Extra Credit: A Gay Love Story (Elliot Extra Book 1)

by Erin Bilton-Hayes

  The chairs in Reg’s were incredibly ugly, but very comfortable. (William had assumed it was short for ‘regulars’ until Jodie had clarified the absent owner was named ‘Reggie’. “He picked out the décor before he retired though”, she explained with a pained expression.) William sat down in in an orange velvet number near the window, pulled the article out of his bag, dug into the depths until he found a red pen to go with it and looked up to see Ben hovering at his elbow.

  “As much coffee as I could fit in a cup without being fired, as requested. What are you working on?”

  William angled the paper so Ben could read the title, as he placed the coffee on the table in front of him.

  “Bodies of water, bodies in water: metaphor and menace”, Ben read, leaning over William’s shoulder and pressing his chest into his back in a way that could probably be explained away as innocent, if necessary, and placing a subtle emphasis on the word ‘bodies’. “What’s it for?”

  William shrugged, “I’ve got a couple of places I’d like to submit it. I’ll start at the top and keep working down until someone thinks it fits. If I finish it, of course.”

  “Not sure how it ends?”

  “I know how it ends; I just don’t know how it gets there.”

  “So, you need to find the right way to fill it up and make it fit? Poetic. I think.” William was mostly used to Ben’s outrageous double entendre, but it was still a fun diversion. “Feel free to come bug me if you need a break, I’ve rearranged the beans eight times already today” Ben winked and headed back to the counter. Ben was compact and cute, with enormous brown eyes – William found his incredibly over the top flirting kind of charming, as a rule, but it occasionally crossed a line into parody.

  He did need to find a way to fill in the middle… of the essay, though. He spread out what he had across the table and started circling key points, drawing lines to help visualize where he could draw ideas out a little more to get himself to a satisfactory ending, as it were. He focused on big cold lakes, icy waves, and willed the train of thought he was embarking on to dissipate. This really needed to be written before teaching started again, and that meant no daydreaming about more enjoyable ways of spending an afternoon. He uncapped the pen, took a sip from the full-to-the-brim cup in front of him, and tried to focus.

  William had covered the article in editing marks and was paging back and forth through the paperback, making notes that were probably only decipherable to him when Ben slid into the chair opposite.

  “Still working on the same thing?”

  “Hmm, kind of?” William replied. “It might be something different, I don’t know yet.”

  “You know, the nice thing about music is that it’s usually obvious when it’s finished” said Ben, helpfully.

  “The nice thing to English Lit is that you usually don’t have to do it in front of a room full of people”, said William, putting the book down with a pen holding his place.

  “No exhibitionist tendencies, huh?” said Ben with mock sincerity.

  William rolled his eyes, “are you still on the clock? Like, are they paying you for these lines?”

  “Oh no, you’re getting all my best work completely complimentary.”

  William gave up on the idea of getting any more work done at Reg’s and let himself be distracted.

  By the time Friday rolled around William had hacked out a very rough draft of the article and was cutting and pasting so it made some sort of sense. He’d also cleaned the entire kitchen, kicked off his allergies by dusting the lounge, and taken a rug outside to beat it with a broom (Gen may have had a point about turning into his mother.) William had also deleted all the dating apps off his phone, and he was doing absolutely fine, thank you. If anyone asked, the deletion was just temporary, so he could be more productive in the final days of the break. Maybe he’d even meet someone the old-fashioned way. This was virtually impossible, William knew. The odds of bumping into a student at the city’s only gay bar were much too high, and he really did not need to see another undergrad falling out of a toilet cubicle unsubtly zipping up their fly on Saturday, only to see them skulk into class the following Monday morning. Deleting the apps had absolutely nothing to do with Tyler’s imminent arrival, except for the fact it would be rude to have loud sex while he had a housemate. Not that he’d been doing much of that before he deleted them, but you could never be too careful.

