Page 80 of Brighter Shades of Light
“Are you…being nice to me?” I asked suspiciously.
“Don’t get used to it.” He curled his nose. “It’s not because I like you or anything. You’re still annoying. And if Dr. Vale opens that TA job—”
“It’s yours. I know.”
Sebastian entered the room, drawing everyone’s attention. He drew mine for different reasons. Fuck. He was too sexy. The sleeves of his sweater were pushed to his elbows, and the collared shirt he wore underneath had the top two buttons undone, showing his Adam’s apple and a peek of his collarbone.
My mouth watered, and I shifted in my chair.
“Good morning.” He placed his bag on the front desk. “Today is our last class together. Before I pass out the exam, let me just say it’s been a privilege teaching you all this semester. Out of all my classes, this one has been extra special.” His gaze flashed to mine before moving down the row. “You all have bright futures ahead of you.”
Brandon started clapping, but once he looked around and realized no one was joining him, he slumped down in his seat. So, I started clapping, too. Fuck it. Brandon shot me a weird look before giving me the closest thing he’d ever shown to a genuine, non-patronizing smile.
Sebastian watched me a moment, his expression unreadable to all those who didn’t know the real him. But I saw the swallow in his throat and the slight quickening of his breath before he grabbed the tests from his bag.
We were required to bring our own scantron, so I grabbed mine from my notebook and jotted down my name at the top.
Sebastian passed out the exams and told us we had two hours to take it. I expected him to have added a crap load of questions to the test since we had more time, but when I got mine and looked it over, I was relieved. Only sixty multiple choice questions.
The room fell silent, apart from the usual squeaking chairs and coughs. It didn’t bother me as badly since I wasn’t obsessing over the clock. I answered the questions on the first page in twenty minutes. When I got to the back and saw the section on entropy and Gibbs free energy, I inwardly groaned and reflexively looked at Sebastian.
He was either oblivious or intentionally ignoring my glare. My heart did a little flip, though, when I eyed the book he was reading:Band of Brothers. I had finished it months ago and told him how much I loved it. I never thought he’d actually read it, since it wasn’t something he showed much interest in.
I focused back on the question. The exam took bits and pieces from everything we had learned that semester and threw it all together. So, fortunately, the section on entropy was small. After I answered the last question, I looked over the scantron and made sure I didn’t accidentally skip a line before walking toward Sebastian’s desk and placing the test on top of it.
He looked at me with a small curve to his lips.
We couldn’t say anything since the test was still in progress, but I winked at him and returned to my seat. I had every intention of going to his house later and letting him fuck me senseless.
As I left the lecture hall and went outside, I looked up at the overcast sky. More snow was in the forecast. The campus was decked out in Christmas decorations; lit trees in every building and light displays on the grounds. It felt magical. Or maybe it was just my good mood that made it so. I returned to the dorm, finding Tristen in the living room watching TV.
“Hey,” I said, closing the door and going to sit beside him. “You done with all your tests, too?”
“Yep.” He kicked up a leg on the coffee table and put his arms behind his head. “Probably gonna go out tonight with Blake and celebrate.”
Blake was the guy he had been banging since Thanksgiving break. I was surprised when Tristen finally introduced us. I had expected some muscled hottie, but Blake was a bit of a nerd. He was short and had floppy brown hair and glasses. He was extroverted, though, and was a great fit for Tristen.
“Does it ever get easier?” Tristen asked.
“What?”
“Being in a relationship?” He heaved a sigh. “I haven’t told my family about Blake, of course. But they’re kinda dead to me anyway and don’t really count. But when I introduced Blake to our friends, I felt like they were all judging me. Marcus, especially.”
“Marcus doesn’t have a problem with it,” I said. “He hates bigoted assholes. He told me he got a lot of crap for being the only black kid in his high school and would never want to make anyone feel the way he did. Why do you think he’s judging you?”
“I don’t know. He just looks at me funny sometimes.”
“Marcus looks ateveryonefunny. It’s his face. He also likes to give us shit, but he’s just playing around when he does. It’s your anxiety, Tristen. Believe me. I know the feeling of thinking the world’s out to get you. But no one gives a fuck who you’re fucking. At least not anyone who matters.”
“Thanks, Cody. Maybe it’ll get easier with time.” Tristen smiled. “What about you and the sexy professor? You done hiding now?”
“To be safe, we’re gonna wait until final grades are posted. But after that?” Excitement swarmed my chest. “Well, we haven’t put a label on what we are, so I guess whatever happens will happen.”
“But you love him?”
“Yeah.” The excitement grew, turning into a thousand butterflies that fluttered around in my belly. “I think he’s the one.”
“Fucking sap.” Tristen laughed and pushed against my shoulder.
