Chapter Fifteen

~ Tawson ~

" K nock, knock." Several knocks followed on the other side of his office door. The voice was older, probably another faculty member. Tawson closed the file he'd been reading through and looked up.

"Come on in," he called out. The relief that flooded through him when none other than Daniel Cadman opened the door was quite evident. "What are you doing here?"

"Donor dinners," Daniel said. He shut the door behind him and Tawson stood up to greet him properly. They bypassed a formal handshake and hugged. "I might not be teaching here, but I do have obligations for other things. How is everything going here?"

"It took a bit, but I think I've finally got the hang of everything."

Daniel sat in one of the two chairs while Tawson went back to his behind the desk. "And how are the students? Classes? Give me something."

Tawson chuckled at the joking tone. "The students are great. It's a change not having to force them to write their papers or read the chapters. The classes are engaging, the sizes aren't too overwhelming. They're talking about giving me a teacher's aide because they have an influx of students that need the hours for their courses. Guess since I'm a first year, they think I need the most help."

"Hey now," Daniel scoffed. "I had a few aides during my time here. Use them to your advantage. And how is the rest of your life going?"

Vic's face popped up in his mind, smiling, laughing, lounging in his bed mostly naked while Tawson made them breakfast. They'd kept mostly the same routine every week. Tawson had only come over to his apartment once more, when he had a late night at the office and Vic offered to make dinner. Dinner led to watching a movie, which led to other things and Tawson stayed the night. Vic was getting more confident too. They'd bought some new clothes, nothing drastic. A faded pink shirt, some new jeans, a pair of sandals. It took some encouraging but Vic wore the outfit to their sister's soccer game. Vic's whole family was there but both of them got to the game late, because of reasons, so they had to sit in a separate section. No one commented on their clothes and Vic was on cloud nine the entire night after that.

"That good, huh?" Daniel's laugh brought him back and he realized that he didn't answer.

"Sorry. Yeah, I've been settling in. I'm thinking of maybe trying to find an apartment in the city soon."

"Wanting to plant some roots, then? That's a good sign." Daniel wasn't pushing, but Tawson needed someone to confide in. He didn't know how to bring up the fact that he was dating a student. Vic had brought it up to him soon after talking to Joe. Neither of them wanted to really label things, but they did talk about being exclusive again and being honest if something wasn't working for them.

"I might have met someone," Tawson said. "It's still early and we're keeping it low but I can see staying here for a while." The next four years at least.

"Well that's good," Daniel said. "It's about time you start moving on."

"Yeah, well it's still early so we'll see."

"And I'm not going to get a name or anything?" Daniel wasn't prodding, but Tawson still felt that bubble of anxiety build up. He was so far gone for Vic, but that didn't mean he didn't think about how it would be when they did go public with their relationship. "Is it another professor or maybe someone I might know?"

"When we decide to tell others, I'll make sure you're the first I call."

"As long as you're being safe and it isn't anything illegal."

"I promise." Vic had done more research into the legalities of it, wanting to make double sure that he wasn't risking his job or Vic's future at the school. The university handbook discouraged relationships between professors and students they were actively in a superior role to. It wasn't super clear on those that they were not teaching. "But the Queer club is doing well too. We're gearing up to start putting together the Halloween booth. The theme this year is Pumpkin Smash. One of the students suggested having something similar to the plastic fishing game but using little pumpkins to fish out. We're going to be carving pumpkins at the meeting the week before."

"That sounds fun," Daniel said. "We did a zombie theme last year, I think. There was a spot set up where kids could wrap the Dean in toilet paper."

"Oh, that sounds like it would have been fun to see. Was that his plan or one of the clubs?"

"Definitely not his plan, but it was for the kids in the community and he can't say no. It was all in good fun and he claims he had a good time afterward."

"I'm excited for it." Tawson said. "We've had a lot of good students and staff coming through the meetings each week. It's a great thing that was started."

