Chapter Twelve
After his last lecture on Friday, Luke found Krish stood outside the lecture hall waiting for him. Luke paused when he saw him. What was Krish going to say to him?
There had been no contact between them since Krish had kissed him that night. When Krish had been in the lectures as TA, he'd not looked towards Luke once. Luke had spent most of his lectures slumped in his seat, sat in between Jack and Toby, avoiding everyone.
The online comments had ceased, and except for Sarah and her friends, no one said anything towards him. It appeared that, for all intents and purposes, the rumour mill had moved on to some other poor victim.
Luke watched Krish. Biting his lip, he scuffed his trainer on the floor waiting for everyone to leave. Krish kept his eyes on him, causing Luke's heart to thump in his chest and sweat to break out over his skin.
He recognised that look. He'd seen it plenty of times before when he'd been working. Krish's lips were parted, his hand gripping his bag and his eyes would glance at Luke's body continuously then flick back to Luke's face. Krish wasn't hiding his desire for Luke.
Luke swallowed hard. Krish was a man, and Luke had sworn off men-- well, letting a man fuck him-- and given how Luke looked, he knew it was women for him. No man would look at Luke and think that he was a top.
Once everyone had left, Krish slowly walked towards Luke, maintaining eye contact.
Luke panted, his face filling with heat, his hands sweaty. When Krish stood in front of him, Luke looked up into his face.
"Hi," he whispered, licking his lips.
Krish's gaze dropped to his lips, watching, and Luke was certain he heard a small moan.
"Lunch?" Krish asked, still looking at Luke's lips.
Luke blinked. Lunch? That wasn't what he was expecting Krish to say.
Nodding, Luke asked, "Where?" He coughed when his voice broke, smiled, and tried again. "Where do you want to go for lunch?"
Smiling wide, Krish glanced over his shoulder then back at Luke. "Canteen?"
Luke nodded and walked down the corridor towards the canteen. Neither spoke, and every time Luke glanced over at Krish, he found Krish watching him. His skin burned. Krish looked at him with such intensity, such want.
Breathing deeply, Luke tried to control his body's reactions to Krish. After all this time, it was a man who made him react like this. Even when he'd been with Sarah, his body had never wanted her like he clearly wanted Krish.
Once they entered the canteen, the noise hit them. Loud, full of chatter and people laughing. Busy. It was very busy.
Luke saw the queue for the food and groaned.
"Don't worry. It won't take long. Grab the table, and I'll get the food."
Luke scanned the area and found a table where the occupants were getting ready to leave. "Over there."
Krish nodded, looking over towards where Luke was pointing. "What you eating?"
"Jacket with cheese and beans, thanks. Oh, and a Coke, please."
Krish nodded again and headed towards the queue, joining it at the end. Luke waited for the table to become free, and smiling as the previous occupants passed him, he sat down, dropping his bag to the floor.
Leaning on the table, Luke glanced around the canteen and found Sarah and another man watching him. Luke smiled and waved at them, causing them to look away. Chuckling, Luke looked at Krish, watching him get their food. Maybe he should have been more confrontational with Sarah. Challenged her over her behaviour and the rumours she'd been spreading. Maybe it would have ended sooner.
Sighing, Luke looked down at his clasped hands on the table. If Sarah hadn't split up with him and started the rumours, then Luke wouldn't have met Krish. Luke snorted. He still wasn't sure about that, though. Krish made him feel emotions Luke wasn't sure he was ready to face.
The only issue was Krish's sex – he was a man. Obviously.
Luke had sworn off men. All men. Yet here he sat thinking about a man. The first one to truly catch his attention.
He'd been so engrossed in his thoughts, he hadn't been aware of Krish's arrival until a tray appeared on the table in front of him.
Luke jumped, his hand going to his chest. "Fuck, you scared me." He chuckled.
"Yeah, I could see the smoke coming out from your ears." Krish smiled at him, putting Luke's plate in front of him.
"Fuck off," Luke said, smiling up at him.
Krish chuckled and sat down. "Hey, I just bought you lunch. Be nice to me."
"Thanks," Luke muttered, as he began to eat.
"So, how's this week been? Any more issues with the ex?"
Luke swallowed the food he'd been chewing, then answered. "No, she seems to have stopped. She still says things, but everyone else has stopped. I guess they've moved on to someone else now."
"That's good. What about you? How have you been?"
"Yeah, good. It's easy now the rumours have stopped." Luke paused, watching Krish. Putting his cutlery down, he asked, "Is everything okay?"
Krish frowned, fork paused in the air. "What you mean?"
"There." Rubbing the back of his neck, Luke swallowed again. "I mean, after last week..."
"Oh." Krish also put his cutlery down and leaned forward on the table. "Between us?" Luke nodded. "Everything is fine."
Luke exhaled heavily, closing his eyes. "Thanks," he muttered.
"I wanted to give you some space. It wasn't because I didn't want to see you again. I do, very much."
Luke's eyes flicked up to Krish's then glanced away. "You do?" Luke whispered. He wasn't stupid. He'd seen the looks Krish had given him.
"Yeah, I do, which is why I asked you to lunch. I wanted to ask you out for a drink again. Are you okay with that?" Krish tilted his head when he asked him.
