17. King

SEVENTEEN

king

I DRAINED THE rest of my Old Fashioned and tried to relax as I waited for my dinner partner to arrive, but tension coiled through every part of my body. It'd been building the last couple of days, and I couldn't place the full blame on my packed schedule. Not when I'd made decisions recently that complicated both the personal and professional aspects of my life.

I rolled my shoulders and cracked my neck from side to side, and that, along with the alcohol, helped a little. It just didn't do anything to stop the thoughts assaulting me at every turn. Didn't relieve the confusion rattling around inside as I thought about things I shouldn't. Namely, two people I shouldn't. There was no reason why any thought of what happened days ago should still be lingering. That wasn't how I worked, not to mention, it was wrong.

Students. They're still students at Astor.

It didn't matter how many times I put that on repeat; my brain wasn't getting the message, and hell if I knew why.

"Sorry I'm late." Archer Carrington pulled out the chair across from me, unbuttoned his suit jacket, and took a seat. As he sipped his water, he took one look at my empty glass and then my face, then got the waitress's attention. "He'll have another one of those, and I'll take a Manhattan, thanks."

"Busy day?" I asked as she left.

"Oh no, my friend. We're not starting with me—we're starting with whatever's going on here." He gestured toward my face. I couldn't imagine what he saw there, considering I never let anything slip, so perhaps he'd gotten wind of the new recruits.

"Are you trying to tell me I have something on my face?" I said, setting my glass aside.

"I am. And it looks a lot like you have some crazy things on your mind."

"Maybe you're projecting. You're the one with the new business and live-in boyfriend?—"

"And somehow even less responsibility now that I've let all the unnecessary shit go." He settled back in his chair, a smile on his lips. "Trust me when I say I've never been happier."

"I can see that. It looks good on you."

Archer's grin grew as our waitress returned and handed us both our drinks. "If you would've told me life could be like this a year ago, I wouldn't have believed you." He slid the cherry garnish off the swizzle stick with his teeth and gestured to me. "All right, your turn, and don't make me beg."

The thought of Archer begging anyone was as ridiculous as me begging, and it had me taking a long swallow of my Old Fashioned and looking around to make sure this conversation would stay as private as our corner table in the back. "Are you aware of the recruitment that began on Friday?"

Archer's brows rose. "Already? It's only March."

"Let's just say my hand was forced."

"Forced? How? And by whom?"

"James Easton." I lifted my glass and watched over the rim as Archer's jaw fell into his lap.

"I know I'm getting older, but I didn't think my hearing was going yet. Did you just say James Easton ? As in East? The same pompous ass that runs with Preston's crowd?"

"I did, yes."

"For God's sake, man, why?"

"Because that nosy, pompous ass tracked us down, that's why." I shrugged, trying to tell myself there was no point in stressing over this latest development, but judging by the look on Archer's face, the knot in my stomach these past few days was justified—and he only knew half of it. "He was already on the list to be recruited?—"

"In a couple of years, when he matured."

"We'd agreed on graduation."

"No, a handful of you did. I always cautioned on the side of waiting." He brought his drink to his mouth and drained it. It seemed talk of East made everyone need to throw back several glasses of the hard stuff.

"Need another?"

Archer flagged down a passing waiter. "How about we just get a bottle of something? I have a feeling we're going to need it."

"Whiskey work?"

"You know it."

We put in a quick order of food as well but told them to hurry on the liquor.

"So, you're going to have to lay this out for me." Archer leaned back in his seat and steepled his hands over his stomach. "Why would East be tracking us down? What had him sniffing around?"

I knew the question would come. Archer was no one's fool, and it was the logical one to ask in the face of such an impulsive decision on my behalf. But the answer would open up another whole line of questions I wasn't quite ready to get into yet.

So I deflected.

"It wasn't just East, though."

"What do you mean? Someone else was with him? Someone from the list?"

"Yes, my TA, Zac. He was there too."

" With East?"

"Yes."

I could see the wheels spinning behind Archer's eyes. "You're not being very forthcoming right now."

"When am I ever forthcoming?"

"True, but I can't help you if you don't talk to me. Why was Zac with East?"

"They…hook up on occasion."

Archer's eyes widened, and his disbelief would've been comical if I didn't know where this was leading.

"Zac Fletcher? Your star pupil and the menace to Manhattan are…together?"

" Together would be too serious a term for the arrangement I believe they have."

"Okay, so fuck buddies?"

My mind instantly conjured up Zac's hips slapping against East's bare ass cheeks, and I nodded. "Yes, that's much more accurate."

Archer blew out a breath and shook his head. "I mean, good luck to Zac with that one. Personally I'd be too scared to fall asleep in the same bed as East, but to each their own."

The waitress stopped by our table with our entrees, and then Archer leaned over toward me, a knife pointed in my direction.

"That still doesn't explain why they were there in the first place. Why you moved up their recruitment."

No it didn't. And I'd run out of ways to avoid Archer's question.

"They were there to see me. Or should I say, they were there trying to find me."

Archer cocked his head, clearly trying to decipher the real meaning behind my words, and then a smile slowly spread across his lips. "And why would they want to find you out of school hours, Professor Kingston?"

Oh, he knew exactly why. He was living with a prime example of the why. Not too long ago, I'd been the one giving him advice on what to do after getting involved with an Astor student.

"It seems that they concocted a plan to track me down and invite me to one of their hookups."

"Seriously?"

"Yes." I cut into the perfectly cooked filet on my plate. "They thought they were arriving at a sex club and were, of course, denied."