  William would admit that it felt sort of weird. He had gotten used to the constant little blips of affirmation that messages from dating apps provided. He wasn’t insecure, but he liked the reminder that if he really wanted, he could probably rustle up something approximating intimacy with a bit of effort. It felt kind of lonely in the empty house without the fantasy of a date that might be The One on the other end of his phone. He went for a walk after a late lunch or an early dinner, depending on who was asking, enjoying the way the days were getting a little longer again, and felt acutely aware of his body in a way he couldn’t remember experiencing in years. William hadn’t realized exactly how attached he’d been to having a distraction, music or a pending conversation, a pile of grading, a piece of writing, more or less all the time. He wasn’t so out of shape that a stroll wore him out or anything, but he noticed the cadence of his steps and the subtle swing through his hips, walking without anything else to focus on. Tyler arrived in two days.

  Chapter 3.

  William could drive, but he usually didn’t bother. He’d learned a few years back, once it was getting embarrassing that he couldn’t pick his parents up from the airport when they came to visit, and when it was looking more likely that he’d have to move somewhere more remote for work. Of course, the move for work was still on the cards – he was banking on some fill-in classes over summer, but anything past that was anyone’s guess. He’d caught up with Stacey for lunch and they’d blown off steam over their respective contracts. She was still wading through marking, having gotten lumped with two extra classes after another sessional teacher ditched in favor of a permanent job writing copy for slightly more per hour. She looked mutinous as she stabbed a gelatinous piece of egg with an unwarranted amount of venom, “…just called up Monday and asked if I could stop by, and said they needed the grades back by Friday 5pm.” William tactfully kept quiet about the article he was working on, and how despite his efforts it still felt lumpy and leaden.

  After lunch he offered to run Stacey to the grocery store, partly a good deed but mostly wanting company for as long as possible today, feeling restless in his skin. He dropped her off with promises to catch up next week and headed to meet Tyler at the airport with a strange reluctance. He tapped absently on the steering wheel, slightly out of time with the radio. It wasn’t a drive he made more than once or twice a year usually, heading home for the holidays or picking up his parents when they visited, and he almost missed the turn-off despite the signs, his mind wandering. What if he’d remembered wrong and Tyler was actually a jerk, and now he was going to be hanging around William’s house for an unknown amount of time? What if the crush had worn off, or worse, what if it hadn’t?

  Tyler’s flight was running late, and William shifted, trying to get comfortable in one of the hard plastic chairs. He’d already bought and then finished a coffee, his lap and the surrounding carpet covered with damp confetti where he’d pulled the paper cup to shreds with his fingernails. Tyler would have been in transit for virtually a whole day, by William’s reckoning. He hated flying, always felt stiff and cramped virtually as soon as he sat down and he figured the couple of inches of height Tyler had on him wouldn’t help matters. An announcement echoed over the PA system, and people around him started rising from the chairs and shuffling towards the arrivals gate. William hung back, suddenly shy and unsure, the nerves he’d been pushing down over the last week swelling up and overwhelming him all at once. He stood towards the back and scanned the travelers as they filed out in twos and threes, looking for Tyler.

  Tyler arrived nearly last, looking t
ired and drawn, but still impossibly, magnetically attractive. William raised his hand in a wave and Tyler caught his eye and nodded, moving with sudden grace to pivot through the last of the crowd and make his way towards him. He swung himself towards William for a hug, “it’s so good to see you” he mumbled into his collar. Now he was closer William could see the bluish tinge under his eyes and hear the exhaustion in his voice. He hugged him back, trying to focus on how good it was to see his friend, and not on how Tyler’s broad back felt under his hands.

  “C’mon, let’s get your bags. I’m parked up, but I’ll bring the car around. You look like the walk might kill you.”

  Tyler flashed a tiny smile. “I’m not that bad, really. Just a long flight, and a long week.”

  “Yeah I fuckin’ bet. You get a night of letting me be nice before you have to start proving Sydney turned you into a tough guy, alright?”

  Tyler snorted. A tough façade had never been his style, more guileless honesty. “That’d be nice then, yeah. Thanks again. Like. You’re doing me such a favor.”

