Chapter Three

~ Tawson ~

T aking over for Daniel Cadman was not as easy as he thought it was going to be. Sure, he had the degree for teaching, had a couple years of experience up North. He'd met Daniel at a conference where he was the guest speaker. They'd exchanged numbers and emails and kept in touch. Tawson had been going through some stuff in his personal life and it'd taken him into a really dark place before he reached out and asked Daniel for help.

"Thinking hard in here, aren't you?" Speaking of the man himself. Daniel leaned into the room and offered a bright smile. He was older, born and raised in Chicago with his mom and little sister. He'd moved to Texas when he met his wife. Even at their ages, they were a power couple. Tawson missed that most, having someone to shower with love. To go through life together.

"Just trying to figure out how you handled all of this," Tawson said with a joking tone. "The teaching I get and the queer student group, yes, but, sir, you've done so much more for this campus and community than I think anyone will ever know."

"Stop calling me sir," Daniel said. "Seriously, I'm trying to forget that someone of your age is young enough to call me that."

Tawson leaned back in his seat and tilted his head. "I really can't tell if that was a compliment or insult on my age."

"You have many years of life to live," Daniel said. He was close to fifty and it was starting to show. His beard was whiter each time they met up and it contrasted starkly against his dark skin. Tawson was almost thirty. He was young for a professor, but he'd had his entire life ahead of him just last year. The perfect life he'd dreamed of.

It'd been snatched away in less than twenty-four hours.

He pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind and motioned for Daniel to sit down and join him for a bit. He offered him a chip from the bag he'd been munching on throughout the day. It was move in day for all the students and that meant official move in day for himself as well. Daniel had been showing him around, giving him all the information and showing him the way they do reports and how everything is sorted. For the most part, it was all standard but there were a few things that he would have to make sure he understood before Daniel and his wife left. He had two weeks.

"So, how are you settling in at the ranch?" Daniel asked it conversationally but Tawson could see that he was genuinely curious. He'd told Tawson all about the ranch and his students that started it. He'd ended up having each of them in a class before they graduated but they met through the Queer club. Tawson, of course, had met William and Brett. William was the one that designed and decorated each of the homes. Brett was the right-hand manager that helped run the place. They knew some of his background from his application and in turn, they shared their stories. William came from a supportive family, coming out in high school. He talked about how he was with a guy for much longer than he should have been and discovering that he was demi. Brett shared the struggles with his dad being abusive and pushing him to get a business degree so he could take over the family business.

Tawson revealed to them that he identified as bisexual, but he'd previously been married to a woman. They had a thorough screening process and it was all handled carefully and discreetly. He'd moved in just a couple weeks ago, but it'd been nice. He kept mostly to himself, aside from a few morning coffees with Tracy and Patrick.

"I've met most everyone, I think. The whole family is nice."

"Oh, trust me, you haven't met half the family yet. They have aunts and uncles, cousins, family that isn't technically related but they say they are."

"I've met Wright and Xander," Tawson said. "Paxton, too. And their youngest son, Victor."

Admittedly, when Tawson first laid eyes on Victor, really laid eyes on him, he'd taken a moment to look him up and down. Tracy had already mentioned that he graduated late because they kept him back a year in Kindergarten. He was a little behind in his talking for first grade, according to his teacher, but once he met his best friend, he started talking more and learning. Tracy was proud of both of her kids, that was for sure. She gushed about them all the time. They were also very supportive, which was something that Tawson loved most about their family.

"Victor is living in the apartments on campus this year," Daniel said. "I'm sure you'll see him around. And Paxton is working with the women's soccer team so you might see her. William and the others are in and out of the campus depending on the work they're doing. Brett likes to join the weekly meetings sometimes, especially if he knows that anyone staying at the houses are there too."

"I'll have to remember their faces, then." Tawson shuffled a couple papers around and moved a folder back to a drawer. His first class started on Monday and he was nearly ready for it.

"Are you hungry? I was thinking about going to the restaurant and grabbing some food before heading home."

"Sounds good with me," Tawson said. "I think I've done just about all I can before Monday. You might have to go over the protocol for putting in the grades and stuff one more time."

"You'll be great," Daniel said. Tawson laughed under his breath as Daniel grunted standing up. "Shut up."

