Adam moves into a jog to catch up with Blake in the parking lot. He kind of sticks out like a sore thumb around here, Blake and his truck. He’s already smiling as he claps the tall guy on the shoulder, and it feels like holding onto Michael Jordan, for fuck sake.
“Hey, man. Good weekend?”
Blake turns and nods, smiling, his eyes gleaming with something Adam can’t quite place. He doesn’t ask. “Yeah. You?”
Mostly Adam had stayed in with the drum kit for company, and yeah, he considers that to be a good weekend. “Yep. Pretty good. Listen, heads up for a couple of week’s time. Christina’s throwing a party, your attendance is necessary.” Adam is still working on keeping the increasing lust he’s got for this guy under control, but it doesn’t mean he doesn’t want Blake Shelton as a friend, because the guy is an awesome one.
“Alright, look forward to it man.”
“Awesome. Also, you wanna hang out again this week?” He doesn’t wait for the answer before moving onto the finer details. “My place or yours?”
Blake nods. “Sure, buddy. You mind if I come to yours?”
Adam shakes his head, resolves again not to ask the obvious question presenting itself. “Sure, no problem. I’ve got the house to myself tomorrow, you up for that?”
*
Blake arrives at school sans truck on Tuesday. It’s happened before, in fact, it happened the last time the guy came round to Adam’s.
“Why no truck today?” Adam asks. They’re settled into his car, nearing the house.
Adam feels Blake look across at him before his eyes return to the windshield. “Oh, uh, I’m only a ten minute walk from the school. Just figured I’d walk it.”
“You don’t usually…” Adam doesn’t want to push it, except that he is kind of curious now.
“No. I used to get dropped off every now and then but, uh, I kind of moved place over the weekend.”
There’s still something waiting to click into place. “Oh, already? You can’t have been in town more than a couple of months.” Adam glances across to Blake, who’s got his eyes cast downwards, posture as relaxed as ever but for the way he’s biting his bottom lip. Adam kind of wants-. Not important now. “It’s fine. Forget I said anything.”
Adam sees Blake shake his head out of the corner of his eye. “No, no. I should tell you, I guess. Luke said I should tell someone.” Adam doesn’t get the chance to ask who the fuck Luke is before Blake keeps talking. “I, uh, I was in a children’s home, had been there since I moved out to L.A. a little while back. I just moved in with a guardian over the weekend though. I’m not eighteen, so I can’t live alone.”
Adam sighs, wishes he could just reach over and hug the guy or something. “Your parents?” Seems like they should have the entirety of this conversation now that they’ve started with it. Saves another awkward moment at a later date.
“They died. Car accident a few months back. No siblings, no relatives, so it’s just me.”
Adam looks across, sees the slight excess of water in Blake’s eyes, and vows not to look across at him again until he’s given him the time to gain some composure. If not to make Blake a little less uncomfortable, then to make sure Adam doesn’t start bawling at his story. It’s kind of heartbreaking though, especially when Adam tries to consider what his life would be like without his parents. “So who are you living with now?”
“A guy called Luke. He was a family friend from Oklahoma, moved out here a couple of years back. He’s only nineteen, but he’s a great guy, has a spare bedroom. They just took a while to assess him as a guardian, I think.”
