Wanting His Professor (Gay Romantic Suspense)

Roommate's Code

Dan walked through the door of the off-campus apartment he shared with Hank. He tossed his duffel bag on the kitchen chair. The young man clapped his hands and called out, "Bandit! Come here! Bandit, where are you?" Getting no response, he switched to Plan B.

Dan grabbed a treat box on the counter. He opened the top and shook it vigorously. That worked! Bandit, so named because of the dark markings around her eyes which looked like a mask, came tearing into the room.

"How can one little cat sound like a herd of elephants traipsing through a jungle?" Dan asked the cat as he picked her up. She purred and closed her eyes as he scratched behind her ears. "I don't want you to get too much fur on my black shirt," he said as he attempted to put her down.

Bandit didn't approve of such a short attention session. She swiped at Dan's chin with her claws to let him know.

"Ouch! You little scuzzball!" he yelled in surprise as he dropped the cat on the counter. Bandit stood up on her hind paws and knocked the treat box over. She happily helped herself to as many treats as she wanted.

Dan checked his face in the bathroom mirror. He yelled back towards the kitchen, "You didn't draw any blood. Better luck next time, Bandit." The cat ignored him while she feasted on her kitty treats.

The young man smiled at himself in the mirror. He turned his head sideways and jutted out his chin. He mumbled, "Stupid cat! What would Professor Jason Montell think if I showed up in class with a scratch across my face?"

The rap music ringtone on Dan's phone started playing its beats. Dan looked at the screen. "Oh, crap," he said when he saw Mike's picture. "What part of 'ex' in the phrase 'ex-boyfriend' does this guy not get?" Dan asked out loud. The phone stopped ringing. A few seconds later the voice mail beep went off.

Dan didn't bother to check the voice mail. He knew there was no point as Mike would likely call back again anyway. The thought had barely formed in his head when the phone rang again. Sure enough, Mike's face popped up on the screen.

Dan banged the phone with his finger. "Hello," he said, not making much of an attempt to hide his irritation.

"Hi, Dan, it's Mike."

No kidding, Dan thought. We've had this thing for the last twenty years...Caller ID! He actually said aloud, "Hey, man, what's up?"

"Ed told me he's got a class with you and Hank."

Of course he did. Big mouth. Maybe Hank was right about being in a class with your ex-boyfriend's best friend, just not for the same reason that Hank thought! "Yeah, so are you and Ed settled in your new dorm yet?"

"Yes, thanks for asking. It's such a pain that they make us move dorm rooms every year. You should come over and see it. Anytime you want."

Twelfth of never. Sound good? "Um, yeah maybe next week if I get a chance and don't have too much homework. Look, Mike, I have to go, my low battery warning is beeping in my ear."

"Oh, OK, well, call me later when the phone is re-charged."

Dan disconnected the call. He loved that it was so easy to lie about the battery being low when he wanted to get out of a boring phone call.

The young man plopped down on the couch, putting his feet on the cushion without taking his sneakers off. He dug his English book out of his bag and flipped through the pages. "The Odyssey by Homer. How exciting."

* * *

Hank came home to the apartment after work. Bandit rubbed against his legs the moment he entered. Bandit didn't have to be called or bribed with treats to see Hank.

The cat would sit in the window and watch the parking lot. As soon as she saw Hank getting out of his car, she would run to the kitchen and sit by the door waiting for him. The fact that Bandit liked to lick the pizza grease stains off Hank's uniform shirt from the restaurant didn't hurt Hank's case for being the cat's favorite roommate!

Hank walked into the living room. He whacked Dan's sneaker-covered feet off the couch, waking his roommate.

"What time is it?" Dan yawned.

"11:30 PM. Looks like you fell asleep doing your homework."

"Yeah, guess so."

"Does Odysseus ever make it home or what?" Hank asked. "I started reading the story during my break, but I didn't have time to finish it."

"You don't really want me to give away the ending, do you?"

Hank curled his lip in thought. "I guess not. You still look tired. You should go to bed."

"Not yet. I still have to read this before class tomorrow." Dan held up his tablet.

Hank squinted at the screen. "A critical analysis of Homer's works? You and that? You put off the class for years and now you're doing extra reading for it? Hmm, one of these things doesn't belong in the picture..."

Dan threw a couch pillow at his roommate. "What are you making such a big deal about? I'm just reading something for English class so the professor will know I'm interested."

"In his class or in him?"