"I didn't say anything," Tawson said with a grin. They locked up and headed out to the elevator. His new office was on the second floor of the English department's building. The English building was to the right of the main entrance onto campus, where the restaurant was to the left so it was a little walk and the sun was quite hot. Since school hadn't officially started, he was only in his jeans and a t-shirt. Daniel was in a pair of slacks and a button up, looking every bit the established teacher.

"How is everything else going for you?" Daniel asked as they started down one of the paths. He liked the way the campus was laid out with the concrete paths forking in different directions to get around easily. Each branch of a new path had a little sign, no more than waist level, letting you know what building was ahead. "Have you heard anything from her? "

"Not a word," Tawson said. He knew Daniel was talking about his ex-wife. They'd divorced after a month-long court case. Only because she fought to take all she could. He tried not to think about her, but also understood that Daniel was just being the good friend he is and checking on him. "She got what she wanted."

"I'm sorry you went through it to begin with," Daniel said. "I really thought you two were going to last forever. I never thought she would do something like that."

"That makes two of us," Tawson said. He'd spent some time in therapy right after the incident and again after the divorce trying to make sense of it. He never expected his wife, the love of his life, would turn on him like she did. No one had expected it. And because it happened in northern Texas, of course the courts ruled in her favor without much of a trial. The guy they caught got a fine and a slap on the wrist. After moving into the foundation house, he restarted his therapy with Megan, aka Sunshine. She really lived up to her name and he felt good talking to her, even if the subject was hard.

"Hopefully this will be the thing you need to start over," Daniel said. His voice was more somber and he laid a hand on Tawson's shoulder. "But please know that I am always a phone call away, okay? If you need anything."

"I appreciate it," Tawson said. "I can't thank you enough for everything you've done so far. You are the first person I felt that really believed me when I told you what happened."

"I hate that that's the case, but I know you and I know you value the truth. You're starting your new life now and everything will work out in your favor."

They passed a group of guys walking from the Welcome Center toward the main gate. There wasn't as much car traffic over this way since the dorms were more on the backside of the campus, but there were several group booths sat up around the building and along the paths. It was the typical college opening day.

"Hey, Professor Daniel! I thought you were gone this year?" A student, presumably not a Freshman, stopped in front of the two of them.

"I am, technically. This is my replacement so you better keep those grades up if you're in his class again. This is Professor Lancaster."

"It's nice to meet you," the student said. "I had Professor D in class last year and I attended a lot of the Thursday meetings. He's great. I don't think I'm taking an English class this semester but I'll definitely see you at the meetings." His eyes went wide and he held out a hand. "If you're going to be there, that is. Sorry, I didn't mean to assume anything."

Tawson smiled kindly at the kid. "I'll be there. But thank you for backtracking and checking. It's appreciated. I'm taking over most everything that Professor Cadman was doing for this school."

"You have big shoes to fill," the kid said. "I'm glad I saw you at least one more time. I appreciate everything you did for me last year."

"If I'm not mistaken, Caleb," Daniel said. He looked from the kid to Tawson and back. "I think the last time we spoke, you were about to ask out a certain someone for the summer. How did that go?"

The kid's cheeks went bright red at the mention of that. Tawson found it adorable. "We went out on a few dates."

"And did these dates go well?"

"You could say that," Caleb said. "I ended up moving in with him last month, so I'll be living off campus this year."

"See?" Daniel reached out an arm and gave the kid a side hug. "I knew you just needed a little confidence. I saw the way he looked at you. But I'm glad it's all working out. You have my email, so make sure you keep in touch okay?"

The kid said goodbye and they resumed walking toward the restaurant. "You really care about these students," he observed. "Are you sure you want to leave?"

"I can't pass up the opportunity to help people like Caleb all over the nation," Daniel said. "This place and the Queer club will always hold a special place in my heart."

"I can tell you're going to be missed," Tawson said. "I hope I can help them."

"You can offer them something that I only knew of secondhand," Daniel said. "One, you're younger and can relate to them more. Two, you've been through something that you'd be surprised might help you connect with a handful of students you'll meet. It's a sad fact, but you'll see soon enough."

