by J. Castle
Grad School
J. Castle
Copyright © 2020 J. Castle
All rights reserved
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
The cover image contains models that are in no way represented by this story.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
This book contains consenting adults in adult situations and is for adult readers.
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Chapter 1
Ethan
Chapter 2
Andy
Chapter 3
Ethan
Chapter 4
Andy
Chapter 5
Ethan
Chapter 6
Andy
Chapter 7
Ethan
Chapter 8
Andy
Epilogue
Ethan
5 Years later
Books By This Author
Chapter 1
Ethan
My farther, Bob, and I packed my truck in Savanah, Georgia on a Friday night in July. It was hot. By the end of it my shirt was soaked with sweat and stuck to my chest. I was glad to be done with it but wasn’t too thrilled with what was next: a long car ride to Bowington, New Hampshire the following morning so that I could start grad school at Bowington State university. I was going for a master’s in political science. I was excited for school, less excited for the long drive with my father. I never would have guessed when I made plans to move to New England that I would find the perfect partner, or that he would be my classmate and best friend.
I went to bed early that night but before I knew it my father poked his head into my room and switched on the light. “You up yet?” he asked.
“N-No,” I said still mostly asleep.
“Come on, Ethan. We’ve got to get going.”
“What time is it?” I asked as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes.
“4 a.m. Time to get up. There’s a mug of coffee in the kitchen with your name on it.”
In my world there is no 4 a.m. Normal people aren’t awake that early, but he was right; we had to get going. I reluctantly rolled out of bed, got dressed, and drank the mug of coffee as quickly as I could. My dad had two travel cups filled ready to go.
“You’re going to want this,” he said as he pushed one into my hands. We left the house and hit the road for New Hampshire.
I was ready for a new challenge, and I was ready to finally put some distance between me and my family. Don’t get me wrong, I love my family, but I come from a strong religious background and have three brother and two sisters. At times, they can feel suffocating. It didn’t help that I still lived with my parents and commuted to campus during the four years of my undergrad. New Hampshire seemed just far enough away when I was looking into programs and the perfect place to start with a clean slate.
We could have done the drive in a day, but we decided to spend a night just south of New York City on the way up. We had both never been there and this was a good opportunity to see a bit of the city. It took us twelve hours to get to our hotel from Georgia and I was too tired to talk. My dad on the other hand point out every eagle and hawk he saw flying over or perched on the side of the road. He always like to point birds whenever we drove someplace.
We parked the truck and checked into our hotel. There was a train station just down the street that went right into the city. We had lived in a large city, but New York is considerably larger and incredibly different.
We made it into the city by dinner time and my father picked a fancy restaurant. He wanted to treat me to a nice meal as a sort of sendoff. “Are you excited for school, Ethan?” my dad asked as he cut into his steak.
“Yeah,” I said. “I’m taking it as a new start.”
“That’s a good way to look at it,” he said. “Maybe you could find a girlfriend, a good Catholic girl, to bring back to Georgia with you when you finish. Your younger brother is talking about proposing to his girlfriend soon.”
I hated when my dad brought up this subject. My brother was 20 and had been with his girlfriend since freshman year of high school. My dad always talked about how they had been together for so long and how one day soon they would make him a grandfather. I, on the other hand, never had a girlfriend. It’s not that I didn’t like girls, I was just never interested in having a girlfriend.
“Sure,” I said as I looked at the table. I wasn’t going to argue with him.
“Another thing,” he started, “while you’re in New Hampshire, don’t forget where you came from. Remember to go to church.”
I nodded in agreement as my dad chewed his steak.
I could tell he was nervous about me moving so far away. All of my siblings still lived close to home and they still went to church with my parents on Sundays. I had always gone to church, too. I had been an altar boy when I was younger but once I started college, I kind of lost interest in my faith. I mean maybe there’s a god but who says which is the right one? Maybe I’d find a church to join, but at least I would tell them I had joined one.
After our meal we took the train back out of the city to the hotel. It had been a long day. We had been in the truck for what seemed like forever and then spent what was left of the day exploring the city. I was beat. I fell asleep as soon has my head hit the pillow.
The alarm on my phone went off early the next morning. It felt like I had only just fallen asleep. I tried to hit the snooze, but my dad was already up and ready to go. I slowly got up, got dressed, and we got back in the truck. It’s a good think my dad was driving. I fell asleep in the passenger seat with my head against the window.
We made good time to New Hampshire and my new landlord met us outside of the house I was going to be renting with a key. I had found the property online and signed a lease based only on pictures the landlord sent in an email. The deal seemed almost too good to be true, but I jumped on it. It was a two-bedroom house and I could afford it on my own on my small grad school stipend. I guess that’s what happens when you pick a program in a rural location. I was surprised to see that when I walked inside it looked exactly like the images he sent.