"You know my story from when I was younger," Daniel said. "I promised to keep Dean Reynold's name as alive as I can. Not that my mom would ever let me forget. The day he saved me in that shooting, it was like my mom lost a son too. Even though he was just my Big Brother from the program. He did way more than was expected, especially after he graduated and left the program."

Tawson had heard the story many times before, but it still gave him shivers. Daniel hadn't even been a teen yet when he was walking home with the guy, Dean. There was a gang shooting and Dean had covered Daniel's body, taking the bullet and saving his life while Dean lost his shortly after. Dean had been open about his sexuality and Daniel carried that with him, keeping Dean's legacy of kindness and acceptance alive by creating safe spaces and traveling around the country to give speeches and rally for change. It was noble.

"Anyway, I didn't mean to come in here and talk heavy stuff. I was going to invite you out for dinner tonight. If you don't already have plans."

It was Wednesday, which meant that Vic was most likely going to be hanging out with Joe. Since their talk, they made it a point to spend at least one day a week together. They'd end their night with calling each other, but he didn't have any plans to see him tonight.

"No plans," Tawson said. "And I could go with some socialization. I have office hours for another hour and need to finish up this grading, but then I'll be good to go."

"Sounds good," Daniel said. "I have a couple people to go bug while I'm here so just text me when you're finished up."

"Will do. It's great seeing you again."

"You too," Daniel said. "I'm happy you're settling in."

The next hour Tawson spent between grading an open-book quiz he gave out on Monday and texting with Vic. They were driving out to Joe's house to have dinner with his family. Vic talked about Joe's family just as much as their own. He was glad that they still kept their own lives and did their own things, but damn if he didn't miss Vic when they were apart.

Vic was always on his mind. Whether just something that reminded Tawson of them, or a memory of their time spent together. He'd never been one to just randomly text throughout the day. Even with his ex-wife. They would say goodbye in the morning and then not really talk until they were both home that afternoon. A few times, they would text or call if plans needed to change or just to let the other know they'd be home late. It wasn't a bad life, but being with Vic, he felt more alive and like they had a better grasp on communication than he'd experienced before. Granted, most of Vic's communication involved one gif or another. And pictures. They shared pictures back and forth, always with their faces cropped out.

Their Thanksgiving break would be coming up next and he thought about asking Vic to go away with him for a couple of nights. Somewhere they could take advantage of no interruptions. It'd been a few years since Tawson had taken a real vacation. After the incident and the divorce, he'd taken a couple days off for each to deal with them, but an actual vacation to relax? No.

He texted Vic, letting them know that Daniel was back in town and asked him to dinner so he probably wouldn't answer until he got back home. He promised to call before he went to sleep though. Vic texted a picture of a table filled with homecooked food. He could see several hands in frame, plates with different levels of food on them. It looked delicious.

How would you feel about going away for a couple days during Thanksgiving break?

He sent the text before he could think it through. Once the idea was in his head, though, he couldn't stop thinking about it. If they went far enough away, they could go on a proper date. Not a laundromat and study date. They did go see A.J. for food and Tawson would usually get a beer since Vic drove each time. He wanted to be able to take Vic out properly. Wine and dine, so to speak. Minus the wine for obvious reasons.

Really? That would be amazing. I'll have to ask my dad if I can take a few days off. I'll ask this weekend.

Tawson smiled at the answer. There were a trail of emojis after the text, heart eyes, stars, and the grinning face emoji all jumbled together. At least he didn't have to question if Vic was actually excited about the possibility or not.

He met Daniel and a few other professors and faculty at a bar not too far from the campus. There were five of them and they crowded into a corner booth. It was one of those extra-large round ones and fit all of them easily. There was only one other first-year professor and they bonded over the ups and downs of figuring out their students. The other three gave them advice and also made them the butt end of some jokes. It was all in good fun, though, and Tawson enjoyed himself.