Luke sucked in a breath. He'd been waiting for Krish to ask him.
They looked at each other for a few seconds, neither breaking away. Eventually, Luke nodded. He was attracted to Krish, but he needed to make sure that Krish knew where Luke stood.
Luke coughed, clearing his throat. "Look, Krish, I need to be honest with you." Luke glanced around the canteen, making sure no one was paying attention to them. Leaning closer to Krish, he continued. "I don't bottom. Ever. I had to do that on the streets, but I'm not going to do it again. So, if you're asking me out because you think at some point you'll get a chance to fuck me, you won't. I just need you to know that. Also, I don't think I could ever suck you off."
Luke sat back and glanced around the canteen again before finally looking at Krish. Krish leaned back in his chair, his fingers playing with the cutlery on the table. Eventually, Krish nodded. "That's good. People look at me and assume I'm a top because I'm tall and broad, but I'm not."
Luke gasped. That was the last thing he'd expected Krish to say. Krish was right. Even Luke had assumed that Krish would top and not willingly bottom.
"Oh. I thought..."
"Yeah, most men do." Krish gave a small smile. "Seeing as we are being honest, I need to tell you something."
"Okay." Luke frowned.
Krish leaned closer. "I like to give up control in the bedroom."
"Dominated? To what extent?" Luke knew some of that lifestyle because Ben was in it, but he hadn't asked many questions.
"I like to be told what to do, tied up." Krish shrugged, looking away.
"Okay," Luke mumbled. So, he would be in charge. Luke wiped his mouth with his hand, staring at Krish. Now he knew where things stood sexually, was Luke ready to give this a go? Was he ready to try and have a relationship with a man?
They continued to watch each other and eventually, Luke looked away, nodding. "I'm glad," he whispered.
"Finish your food, Luke. We can talk about this some more tomorrow. That's if you still want to go for drinks?"
Luke nodded again. "Yeah, yeah. I'd love that."
Both smiled at each other and began to eat again. As they neared the end of the meal, a shadow fell over the table, causing both of them to look up. Sarah. Sarah and who Luke assumed was her boyfriend.
Dropping his cutlery onto his plate, Luke leaned back, glaring up at Sarah. "What do you want?"
"My question isn't for you." Sarah smirked. "It's for him." Turning to Krish, she asked, "So, how much are you paying him?"
"Pardon? How much am I paying him?" Krish put his cutlery down, leaned forward on the table, and glared at Sarah. "How do you know the things that you have said are true? You've gone around spreading rumours and causing problems, and you don't actually know if a single word you've said is the truth? You know I can pull you up for that? We have an anti-bullying policy here, and you, over the last few weeks, have been exactly that. A bully. Do you want me to report you?" Krish raised an eyebrow as he spoke to her and Luke covered his mouth with his hand, trying hard not to smile at the look that flickered across Sarah's face.
"He's a hole. A dirty, used up hole. How do you know that I'm not telling the truth?"
"Because I've actually spoken to Luke, something you clearly haven't done. You know, when someone lives on the street, there is help available for them and places that they can go. Did you even ask Luke if he'd used any of those resources available to him? My answer would be no. You found out that he'd ended up on the streets and you dumped him and then spread all these rumours, not knowing the truth. What kind of person does that make you, Sarah? That you would use an obviously difficult and stressful time in Luke's life against him?" Krish glanced at the man stood next to Sarah. "I hope you're prepared? Can you imagine what she'd say about you if she found something out that you didn't want people to know?" Krish glanced between the two of them before speaking again. "I suggest you both leave. Otherwise, I will make a full complaint against you both."
Sarah glared at the pair of them before muttering, "This isn't over."
"But Sarah, it clearly is. If you say one more word about Luke to him or behind his back, I will make life here very difficult for you, and I'll make sure that everyone knows about you and what you've done. Think about your future, Sarah. Is it worth ruining it, simply to spread a few vicious rumours?"
The man with Sarah grabbed her hand. "Come on. He's not worth it." He attempted to pull Sarah away, but Sarah was having none of it.
She turned and looked back at him. "You heard him. He threatened me."
"No, he gave you the warning you deserve." He dropped her hand and walked off, leaving Sarah stood next to the table on her own.
"Oops, guess he got fed up with you." Krish picked up his cutlery and began to finish the rest of his meal. He paused with his cutlery in the air. "Why are you still stood here? I'm trying to eat, and you're putting me off my food."
Sarah huffed and stomped off. Luke burst out laughing, watching her walk away. "I wish I'd had you around earlier. She might have stopped sooner."
Krish shrugged. "She has an issue with you. Just watch your back."
Luke sobered, nodding in agreement. "Yeah, she has. I don't know what I've done to deserve it. She's the one with the problem, not me."
"Eat your food and forget all about her. She's not worth your time."
They ate their food, talking about the course before leaving the canteen. As they stood outside, Krish turned to Luke, asking, "So, tomorrow night?"
Luke nodded. "Yeah."
"Okay, I'll text you tomorrow with the details."
Luke nodded again and took a couple of steps away, still watching Krish. He said goodbye, and they went their separate ways.
Luke was looking forward to tomorrow night, but he was also scared shitless. A date with a man, something he thought he'd never do. But now Luke had made the decision, he couldn't wait.