Robert was annoyed at me. When I finally returned his phone call, I could hear it in his tone. He insisted that we get together. He knew something was up. Apparently, Triple P was also causing him a bout of angina, too. So, at least I wasn’t the only asshole. Maybe Robert had something that he needed to get off his chest, too? He had been lovesick since before school started.
I had wanted to tell someone about what was happening between Darren and me from the moment I realized I was in way over my head. But Triple P has this thing about older men and younger men dating. I mean, Darren is only eight years younger than me, but still… Triple P could have some harsh opinions and didn’t mind telling them to you when he felt the need. As for Robert, I knew he was pining for his grad student and trying to decide what to do. In a lot of ways, we were in the same boat. But still, I never told them.
Tonight, I would come clean and face the music. I was tired of shouldering this alone and keeping Darren a secret from my friends. If he was going to be in my life – if he was truly my mate – then my friends needed to know. They were the only other people in my life that I truly cared about.
I walked into Ribbits and saw Robert and Triple P already at the back corner booth we preferred. It was out of the way from most of the other patrons and allowed us some exclusion from the college we all worked out, which was right across the street.
The wooden oak booths probably looked great in the seventies when they were installed. Now, they just looked old. I walked past the wall of photos without glancing at it. It was tacky. None of the frames matched, and it was a potpourri of old photos of college kids from days gone by who used to frequent this place. It might not look like much, but over the last year, this has become one of my favorite places. Not to mention, they brewed their own beers, and they were great.
Robert waved at me to come on back and not stop at the bar. I noticed a glass sitting at my usual spot filled with a light amber liquid. I grinned and headed back.
“They had that fall cider on tap that you couldn’t stop talking about last year, so I went ahead and ordered it for you.” Robert’s voice didn’t have its usual warm tone. It held a chill that normally was absent. “Slide on in.”
“Feeling better, Preston?” I looked over and saw that he was not drinking his usual glass of prosecco.
“A little.” He glanced down and shrugged.
“Alright. Now that we’re all here, finally.” Robert frowned at me.
“Sorry. I had to deal with a student who’s been skipping lessons.” I was always late and rarely had an actual excuse. This time I did.
“Thomas, we weren’t expecting you to be on time.” Triple P chuckled. “I’ve even stopped being annoyed by you. It’s just part of who you are.”
“I know this has been a fucking bitch of a semester. All the professors in my department have been whining all year. Preston’s been feeling crappy, and I'm chasing my tail when it comes to Jaime. I don’t want to let him out of my sight, but being around him all the time is driving me insane. But we’ll get to that later.” Doc pointed his finger at me. “But your disappearance and unusual silence was a bit of a surprise. Does that mean what I think it means?” He looked at me with a knowing look that made a lump form in my throat.
I nodded slowly and glanced over at Preston, who stared at me with a confused and hilarious look on his face. He was fabulously expressive.
“Remember when we were at the mixer, and I told you that I fainted? Well, kind of…”
“Yes. Into your student’s arms, right?” Preston looked between us as he waited for validation. “That had to be mortifying.”
“That’s right. You left before you heard the rest, and I… Well, thereisa reason I was having issues with… My heart raced, and my body stopped responding to me. My mind was hazy, and I had a hard time formulating basic human thought and… I mean, there was this kid that I was supposed to be teaching, and I felt this… this bond that I couldn’t explain. After he left, I couldn’t stop thinking about him. I was scared that there was a reason for it.” I glanced over at Triple P sheepishly, trying to read his face as to what he thought.
“What he is being way too shy to say is the fact that he thought he might be fated to his student.” Robert took a long sip, and tapped his thumb on the side of his mug. “Apparently, it’s not as uncommon as we've been led to believe.” Preston just sat there with a sullen look on his face – but his eyes grew wide.
“Darren came to… That’s his name, Darren. He came to the mixer, of course, since he was going to declare music production as his major, and as soon as I felt him in the room – I knew it. I freaked out.” I forced my shoulders to go back where they belonged instead of up by my ears.
“He even tried to get the dean to change his mind about Darren being in his studio,” Robert rolled his eyes, clearly showing me what he thought about that.
“And he didn’t help you.” Preston rolled his eyes. “Figures. True fated mates, huh? That’s… I mean, you might as well have won the lottery. Are you… seeing him, then?”
Robert coughed and looked like he swallowed a lemon instead of his beer.
“I tried not to. Come on! He’s twenty-one and a total trust fund baby. He’s the captain of the soccer team and one of the biggest jocks I’ve ever met. Not to mention that he’s a second-year junior who is about to declare a major. Didn’t sound like the perfect mate, if I’m being honest. He’s young and has a whole life to still experience.”
Robert coughed again and I couldn’t tell if he was sick or just forgot how to swallow.
Preston reached out and put his hand on top of mine. “I don’t think anyone could walk away from finding that special person, Thomas. It’s unheard of. You can’t deny fate. It’s inevitable.”
“It would be like having your soul ripped apart. After knowing them, denying what you share would only bring pain. It’s science.” Doc pontificated. Asshole does research on every subject that crosses his path. No doubt he’s done the same this time.
I leaned forward and twisted my glass on the table. “So, I tried to avoid him as much as I could. Twice a week, we had our lessons, and I hired a pianist to come and run scales with us and work on his first song. I didn’t think I could trust myself to be alone with him, which was most definitely the right call. But he was hurting as much as I was, and once he told me – I… I couldn’t stand for him to be in pain. It was visceral and even the thought of him hurting – hurt me. So, we started talking, and now we’re seeing where this goes.”
“Where it goes is you getting knocked up.” Robert laughed. “I am not throwing you a baby shower. Make Preston do it.”
Preston’s jaw practically fell onto the table, and I watched him swallow hard. Something was weighing him down, and I hoped that his illness wasn’t something bad.
“You know I would.” Preston gave me a strained grin. Maybe he had an issue with me seeing a student, even if it was fated. But it didn’t seem like it. Whatever it was, I hoped he would tell us so we could share some of his burden.
