Page 29

CHAPTER 29

ALKA

D eclan leans in and kisses his boyfriend Zarek. I watch them for a minute, feeling the small smile on my face as I do. They’re saying something as they stare into each other’s eyes. Their voices are low, but if I tried hard enough, I could probably hear them.

Just a few months ago, this would have made me jealous. When Declan showed up on campus three years ago, I’d been so sure that he was it for me. He was the man I’d been waiting for. I’d gone all in, trying to show him I was everything he needed.

I just wasn’t everything he wanted, and up until recently, it still bothered me that he’d chosen Zarek over me. I suppose it wasn’t a love triangle like I’m making it out to be. There was no actual competition. He was never interested in me. He’d made that clear from the beginning, but I just couldn’t accept that.

This is the first time seeing them looking all sweet and lovey that I don’t feel even the slightest pang of jealousy. Instead, it makes me smile a little more.

I glance at Quin, who’s also sitting outside with us. At least once a week, the four of us have lunch together. I enjoy their company, the conversations, and watching the way they interact with each other .

Zarek shoves Declan away while Declan laughs. Zarek’s cheeks pinken as he glares and turns back to his sandwich. Declan gives me a mischievous grin.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” I look between the three of them so they know I’m including them all in this. “It’s a little personal.”

“Okay,” Zarek says while Quin just shrugs and nods.

“So… a little backstory. Please, please don’t repeat this anywhere.” Now, Zarek looks interested. Declan already knows what I’m about to say. I can see it in the way he’s watching me, still with a smirk. “Every summer, Oscar and I go to the Isle of Kala for eight weeks to unplug without commitments and expectations.”

“How do you get work done?” Zarek asks.

“He just said without commitments and expectations,” Declan points out. “No work.”

“Harper takes care of everything I should be doing over the summers. I hate recruiting anyway, so I gave that to her years ago. I do check in from time to time.”

“Huh,” Zarek says.

I glance at Quin since he’s a dean—not the dean of my department but still a dean. He doesn’t appear to care in the least that I shirk my responsibilities onto my assistant coach. He’s watching me, clearly listening, while he eats his lunch.

“Anyway. I’m going to start by saying this is probably going to bounce around a bit because there doesn’t seem to be a logical order to my thoughts, but it’s all relevant. So… I met someone. We spent five weeks together on Kala. It’s different from the kinds of relationships I’ve had in the past because this time, he’s involved with Oscar as well. We’re a throuple. I get that we’re new, but Oz and I had already been making plans to expand our family—kids. New, bigger, forever home. Oz is looking into expanding his business. It’s all a lot of big steps. These are things that we’d started talking about before we met our new boyfriend. Again, we all know we’re kind of jumping the gun, bu t it also felt wrong to leave him out of these discussions, you know?”

“Definitely,” Zarek says. “That’s a difficult decision to make—include him even though you guys are just beginning or involve him and risk pushing too quickly.”

“Exactly. We chose to involve him because it’s important to us that he doesn’t feel like Oz and I are taking an important step forward in our life together while he’s irrelevant to the situation. That’s as far from the truth as it can get.”

“We’re not talking about kids yet,” Declan says.

“What?” I ask, confused.

“I’m not sure how this is going to play into a personal question, but we’re not talking kids yet. I still feel like a kid myself.”

“Oh.” I shake my head. “No. Sorry. I’m getting there.”

“Patience,” Quin says.

Declan throws a grape at him.

“This guy we met… We shared a lot about ourselves. We spent hours, weeks talking. Learning about each other. Spending time together. The thing is, some information wasn’t exchanged. I guess it felt like it just wasn’t relevant or maybe we thought we’d shared it, but… the guy we met? He’s here.”

Declan’s smiling once again as he watches me, but Zarek looks surprised. Quin still looks impassive as he eats, though he’s watching me, listening, with a small smile lingering as he does.

“He’s on my team,” I say.