Archer chuckled and took a bite of his dinner. "I almost wish I could've been there to see that rejection in person."

"It's recorded if you really want the pleasure. But as you know, we can't have outsiders sniffing around and getting curious, especially ones like East. He's aggressive, resourceful, and goes after what he wants. It'd only be a matter of time before he uncovered something he shouldn't."

"I understand that, really I do, and Zac? He's ready. You work with him on a daily basis, so you've seen the growth there. East, on the other hand? I was kind of hoping you'd all change your mind about him."

I'd often wondered myself whether East was a smart choice. But everything I'd just said was true. He was a wild card, but then again, that was how a lot of us had started out—some with even worse track records.

"East requires a close eye, I'll give you that, which is why I think this is the smartest option. I figured, let's get him under our control before he gets out of control."

"Damn." Archer reached for his drink. "James Easton. Well, you never do anything without thinking ten steps ahead."

"Except the moment I came all over the two of them like that was part of the recruitment process."

Archer coughed on the sip he'd just taken, sputtering, "What?"

I hadn't meant to spring it on him like that, but there really wasn't an easy segue into telling your longtime friend that you'd had sexual relations with the most irritating person in his boyfriend's group of friends.

"I told you, they came looking for me to?—"

"Hook up, yes, I remember that. I just assumed you told them to get lost."

It was a logical assumption, and exactly what I should've done. "They came to me all but begging for it. If I recall, even you had difficulties in the face of such temptation."

Archer put his utensils down and picked up his napkin, brushing it over his mouth. "Low blow."

"An accurate one, though. I had no idea when I recruited them what they were up to or why they'd tracked me down. But once I had a moment alone to talk to them…"

Archer raised a brow, and I reached for the bottle sitting on the table between us.

"…things took on a life of their own. One minute I was asking them what they'd been doing looking for me, the next they were confessing to wanting a threesome."

"That ballsy little fucker. It was East who spilled their secret, I'm assuming?"

"Yes, but it was Zac who wanted me to…" I waved my hand in the air.

"Wanted you to what?"

I leveled him with a you know exactly what look.

"Well, well, well." Archer laughed. "Look how the tables have turned."

"They haven't turned." I poured myself another glass and gestured to Archer's, but he quickly covered it.

"Oh no, I want to be sober enough to remember this tomorrow."

"I didn't fuck them, if that's what you're thinking."

" I have no idea what to think. You're just full of surprises tonight."

I picked up my knife and fork and cut another piece of meat. "I told them I'd watch them instead."

Silence descended over the table, and then Archer leaned forward and said under his breath, "At the club?"

"Yes. In the throne room, bent over one of the benches, and now that's all I can think about."

Another deep, rumbling chuckle left Archer. "My man, what have you gotten yourself into?"

"You enjoying this?"

"Truthfully? Yes." He sat back and shook his head. "Zac is gorgeous."

My eyes narrowed.

"What? You think I don't have eyes?"

"I think you already have one college-age boyfriend and should keep your eyes on him."

"So only you're allowed to have two?"

"Are you trying to piss me off?"

"Nope." Archer finished off his drink. "But you just answered one of the questions I was wondering about."

"Which is?"

"Are you going to entertain this little threesome fantasy of theirs? I can see the interest in Zac, but East is such a shit. If you take him on, you'd have to employ one hell of a stiff hand to that arrogant ass. Actually, you might be the right fit for that task."

I finished up my meal and reached for my napkin. "I don't think that's such a good idea. If anyone found out?—"

"They'd what? Fire you? You're planning to leave after graduation anyway, and they both only have a couple more months…"

"Are you encouraging me to do this?"

"As you pointed out, I live with my college-aged boyfriend, so it's not like I can really take the high ground now."

I let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of my nose, the ramifications of my actions still weighing heavily on my shoulders. I'd known it was a bad idea to engage with Zac and East, yet the second I saw the two of them naked in front of me, I'd been helpless to stop the release they incited.

Was I really entertaining the idea of more?

I already knew the answer to that. I'd known before I sat down to dinner with Archer. I couldn't stop thinking about Friday night or erase the visuals that would creep up on me at any given minute of the day.

It was so unlike me. But then again, so was what I was contemplating doing next.

"You're going to do it, aren't you?"

Archer was smart enough to know I wasn't going to answer. I was a private person by nature, whether it came to my job, my business, or my sex life, and that wasn't about to change now.

"I guess I don't have to say ‘be careful,' because if anyone can handle East, it's you. But that boy is cunning and smart, so don't underestimate him."

"I'm aware." Which was another reason what I was thinking was a monumentally bad idea. "Just as I'm aware of who his father is and what's going on there."

"Bad business deals get made all the time, though. I'm sure it's nothing."

"I'm not."

"So do you still think East is a good asset, then?"

"East isn't his father. Whatever is happening there has nothing to do with James. But we'll have to keep a close eye on it."

"Agreed. But you'll have to have someone else keep tabs over spring break. Preston and I are heading out of town for the week."

"Oh? Where are you escaping to this time?"

"Saint-Tropez. I have a nice little villa I want to introduce him to. What about you, any plans?"

"Not yet."

"Then maybe you should plan something." Archer gave a knowing grin. "You and I are very driven people, Ty. Relax a little. If there's one thing Preston helped me do, it was stop for a second and look around at what I was missing. Clearly, you're doing the same. Maybe there's a reason for that?"

Or maybe I'd just lost my mind contemplating all of this. Either way, I was thinking about it, and I knew myself well enough to know that I was more than interested. It was just a matter of whether the risk was worth it.

But I hadn't gotten to where I was by playing it safe.