At First Blush

Chapter 10

Ollie sat on the benches, scrolling through his phone. Jax had messaged him that his last class was running late, but he'd still be coming. Ollie sighed, rubbing behind his ear where the mask strap was starting to hurt. It'd been a long day. If he hadn't already agreed to pizza and movie night with the rest, he might've gone home and crashed. But he didn't know if he was really tired or just overwhelmed.

"Ollie!"

Ollie looked up and smiled as Jax raised a hand. He slid off the table and trotted over. Jax looped an arm around Ollie and grinned down at him. "Hey. Wait long?"

Ollie shook his head. "Nah. Just a few minutes. This paper thing won't take long, will it?"

Jax shrugged. "Shouldn't. It's just Doc giving me the application form and shit. I'm only bringing you because Doc is hot as fuck."

Ollie snorted. "My standards have been raised considerably so we'll have to see," he teased.

Jax shook his head, reaching out to open the Literature Building. "No matter how high your standards, Doc exceeds them. Damn, you should've seen him this morning. He looked deliciously rumpled."

Ollie looked at him skeptically. "I thought you only dated younger?" He asked, following as Jax shouldered open another door.

Jax shrugged. "I date what I can date, bang what I can bang. Do I have a type? Sure. I don't let it define me, though. Doc is delicious and I'm standing by that."

Ollie snorted. "I guess. If he's half as hot as Juls, then maybe this trip will be worth it. Who's going to be ordering the pizza?"

"Avril and Ty are bringing it. Bitchface will be bringing beer." Jax replied, stopping in front of a hallway that swung around, the walls lined with offices.

Ollie rolled his eyes. "Y'all need to grow up."

"He started it. Hey, Doc. Knock, knock!" Jax went ahead of Ollie, tapping his knuckles on a door that was cracked open.

"Oh, hey Jax. You know, when I said Office Hours, I didn't mean the last thirty seconds of them."

"Aw, come on, I'm here aren't I? Do you need the money first or?" Jax unslung his back, rifling through it. "Ollie, did I have my wallet this morning? Ollie?"

Jax looked up at Ollie, who was standing frozen in the hallway, his eyes huge. He rapidly shook his head, stepping back. There was no way. Absolutely no fucking way.

Jax frowned at him. "Ollie? You good? What's wrong?" He stepped forward, and Ollie could only stare at the door.

Like some nightmare/dream, the door creaked open, and Juls, his Juls, stepped out. Ollie saw the progression on his face. The concern for Jax, the confusion as his gaze kept travelling, the shock as he spotted Ollie. The horror as realization set in. Fuck.

Stomach churning, Ollie forced a smile. "Sorry, I'm just a little sensitive to scents in closed spaces. You have your wallet. It's in the pencil pouch." He said, ripping his gaze from Juls's horrified one to look at Jax.

Jax unzipped the pouch in question and brandished the wall triumphantly. "Ah ha! Thanks. Oh yeah, Doc. This is my friend Ollie. Ollie, this is Doc. Doc, ignore the mask, Ollie just went into Heat over the weekend." He stepped around Juls, going into the office, oblivious to the tension swirling in the hallway.

Juls forced a smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Pleasure, Ollie. Sorry to hear about your Heat. Those are always rough." His fingers tightened on the doorjamb until they were white. Ollie felt sick as all of his sweet reunion fantasies went up in smoke. Juls was sickened to see him. The caring, sweet, thoughtful Juls Ollie had wanted to find and fall in love with was horrified that Ollie was here.