Not wanting to put on day-old underwear, Jared stole a pair from Adam’s drawer, where Calvin Klein boxer briefs in black, white, or gray were lined up neatly. No other underwear dared to creep in. Shaking his head a little in disbelief, Jared grabbed a gray pair and pulled them on, then swiped a pair of socks.
“Are you going to steal all my clothes?” Adam asked in a low voice, his breath a hot wash over Jared’s shoulder.
“Not all of them,” Jared said. He suppressed a shudder.
He ignored the hands that were dancing over his sides, whisper-light and teasing, begging him to go back to bed and play for a few more hours. Adam’s closet was ridiculous, but thankfully, someone had organized sweaters on the left-hand side as he walked in, and he snagged the first one he saw.
“Jared,” Adam whined. “Don’t leave me.”
“Get dressed and”—Jared pulled the sweater over his head and grinned when his head popped out—“you can come with me.”
Adam pouted.
Jared kissed the thrust bottom lip. “I won’t be long.”
“Okay, okay. I’m coming,” Adam grouched. He flounced into the closet, and Jared sat on the edge of his bed to pull socks on, silently amused at getting Adam to back down, maybe for the first time in his life.
They took Adam’s car for the short journey to collect the few pieces of homework and some clean clothes. While Jared shoveled things into a duffel bag, Adam sat in the middle of his bed and bounced up and down using the power in his ass and thighs. Jared wondered if it was uncomfortable for him to do that, but apparently not, because he seemed to be enjoying himself.
When everything he needed for the next couple of days was packed, Jared pounced onto the bed and pinned Adam neatly to it. Adam immediately went pliant, lifted his hips, and angled his face for a kiss.
They settled on the pillows nose-to-nose. It was unusual, being in this bed rather than the one they were used to. After a few moments, Jared flipped to the other side of the bed and settled down again.
“Wrong way round,” he said in muttered explanation.
Adam grinned. “It was weird for me too. I just didn’t want to be the first to crack.”
“You said crack.”
He got a shove on the arm for that.
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” Adam said, brushing his fingers over Jared’s cheek.
“I don’t trust you yet,” Jared said cautiously. “I know that’s probably a horrible thing to say, but you should probably know….”
“I don’t blame you. I haven’t exactly given you a hundred reasons to think I’m the most trustworthy man on the planet. I’m not.”
“You’re not mad?”
Adam sighed and wriggled on the bed. “My mom always told me it was smart not to trust people. We live in a society which sort of demands we fall in love with someone, and they automatically have this key to your heart and soul, and that’s how it’s supposed to be. But that’s bullshit, you know? If you love someone, it’s probably healthier to not trust them for a while. I fucked up, Jared. I fucked up and almost lost everything, so if I have to earn your trust, that’s okay. I’ll prove it to you. Give me time.”
The arrogance now was charming, and Jared squeezed Adam’s hand gently. “Time is good. I’ve got that.”
“Well, yeah. For now. Where did you apply to college again?”
The sudden change of topic made Jared falter for a moment, then he reeled off the list of his top choices. Adam nodded, then looked out the window over Jared’s shoulder in silent contemplation. Jared decided not to push. If Adam was thinking about college, which was still nine months away, then he was serious about the two of them together. And that in itself was unnerving. Too soon. It was too soon to think about that yet.
On Monday morning Jared woke to the sound of his phone vibrating with a message. He’d fallen asleep with it still in his hand, and at some point during the night it had become lodged under his pillow.
Sleeping apart from Adam was still a little weird, and he couldn’t deny he missed the warm, lithe body wrapping around his to nudge him into wakefulness. Jared fumbled for the phone and unlocked it to discover his alarm was due to go off in only two minutes.
He rubbed his tired eyes and opened the message. It was from Adam.
Will pick you up. Be ready.
Then, as an afterthought, a second message buzzed through.
xoxo
Jared grinned and sent a quick “okay” back, then rolled over to sprawl on the bed, starfished in the middle. Today was going to be interesting, to say the least.
He considered snoozing for a while but the brightness of his phone had woken him, and he scratched his belly lazily for a few minutes, wondering what the reaction to their public coming out would be. In the past few days, he’d had a few text messages come through from Mia, Chris, and, to his discomfort, Dylan, but he hadn’t replied to any of them yet. Dylan, he’d have to reply to. They needed to set up his study schedule for the New Year.
No one outside the two of them and the girl on the counter at FroYo Express knew about their fledgling little relationship, and they weren’t going to hide it. That felt right, somehow. It wasn’t something shameful or scandalous; they were just two guys giving this thing a try.
With supreme effort, Jared dragged himself out of bed and across the hall to the bathroom. His morning routine was familiar, and he worked through it quickly, washing, shaving, and dressing