The rental was partly furnished in the living room and dining room. I had brought a bedroom set, a desk and chair, some kitchen supplies, and all of my clothes. My dad and I got to work unloading my stuff, ready for the day to be over.
As I was pulling my dresser out of the bed of my truck a guy who looked about my age, 22, with shaggy brown hair came walking down the street with his dog.
“Georgia?” he said pointing to my license plate as he got closer. “Don’t see too many cars from Georgia up here.”
“Yup! I just got here,” I replied as I jumped out of the back of the truck.
“You don’t have much have an accent,” he said sounding somewhat surprised. “What brings you to New Hampshire?”
“I’m starting grad school in the fall.”
“Oh cool! Me too. I’m Andy Taylor,” he said as he smiled and stuck out his hand for a handshake.
“I’m Ethan Martin.” I shook his hand. His skin was smooth and soft. His grip was firm but gentle. “Who’s this little guy,” I said as I knelt down to pet his dog.
“This is Buddy.”
Andy knelt down to my level and our eyes met. He flashed a smirk and seemed friendly.
I scratched Buddy behind his ears as his tail wagged with excitement. “Who’s a good boy? Are you a good boy?” I said
in that cutesy and annoying voice people use when they pet animals.
“We should hang out sometime,” Andy suggested as we both stood back up.
“Sure thing. I could use a new friend up here.”
We were exchanging numbers when I started to feel something wet and warm splash onto my pants. Buddy had lifted his leg and started to pee on me.
“Buddy! No!” Andy ordered as he tugged on his leash. I quickly pulled my leg away. “I am so sorry,” Andy said. His face had turned the brightest shade of red I had ever seen. He was clearly embarrassed.
“No big deal. It’ll wash right out,” I tried to reassure him.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” he kept saying.
“Don’t even worry about it. Honestly.”
All of a sudden, Buddy took off running down the street. He had pulled his leash out of Andy’s hand and was getting away.
“I gotta’ go,” Andy said abruptly, and he quickly chased after his dog down the street. “Buddy, get back here!”
I figured he could probably use some help so I left my dad by the truck and started running, too. I was a faster than Andy and quickly moved ahead of him. I had run on the track team in high school and college. My family certainly didn’t have a lot of money to spend on tuition with so many mouths to feed, so the athletic scholarships helped get me through school. But Buddy was even faster than I was and was getting away. Suddenly, he stopped to sniff a pile of trash in front of someone’s house a few blocks away. If he hadn’t I never would have caught him. I quickly stomped my foot on his leash which was three feet behind him to stop him from getting away again. Just as I bent down to pick it up, Andy caught up to us.
“Here, I think this is yours,” I said out of breath and with a smile as I handed him the looped end of the leash.
“Thanks.” Andy was panting. His face was even more red then when Buddy had peed on me. I couldn’t tell if it was from the running or feeling embarrassed. “I have to get home,” he said and quickly walked away from me.
“Text me sometime!” I shouted after him.
I went inside, washed off my leg, and changed into a dry pair of pants. My dad and I finished moving my stuff into the house. It didn’t take us long and I was relieved when we were done. It had been a long two days.
My dad spent the night in my new place and I drove home down to Boston the next day, so he could fly back to Georgia. “Remember what I said at dinner the other night,” he said as he got out of the truck at the airport. “Don’t forget where you came from. And please, for the love of God, try to find a good Catholic girl for us,” he added with a smile.
“Don’t worry, dad,” I said. “I won’t, and I will.” He shut the door and I pulled away.
I spent the rest of the summer getting ahead in my courses. I had reached out to all of my professors and had gotten copies of the reading lists. I read as much as I possibly could every day. I had forgotten about Andy and buddy. I didn’t hear from him and I didn’t see him walking through the neighborhood. If I had run into him I would have stopped to talk to him. He seemed like a nice enough guy. To be fair, though, I didn’t text him either. I was too busy reading.
Chapter 2
Andy
I had avoided walking through Ethan’s end of the neighborhood for the rest of the summer. I didn’t want to risk bumping into him and there was no way I was going to text him after what Buddy had done. I was far too embarrassed to see him again. I picked a new route to walk.
When the fall came I was excited to start my own graduate program. I had just finished my undergrad in the spring. I majored in English but wanted to get my master’s in political science. I wanted to go into non-profit work, maybe become a director one day. I doubted that I would find work with only an English degree in rural New Hampshire and I didn’t want to end up working at a coffee shop for the rest of my life.
I’m always early. My parents used to always be late, so to make up for it, I show up to things well ahead of time. Sure, it can get awkward if I am at the first one to a party but getting to class early also meant I got to pick whatever seat I wanted. The first day of my first graduate seminar was no different and I got to the room a few minutes before anyone else. I took a seat at the far end of the table.