They made it through the crowd of new students and some lingering families. The restaurant was a one story brick building with a welcoming vibe. He'd eaten there once before and the food was pretty good. They offered a variety of dishes, from foreign to Southern.

"Hey, look who it is!" Tawson's attention switched from what Daniel said about connecting with the students to see who he was now recognizing. Two guys turned around just as one reached for the door. Both guys were about the same height but had vastly different features. Dark hair versus dirty blonde, a round face for one, more angular for the other. He was wearing tennis shoes with jeans and a blue tee. His hair was sticking in different directions. "How' s moving day?"

"Mister Cadman," the guy said. It clicked in Tawson's brain that this was Victor. His eyes were that same deep blue he remembered from their brief interaction a week ago. "Mister… Guy that was sitting on my porch. I'm sorry, I'm totally blanking on your name."

"Lancaster. Tawson Lancaster."

"That's right. Sorry. It's nice to see you again." The other guy with Victor held the door open for all of them. Victor stepped through and continued talking. "How are you liking living on the ranch?"

"I was just telling Daniel- Professor Cadman- that it's nice. Relaxing."

"You should have been here earlier in the year," Victor said. "We had some shi- stuff happen." Victor's cheeks tinged pink at the almost slip of cursing in front of two professors. Tawson honestly found it kind of cute, but he didn't say anything and Victor continued speaking while they all waited at the host stand. "It was a mess and on top of that we had some big storms roll in. Living on a ranch is great until everything goes wrong."

"I heard about what happened with the fence and that calf," Daniel said. "It was a shame to hear, but I'm glad that everything worked out for your family to build that new shelter."

"Worked out is code word for my sister's girlfriend is loaded." The other guy smacked Victor's shoulder with the back of his hand when he laughed at his own joke.

"Dude, that's rude. Zaya is actually really cool."

"And really not into you," Victor replied. "It's weird you had a crush on her."

"She's a red head. That's the only argument needed. You know my love for Reba."

"She's nice," Tawson added once their bickering was done. "I've met her a couple times."

"Hi, welcome in!" A young hostess stopped their conversation short and glanced between the four of them. "Are we all dining together?"

"Oh no, two tables please." The other guy, Victor's friend since Tawson didn't actually get his name, said. "No offense Professor D, but I have a reputation to uphold."

Daniel rolled his eyes. He really did have a laid back relationship with most of his students. Tawson was jealous of that. He could feel that doubt start to creep back up that he was way in over his head taking over for Cadman.

"I wouldn't want to be seen with you either," Daniel said. "In fact, Victor, you can join us if you'd like."

"Ouch." The guy said. Victor laughed. It was a full one too and Tawson could tell he didn't mean for it to come out so loud because he immediately shrank back and coughed.

"I'm okay. Thanks for the offer, though. I'll see you around, both of you, I'm sure." The hostess turned to lead them to a table. "I'll probably see you at dinner at some point."

"Dude, that totally sounded like you were flirting with him." Tawson could hear the friend saying as they walked away. Another hostess came up and greeted them and grabbed their menus.

"I don't know if you have either of them in your classes, but Joe and Victor are both great guys. I've only been invited to the ranch a handful of times but for a while I thought Victor was a shy kid. Turns out, he's just like that around people he doesn't know well."

"I'll have to double check the roster," Tawson said. They thanked the hostess and took their seats. They were sitting by a window but the setting sun was on the other side so they didn't get any glares. The rest of the restaurant was standard patrons; families having a final dinner before saying goodbye for however long, two couples that looked like they were on dates, and then Victor and Joe sitting a couple tables over. Tawson caught Joe's eyes while he was skimming over the room. They nodded and turned back to their menus and company.

The conversation was minimal but nice. They both ordered the nightly special, a cuisine that was native to the owner's family country. It was a little spicy for his taste, but still delicious. They continued talking about the coming year and the special projects. He'd be working with William for a community outreach and he'd also be helping to run a booth at the yearly campus Halloween party they did for the kids in the city.

When they paid the bill, Daniel said his goodbyes and they went their own ways. Daniel had to get home and Tawson needed to get a little more settled into the office before heading back to the ranch for the weekend. He'd be back on Monday and wanted to enjoy a relaxing weekend.

