Chapter 19

I awoke with my lips brushing against Grant’s. I gave Grant’s lower lip a soft nibble, and felt, rather than saw, the corners of his mouth turn upwards in a smile, as he came fully awake and tightened his arms around me.

Last night we had showered together when we’d made it back to our room, excitedly exchanging summaries of our experiences at the party, continuing as we went to bed. Grant had laughed in delight when I told about my encounter with Andrew. We had managed to make love only once before exhaustion caught up with us, and we slept through the breakfast hour. Both awake now, we stretched our muscles without letting go of each other. I felt Grant squeeze one of my legs between his, a preliminary to another lovemaking session. And I felt a need for love right now, to clear away the unfocussed gloom I had awakened with. I sighed as I felt Grant’s hands brushing up and down my back. They suddenly stopped. I opened my eyes in surprise. “What’s wrong?” I saw Grant frowning at me.

“Are you thinking he’s going to file a complaint about last night?”

My eyes popped wide open. “You reading minds now?”

Grant gave a small shake of his head. “Only works with you.”

“How’d you know I was thinking about my brother?”

“That’s the only thing that would give you that expression. You think I haven’t seen that enough in the last week to recognize it?”

My sigh this time was a symbol of deflation. “Okay, I guess I made it too easy for you. No, I’m pretty sure he won’t complain to the Dean. I know him well enough to know he’d rather be an alley bum than let anybody know he was gullible enough to be played like that. But the next time I’m on host duty for a party he’ll be back. Even madder than before.” The First Years would host another party in two months, but I would be monitoring Darrel for that one. But the party after that ... I shuddered. “Four months seemed like forever last night. But now it feels like tomorrow. And that trick won’t work again. Dammit! I offered him an olive branch. I thought I had him convinced, all he had to do was keep coming back and I would love him and let him buy me when I graduate. I did my best, acting like I really loved him. But he left the party early, and he wouldn’t have done that if he’d still been in a good mood.”

Grant gave me a comforting squeeze with his arms. “Four months is plenty of time to figure out what to do. We can make a plan, like we did for last night.” He frowned and rolled his eyes. “Okay, I know that one didn’t work...”

I smiled at him and reached up to brush his hair. “Well, we’ve got longer this time. But...” I drew another sigh from what now seemed an endless supply. “Anybody I talk to at a party might be standing in for him. I don’t see any way to know if he’s going to suddenly show up for a private session, or what I can do about it if he does. And I’ve got to be a host for a bunch more parties before we graduate. The only way to get out of bedding down guests is to be the entertainment, like Perry.”

Grant nodded solemnly, and then suddenly gasped, his eyes flying open, his body twitching with excitement. I said quickly, “No, hon, I wasn’t thinking of volunteering to die just to get out of seeing Andrew. Kind of defeats the purpose...”

Grant shook his head emphatically. “No, that’s not what I was thinking!”

He was excited, and I looked at him, baffled. “What are you thinking, then?”

“You were talking about being the entertainment. I’m wondering if the Dean might be willing to approve something new along those lines.”

I was still at sea, but beginning to absorb Grant’s excitement. I gave him a hand-twirling, get-on-with-it gesture.

Grant grinned. “I’ve been thinking since last night about that fantasy you did with Benjamin, about us being hanged together and making love while we did it. Don’t you figure all the members would want to see that?”

I gaped at him. “What, do it in front of everybody at a party?”

“Yes! They’d pay to see that! That’s why the Dean would be willing to let us do it!”