not too late. But I wouldn’t wait until the end of the semester. We can talk more at lunch. I’m getting hangry here though.”
I laughed and shoved Ethan to get him moving. Nope, no hangry Ethans allowed. My day just became a bit more optimistic and a whole lot busier though.
4
Anderson
I kept trying to tell myself that I had no one to blame but myself. It wasn’t working though. What did I expect? I’d told him we had to remain on completely professional terms, but when I saw Dax out with the same guy he’d been with Saturday night, and then he claimed he was his boyfriend, I needed to know what the hell was going on.
Only Dax wasn’t responding to me. He’d not even read most of my texts from yesterday. But today I’d have him in class. Today he wouldn’t be able to avoid me unless he skipped class. I hadn’t been informed of anyone withdrawing from my class yet, so I fully expected to see Dax Phillips in my lecture hall.
“How goes pursuit of one Mr. Phillips?” Dave said as he entered my office. I glanced up at him and rolled my eyes.
“I am not pursuing him. I simply wanted to discuss some things. Specifically why he and his friend were avoiding Stone like the plague.”
“Don’t you mean his boyfriend?” Dave asked as he set a cup of coffee down on my desk.
“Thanks,” I said as I picked it up and took a sip. Perfect. “Not his boyfriend. At least, I’m almost positive he isn’t.”
Dave sat down in the chair he graced every morning of the week. This was our routine. He would bring coffee and we’d chat for a few minutes before we both had to be in our own lecture halls. “You hope he isn’t anyway. Despite the fact that he’s your student, that doesn’t mean you still don’t want him. You’ve even said as much.”
I nodded because I did. That was a fact. And I had every intention of having him again. In sixteen weeks. “Saturday night at the bar the other guy was with Dax. Ethan? Didn’t he say that