  Once he was in the car Tyler fell asleep in the passenger seat before they’d even left the airport. William felt a tug under his ribs thinking about how sad and defeated he had looked. Maybe the crush wasn’t so against type after all. He’d been known to go for fixer-uppers before. Tyler huffed a snore and shifted slightly, and William found himself paying closer attention than he usually did to accelerating and braking gently so he didn’t jostle him awake. It was dark but not yet late when he pulled up outside his apartment block and eased the car into his spot.

  “We’re here”, he reached across to shake Tyler’s shoulder. He blinked his eyes open, hazy and half asleep.

  Yawning hugely and scrubbing his eyes with the back of his hand, Tyler climbed out of the car, as William hefted his astonishingly heavy suitcases out of the boot with a grunt. “What the hell is in these, dude?”

  Tyler looked faintly embarrassed. “Uh. Books, and um. Shoes, mostly.”

  William giggled, “really? How many shoes are we talking here?”

  “Sydney has a really good secondhand store scene” Tyler was slightly more awake now, and the note of earnest enthusiasm in his voice sounded a bit more his usual self.

  “Well, I hope you love them enough to carry up four flights of stairs.” William lifted the heavier of the two cases (he was feeling charitable) and led the way.

  He had not expected to find Gen waiting at his door. Oh fuck, he’d completely blanked on the fact it was Sunday night.

  “Where have you be- oh, hi!” Gen cut off the note of annoyance in her voice when she saw Tyler trailing behind William, her eyes flicking between the two of them, and then at the two suitcases.

  “Uhm, oh- Gen this is Tyler, Tyler, Gen.” William gestured with his free hand as he introduced them. So much for his vague notion that he might get away without Gen figuring out what was going on for another week or so.

  “Nice to meet you” said Tyler, still achingly polite, and then stifling a yawn. “Ah, shit. Sorry, long flight.”

  “Tyler’s staying with me for a while” he explained to Gen, then, “Gen and I usually do a movie night on Sunday” over his shoulder to Tyler as he unlocked the door, hefted the suitcase inside and flicked on a light.

  “I’ll grab myself a beer” Gen called, heading to the kitchen as William led Tyler through the lounge.

  “The spare bedroom is here, my room is just up the hall, and the bathroom is through that door”, William gestured “I’ll show you where to find everything properly tomorrow when the sun’s up. Towel for you here, if you want a shower. You’re welcome to hang out with me and Gen though, just so long as you don’t judge our taste in films.”

  Tyler sat down heavily on the bed, running a hand through his hair, which was standing up in peaks from sleeping in the car and presumably on the plane. He looked, if possible, even more tired than he had when William picked him up a few hours ago. “Honestly I might just need to shower and pass out. I’m super sorry, Gen seems cool, but I think I’d be shocking company.”

  William was slightly relieved. “Yeah of course – we’ll just be in the lounge if you need anything, feel free to go foraging in the kitchen, if it hasn’t expired then it’s free game.”

  Tyler looked pitifully grateful and stood up to pull William in for a quick hug. “Thanks man. ‘night.”

  Gen was waiting in the lounge with a beer in hand and her feet kicked up on the couch. She grudgingly moved over slightly when William gestured. “Where’s mine?” he asked, pointing at the beer in her hand.

  “I don’t know”, Gen lifted one shoulder in half a shrug, “probably in the kitchen where you left it.”

  “You suck”, William called over his shoulder as he disappeared into the kitchen.

  “I didn’t leave my best friend waiting in the corridor for twenty minutes because I can’t use a calendar, though.”

  She had a point. William sat down next to her and Gen kicked her feet back up to rest in his lap.

  “So, that’s the friend who’s staying for a while?”

  “Mmmhm, Tyler. He just got back from Australia.”

  Gen gestured for William to continue, waving the bottle in his direction.

  “We did a few seminar classes together, he just broke up with his girlfriend, needed somewhere to stay while he finds a place to his own. I thought it might be good to have someone around the place, stop me becoming a total recluse.” It sounded very convincing when he said it out loud like that.