He had a decent drive back to the ranch so he stuck to just the one beer when he got there and then water or soda afterward. But the night and conversation was enjoyable all the same. He felt his phone buzz in his jacket pocket a few times, but didn't risk pulling it out around everyone. The conversation turned from one subject to another, mostly revolving around the university but some veered into asking about relationships and how families were doing. Walter Beechum, one of the day janitors, was married with three kids. They were between the ages of six and fourteen. He seemed like a good, family man. Yvonne had just one kid with her husband. She'd been a professor at the university for five years. Her personality was loud, but not in that obnoxious way. Tawson knew several of his students that loved her. When the conversation turned to Tawson, he gave the bare minimum of information.

He was living alone, didn't have any kids. Daniel, thankfully, didn't pry for more information on their brief conversation earlier. The conversation quickly moved on to the next person in their group. Landon, who taught a more advance English class, was also single. He joked that he was okay staying single and tried to turn Tawson onto a dating app for teachers.

"I'll look into it," Tawson said with a half-hearted laugh. He definitely would not be downloading any dating apps.

"I don't think Professor Lancaster will have any problems getting his own dates when he's ready," Yvonne said with a smirk. She leaned over and nudged her shoulder against Tawson's before sipping on her third mixed drink of the night. "I hear the students talking about the new, young, and hot professor."

"You're exaggerating," Tawson said. Sure, he had quite a few of his female students asking for office hours for any little thing. Some genuinely seemed to need the extra time one-on-one, no matter the gender. He'd made sure to keep his office door wide open for that reason alone. But none of them had ever come off as flirtatious. Or maybe he was just so focused on Vic to notice it. "Besides, my students are off limits for obvious reasons."

"Smart man," Daniel said. "I've seen a few professors over the years that got involved with one of their students and it did not end well. Not at this university, but other places. It's an all-around bad idea."

Tawson felt a slight pang of guilt. He hadn't lied, because Vic wasn't his student. Never would be. He'd be more likely to take one of Landon's classes. There was no power imbalance between them. Neither of them were worried about the other blackmailing. Tawson was damned if he'd do anything to mess up whatever they were building. Not intentionally.

"Well," Daniel said after one more round of drinks and more stories about past students. Daniel had plenty of stories about catching students cheating or excuses for why they were late or missed class. It was fun and Tawson found himself laughing at most of the stories. He enjoyed the time out and agreed to be at the next one. "I'm going to head back home to the wife. She's probably going through withdrawals without me around."

Their whole group laughed and stood up with him. They laid a few dollars each on the table before heading out to their cars. Tawson said goodbye to each before getting in his car. Daniel hadn't drank much either and Yvonne was waiting for an Uber. Landon was standing, waiting with her. He finally pulled his phone out and smiled at the number of texts Vic had sent.

It seems after dinner, Joe roped them into playing scrabble. One text just simply read, Is blarb a word, Professor?. That was sent half an hour ago. The last text was informing him that their night was winding down and they were about to make the drive back to campus.

Tawson called Vic instead of texting back, hooking the phone into the holder on his dash. "Hey, you." He rested his head back on the seat and ran his hands over the steering wheel. He hadn't even started it yet.

"Hey back," Vic said. "I was just about to head out. How was your night?"

"Not as fun as yours looked."

"I've missed hanging out with Joe's family. His mom's cooking is amazing. Just don't tell my mom I said that. She still definitely wins in the cooking game."

"Your secret is safe with me," Tawson said. "And speaking of secrets, I'm heading back to the ranch now. Think you might reroute and come stay with me?"

"If I ever say no to spending a night with you, please know I've been kidnapped. How long do you think you'll be? Joe's place is only fifteen minutes from mine."

"I'll be just under an hour," Tawson said. He started his car and pulled out of the parking lot. Neither of them bothered hanging up when Vic got in their car too. They talked about their day, like usual. Like they didn't text throughout the day the details of their lives when not with each other.