Dan half-laughed an acknowledgment. "Very clever."

Hank reached in his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He swiped the screen a couple times.

"What are you doing?" Dan questioned.

Hank showed his roommate the contact name on his screen. "Admit it right now that you've been fantasizing about our professor or I'm going to call Mike and tell him how you used to sleep with his picture under your pillow when you first started dating."

"That's against the Roommate's Code or something. You wouldn't dare..."

Hank's finger hovered a fraction of an inch over his cell phone screen. "Watch me..."

"Damn, I guess I taught you too well. All right, I confess. Professor Montell is totally hot and I've been jacking off every time I think about him."

Hank dropped the phone and covered his ears for a second. "Ewww. You're gross. And I don't even believe you."

Dan flashed a mischievous smile. "First you accuse me of fantasizing about the professor. When I admit it, you say you don't believe me. Which is it?"

"Well, I meant, or I mean," Hank stammered. "I don't know! A college senior being attracted to his thirty-five year old instructor is a disaster waiting to happen."

"Let's see, Professor Montell is mature, smart, sexy as hell. Yeah, that sounds like a disaster to me. You only live once, my friend. I, for one, am going to live my life to the fullest - with or without your approval."

* * *

Meanwhile, a party raged on in Mike and Ed's new dorm building. Music played from a portable speaker hooked up to an iPod. Several people stood around chatting and laughing.

Ed popped open a beer. "You want?" he asked holding it out to Mike.

"Do you want us to get kicked out of the dorm in senior year?" Mike asked.

"See that girl in the red shirt by the door with the bottle in her hand?"

"Yeah."

"She's the R.A. so I think we're safe."

Mike shook his head. "I don't know how I let you talk me into this party."

"Maybe because deep down you know that you need to get over breaking up with your boyfriend and start having some fun again. This is just the place. This dorm building is the hottest one on campus. We can host or attend a party like this every night!" Ed guzzled his beer. "Look at that blonde over there, man."

The girl caught Ed eyeing her and she waved across the room.

"God sure was generous with her!" Ed commented.

"Yep, I can see that. Actually, everyone can see that since her sweater is tighter than a quarterback's butt in uniform."

Ed laughed. "Now there's a visual I never would have thought of on my own. I'm so glad you're gay."

"Me too, but why are you bringing that up right now?" Mike asked.

"Because it would totally suck to have to compete for girls with my best friend. I'd almost feel bad every time when they chose me over you!"

Mike shook his head and laughed in response.

Denise, the girl across the room, caught Ed's flirtatious look and danced her way over. "So which one of you boys wants to get lucky tonight?" she asked.

"He's gay!" Ed spit out before Mike even opened his mouth to respond.

Denise looked Mike up and down. "Pity. A hot-looking guy like you could get any girl to do anything you wanted."

"The only thing I would want her to do is introduce me to her brother!"

"And you're funny too. I like that."

Ed waved a hand in front of their faces. "Does anyone remember me, the straight guy in the conversation?"

"Keep it in your jockstrap. I'll get to you," Denise told Ed. She turned back towards Mike. "So, are you 'I accidentally saw a dude in the locker room and it kind of turned me on gay' or 'gay until graduation' or, like, for reals, you only do it with guys gay?"

"Definitely the last one," Mike informed her. "I think that's my exit cue. Have fun you two." Mike beat a hasty retreat across the room.

As Mike slipped away, he heard Denise tell Ed, "Put that beer down. You're going to need both your hands."

Mike glanced out the window as if he was actually interested in the comings and goings of the dorm parking area. There was nothing sadder than looking lost and lonely in a room full of people having a good time.

After an appropriate amount of time passed and he'd twice counted all the burnt out lights in the parking lot, Mike headed for the door. He felt Ed's hand on his shoulder just as he was about to make his escape.

"Hey, Mike, wait up, where are you going?"

"Back to our room. This isn't my scene."

"No bare male chests with sweaty pecs?" Ed quipped.

Mike didn't miss a beat. "Have you been using my computer again?"

"Um, no. That's a mistake a straight guy only makes once! Stick around. Denise, that's the girl I was dancing with, says she doesn't have a brother, but she does have a gay friend who lives in one of the dorms. She showed me his picture on her phone. He looked like your type so I told her to text him!"

"Ed, please don't try to play gay matchmaker. That is soooo not a good idea."

"Too late." Ed pointed across the room. "That's him."