Free Under My Skin by M. L. Rhodes

good to me. I was able to put myself through college on what I made working with Mick.”
    “You've been to college?”
    Dylan raised an eyebrow. “You don't have to seem so surprised.”
    Sebastian looked shame-faced. “I'm sorry. God, that was... That sounded awful, but I really didn't mean it to. I'm sorry.”
    Damn, he was so cute when he was flustered. Dylan smiled. “It's okay. Quit apologizing all the time. And, yes, I've been to college. I have a bachelor's degree in business. What about you and your family? Are you from this area?”
    “Yeah. My parents got divorced when I was eight but my mom remarried only a couple of years later. Her new husband— ” He laughed softly. “Well, he's hardly new at this point. They've been married nineteen years... way longer than she and my dad were married. But anyway, her husband, Bill, is a good guy. He makes her happy.”
    “So you're pretty close to them then? And your dad?”
    “My mom and Bill, yeah, pretty much. They live in East St. Louis. I have two teenage step-sisters also, who are fun. We try to get together at least once a month. My dad on the other hand... not so much. He's made it clear he doesn't ‘get’ me, so it's not real comfortable being around him. He's convinced I'm gay because my mom raised me with too light a hand and I didn't have a male influence in my life.”
    Dylan frowned at the explanation. “Not that it has anything to do with anything because the whole ‘strong male role model’ theory of gayness is bullshit, but you said your mom remarried. You would have been like, what, ten? Didn't you have Bill in your life?”
    “My point exactly. I did and do. But that doesn't matter to my dad. He means I didn't have his male influence in my life. It bugs the shit out of him that my mom and Bill have always accepted me for who I am. I'm sure he thinks if I'd been living with him he would have been able to send me off to military school or something and have these ‘unnatural’ urges beaten out of me.” He shrugged. “Now you see why I don't spend much time with him.”
    “I get that.” Dylan nodded and took a drink from his bottle. “You mentioned you'd gone to grad school. Masters? PhD?”
    “I was working on my masters. I almost had it finished.”
    “Was?”
    Troubled lines creased Sebastian's forehead. “I ran out of money,” he said in a quiet voice.
    Dylan sensed there was more to the story, but decided not to push since it obviously made Sebastian uncomfortable. But he couldn't deny he was powerfully curious. Sebastian was a smart man, ran what appeared to be a thriving business. He couldn't picture him as the type to “run out of money” without a damned big reason.
    “So you'll go back eventually.”
    “Yeah, maybe. Probably.”
    Dylan leaned close and kissed his neck. “I think smart men are incredibly sexy.”
    He'd meant it as a total compliment, but for some reason the comment brought another frown to Sebastian's face.
    “What is it?” Dylan wished he could get Sebastian to open up and talk to him so he could understand the man better.
    Sebastian shrugged and took a deep breath. “It's nothing. It's just a... thing. It's stupid.”
    “There's nothing stupid about something that bothers you.”
    “You wouldn't understand.”
    “Try me.”
    “Let's just say the whole ‘smart man’ thing hasn't always worked out so well for me when it comes to... well, to situations like this.”
    “Situations like this?”
    “I told you, you wouldn't understand. Guys like you don't have to worry about it.”
    “Guys like me ? Are we back to the ‘type’ thing again? And are you implying I'm not a smart man?” He was trying really hard not to let the burn of irritation in his gut rise to the surface.
    “No. No! That's not what I mean at all. Never mind. This isn't a good conversation to have. Forget I brought it up.”
    Dylan took a deep breath, trying to keep from giving in to anger, and trying to look at it from