3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Oliver

S itting in the teacher's lounge, I take another sip of my coffee, staring at the computer screen in front of me. I love being able to create my own lessons and choose what I want to teach. Being at the university level allows me more freedom in choosing the type of texts I want. Looking at my notes, I highlight another novel I would like to read when the banging of the door against the wall has me snapping my head up quickly. A young man around my age offers me a small smile, and I chuckle when he grimaces.

"Shit. So sorry. I didn't know it would slam so loud." He chuckles, walking over to me with his hand outstretched. I shake it, snickering along with him. "My name is Nate. I'm the new biology professor." Nate looks to be around my age. He has blue eyes and blonde hair and the brightest smile on his face.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Oliver, the new literature professor."

"Oh awesome, I was hoping I would run into you soon. Dean Grey told me you were also new, and I figured becoming friends with the new guy would help me."

"Same." I laugh. "I was so nervous because I don't know anyone here. And while everyone has been nice and says ‘ hello ' in the hallways, I haven't really talked to anyone much." He seems so bubbly and personable and I'm thankful he talked to me first because I probably wouldn't have done the same.

"Do you mind if I join you?" He gestures to the empty seat in front of me and I shrug, letting him know it's fine with me.

"Have you been teaching long?" I ask, trying to make conversation. I wouldn't say I'm awkward, but I am more introverted and starting my own conversations is hard sometimes.

"Uh yes, but no? I used to teach biology in high school, but I realized rather quickly that I couldn't deal with younger students, so I went back to school and ended up getting the job here. What about you?"

He sets a lunchbox on the table and starts taking out different Tupperware containers. My stomach growls loudly and I realize I forgot my lunch again .

Dammit.

His eyebrow rises as he stares at me, and I realize I haven't answered him yet.

"I've been teaching for a couple years. I previously taught at a community college in Chicago where I'm from. Took a leap of faith by applying and moving here."

"So, you're from Chicago." I nod my head as he continues, "That's awesome. I visited there once a few years ago. I haven't lived anywhere else but here. How's San Diego treating you?" His energy is infectious and I find myself smiling easily, my shyness dissipating.

"I love it. It's so different, but I've loved going out and exploring new things. I haven't gotten out much since the semester began, but I do what I can."

"If you're up for it, we should totally get together sometime. I can show you some spots you probably won't find on your own."

"That sounds awesome."

And it really does. Being here by myself has its ups and down. The downs are usually when I'm at home alone, either at night or on the weekends when it's only me and Ember. I haven't made any friends yet, so anything I've done outside of work has been by myself.

"Do you have any plans for tonight?" Shaking my head no, I worry about what he's going to invite me to do. While I still consider myself young, I don't do much partying or clubbing. I honestly never did it when I was in college myself, but I definitely don't do it now that I'm older. "Do you like any sports? They have the baseball game playing at the sports bar down the road from campus. We could head over there after classes wrap up. Drink a couple beers and watch the game. If you're up for it?"

Am I up for it? That doesn't sound too bad. And I could use a drink or two before heading back to my empty apartment. And thank god, he isn't asking if I want to go clubbing.

"That sounds good. Let's do it."

"Awesome man. Here, put your number into my phone and I'll text once class ends and we can set up when to meet." He hands me his phone, and I quickly put my number in. Excitement fills me and I'm giddy at the fact that I'm going to hang out with someone new. And hopefully have a new friend.

Nate sits across from me in the booth, both of us eating our cheeseburgers. We've been at the sports bar for a little over an hour and our conversation has been effortless. Nate is a year younger than me at twenty-nine, and we have tons of things in common. He's an easy person to talk to and we've been getting to know each other. We've discussed the different activities there are to do around here and he was right. There are so many things I had no clue about. But I'm excited to try something new and see what else there is to do around here.

I take another bite of my burger before washing it down with some soda. There's a baseball game on in the background, which quickly catches my attention. I'm not a big sports person, but I do love to watch baseball. And their asses in those pants aren't bad to stare at either.

Hmm. Maybe I should look into going to the Pirates game down here.

The team scores and Nate and I whoop loudly and then fist bump each other.

"Wanna know something crazy but also kinda cool?" Nate says, staring at the TV before looking back at me.

"Sure. Hit me."

"My little brother plays for the Pirates."