Vic explained after he didn't answer the text about if a word was real or not, they decided to change the rules. If it had an Urban Dictionary meaning, they would count it. It made for quite the interesting game after that. Tawson relaxed listening to Vic go on about the game and anything that popped into their head. By the time he made it out of the city, Vic was already parked outside of Tawson's house, waiting. Tawson would have to give them an extra key so they didn't have to sit outside and wait.

The sun already set by the time he pulled through the main gate. He couldn't help but smile seeing Vic's car. It'd only been three days since they saw each other, but he wanted to just hold them. Kiss them. He warned Vic he was clingy and neither of them seemed bothered by it.

"Hey, baby." Tawson whispered the words against Vic's neck and hugged them tightly. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too." Tawson could hear the smile in their voice. "And I'm probably going to regret this in the morning when I have to go back to campus, but I guess waking up next to you will be worth it."

"I'm so happy you see me as a consolation prize," Tawson said with a low chuckle. He kissed Vic before stepping around and unlocking the door. After locking the door back, Tawson reached up to the key ring and took the spare off. He handed it over to Vic. "Here, take this. So you don't have to wait on me to get here next time."

It took Tawson a couple steps in before he realized Vic hadn't moved. He turned around, reading the clear shock on their face. Vic's eyes darted from the key in their hand to Tawson and back. "You just… Are you sure?"

"Yeah? Is that too much for you? I mean, I was just thinking that instead of you sitting out there with a chance for someone to see you."

"I appreciate it and I'll keep it," Vic said. Vic set the key and the others on the table and moved into Tawson's personal space. "But you know everyone here already knows what my car looks like. We take a risk every time I come here. "

"Are you okay with that risk?" It'd been weeks since their conversation about telling people. Then, Vic was working through coming out as nonbinary. The focus wasn't on them together. He was so beyond proud of Vic and all they've done. They wore the nonbinary pin at the meetings, talked with a couple of others that identified as nonbinary. He knew they swapped numbers to keep in touch.

"I am," Vic said. They smiled and wrapped their arms around Tawson. Vic was barely shorter than Tawson. He dipped his head just slightly to seal their lips together. It was slow and languid. And they tasted like…

"Did you eat watermelon at Joe's?"

Vic laughed and broke their embrace. "His mom sent me home with some. I would offer to share, but I ate it all waiting for you."

"Selfish." Tawson said the word playfully but moved to the fridge to grab a bottle of water.

"At least I don't have beer breath," Vic pointed out. Tawson spun around and gawked at them. Vic laughed and kicked off their shoes. "I'm kidding. It's not that bad."

"I'm just going to go brush my teeth." Tawson did just that. But then he leaned out of the bathroom door and smiled. Vic was already stripping out of their clothes. "Perfect. Wanna jump in a shower with me?"

"Ooh, Professor." Vic pushed their jeans past their hips, revealing a new pair of underwear. They were hipster style, a royal purple color. Tawson was immediately on board with all of it. Vic's playful tone matched the way they sashayed across the space. "What kind of office hours is this?"

"You're funny," Tawson said, but he tried to hide the way his cock twitched at the thought of Vic coming to his office. He closed the door behind them. The bathroom was just big enough for the two of them to maneuver around each other. The shower, being even smaller, would pose as a challenge. They'd showered together at Vic's apartment, but not here. "But also you look amazing in purple. You should wear it more often. It's my second favorite color on you."

"What's the first?" Vic repeated the same shimmying motion to rid themselves of the underwear.

"That." Tawson motioned up and down their body. "Naked is my favorite color on you."

"Naked is not a color," Vic said. They reached out and undid Tawson's slacks. Tawson untucked his shirt and pulled it over his head.

"Mmm, naked is totally a color but I never claimed to be an artist."

