Disasterology 101 (16 page)

They couldn’t have chosen a worse day to mess with him.

Unconcerned what they might think of him, Cedric walked closer to the first row of seats and kicked a backpack unceremoniously. When the owner glared at him, Cedric kicked the backpack harder.

“I said they were to be placed to the left of your seat, didn’t I?”

Cedric had already been on edge when he got to MCC. Partly in anticipation of his date with Kevin later that night, partly in fear Kevin would tell him he’d changed his mind, and partly as a result of his day at work.

He’d had a design rejected by his boss. Next, he’d had to deal with a client who couldn’t make up his mind about the dimensions of his new summer house. Then lastly, he’d been forced to attend the design meeting for a new office complex Greenbriar would start building, next spring, in Connecticut.

Cedric relied on technology to do his job at the family company. Computers allowed him to conduct face-to face meetings with clients and colleagues while remaining tucked away in the safety of his office. It worked. In a world where time was precious and people loved their gadgets, video conferences were done frequently and Cedric felt almost normal. The more time he spent alone while working, the bigger the chances he dared to take on social situations.

But they were having some kind of issue with their internet connection that day, and he’d had no option but to show up in person.

He thought, after spending the prior three days completely alone inside his flat, he’d be able to handle it. He told himself, if he could deal with teaching a class, he could deal with a meeting. And he did. He stayed in the conference room with another twenty people for almost an hour without flinching too much, or asking anyone to refrain from breathing and sneezing, but he was paying the consequences.

He’d looked like a freak while constantly wiping off the conference table with the Lysol towelettes he always carried with him, and he’d completely lost his bearings when someone brushed against him in the lift.

He’d been so affected by what should’ve been a minor incident after months of therapy that he’d had to hide in the security office until Roberto came to pick him up.

And now he felt trapped in his classroom.

The last thing he needed was additional anxiety added to his already heavy load, courtesy of a group of students who clearly weren’t aware or didn’t understand his compulsion.

He tugged at his lip ring. Zipped up his hoodie, pulled up his scarf and covered his mouth with it almost entirely.

He still felt like germs were coming at him from all directions.

This wasn’t good. If he didn’t find a way to get himself under control his first real date in years would be a disaster.

“As I’m sure you all know, blueprints are the established form of communication between architects, construction workers, and designers.” He kicked another backpack, prompting the rest of the class to move their own stuff. As a result, Cedric was able to breathe easier. “You have to get familiar with the words and the symbols and understand their purpose in order to be able to read blueprints. Most plans include a legend to explain the symbols used, but we’re not going to rely on that.”

“But we should be able to rely on the legend.”

The comment came from someone in the back.

There; four seats in front of Kevin.

It was one of the young girls that Cedric kept thinking didn’t belong in his class, as he could tell from day one she was all about learning where to place a Jacuzzi and a wet bar and didn’t really care about structural design.

“Why do you think we should?” Cedric asked

“Because they’re included for a reason, right?”

“Such as?”

“Making our lives easier?” She shrugged and gave Cedric a look that clearly indicated she thought he was going mental. “I mean, not using them would be like sending someone a letter when we can just email them. It’s a retrograde concept.”

“It isn’t,” said another girl in the class. This one Cedric liked. He knew from overhearing a conversation in the hallway that she worked for an electrical company and went to school for her engineering degree. She wasn’t here to waste the professor’s time. “You couldn’t write or read emails if you hadn’t learned the alphabet first.”

“It’s so not the same,” the first girl argued. “We’re talking about making use of something that’s readily available.”

“But what if it isn’t?” A guy asked. Cedric couldn’t remember his name, but he was flipping smart. “Professor Haughton said “most” blueprints include a legend; not all of them. What are you going to do if you go to a job and things aren’t spelled out for you?”

“Bat her eyelashes at the project manager until he explains things to her?”

Cedric didn’t see who made the snide comment and he didn’t care to find out. As far as he was concerned the girl had walked right into that one.

“Symbols are one of the main components of blueprints,” he told the girl. “If you don’t learn to identify them you’ll fail this class; it’s as simple as that.”

He turned around and started writing on the whiteboard, but not before stealing another look in Kevin Morrison’s direction. Cedric was painfully aware of his presence and, hard as he tried, he couldn’t quite control the excitement buzzing through his entire body.

Memories of Kevin on his knees on that sex shop’s filthy floor, big hands firmly planted on Cedric’s hips, and mouth wrapped around his cock took him by storm. Kevin had been so nervous and eager, the blow job turned out to be the clumsiest Cedric had ever received, but good God… he was desperate to get Kevin to give him another one.

He cleared his throat before facing the class and pointing at what he’d written. “There are three main types of blueprints: plan, elevation and section. Does anyone know what specific two-dimensional views are provided by each type?”

A few hands went up and Cedric pointed at the guy sitting in front of Kevin to answer. Randomly. It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he’d happened to be looking at the object of his sexual desire right before he posed the question.

There was something distinctively rugged about Kevin that had Cedric’s inner fiend clamoring to be let out, germs and compulsions be damned. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on the man.