Choking on my soda, I pause, waiting for it to go down before I speak. "What? You have a brother who plays for the Pirates? That's fucking amazing. Who is it?"

"Have you heard of Sebastian Lawson?" I nod my head and he continues. "That's my younger brother. He's been playing baseball all his life. When he was in college at U of San Diego, he got drafted to the Pirates and he's been there ever since." His voice is filled with awe as he looks back at the big screens on the wall.

"Damn man. That 's amazing. Do you play baseball, too?"

He laughs loudly, shaking his head. "Nah. That was Sebastian's thing. I was one of those kids who did like Mathletes and shit. All the educational stuff while he was the athletic one."

"Both are good. But fuck man, the Pirates? We should definitely go to a game together. We can cheer on your brother."

We both chuckle as I take another sip of my soda. I decided to forego a beer tonight, as I have an early class tomorrow and alcohol always makes me sleepy.

"Hell yeah, dude. I'm always down for a game. We can take a look at the schedule and see if there's a day and time we're both free."

"Sounds good, man."

We both turn back toward the screen, watching the game continue. We talk easily as we finish up our food. Once the game ends, we pay our tabs and get up to leave the restaurant. Tonight was such a great night and I truly think I have met a new friend.

"We should do this again sometime," I say to Nate after we step out into the cool air.

"Of course. Where did you park?" he asks, looking down the street.

Jerking my head to the right, I say, "I parked behind the building. You? "

"I parked down the street. But thanks for hanging out with me."

"It was fun. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Absolutely. Night man."

"Night."

I walk toward the back of the building before getting into my car. I live close to the restaurant and the campus, so it only takes me ten minutes to get home. Exiting my car, I click the car key fob twice to make sure it's locked before walking up the steps to the second floor where my apartment is.

Once I step inside, I take off my shoes, kicking them to the side and out of the way. I set my wallet and keys down on the counter in the kitchen before opening the fridge and grabbing a bottle of water. Sitting down on my leather couch, I twist off the cap on the bottle and take a large gulp. Placing the bottle onto my coffee table, I pick up the remote, scrolling for a couple minutes, before tossing it back onto the table and sighing loudly. Ember meows loudly, jumping up onto my lap. She circles around before plopping down. Her head rubs under my hand and I chuckle, knowing she's asking for some love.

"You good, girl?" I ask, using my finger to rub under her chin. She purrs, closing her eyes at my touch. After getting her fill of my cuddles, she stands up and jumps off the couch, heading in the direction of her bed. "Fine, I see how it is. Just use me for mini massages and then take off." Ember meows softly as she takes off and I huff.

Relaxing against the back of the couch, I let my eyes drift close, and I breathe in deeply, my thoughts going straight to the masked man.

"Ugh, are you serious?" I say aloud to the empty room.

Sitting back up, I reach onto the end table next to the couch and unplug my computer from its charger. I open the laptop, waiting for it to turn on and load. My leg bounces up and down at my nervousness. I wipe my sweaty hands onto my pants before reaching for my water and taking another sip. I pull up the search engine typing in FAN-tasy . Closing my eyes, I bite my thumbnail, impatiently waiting for the screen to load.

Navigating the main page, my mouse hovers over my ' favorites ' category. I never even favorited the specific profile, but I guess since it was the first profile I went to—and the only one I keep going to—it automatically assumed it was one of my top choices.

Looking at the different icons, I notice the bubble is gray, which means masked_menace isn't live. I haven't done a live video since that first one, but I have come back here multiple times and watched the videos masked_menace has uploaded.

I don't know what it is about him. Maybe it's because he's such a secret, or the fact it's something new I'm discovering about myself. But I feel some type of connection to him.

Which is fucking crazy.

We did one live video together.

One.

That's it.

And I ended the live before the cum on my stomach had even dried.

Clicking on his name, I see that he's uploaded a new video.

Uploaded 54 minutes ago.

There's no point in even trying to fight it. I quickly click on the video, a flutter taking place in my stomach while it loads on the screen.

I set the computer down on the table, where the screen is still in view, and then I stand up, dropping my pants to my ankles. A shiver racks through my body and I'm not sure whether it's from the chill or the thought of what's about to happen.

"Damn. You look sexy as hell tonight. Are you ready to be good for me?" His deep voice hits my ears, and I flop back down onto the couch. I don't want to miss a second of this.