Lessons After Midnight (mxm)

Chapter 2

"Did you see that new nightclub that opened up? It's a few blocks down from the cafe we had lunch at a little while ago." I asked.

"Yeah, I do remember seeing the grand opening on Facebook. Have you checked it out yet?" She questioned.

"I stopped by on Saturday for the opening night. I figured it'd do my writing a favor if I got out of the house." I responded.

"What did you think of it? It's a kink club, right? Like the one you and Matt used to go to?"

I scoffed at the mention of my ex. "It was okay. It looks a lot nicer than the clubs from Illinois." I shrugged.

"So, did you meet anyone?" She asked excitedly.

"Milani," I gave her a look. "Not yet," I said bluntly.

"Okay, Okay, I'll lay off it." She laughed as she waved her hand at me.

✯✯✯

I found myself sitting at my desk more often throughout the week. I had made little progress in my story, but it's more words than I've written in nearly a year. I had a few books published, and they seemed to be doing well. I was writing the fourth book of the series when I lost my inspiration.

However, Milani would go on and on about how proud she was that I started writing again.

Her want with talking of Matt didn't falter one bit since the day I moved to Vermont. The last she had seen me in Illinois, Matt and I were as happy as could be.

Ever since I had mentioned the new nightclub, Milani has ever so subtly been hinting for me to 'put myself out there' as she so deliberately puts it. She even offered to come with me to the club for a night or two. She was trying her best to be a good friend, it was evident by her actions. She wanted for me to be happy, and for her, happiness lies within a good relationship.

I mean, if she didn't value relationships as her source of happiness, she wouldn't have moved all the way up here with her fiancé. As I've recently learned, her fiancé was some kind of government employee who I'd hardly met.

He was a decent guy, but in the eyes of Milani, he was the best straight guy out there. As her gay friend, she always rambled to me about him. His name was Andrew and he specialized in finance. My friend really knew how to choose them I suppose.

✯✯✯

I was reading a book during my English 102 class while they continued on their assignments. I propped my book on my laptop's open screen, using the laptop to hold the book for me. I had given them three days of partial in class time to finish their research on an argument while also writing a short essay in defense of said argument. I figured if they couldn't finish in a full school week and weekend, then they weren't trying hard enough.

As a professor, I considered my teaching style to be laid back. I accepted formatives two days late with ten reduced points every twelve hours it's late, and summatives zero days late unless they had a valid excuse. Any student willing to complain about the policy is a student not worth my extra time grading.

Throughout the hour and a half lecture, the small group in the back was off task and talking quietly amongst themselves. Quiet enough that they weren't disturbing other students, thankfully.

I cleared my throat, catching the attention of the group. Two girls and a male student. The girls looked at me, startled that they caught my attention. The guy, however, looked over at me with a smirk plastered across his face, still amused by whatever they had been talking about.

"The papers are due by the end of the week, please, use your time wisely," I announced to the class. I received a few nods from other students, while the two girls started typing on their computers. Doubting that they were actually writing anything legible.