by Sean Michael
“So how were your classes?” David asked. “Did you manage to be coherent?”
“I have no idea. I sure hope so.” He’d been a total zombie.
David chuckled softly. “Well, you look great tonight.” His gaze was warm as it swept over Kenn.
“Thanks. Tim picked the shirt.”
“But you’re the one wearing it so well. It makes your eyes pop.”
Kenn chuckled, telling himself that a little harmless flirting was just that. A little harmless flirting. “Thank you.”
“No, thank you. Everyone is jealous of me.” There was no guile in David’s voice—he clearly meant what he said.
“I seriously doubt that, but I appreciate the thought.” Lord, he was falling for these lines? Honestly?
David shrugged. “You don’t have to believe it, but I do. Hey, I wanted to thank you again for last night—or should I say this morning? Both?” David laughed, the sound charming. “I had the best time talking with you.”
“I did too. Seriously. Time simply disappeared.” And his time was precious.
“I know!” David’s face lit up. “I liked it.”
A waiter came to their table. “Hey, welcome to Davidos Pizzeria. Can I get you something to drink?”
David looked over at him, clearly letting him go first. It was very chivalrous.
“I’ll take a Coke, please.”
“Yeah, me too. And we’d like to share the garlic cheese bread, please.” David shot him a grin. “If I’m having something garlicky, you need to join me.”
“Do I? That way we can both have dragon breath?” David was adorable, honestly, and Kenn found himself nodding. “Sounds good.”
“Dragon breath?” David laughed. “I’ve never heard it called that before—I like it.”
The waiter chuckled. “So do you know what else you want, or should I just put the drinks and app in?”
“I think we both know. I’m having the loaded potato without the bacon, please.”
“I’ll go with two slices of cheese pizza.” He’d never tried the plain cheese, and if he didn’t like it, he could order himself something else tonight.
“Okay. I’ll get your order in. The garlic bread and drinks’ll be right up.”
“Thanks.” David was polite, but clearly his attention was on Kenn and not the waiter. “So, plain cheese? I don’t know why, but I saw you having something spicier.”
“Just a whim.” He had been a little blindsided by the vegetarian thing, so he’d panicked and ordered the only thing he could think of.
A dull headache started up between his eyes, mostly from lack of sleep, he’d bet.
“You’re not avoiding meat because of me, are you?”
“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. I love cheese.”
“That’s really sweet of you, but being vegetarian is totally my choice. If you want to give it a go, cool, and I’d be happy to help you out, but it’s totally not necessary for us to keep seeing each other.”
“Well, I would hope not.” He was being polite more than anything. Maybe… maybe he was pondering a good-night kiss.
“Okay. I just wanted to make sure you knew that. What with the cheese pizza and all.” David gave him a wry grin. “Food was an issue when I was growing up. My mother showed her love by feeding us, but my father accused all of us of being fat slobs most of our younger years, and my sister wound up bulimic. Part of my going veggie was to support her in a more positive way to control her eating. It worked too. She came back from seventy-eight pounds to a hundred and twenty-three.”
“Good for her! Recovery is hard work.”
“It is. You sound like you’re speaking from experience….”
Kenn smiled but didn’t respond. He wasn’t going to talk about that—about his childhood or about his last relationship. Neither of them had been easy, and they were both over. Hell, he and his mom did fine these days.
Luckily the drinks came, along with the bread.
“Oh, this smells amazing.” David grabbed a piece of cheesy garlic bread. It crunched as he bit into it.
Kenn took a bite, humming at the buttery goodness. Okay. Yummy.
“I have to tell you, this is a positive sign for how good the rest of the food is going to be.” David took another bite.
“It’s delicious. Nice and hearty.”
“And garlic forward without hitting that burny, too-garlicky point.” David licked one of his fingers, then sucked it into his mouth. He pulled it out with a pop.
Don’t look. Don’t. Wow. Damn.
