Do you want something to drink?”
“No. I’m good. Thanks though.”
“Okay. Come in and sit down.” I followed him into the living room and sat on the far end of the couch. I turned toward him when he sat at the other end. “I assume you’re here about Anderson.”
I nodded.
“What do you want to know?”
“Has he talked to you? About the meeting on Monday?”
“No. I didn’t know he had one. You seem worried though.”
“I’m not sure if I should be or not. So last Thursday I met Anderson for lunch after working at the lab.”
“Yeah, I knew about that. He woke me up before he went to the store. You two seemed okay that evening when I was over for supper.”
I sighed because were we? I was already worried because the looks we got…they weren’t good.
“Yeah, so anyway, I wasn’t thinking, and when I met him at the diner, I walked up and kissed him.”
Professor Summers gave me a confused look. “I’m not seeing the issue.”
I ran my hand down my face. I realized he didn’t know what was going on, but I wasn’t sure how to tell him without overstepping. “The issue is that when I kissed him, he was standing beside a table full of other professors from the university. When he introduced me, they didn’t look too pleased. I’m worried, Professor Summers.”
“Okay, first, call me Dave. You haven’t been my student in over half a year, okay?”
I nodded. Okay, I could try to do that.
“Good. And you’re thinking…what here?”
“That they told someone at the university, and then Anderson had to go in for a meeting about us on Monday. He’s been really distracted since, and I’m afraid I’ve ruined his career or something.”
Dave laughed loudly for a moment and then sobered, looking directly at me with his “professor” look. “Dax, I’ve known Anderson since we were five years old, and I’ll tell you one thing that I know for certain about him. He doesn’t take shit from anyone, nor is he easily intimidated.”
“Yeah, but—”
“Nope. Let me finish, okay?”
I nodded, keeping quiet.
“Even if they called him in to talk about the two of you, there is absolutely nothing the university can do. You were his student, yes. But here’s the deal. The university has to have caught the two of you together while you were his student. The fact that you’re not and have actually graduated means that they don’t have any kind of case. Besides, Dean Williams is a hopeless romantic, and he’s fond of Anderson.”
Now what did that mean? “So I shouldn’t worry about anything is what you’re saying.”
“I am. As for Anderson’s distraction, I’d say that has more to do with you and how he feels about things than it does anything having to do with the university.”
That definitely caught my attention. “About me? Have I done something to upset him, then?”
“Dax, let me ask you the same question I asked Anderson just last week.” Dave sat back, leaning against the arm of the couch.
“Okay.”
“How exactly do you feel about him? I’ve been best friends with Anderson basically our whole lives. And I’ll tell you that Anderson, he’s struggling right now because he’s trying his best to not scare you off. He’s trying not to move too fast, but all he wants to do is—”
“Dive in with both feet.” Dave smiled while nodding. “I feel the same, but I’m afraid it’s too soon. And I’m a lot younger than him. I don’t want people to think I’m using him.”
“Fuck them. The only person you need…no, the only people you need to worry about is you and Anderson. There are only the two of you in your relationship, so that’s all that matters. And for fuck’s sake, tell the man how you feel.”
“But what if—”
“No. No what-ifs. There are absolutely no guarantees in life, Dax. If you want to be with Anderson, be with him. If ten, fifteen years from now things just aren’t working anymore, hell, if three years from now they aren’t…it’ll suck, sure. But you would have had however many years of something that made you happy. If he makes you happy, grab him and don’t let go.”
I thought about that and what Dave had been going through, and I knew the situation that surrounded his divorce, so if he was saying that, it meant a lot.
“Thanks. I’ll definitely think about all of that.”
“Do. And then put that man out of his misery and move in already.”
My eyes got big, and so did Professor