Zarek’s eyes go wide. “One of your players? Seriously?”

I nod. “Yeah. And because I have absolute trust in Harper, I didn’t even pull up the new roster until the first practice. He tried to warn me via a phone call, but he only figured it out minutes before practice was to begin. Obviously, I couldn’t talk.”

“Ah,” Quin says. “I heard some kids saying that something spooked you the first practice.”

I huff. “Yeah. I was shocked. I just stared at him like a creep. When I tell you that I was useless for that entire practice, I mean that. Thank fuck for Harper. That woman needs a raise.”

Declan snorts, nodding.

“Okay, first—I’ve already taken myself out of any situation that could be construed as me showing him any preferential treatment. Harper is now in charge of all that. The thing is, our options seem limited. I can step down for a couple years until he graduates. He’s offered to quit, but I don’t want him to do that. I can quit. Oz makes enough money for me to be a house husband, and he wouldn’t be hurt at all if I stayed home with him all day. But I love my job, and I don’t really want to quit. However, I know it’s only a matter of time before we’re figured out. Now, I’ve made it to my question. Did you have any backlash when you two got together?” I ask Declan and Zarek.

Zarek and Declan look at each other, but the latter’s already shaking his head.

“You mean besides Frosty,” Zarek says, giving me a bemused smile. “No. No one’s said anything to us in the last three years.”

“But this is different, right?” Declan says. “We’re colleagues in a more lateral way, and our jobs—our entire departments—have no interaction with each other.”

Yeah, that’s not useful. I look at Quin and raise a brow. “As a dean being involved with these two lowly peasants? Have you received any backlash?”

“We’re not involved,” Declan mutters, glaring at me.

Zarek chuckles, wrapping his arm around Declan’s shoulders and pulling him down. “Of course you’re not, baby.” He kisses Declan’s temple while Declan huffs in irritation. I try my damnedest not to laugh.

Quin watches it with amusement.

Okay, I don’t actually think they’re involved. Their story is complicated, and I know for a fact that I don’t have all the details. What I do know, I’ve gleaned from comments and conversations that I’ve overheard when hanging with them. More than 90% of the time, I’m not sure what’s going down with them.

Declan and his twin share a best friend—Simon. Simon was straight until four years ago when he fell in love with his former college professor. That professor is Quin. Somewhere in there, the besties got into a big fight that led to the six of them—Declan and Zarek, Damon and his husband Sage, and Quin and Simon, living under a single roof.

I don’t know what happens in that house, but I have some questions from time to time. I don’t ask them, but I certainly have them.

Also, this stuff all began during their last year at college, and they moved up here to Glensdale the summer before Declan started working here. Quinlan got a job here first, as the dean of the trade department.

“No,” Quin says. “But like Zarek said, it’s a different situation. My department and theirs have no interaction.”

I sigh. “This is?—”

Zarek shakes his head, his eyes looking over my shoulder. I stop talking and take a bite of my sandwich as Frosty stops at the edge of our table.

“Hello, boys,” he says. “What’re you over here gossiping about?”

I swallow my bite before I say, “We’re just comparing romantic gestures. Oscar bought me a hundred long-stemmed roses for our ten-year anniversary a few months ago.”

“Deck bought me a star,” Zarek says, giving Declan heart eyes.

“That’s romantic?” Frosty says, his face scrunched. “Owning a star that you will not only never see in the sky, but you can’t hold it or… anything. And flowers die. Like right away.”

“Don’t be bitter,” Zarek says. “It’s very unattractive.”

Frosty rolls his eyes. “This is all very… dull.” He turns and saunters off.

Lemon Frost, AKA Frosty, is our pint-sized, loudly dressed, flamboyant football coach. He’s fond of leggings, tutus, tiaras, and glitter. He’s also a kickass coach with a boast-worthy roster that sees more athletes drafted into the NFL than any other university in the country every year. He may not win championships, but he still makes headlines.