“I do love a good garlic bread.” David grabbed another piece, munching happily.
“I can tell.” Kenn laughed and finished his piece, allowing David to have the lion’s share.
“Sorry, I’ve had most of this. I didn’t mean to pig out—it’s just so good.”
“No worries. I have pizza coming.” He loved watching David eat, weirdly enough.
“Me too, only I have a whole personal pie coming. I didn’t realize you could just get a couple pieces.” Dave shrugged. “I’ll probably have no problem eating the whole thing, though. Hey, maybe you can introduce me to your pool and I can join you working it off.”
“Sure. I use the campus pool. You can get access. I’ll have to try a bite of your pizza, see how it is.”
“You can have a whole piece. It sounds yummy, doesn’t it?”
“It does, yes.” It would probably be better with bacon, though….
As if on cue, their pizzas arrived, and they looked even better than he remembered. David rubbed his hands together, looking eager.
Kenn added an ample amount of red pepper flakes to make up for the spice the sausage would have added and dug in. The pizza wasn’t bad—it wasn’t what he was used to, but it wasn’t bad.
David examined his pizza, sniffed it, checked the bottom. When he caught Kenn watching, he grinned. “If I’m comparing with the other place, I need to make sure I check out every aspect of it.”
“You’re very thorough.”
David tilted his head, then smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I totally am. It’s mostly a good thing.”
“Mostly?” he teased.
“It can be a bit of a monkey on my back now and then. Projects, papers, and exams for example.” David licked his lips and took his first bite. “Oh. Oh yeah.” He hummed and chewed at the same time, looking so pleased.
“You are a sensual man.” No one had ever accused Kenn of that, for sure. No one at all.
“Me? Yeah, I suppose.” David met his eyes. “I think everyone is, given a chance.”
“You think so? I think it’s fairly rare.”
“Maybe it’s a matter of making the effort to engage all your senses?” David shrugged. “I don’t know—I’m not a psych major.”
“Me either. I’m a dry, dusty history professor.” He laughed at himself and took another bite.
“You don’t seem dry or dusty to me, Kenn. Not one bit.”
“Good. That’s good to hear. Honestly.”
“Trust me, I wouldn’t have lost track of time and spent the entire night talking with you. I find you… fascinating.”
Him? No one felt that way about someone like him.
Still smiling and watching him, David began to eat his slice in earnest. He grabbed one of the slices from his pie and put it on Kenn’s plate.
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. I want to share it with you because it’s pretty amazing.”
“Well, thank you.” He picked up the piece, surprised to find that the bite was flavorful, savory, almost rich.
David had stopped eating in favor of watching him try the slice, and he beamed at Kenn’s reaction. “See? Delicious!”
“It’s not bad at all.” He went for playful and teasing.
“A master of understatement,” David noted.
“Now that has been said about me before.”
“I’m not surprised.” David touched his foot like he had the night before.
They ate and chatted, laughing at each other’s bad jokes. It was easy to be with David. Easy and a little bit exciting. Kenn felt awake, alive. Which, given his sleepless night, was amazing.
After they’d finished their pizzas, David gave him a wink. “So is dessert worth it here?”
“I’ve never tried it. I always go take a walk and get ice cream.”
“That sounds delicious. It really does.” David pulled his wallet out and set some bills on the table.
“Good. I’ll buy dessert, then.”
“Works for me. But you need to agree to take me to the other pizza place tomorrow night.” David gave him a winning smile.
“You don’t have other plans? An attractive guy like you?” He found that hard to believe.
“I have plans with you.”
Oh. Oh, okay. That was the sweetest thing anyone had said to him in an eon.
David leaned in and kissed the corner of his mouth. “Come on. Take me for ice cream.”
“It would be my pleasure.” They walked down the road. It was a busy area—bars and coffee shops, bookstores and internet cafes.
“I do love a university town,” David noted, grabbing Kenn’s hand and twining their fingers together.