  “So, he’s straight?” Gen looked a little more interested, half sitting up and digging her heel into William’s thigh in the process.

  “Ow! Why? I mean yes, but-” William paused, “I realize it’s very confusing because he also knows how to dress himself, but yes, he’s straight, as far as I know.”

  “Maybe you could introduce us properly, then.”

  William did a very poor job of keeping his facial expression in check, and Gen immediately looked triumphant.

  “I knew it, I knew there was a reason you were being so squirrely! You never clean your house unless it’s for a boy.”

  “Gen, he’s straight, I- “, William gritted out between his teeth. “He just needs somewhere to stay, and I have a spare room.”

  “Well let me know how that’s all working out. Maybe he can join us for romcom Sunday next week.”

  “Maybe he can” said William lightly.

  “Honey”, Gen’s voice softened, “just. Try not to get yourself another Heath situation, ok?”

  William sighed, suddenly feeling as tired as Tyler had looked. “That’s definitely not the plan. Movie time?”

  Gen leaned over precariously from her spot on the couch and hit play.

  They sat in silence for the first half of the movie.

  “You never mentioned Tyler before” said Gen, during what was meant to be an emotionally charged moment on-screen.

  “We didn’t hang out much when he was here, and he left not long after you moved in, I guess.”

  “He is cute. I wasn’t just saying that to wind you up, you know.”

  “I’m well aware” said William drily.

  “That he’s cute, or that I’m not that much of a dick, or both?”

  “Both” he replied.

  “Tell me if he does turn out to be straight, ok?”

  William made a low noise of disapproval and threw a cushion at Gen’s head.

  William woke up half slumped over on the couch, a blanket tucked up to his chest and the muscles in his neck feeling like they’d been replaced with coarse gravel. He could see moonlight coming through the slit in the curtains, and the faint light from his laptop was illuminating the lounge. He must’ve fallen asleep watching the film, and Gen had tucked him in before she left. He unfolded himself, stretching his arms above his head and hearing his back crack as he did, then padding quietly to his bedroom. He paused as he passed the spare room, the door ajar. He could hear very faint snores from Tyler
and felt a warm sense of contentment and protectiveness spread through him. He shucked off his jeans and sweater, and climbed into his own bed, pulling a pillow in close to his chest to hug as he drifted off to sleep.

  The first Monday back to teaching was not too bad, as these things went. William didn’t actually have any classes to teach until tomorrow afternoon, but he needed to stop by the campus to sign off on his gradebook. Tyler was still sound asleep when he got up at eight and snoring gently when William was preparing to leave at ten. William paused, one hand on the doorknob, realizing he’d forgotten to organize a spare key.

  Hey Tyler,

  Help yourself to coffee, there’s half a pot on the counter and more in the top right cupboard if you want it. I’ve got to head to campus. I’m sorting out a spare key too, if you need to go out you can lock the door behind you but won’t be able to get back in. I should be back around two. Wi-Fi password is on the fridge. Message me if you need me to grab anything on the way back.

  Will x

  He stuck the note in the middle of the kitchen table, weighed down with a green glass vase he couldn’t recall ever using for flowers. He hoped it was positioned obviously enough that there was no way Tyler could miss it if he went to leave the apartment, then wrapped a scarf around his neck against the residual spring chill outside and jammed his headphones in his ears. He’d had quite enough time alone with his thoughts over the weekend, a distraction in the form of music was exactly what he needed.

  Chapter 4.

  The campus admin took less time than William had expected, everything well-oiled for once, and he paused across the street from Reg’s, momentarily torn. He had time to go and get a coffee, but he felt oddly still and focused, wanted to keep the solitary mood of the morning for as long as he could string it out. He looped back, taking a route which led him past the corner store which offered key cutting, dry cleaning, and a million other services William had vaguely noticed but never used. The shop was dark, old products piled high in no particular order. It was one of the last places left in this part of town which was owned and run by a family, rather than a franchise. He poked about the blank keys, picking out a golden one and handing it to the tiny elderly man behind the counter.