When former tagger Eric hears a cute fellow student named Joel protesting to a woman that he's gay, Eric comes to his rescue and gives him a big kiss and hug in City College’s hallway.<br><br>Even though sparks fly between them, Eric doesn't expect any reward for saving the guy from being hit on in public, so he's surprised when undercover cop Joel asks him to become his pseudo-boyfriend.<br><br>How bad can it be for a former high school dropout, who's been to juvvie more times than class, to pretend he's a cop's lover?

A Kiss in Time

He stared at me for a couple more seconds, but I couldn’t read his face. Five minutes ago I’d thought we were in love. Now I was looking at a cop. Shit. I really was doomed.


“Let’s talk about it when this is all over,” he said softly.


Class was a bitch with him so close and Tommy so excited, talking a mile a minute about stuff I had no context to understand.


Tommy smirked and acted out the entire time before class started, then smirked again as he bore Joel off after the hour ended.


I’d gotten a “See me” at the top of my essay. The instructor asked me to type my essays and use spellcheck religiously from now on.


When I asked what my grade was on the first essay, she said I’d find out when she could read it.


I carried the essay to work with me and keyed it into Charlie’s computer on my break. I sent it to the instructor’s dropbox like she’d requested. I guess I’d missed her instructions before.


Chapter 7