“Yes. It’s so alive, isn’t it?”
“It is. I bet summers are pretty quiet, though.” David moved to the left and tugged him out of the way of a skateboarder.
“Thank you! And yes, it’s like heaven.” He forced himself not to snarl about the skateboarder. He didn’t want to come off as old and stodgy.
David moved him to the other side of the sidewalk and grabbed his other hand, putting him on the building side. The simple act warmed him all the way to his bones.
They didn’t say much as they walked, although every now and then one of them would point out a decoration in one of the storefronts or the way lights twinkled around a restaurant patio. It was always a pleasant walk, but with David, it was even better. Kenn kept reminding himself not to be too involved, to keep his distance. This was a friendship, not a love match.
If it continued as it was going, though, it would be an epic friendship.
They got to the little ice cream shop, a tiny wooden house-shaped building crammed between a restaurant and a bakery. The guys who ran it made the ice cream themselves, and it never once disappointed.
“Oh, this is cute.” David went right up to the board to check out the flavors listed there.
“It is. Hey, James. Mike. How’s it going?”
Mike grinned over. “Super busy. Yay Friday! You want cherry nut?”
“Please.”
“And your friend?” Mike asked.
“This is David, he’s an archaeology TA, and he’s new to town, so I’m showing him around.”
Mike beamed. “And Two Scoops of Cream is on your tour—that’s awesome.”
“Nice to meet you.” David pointed at the board. “I’d like the key lime on a plain cone, please.”
“You got it.”
Kenn grabbed a bottle of water and paid for the drink and the sweets. “Ice cream always makes me thirsty.”
David nodded. “All sweet things make me thirsty. I think that’s why coffee or tea go so well with cakes.”
They sat at one of the little tables for two scattered in front of the ice cream stall, David dragging his chair around to sit next to Kenn instead of across from him.
They ate their ice cream, lapping the creamy sweet. He’d not considered how weirdly erotic it was—licking, watching David lick.
“This is really good.” David ran his tongue all around the bottom of the scoop, catching drips.
“They do a good job.” Christ. Stop being a perv.
“Yeah, they do.” David smiled at him, the look in his eyes warm as David watched him.
“You want a bite of mine?”
“Only if you’ll have a bite of mine too.” David held his cone up to Kenn’s lips. “It tastes just like a key lime pie.”
“Interesting….” He opened up, dragging his tongue through the bright treat.
David groaned and leaned in. “God, you’re sexy.”
He looked up, meeting David’s sky blue eyes. David held his gaze until their lips touched.
Kenn gasped, caught for a moment between jerking back and pressing closer.
David hummed softly, his eyes closing before he pressed their lips together with more intent. Kenn’s lips tingled, a light buzz zipping along his skin where it touched David’s. He moaned, and that was the sound that had him drawing back, breaking the contact.
David’s eyes fluttered open, and he took a deep breath. “Okay. Wow.” Then David touched Kenn’s lower lip, another of those jolts of electricity sparking between them. David’s eyes went wider.
“I….” He wasn’t interested in dating. He wasn’t ready for another relationship.
“Shh. It was just a kiss.” Even as David said it, the look in his eyes belied it.
“Right. It didn’t mean….” Well, he couldn’t say it meant “nothing,” because that was crass.
“It meant more than either of us expected.” David didn’t try to kiss him again, though. “I don’t expect you to put out just because I bought you a couple slices of pizza. You’re already too good a friend, and besides, that’s not the kind of guy I am.”
“And I don’t put out, so you would be disappointed.”
“But I’m not expecting anything, so I won’t be.” David took another lick of his ice cream, tongue lingering on the sweet treat.
“Fair enough.” Kenn nibbled on a cherry from his cone. David was watching him, the gaze heavy now that they’d kissed. “So, what are you up to this weekend?” Small talk. Small talk was good.