I dug through my backpack and pulled out my notebook and a pen. When I looked back up, there he was. My heart sank. I could feel the blood rush to my face. I knew my cheeks were bright red. Ethan was in the same seminar and he was the first person to enter the room after me. This meant that he was in the same political science program as me and that we were in the same cohort. I wasn’t going to be able to avoid him anymore.
He waved to me from a few seats down the table. He had this kind of dorky smile on his face and seemed happy to see me. I quickly waved back, and then focused my eyes downwards. I couldn’t bring myself look at him, and I didn’t look up for the entire class. We sat there in an awkward silence until some other students came in.
The first day was pretty basic. We went of course objectives and assignments, and the professor let us out early. I packed my bag and tried to hurry out of the room. There was one problem, I had to walk by Ethan to leave. I tried to quickly squeeze behind his chair as he packed his own bag.
“Hey Andy!” He caught me as tried to sneak out. “Sorry I didn’t text you this summer. I got a bit lost preparing for the semester.”
“No worries,” I said as I looked at the ground. “I’m sorry again for Buddy’s accident the day we met. I would have texted you myself if I wasn’t so embarrassed,” I admitted as I began to rub the back of my neck.
“Oh yeah, I had completely forgotten about that,” he said with a laugh. “It’s really no big deal.” His voice was soft and kind. “By the way, one of the bars in town is doing trivia tonight. Would you want to go?”
“Uhhh,” I froze for a moment. I was taken back by just how relaxed Ethan was by the entire situation. “Sure.”
“Great!” Ethan replied. “Come by my place around 7:30 tonight and we can have a beer before we go out.”
“Sounds good to me,” I said as I looked up and smiled at him.
“See you tonight!”
“See ya,” I said as I left.
That night, I ate dinner with my parents, like I always had. I still lived with them and Buddy in a small two-bedroom bungalow. The coinvent thing about growing up and living in a college town is that you can live with your parents and commute to school. I went to Bowington State for undergrad and when I decided that I wanted to go to graduate school it was obvious that I was also going to go to Bowington. Since I am an only child I am sure my parents appreciated that I was staying close to home for school.
“Well you’re eating quickly,” my mother, Jane, said suspiciously. “Got some place to go?”
“Yeah,” I replied with a mouthful of food. “I am meeting up with a new classmate and we are going to go to trivia.”
“Ohhh,” she seemed genuinely interested. “A new classmate you say? Do she have a name?”
“His name is Ethan,” I said.
“Andy,” she started. I knew what was coming and I really didn’t want to hear it. “I thought you were over this. I thought it was done when you and Jacob broke up.”
I was gay. I knew I was gay. In fact, I had a boyfriend up until the end of the summer. Jacob and I had dated for almost two years, but he ended it when he moved away after finishing his degree. I took it pretty hard but figured I would start grad school without any strings attached. My parents thought that I should try going straight and find a girlfriend and part of me wanted to just to make them happy.
“It’s not like that,” I tried to put her mind at ease. “He is only a friend.”
“Whatever you say, Andy.” She didn’t sound too convinced. We left the conversation there.
I finished dinner and walked the few blocks to Ethan’s house. “Come in!” he yelled from inside. He must have heard me walk up the stairs. I opened the door and Ethan came
out of the kitchen with a cold beer in each hand.
“Here ya go!” he said with a big smile.
“Thanks!” I said. As I took the bottle from him. It was wet with condensation.
“Let’s sit,” he suggested, and we moved towards the living room.
I sat on the couch and he took a seat in the armchair in front of the tv. “Trivia starts at 8:30, want to watch something until we have to leave?”
“Sure,” I said, and he turned on the television. I was relieved that I wasn’t going to have to talk much. I’m not much of a talker and I wouldn’t even know how to start a conversation with Ethan. The sound of the television drowned out what would have been silence.
It didn’t help that Ethan was incredibly attractive. He was tall, with short black hair, deep blue eyes, and very muscular. It was clear that Ethan worked out.
Before I knew it, Ethan looked at his watch.” We’ve got to head out if we are going to be on time for trivia,” he said. I finished what was left in my bottle and we walked to the bar from his place.
Ethan ordered us a round of beers from the waitress. “Next one is one you,” he said with a smile.
“That’s only fair,” I smiled back.
By the end of the first set of questions we were both ready for another drink. I was starting to feel good, not too tipsy. I was in that warm stage where it feels all good and tingly when you rub your thighs. I’m a total light weight but I ordered us another round before the questions started again.
Ethan was a talker, but I didn’t mind. Between questions he told me all about his religious and conservative family in Georgia. As an only child I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have so many siblings. I liked getting to know Ethan. He was smart, funny, and had a slight nerdy awkwardness to him that made him a bit charming.
We ended up placing third in trivia. It was all because of him. I maybe got two answers the entire night, which was irrelevant since Ethan knew the answers on his own.