Because of this, he thinks very highly of himself. RDU spoils him, and it’s kind of disgusting how much he’s coddled. He’s also brash, vain, and has no sense of boundaries or the word “no.”

“Did you really buy Zarek a star?” I ask when Frosty’s moved away.

“Yep,” Declan says with a smile.

“Did Oscar really buy you a hundred roses?” Zarek asks.

I snort. “Yes, but not for our tenth anniversary. Last year, for our ninth. Honestly, Frosty isn’t wrong. There were rose carcasses all over our house for ages. Oscar immediately regretted his decision.”

We chuckle.

“You were saying?” Quin prompts.

Oh right. I sigh again. “I think the best course of action is not to hide it. To be forthcoming and honest. We’ve put all the measures in place to show that I’m not showing him favor. We have proof that this relationship began weeks before he was even accepted to RDU. There’s even proof that he submitted the application before we met and that Harper accepted him onto the team without me knowing. I’ve looked through the rule book, and it’s ambiguous. Quid pro quo is obviously against the rules, as it should be, but I’m not grading him. I’m not giving him extra game time; I’m not even giving him game time at all. That’s Harper’s responsibility now.”

“You’re afraid of what your superiors are going to do,” Quin says.

I nod.

“You remember a couple years ago… A kid on Frosty’s team go t together with the provost of the university,” Zarek says. “Remember?”

“Ah,” Quin says. “A very different set of circumstances, but that’s still going to work in your favor.”

I remember that. One of Frosty’s athletes, Brevan Skeeter, was selected as an ambassador for the school in a program where they visit different countries and work with different universities to create sister schools to RDU. Brevan went on the first trip to somewhere in Europe and came back as the provost’s lover.

They’re married now. Brevan played pro for a couple of years, but he doesn’t anymore. At least, I don’t think he does. I play the only football that’s worth keeping up with.

“Okay, then my first course of action will be to suggest a sabbatical until he graduates,” I say.

“No,” Zarek says. “Wait until someone approaches you about it. Don’t just offer to leave. Present your proof of a relationship before RDU then show what you’ve done to make sure you don’t show him any favor over your other athletes.”

“So I should keep this a secret?” I ask.

“No,” Quin says, while Zarek shakes his head. Declan is just listening. “I think it’s a good idea to say something.”

“Begin with my dean or…?”

“I think your team,” Declan says. “I think if they have your back, administration will be more accepting.”

“And if they don’t?”

“Then you lay out the things we just talked about: He began his transfer before meeting you. You met six weeks before school started. Neither of you knew you’d have RDU in common, never mind that he’d be your student athlete. Your relationship is serious, and you’re not willing to end it. You’ve already made accommodations, so you’re not showing him favor,” Quin says. “Stay calm. Don’t let emotion make you crazy. Stick to the facts. Have supporting documentation. I think it’ll be okay.”

“Worse comes to worst, you step down for a couple years,” Declan says. “But make that your very last resort, short of them threatening termination.”

“Which you also won’t let them do because there isn’t any quid pro quo involved and there are other relationships that have happened between staff and students that didn’t result in termination,” Zarek says. “Yes, different, but nonetheless, make sure you point it out.”

I take a breath. “So my team first.” My stomach rolls. Fuck. “Okay.”

“I can be there with you if you’d like,” Declan offers. “Showing support.”

“I can too,” Zarek says.

Quin nods. “As will I.”

My shoulders relax. “Thank you. That means a lot. I’d appreciate it.”

“Just let us know when.”

“First, I need to talk to him and Oz, then I’ll let you know when.”

“Sounds good.” Zarek leans across the table and rests his hand on my arm. “Everything’s going to work out. You’ll see.”

I smile.

“Also, we’re really happy for you.”

“Thanks.”

He sits back. “Now you can stop drooling over my man.”

I huff, rolling my eyes. Yeah, that’s fair.