Taught: A City's Secrets Novella Read Online Free PDF Page A

weekend.”
    “Where at?”
    “Johnny Brenda’s, if you want to come check us out.”
    It took me a second to realize he had actually invited me to see his band, which was both sweet and a little lame. Every random musician had a band, and I wasn’t sure I was interested in hearing his probably-terrible music. Then again, if he was teaching music theory courses, he had to know at least a little something about writing a song.
    “Yeah, maybe I will,” I said.
    “Cool. We go on at 10 Saturday night. Stop by if you want.”
    “So that’s all you do? Band and teach?”
    He laughed. “Yeah, pretty much. What about you?”
    Aside from working at the library, drinking wine with Lane and Dillon, and studying my ass off, I pretty much didn’t do anything. At least he had music to fall back on for an interesting hobby; I was a studying and work machine, more or less.
    “I read a lot, I guess. I hang out with my roommate, Lane. I don’t know, I guess I’m pretty boring too.”
    “Is that who’s coming to get us, Lane?”
    “No, that was Dillon, our fearless gay leader.”
    He laughed. “What’s that mean?”
    “He’s basically the social director for the three of us. I think without him, me and Lane would sit around watching The Office reruns until we died.”
    “That’s not a bad way to go. I could watch Dwight pepper spray Roy all day long.”
    “That’s like my favorite scene,” I said, genuinely surprised.
    “Seriously? It’s mine too.”
    “I love when Dwight is a normal human for two seconds.”
    He laughed. “Especially when he ruins it a second later.”
    If was weird. We had all these favorite things in common. I had never met someone I clicked with like that so quickly. He stood up and walked down a few steps, sitting with his back against the wall, opposite to me. We were pretty close together, our knees practically touching, but I was still too busy grinning about his Office reference that I didn’t mind.
    “What are your other guilty pleasures?” I asked.
    “Let’s see. Big Bang Theory, which is basically just like a typical sitcom, but I love it. Girls, Game of Thrones, and Looking are all good.”
    “I love Game of Thrones,” I said.
    “You strike me as a Tully.”
    “Oh yeah? You’re a Lannister if you’re anything.”
    “Damn right I’m a lion.”
    “So you’re cool being the villain?”
    “There are no straight up villains in Game of Thrones.”
    I laughed. “Yeah, that’s true.”
    “You’d fit in at Westeros. It’s basically a world full of hot people, according to the show at least.”
    “Good one,” I said, and although it was the lamest compliment I had ever been given, I was oddly excited. I hadn’t been in a straight up nerdy conversation in a long time.
    “Weird how much in common we have,” he said quietly.
    I nodded. “It is weird. I’m still surprised I found someone else with the same taste in books.”
    “I like them long and strange, I guess.”
    “Just like you like your women?”
    He grinned. “Exactly.”
    He shifted his weight toward me, and my heart started to pound. It suddenly hit me how trapped we were, with nobody around, just this strange guy who shared the same taste in books and trashy TV as me. A really cute guy, who I was strangely attracted to, despite his cocky comments and his lame jokes. Our conversation trailed off as our eyes locked, and I felt myself spiraling down into his deep brown irises, wondering what there was to know about him, and realizing I wanted to know everything. I felt my breath come deeper as the excitement started to run up my core, and I swore he started to lean toward me. I wanted him to come closer, and felt myself tense for his boy, for his soft lips, for his taste.
    As he got nearer, and my lips parted slightly, the door below us banged open, and we both jumped, startled. I straightened my back and shifted away from him as a security guard, followed by Dillon, poked their heads inside.
    “Saved you,