"Now I think you're just following me," a voice said. Tawson swiveled his head before seeing Victor behind him. He smiled and stopped on the path. He'd decided to walk around the campus. He hadn't been on this side of the campus for any reason yet and figured he should at least familiarize himself with everything.

Victor caught up to him easily. His friend, Joe, wasn't with him now. "I think with you being behind me, that would qualify you as the follower. "

"That would qualify you as the follower," Victor said in a mocking tone. They continued walking along the path. "You're so formal."

"Did you miss the part where I'm the new professor? Formal is kind of in the title."

"Not for another three days," Victor said. "Seriously, though, isn't the English department the other way?"

"It is," Tawson said. They were walking with enough distance between them but the path was only so wide before one of them would start walking in the grass. Tawson wasn't much taller than Victor. He'd noticed that when they first met last weekend. He'd noticed a lot more than that too, but there was no way he was going to admit that. He had eyes and while Victor was portrayed as a bit shy, he had a quiet confidence about him. "I just thought I should know the layout of the campus. Daniel was involved in a lot more than I thought I was signing up for."

"He's well known around here," Victor said. "I met him when I was in middle school and the whole foundation was starting. He's been to a few cookouts and parties at the ranch since."

"Middle school? Wow. I feel old." Tawson looked from the path in front of them to Victor.

"I'm not going to assume your age, but I have noticed the wrinkles."

"Ouch." Tawson put his hand over his chest while Victor laughed. They were passing by the female dorms. "I'm not even thirty yet."

"Wait really?" Victor looked over at him and just like last week, Tawson could see him clearly looking him up and down.

"Yes, really. But I'm also still your professor. "

"Not mine," Victor said after a second. "I'm not taking your class. At least not this semester. I tested out of the ones you'll be teaching so unless you teach something a little more advanced, we won't see much of each other off the ranch."

"Smart and thinks he's funny." Tawson stepped closer to Victor to let a group of women pass by them. Instinctually, he put his hand on Victor's lower back. It was out of habit of all the times he'd done it to his ex when they were walking. He dropped his hand as soon as he realized what he'd done. "Sorry."

"For what?" Victor asked. There was another group up ahead on the path, but no one was close enough to hear them talking. Not unless they spoke loudly. Victor resumed walking and they stayed quiet for a moment. "You're different."

"Different?" Tawson looked over at Victor. His skin was tanned, naturally, and he was maybe two or three inches shorter than Tawson now that they stood side-by-side. His arms weren't big, not like Patrick's or Xander's, but they were defined. He'd noted a flat, toned stomach when he met him last time, with his shirt that had the sides cut out.

"I just mean you're like Daniel. Easy to talk to. Dare I say kind of funny." Victor shrugged and looked ahead of them. "I obviously haven't been to university before, but I think you'll be dubbed a cool one."

"High praise for someone that called me ‘guy sitting on my porch' an hour ago."

"I'm terrible with names," Victor said, a sly smiling forming on his lips. "It's my best quality."

The group from ahead was passing them now. It looked like a group of friends that were gearing up for a party. They stopped again, this time standing side-by-side instead of Tawson behind Victor. Not a single one of them paid any attention. Of course they wouldn't, because Tawson was in casual clothes. They probably thought family or something.

"This is my stop," Victor said. He pointed to the building on the left. It wasn't anything too fancy, an apartment building style that went up a handful of floors.

"Are you living alone?"

"That's to be decided," Victor said. "Oh, uh, just don't mention that to my mom. She'll freak out. There's definitely a roommate, but I haven't actually met him yet. He hasn't been to the apartment since before I got here earlier today."

"Are you okay staying here alone?" Tawson knew he was being an overprotective weirdo, but he couldn't help it.

"I'm a big kid," Victor said. "I think I can handle a few nights alone."

"Don't party too hard," Tawson said.

"I'd say the same to you, but I can't imagine a professor even knows the definition of a good time."

"I'll have you know- No, never mind. We aren't going to get into that. You're what, eighteen? You're too young to drink anyway."

"I'm actually nineteen. Got held back because I wasn't talking enough."

"I can't imagine that," he said without thinking beforehand. Victor glared at him. Tawson smiled back. "Well, keep safe."

"I'll be on the ranch Sunday. It was nice talking to you."