Page 18 of Lace

He was still sitting there, waiting until it was mercifully time to go to the torture chamber that wasBookkeeping for Small Business Owners, when the door to the office opened. He looked up, a hopeful greeting on his lips.

Fake blue eyes under a shaggy green, unkempt haircut greeted him instead.

“Hey.” The young man in the doorway lifted a hand in greeting.

Caleb narrowed his eyes. He straightened his back and pursed his lips, saying nothing.

“Okay.” The guy came in and closed the door behind him. “Early Friday morning class. I get it.”

“Get what?” Caleb packed up the breakfast he’d spread out on the desk but hadn’t actually touched. “Who are you and what do you want?”

“Wow.” The interloper tossed his books onto the couch and flopped down after them to watch Caleb with amusement. “Cranky much?”

Caleb glared in silence. It wasn’t this kid’s fault he’d been disappointed at seeing him, and not Levi, walk through the door.

“Whatever.” The guy rolled his eyes. “My name’s Mitchell. I’m in the design program. We met at the pub last night.” He tilted his head, peering at Caleb’s legs under the desk, a smirk twisting his glossed lips to one side. “Friday morning class of shame, then?”

“We didn’t meet.” Caleb got up with every intention of showing Mitchell the door… and the other side of it.

“No. I just picked you up off the floor while your boyfriend was too busy getting into a fight to be bothered.” He smirked. “And getting his ass kicked, if I recall.”

“Oh, just fuck off,” Caleb snarled. “I am in no mood for this shit.”

“Okay, okay.” Mitchell held up both hands in front of him. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m sure he was playing the valiant and all that.”

“Whatever. Just leave me alone. He is my boyfriend, and I’m not interested in you.”

“Holy shit, girlfriend. Get over yourself. I’m not here for that. I’m here because it’s all over the school you guys are desperate for fundraiser ideas, and despite this chilly reception, I have a peach of a plan that I think might just work.” He leaned forward, both elbows on his knees. “And maybe it’s right up your alley.” He eyed Caleb’s black leather pants and the tight red T-shirt he’d pilfered from Levi’s meagre stash of clean clothing. “I see you’ve forgone wearing the kilt today.”

“What I wear is none of your goddamn business.” It might have been exciting for Caleb to think Levi had wanted him to wear that outfit out last night, but in the cold light of a drizzly day on campus, it seemed like a poor choice. He wasn’t really up for more threats of getting his ass kicked. He didn’t have to justify himself to this flamboyantly dressed spectacle, either. “Wear what you want. Get all the attention for it you want. Leave me the fuck alone.”

“Defensive much?” Mitchell got up to block Caleb’s way to the door.

“Get out of my way.”

“I just want to talk.”

“I’m not interested. I don’t need to make a splash. Unlike some people.”

“Me, you mean.” Mitchell cocked his head, but his face went bright red.

“I didn’t mean?—”

“Sure, you did.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I see it in the way you look at me—half in horror, half in fear. I don’t wear skirts, and I don’t want to wear them, but I don’t want to go around trying to look like someone I’m not, either.”

“Goody for you.”

“I just want to take back my right to look however I want and not get harassed. Don’t tell me you’ve never felt the same.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Caleb dropped his messenger bag, giving in to the fact Mitchell was not letting him leave before he’d said his piece.

“Everything. Not everyone is willing to push boundaries, and that’s fine.”

“I’m not afraid to?—”

Mitchell held up a hand “I don’t much care why you want to fly under the radar. That’s your business. Yes, I want to push the boundaries. And I’m willing to so that people like you—people who just want to be—can. But I can’t do it alone. The Benevolent Fund needs money. The Student Council needs a real way to get the campus back to being about the students. My idea will do both of those things, and it might help you, too.”

“Really?” Despite his foul mood and scepticism, Caleb paused. If this guy really did have that good of an idea to raise some money for the Children’s Christmas Party the Student Council sponsored every year, maybe he owed it to them to hear him out. He wasn’t on the Student Council, but he had joined the Benevolent Committee to help with the Christmas charity. Plus, he was the one who was here right now.

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