Lascivious possibilities invaded his mind. There were a few dark and secluded corners in MCC where he could take Kevin. Places where he knew no one would venture.

He could pin Kevin against the wall, pull his jeans down to his knees and bury his throbbing cock in that arsehole as deep as Kevin could take him like he’d been dreaming of. Fuck him fast and furious, and be done with it before he could make even more of an arse out of himself in front of Kevin… before Kevin got freaked out and walked away from him.

Unfortunately for Cedric, a quick shag wasn’t what he wanted from Kevin Morrison.

He stole another look at the handsome man and almost whimpered.

Once again Kevin had come to school straight from work. His backpack and hardhat were on the floor and he was wearing construction boots, a pair of jeans that had been washed so many times they looked soft as velvet and clung to his marvelous arse, and a thick black sweater with Greenbriar’s logo on the back.

His brown hair was messy in that way Cedric figured was the usual for Kevin. He didn’t know what he wanted to do most: brush it himself until it was perfectly coiffed or mess it up some more by sliding his fingers through it. And he didn’t think it was possible, but the five o’ clock shadow on Kevin’s strong jaw made him look sexier than he had before.

Although Kevin looked a tad tired, his dark blue eyes were alert, often glued to Cedric and following him whenever he moved. He even smiled at Cedric before leaving the classroom during the first break, making something flutter inside his chest, which startled the air out of him.

He couldn’t afford too strong an attraction.

He knew better than to hope things between him and another man could work out.

“Professor?”

“Hey!”

“Are you okay?”

Cedric was standing next to Kevin’s seat when he became aware the students were trying to get his attention.

“You spaced out.”

“You weren’t even listening to Lester’s answer to your question.”

They were
all
looking at him, their expressions varying from amused to bewildered... and concerned in Kevin’s case.

“I’m grand,” he barked. In reality, he was narked to no end over his own lack of professionalism, but they didn’t need to know that.

Cedric stared at Kevin’s tempting lips for who knew how long and took a deep breath. He could smell him. His scent was as heady as it’d been the first day of class. Cedric loved it.

There was no way he was going to be able to be around the man after class.

“We’re taking the second break now,” Cedric said before looking away from Kevin. Blood pounding in his ears, he walked to his desk and grabbed his backpack. “I need a fag.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The classroom erupted with laugher two seconds after Cedric walked out the door. It was one hundred percent insensitive and childish behavior, Kevin’s jaw hit the floor in rage and disgust.

He closed his textbook and hunched over his desk. He needed a couple of seconds to process what had just transpired in the presence of a bunch of strangers. Surely the lot would come to some conclusions after seeing the way in which Cedric kept staring at Kevin, and somehow always managed to end up standing suspiciously close to him.

That wasn’t a problem. Kevin couldn’t care less if people here figured out he was gay, and although the issue hadn’t been discussed, he was pretty sure Cedric wasn’t in the closet.

He smiled a little at the sense of freedom that surrounded him, but he was worried about how showing “romantic” interest in a student might affect Cedric’s position with Metropolitan Community College. Not that Kevin thought for a minute the guy depended on this job financially. He
was
a rich architect. Which meant teaching this class was something Cedric either needed or wanted to do, and whatever the reason behind it, Kevin wanted him to be able to do it.

A big hand landed on his shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Dude, did Professor Wacko just not-so-subtlety ask you to join him outside?” The guy sitting behind Kevin asked. “I didn’t even know you were hooking up with that freak. You certainly didn’t look like a fag to me.”

“Have some respect.” Kevin twisted his head and glared at the insensitive jerk talking out of his ass. “In case you haven’t noticed,
Professor
Haughton-Disley is from England. Fag means cigarette over there, which means he went out for a smoke.”

“Easy now,” the jerk said, putting his hands up in mock surrender and making a funny face. “No need to bite my head off.”

“I will if you don’t watch your mouth.”

Kevin was so pissed off his threat came out as a growl. He sounded menacing and he hoped the asshole took him seriously. There was no arguing Cedric had issues, but everything inside Kevin rebelled against allowing anybody to make fun of the guy.

Barely conscious of the fact he’d probably just added some serious fodder for gossip Kevin got up from his seat and exited the classroom. He didn’t even realize he was looking for Cedric until he found himself outside on the sidewalk.

The guy wasn’t among the other smokers.

This wasn’t good. If Cedric felt the need to hide now, then it was probably safe to think he’d not want company later. Especially not Kevin’s.

Even if Cedric liked it when Kevin was moderately stinky, he wouldn’t be able to hang out with a man that had no option but to show up all dirty to class, and consequently, their first date. He’d said something to that effect during their first real conversation. Or was it the second? Kevin couldn’t remember. The desire he felt for the guy with the hot as hell piercings and snotty accent had his brain all scrambled.

He glanced at his jeans and boots then shook his head slowly.

Usually Kevin left work in a rather presentable state, but some scattered showers over lower Manhattan and the construction site had ensured he looked like a mud-wrestler by the time he’d made it to class. And he’d been running late, too. He didn’t even have time to stop by the bathroom and clean himself up a bit before Cedric saw him.