5

The things that happened early in the next morning were mostly a blur. Jared woke up first and took a shower, and Darnell had one after him. It was strange to have someone stay the night, so Jared was a bit nervous and confused about how to treat Darnell, so he just went with letting the man do what he wanted to while following him around.

It was Saturday, and Jared didn't have work to do. Darnell also didn't seem to be in a hurry to leave. The younger man got into his change of clothes he had brought with him before helping Jared out with the laundry and vacuuming because he felt useless just sitting around and doing nothing. Jared was mostly quiet as he sorted things out and arranged the assignment sheets he was planning to mark later in the day. They were both in the living room of the three-room duplex now. As they went about their business Darnell rambled on about things Jared could only understand in bits and pieces.

"You do drag?" the older man asked when Darnell just finished trailing off about dressing up and performing at a bar with his friend.

Darnell gave the older man a smile before nodding. "Yes!" he said, pausing what he was doing before looking over at Jared with a wide smile. "You should come to one of my shows. I don't really have many now because I'm just starting out, but if I get a gig next week, I'll invite you," Darnell mentioned, and Jared bit his bottom lip in thought. Gay bars that hosted drag shows held his biggest fear — pretty effeminate men that looked at him like he was scum. It was strange. If people thought the emphasis on looks when dating the opposite gender was cruel, they would break down if they had to spend over an hour on Grindr.

"Well?" Darnell asked, turning on the vacuum cleaner again. Jared apologized when he realized he had spaced out before running a hand through his dark hair. He was sitting on the longest sofa in his sitting room with the center table drawn close to him so that he could have a surface to arrange the sheets on.

"Sure, I'll come," he said when he noticed the mild irritation on Darnell's face. The young man immediately cheered up before he started rambling on about something else. He spoke too fast, so much so that Jared could only pick up a few words, but the older man didn't mind. It felt nice to have someone with him. It was also nice that Darnell was talking to him, and not pretending he was a brick wall.

It was one of those things he had worried about when they were still sorting out their contract. They were miles away age-wise, and Jared felt that they wouldn't have things to talk about or say to each other, but Austin assured him it wouldn't matter much.

"What do you teach?"

"Hm?" Jared stopped what he was doing to stare at Darnell who was now sitting on one of the living room sofas. He had put the vacuum clear away, and the carpet looked spotless.

Darnell shrugged, hugging himself as he pursed his lips. "You're a lecturer, right? What do you teach?" Darnell asked again, making rub the back of his neck.

"Physics," Jared answered, looking back down at his students' assignments. He had a lot of good students, but sometimes he wondered how some of them made it far enough to take a 300-level class.

"That's nice," Darnell said, giving Jared a smile. The older man felt his face warm up. He looked away, a little scared about how Darnell made him feel.

"So—" Jared started, pausing as he looked up at Darnell. The man was in lose jogging trousers and a plain white baggy top. his curly hair seemed shorter, probably from the water getting into his hair in the shower. He was slender, but not in a sickly or unhealthy way. Darnell looked up at Jared, waiting for him to ask his question. He had his hands folded under his shirt. It looked funny but cute. Jared wondered how someone could look so attractive when in such common attire.

"What are you majoring in?" It sounded like such a stupid question coming out of Jared's mouth, but he didn't have anything to talk about with Darnell, and since the young man hand brought up his profession there was no harm in asking him about school, right?

"Economics," Darnell said, answering Jared's question before looking down at his feet. He was using his toes to brush through the hairs of the carpet, leaving tiny trails of flat carpet material behind with each comb.

"Oh, that's a good course," Jared said, pressing his hands together as he watched Darnell play with the carpet. The younger man let out a small chuckle before looking up and smiling. Jared looked away again, running a hand through his hair as he looked down at the pile of assignment sheets. Darnell was always smiling, but Jared still hadn't gotten used to it.

"Yeah, I guess it is," Darnell said as Jared glanced at him again. The younger man looked lost in thought like he was trying to decide what to say. "I was going to drop out because I got kicked out from home and couldn't afford it anymore—" he paused as if he realized he was saying too much. "Well, that's out of the way and I don't have to anymore. Thanks," he said instead, giving Jared a small smile. Jared wasn't sure if Darnell was thanking him for the arrangement they had, or he was saying 'thanks' in the offhanded way some of his students did. Oh well, it's not like he needed to understand.

When Austin was still playing middleman, Jared had been worried that Darnel attended the university he taught at, but Austin told him it was the little business college at the other end of town. Jared didn't know they had an Economics program, but it made sense that they did.