Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 60851 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60851 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
“Okay.” Dev stuck out his hand. “Let’s shake on it. A gentleman’s agreement, if you will.”
Ewan’s hand was warm and strong, and the touch of his lightly calloused palm made Dev imagine how it would feel on other parts of his body. The thought that he would be finding out exactly how that felt very soon was enough to make him flush all the way to the tips of his ears.
Ewan grinned at him. “When do you want to start?”
Dev cleared his throat. “Well… I need time to make a list of exactly what I want to learn from you.”
“Of course you do.”
The amusement in Ewan’s tone made Dev look at him sharply. Was he taking the piss? Dev wasn’t always good at knowing when he was being teased, which was part of what made him an easy target for bullies.
But Ewan added, “It’s fine. It would be useful to know what you want to do, and if there’s anything you don’t want to do.”
“Okay, I’ll do that soon. I guess maybe we could start next weekend? No point in delaying, but we’re probably both quite busy during the week.”
“Yeah. Actually….”
Ewan rubbed his chin, drawing Dev’s attention to the pale orange stubble that covered his jaw. The freckles that sprinkled his nose were almost the same pale golden brown as his eyes. “I have a stats assignment due on Monday, and I’m really struggling with it. I don’t suppose you could help me out with that tomorrow, could you?”
“Okay, sure.” Dev felt a thrill of excitement at getting started. Maybe working on statistics would be less fun than learning about sex, but he liked numbers, and the idea of getting to spend some time with Ewan was appealing. If he got to know him better, then it might feel more natural to have sex with him. Because although he liked the idea of that—he really liked the idea of that—it was also pretty terrifying at the same time.
What if Dev was awful at it? Just because he was a good student at academic subjects didn’t mean he’d be any good at kissing, or blow jobs, or any of the other things he’d seen people doing to each other on the Internet.
“Shall I bring my work over here? Or do you want to come to mine?” Ewan asked.
“I’ll come to yours,” Dev said. “And I’ll bring my list over then, too, so that we can talk about where to start next weekend.”
“What—?” Ewan frowned. “Oh, that list.” His cheeks turned pink, making his freckles less visible for a moment. “Yes, okay.”
“What time?” Dev picked up his phone and opened his calendar.
“Um… twoish?”
“Do you mean two’s okay? Or would you rather I came a bit later?” Dev liked to be clear about those things.
Ewan’s lips curved for a moment before he replied. “Two’s fine.”
Dev typed it into his phone for two o’clock: Help Ewan with stats. “Okay.” He smiled. “I’ll see you then.”
“Right. And Dev… maybe you should consider editing your Grindr profile for now? Tone it down a little so you sound less… I dunno, or make your profile more anonymous, perhaps?”
“Yeah, maybe you’re right.”
“Okay. See you tomorrow.”
And with that, Ewan turned and went.
Dev took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Well… it seemed as if Grindr had helped him find what he was looking for, after all. If only indirectly. He opened his phone again, pulled up the app, and winced when he saw a message from someone called holedestroyer1965. Dev promptly deleted his profile without reading the message. He could always make another one when he was sexually experienced and ready to roll.
CHAPTER FOUR
Ewan was lugging the vacuum cleaner up the stairs when he met Nadia coming in the other direction.
“Bloody hell, that’s a first,” Nadia said as she retreated back to the landing to let him past.
“Thanks,” he panted as he reached the top and set his burden down. “And fuck off. I hoover my room sometimes.”
She arched a dark eyebrow. “Yeah, like the time you dropped a bag of Doritos on the floor when you were pissed and then walked all over them in the night.”
“Well, yes. Like that time.” He glared at her. Nadia’s memory was far too good.
“Better once—sorry, twice—than never, I guess.” She grinned and Ewan softened. It was hard to be annoyed with Nadia for long. “So, what’s the occasion? Hot date?”
Ewan hesitated a fraction too long before answering. “No, I’m just helping a friend with an assignment.”
“A friend.” She didn’t look convinced. “You don’t usually clean for friends.”
“Well, you know. The muck on my floor has reached critical mass, so….”
“Okay, then. Have fun, with your friend.” She passed him and started to go down the stairs.
Ewan wasn’t sure how much fun an afternoon of statistics would be, but it would be better with Dev’s company than struggling through it alone. “Thanks,” he said to her retreating back. “I will.”