His Muse

How to be a good almost-boyfriend

One of the doors was open, and they could hear the murmuring of voices on the other side. A beam of light stretched out from it, and they stopped on the illuminated carpet, staring inside. Kieran hesitated for a moment before taking the step over the threshold, and they were greeted by the smiling faces of four other students, and a woman who looked like the instructor of the class. She was dressed in a floral-printed silk robe, hands on her hips as she greeted them.

"And you must be Kieran! Just on time," she said, beaming at him.

Nic stood by the doorway, knowing he couldn't stick around unless he wanted to get bashed in the head for staring at a bunch of naked people. Everyone was clothed at the time he walked in, but clearly that wouldn't be the case for long.

"And who's this?" she asked, gesturing to Nic.

He quickly shook his head, waving his hands in defense. "Oh, no, I'm not apart of the class. I'm just... friends with Kieran."

"Okay. If you wouldn't mind stepping out into the hallway, we're going to start class," she said, walking over to the door as Nic stepped outside. "There's an excellent coffee shop on the first floor," she told him, smiling sweetly at him. He smiled back, only to have the door shut in his face, and a curtain drawn over the window. The door locked.

So... Nic went down to the coffee shop. It was honestly just a Starbucks, and it closed at eight. He had no clue how long the session was, but he hoped it wouldn't take up more than two hours. And since his Ma badgered him into leaving his wallet behind at the dorm... he didn't have any cash to pay for a drink. So he just sat there fiddling on his phone, willing the battery not to die.

He wasn't petty enough to say that it was awful. He supposed it was just his anxiety acting up, worrying incessantly over Kieran up four floors from him. He spent that time wondering about the other people in the class, from what he could remember of their faces. It seemed to be a range of ages—probably a thirty-year-old woman; another younger man, probably mid-twenties; an older guy around forty-fifty; and another middle-aged woman. They all looked nice enough, and smiled courteously at them and all that.

It wasn't until half an hour later that Nic realized—Wait a minute, that younger man had to be only three years older than them. He bristled a little, enough to tense and shuffle in his seat. That was... in Kieran's dating range. It wasn't fair at all that Kieran would probably see that stranger's naked body before he ever saw Nic's. Totally unfair.

Maybe I should have taken nude modeling classes, Nic thought bitterly as he picked at a chip in his phone case.

Bev is typing...
Snapchat from Bev: So how's it going?

Nic: Fine. We got to the lesson just on time. He's in there now.

Bev: Yeah? And what about you. What are you up to?

Nic: I'm just in a coffee shop waiting. I didn't come prepared with anything.

Bev: That's fine. You can just talk to me.

Nic: Yeah, if my phone holds out lol
How long is the session supposed to go? He never said

Bev: Like two hours or something. The first class is mostly just explaining shit about the industry, and then yoga and palates and stuff to get a taste for it. But, like, naked obviously.

Nic: I didn't need that visual, thanks
Also, I already talked to Kieran about this but I should probably mention it to you, too. I think I cheated on the whole 'test' thing. I would have said yes had I had my backpack and face wash and toothpaste and stuff.