Tawson finished stripping out of his clothes and then turned to start the shower. Vic's hands were on him, smoothing up his sides and down his back. They had about a minute before the water would be warmed enough. Tawson reached his hands up to cup Vic's face and stepped forward. The motion made Vic step backwards until they were pushed against the wall between the shower and toilet. Vic smiled at Tawson, their eyes light as both of their bodies met. Tawson tilted Vic's face up and crashed their lips together.

Tawson's hands moved through their hair. They'd grown it out another two inches since they met, so it fell just below their ears. They didn't want to grow it out any further than that. Tawson smiled into the kiss when he felt Vic's hips push away from the wall, seeking the friction Tawson wanted too. One of Tawson's hands snaked down their neck, chest, all the way to their cock. Vic's whole body reacted at first contact .

Being well aware that they wouldn't be able to do anything logistically in the shower, Tawson sunk to his knees right there. He was grateful for the pile of clothes to protect his knees on the hard floor. He wouldn't qualify himself as old, but the hard floor wasn't something he wanted to experience. He licked his lips and looked up at Vic's face.

Vic's cock twitched in Tawson's hand. He didn't waste any time wrapping his lips around the head. Vic was hard, hot, and already leaking. The taste was salty and Tawson was addicted. He looked up Vic's body, his free hand roaming across their muscled stomach. Muscles quivered and Vic let out a small shout when Tawson took their cock all the way. He felt it hit the back of his throat and he adjusted his angle just slightly. He hollowed his cheeks and sucked hard. He pulled off a few inches and used his tongue on the underside of their cock, teasing around the head and over the slit.

"Shit, Tawson. Oh fuck, that feels so good. You're so good."

Tawson doubled down on his efforts. One hand moved to play with their balls. They were drawn up tight against their body, a sure sign they were about to come. Tawson bobbed his head, giving them every trick he knew.

"Oh, fuck. Oh fuck. Fuck. I'm coming. I'm going to come." Tawson loved how vocal Vic was when they were close. The first spurts of cum hit Tawson's tongue and he swallowed. He tightened his lips around Vic's cock, sucking every drop from them. Their legs were shaking and they mumbled, "Too sensitive," when Tawson finally pulled off.

Tawson stood back up, taking his own cock in his hand. He wasn't too far behind. He spun Vic around, taking their hands and holding them against the wall. "Color?"

"Green," Vic whimpered. Tawson crowded behind them, pressing his cock against their ass, teasing their crack. "Please."

"I'm not fucking you," Tawson said. He knew Vic understood his stance on that. "But I am going to come all over this pretty ass of yours. Can I do that?"

"Yes. Please, Tawson."

Tawson let one hand go and spit onto his palm. He wrapped his hand around his dick and then dribbled more spit on Vic's ass. Vic arched their back, giving all the access Tawson could want. He guided the head of his cock to the top of their ass and thrusted his hips. The glide was a little dry, but it wasn't painful. He moved his hands, one wrapping around Vic's stomach so he was glued to their back with no space between them. The other went to Vic's hair. He tugged lightly, the goal wasn't to hurt them. His lips pressed against their skin, tongue lathing over the spot. He kissed, licked, and sucked on their neck all while thrusting his cock between Vic's cheeks.

"I'm so close, Princess." His voice was low. He chased the feeling of his orgasm, reveled in the feel of Vic's skin encasing his cock. "Oh fuck, baby. Your body is amazing."

"I want you to come on me," Vic panted. "Get me all dirty and then clean me up."

Tawson looked down between their bodies, the sight giving him that last push to his orgasm. He gasped and stilled his hips, watching the way his cum pulsed from his slit and landed on Vic's creamy skin. "Fuck, baby. You are… Something else."

"That was hot," Vic said. "I definitely think you just unlocked a new thing for me."

Tawson tried to focus as Vic turned around and smiled up at him. Their arms wrapped around his neck and they kissed him deeply. "What is that, baby? "

"You pushing me up against the closest thing and taking what you want."

"Well, I'll have to oblige that more often." Tawson kissed them quickly with a smile. "But we've wasted enough water. Let's get cleaned up."