“Out!” I all but growled at him, pushing him through the door. “No more!”
He laughed as he turned around. I was about to slam the door in his face when he said, “Thanks, Corey. I knew I was right to talk to you. I appreciate it.”
I softened. “Anytime, Diego.”
“But if you ever need advice on how to get with—”
Then I slammed the door in that smug face.
THE FIFTH thing I learned about Jeremy Olsen was he didn’t push. He knew when to back off.
Twenty minutes after I unceremoniously threw Diego out of the office, there was a knock on the door. Sure he was back to give me more shit, I threw it open, ready to snarl at him that I was his elder and therefore deserved respect, but managed to bite my tongue when I saw Jeremy there, hand still raised.
He blinked. “Are you okay?”
I nodded jerkily. “Fine! Everything is fine.”
“You sure about that? You seem a little… worked up.”
Jesus Christ, did everything he said need to sound like innuendo?
(Yes, I am aware that was just how my porn brain chose to process it. Shut up.)
I grinned maniacally at him. “Just having good day!”
“Uh-huh.” He leaned against the door. “Everything good with Diego? Anything we need to be worried about?”
I stepped back, shaking my head. “No. He wanted to talk. Had a few questions about being trans. That’s all.”
Jeremy rubbed his jaw. “Marina seemed surprised.”
“About what?”
He shrugged. “She’s been trying to get Diego to open up for a while. Says he’s a tough nut to crack. She was happy when she thought he chose you to talk to. I am too.”
I turned away from him so he wouldn’t see me flush. “It wasn’t…. It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing, Corey. These kids need to know they can have someone to talk to, someone to ask questions to. It’s important.”
“It’s why I’m here, isn’t it?”
He sounded frustrated. “It’s a compliment. This is a good thing.”
I sighed as I turned back around. “I know. It can be a lot. I mean, I knew what I was getting into, but this was like… my first time.” I groaned. “Jesus, that sounded terrible.”
He laughed. “Especially since you just had a minor in the office behind a closed door.”
I glared at him. “Why do you have to say it like that?”
“One of us had to. But it’s a joke, of course. A little tasteless, but hell, you’re closer to his age than you are to mine, so it was probably a little much. Sorry about that.”
Yeah, great. Wonderful. Peachy. Just what I needed, to be reminded that he was so much older than I was and that he probably saw me just as he saw the others in Phoenix House. “It’s fine. No worries.”
He watched me, looking for what, I didn’t know. Finally, “I’m just happy you’re here. In fact, I probably would have recommended you for this place had I known what I was getting into. I might have even tried to steal you away if you had taken a position anywhere else.”
My traitorous heart started going into overdrive. Did that mean he thought about me constantly and quite possibly pined for me from a distance, wishing things could be different if only so he could eat the breath from my mouth? I mean, that was fucking gross, and I really wish I hadn’t thought it, but still. “You would have done that for me?”
He nodded. “You were one of my best students. I would do that for any one of you.”