“Well, we’re supposed to check out the other pizza joint tomorrow evening, right? And if you’d be willing to show me the ropes at the pool, I’d love to get a few laps in.”
“I am, sure. Absolutely. I go every Saturday at 6:00 a.m. I know it’s early, but I don’t want to interfere with the swim team.”
“Okay, six it is. No up all night talking for us tonight. Unless we go from talking to swimming and then sleep the day away.”
“That was fun, wasn’t it? I didn’t even know all that time was passing.”
“It was great. I love being able to sink into a discussion with someone and not worry that they’re going to think I’m attacking them if we happen to disagree on anything. It was a great night.”
“It was. Honestly.” He nodded, then jumped as melted ice cream spilled over his fingers. “Dammit!”
“I could lick them clean for you,” David offered.
“Be good, you turkey,” he answered.
“Turkey!” David cackled and handed him a couple of paper napkins.
“Thank you.” God, he hadn’t had so much fun in ages.
David began to gobble. Loudly.
Kenn cracked up, the sound tickling the fuck out of him.
David looked pleased—and utterly unconcerned that everyone had heard him. It spoke to David’s confidence, how secure he was, how easy in his skin.
David settled back into his chair and licked at his cone again, working to get all the drippy places that had melted while he’d been doing things other than eating ice cream.
“Dr. B? Hey, how’s it going?” One of the young ladies Kenn had taught last year was passing by with friends. She waved, then stopped, grinning at him, and he hoped he could fake not knowing her name.
“Good. Good. Busy as always. You?”
“Starting to get into the swing of it, yeah. I wish I was in one of yours this semester.”
“I’ll be teaching some 300 levels next year. Look for them.”
“That’s great. You’re hard, but fair, and your courses are fascinating.”
“I appreciate it. You ladies have a good evening, hmm?” Go on. Shoo.
“You too, Dr. B.” She looked over at David, gave him a warm smile, and she and her friends continued on their way.<
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“You totally don’t remember her name.”
“Huh?” He went for innocent.
“That girl—you might recognize her from one of your classes, but you haven’t a clue beyond that who she is.”
Don’t blush. Don’t blush. “Nonsense. I’m sure she has a name.”
David chuckled. “Uh-huh.”
“Shut up. I’m terrible with names. Always.”
“I’m just teasing you. How many kids do you see a semester?”
“Tons. The freshman classes are huge, you know?”
“I know. You can’t be expected to remember thousands of names every year. Not unless they’re noteworthy.” David waggled his eyebrows up and down suggestively.
“Or if they’re a friend’s name, not a student’s.”
“You gonna remember all the Davids this year?”
“I’ll remember you.” He had no doubt about that.
“I sure hope so!” David looked affronted, but a smile broke through the mask. “I’m not easy to forget.”
“No. No, you aren’t. I imagine you’ll be so busy soon that I’ll hardly ever get on your social calendar.”
“I will make room for you, Kenn. No matter how crazy marking gets, or midterms or whatever, I’m going to make time for you.”
Oh. His heart fluttered. Genuinely fluttered. “Thank you.”
“I’ve never met anyone like you before, and I know to hold on to a good thing when I find it.”
“I….” Kenn didn’t know how to respond. He didn’t know what to say.
“You wanna get out of here? I could show you my room, since you showed me yours.”
He shouldn’t. He should beg off and go home. It was the most logical decision. “Sounds good to me.”
“Good. The place should be pretty quiet tonight. It’s Friday, after all.” David stood and held out a hand to hm.
“Do your roommates like to party?” He took the hand, hauled himself up.
Their bodies came close, and he could feel the warmth pouring from David.
“Some of them are party people, yeah. But the rule is no parties at home, so they have to go out for any shenanigans.”
“That’s nice for you if you need to study, huh?”
“Yeah. It’s a pretty old house, and I think the owner wants to make sure the place doesn’t get trashed.”
The walked along, David still holding his hand.