Off To Uni! (Written after Nick & Charlie by Alice Osmen)

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen. [FULL ADAM CHAPTER, SORRY. NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE BACK TO NORMAL PROGRAMMING :P]

Adam:
"Wow, Adam. I don't believe it."

I turn around and instantly feel like I'm meeting him all over again for the first time. He looks even better than I remembered, if that's possible. I feel Rob lightly kick me from under the table, breaking my thought.

"Jacob," I manage to say as I stand up.

He pulls me into a hug.

"Wow, it's been like two years, right?" He says as he pulls away. "Hi Rob," he says.

He then looks at Nick and Charlie and extends his hand.

"I'm Jacob," he says.
"Nick, Adam's roommate," Nick says as he shakes his hand.
"Charlie, Nick's boyfriend," Charlie says as he waves.
"Nice to meet you," he says as he sits down next to me.

I feel his eyes on me and I look at him quickly and our eyes meet. He smiles as do I. We catch up with him on the normal things; family, school. 

"So how long have you been with your girlfriend? She seems really nice," Rob says.

I want to smack him for being so forward, but my eyes are focused on Jacob. 

"Not long. I met her maybe a month ago and we've only been dating for a couple of weeks," he says, briefly making eye contact with me.

The conversation was very normal with him and I passing glances at each other. When we were done eating, Rob looked at Jacob.

"You want to head back to my apartment? Adam and I were going to play some video games."
"Yeah, that sounds like fun," Jacob says with a smile.

Rob then takes his phone out of his pocket.

"Oh, my girlfriend wants me to pick her up."

"Okay. I'll just drive over to your place and wait in the car," Jacob says.
"Actually, Adam has a key. Why doesn't he just ride with you and we'll meet you guys there?"

I'm not sure if I want to punch him or hug him. 

"Sounds like a plan, we'll see you there," Jacob says.

Hug him. I definitely want to hug him.

We say goodbye to Nick and Charlie and head into his car. My phone goes off and I see that Nick has created a group chat with me, Rob, and I'm guessing Charlie.

Nick: You got this!
Rob: You're welcome for this by the way :p
Charlie: Don't over think it, it's going to be fine.

I smile slightly as we get into Jacob's car and we begin heading to Rob's.

"So funny that you and Rob ended up going to schools right by each other; you guys were always inseparable," he says.
"He couldn't be away from me for too long, Adam withdrawals and all," I joke.
"I've been there," he says with a laugh.

Did he mean that? Was he joking? I look at him and smile. We reach Rob's condo and walk inside. We sit on the couch and I turn on the TV. It's silent for a minute before he speaks.

"I know it was two years ago, but I wanted to apologize to you."
"Apologize? For what?" I ask, genuinely confused.

He shoots me the same confused look.

"Well, I figured the reason why we lost touch in high school was because it was pretty obvious I had a huge crush on you and I scared you off after that day at my house."

I had a crush on you. I couldn't believe it. The ball is completely in my court in this moment because he has no idea that I am bisexual. But what do I do? Do I want him to know? I know Rob is going to take his time getting back here but if I wanted to discuss this with Jacob, I needed to do it now. He waves his hand in front of my face.

"I see that this still makes you uncomfortable," he says as he laughs nervously.
"No, no it's not that," I say. "It's just, um wow. I had a crush on you too."

His eyes meet mine as he tries to figure out what to say next.

"You - You did? Are you –"
"Bisexual," I whisper.
"How? I mean when ... How long have you known?"
"How long have I known or how long have I accepted it? Two different answers," I say with a slight chuckle.
"Both, I guess."
"You were the first and only guy I allowed myself to have feelings for," I say. "It took me getting Nick as my roommate and seeing how happy he is with Charlie for me to really come to terms with it."
"Wow," he says after what feels like hours. "So you liked me too."
"How could I not?" I say, looking at the floor.

I've never been more nervous in my entire life. I couldn't believe that I was letting these words escape my mouth. To be honest, they've been trapped inside my mind; shackled at the tip of my tongue for years. I feel Jacob put his hand on my leg.

"That must have been really hard to keep to yourself all these years. You didn't tell Rob?"
"I tried to. He figured it out but I just shut down any discussion of it."
"Your parents?"
"Yeah. And me."

The room falls silent for a minute.

"Did the feelings come back when you saw me? Because if I'm being honest, as soon as I saw you, it took me back to two years ago."
"Yeah. But I'm not even sure what they mean," I say. 

He puts his hand on mine.

"Maybe we can figure it out together?" He says.
"Don't you have a girlfriend?"
"I told you, it's fairly new and I just kind of feel like running into Rob and seeing you; it has to be fate, right? I think I'd regret it forever if you were willing to see where this goes and I didn't take you up on it. I'd be lying if I said you haven't crossed my mind once or twice since we had our fallout."
"I don't want you to break up with your girlfriend because of me. What if I never fully come out? What if I shutdown like I did years ago?"
"If you're telling me you want to give us a shot ---"

Rob opens the door slowly and walks in with Jacqueline. Ugh, perfect timing.  Jacob and I stop our conversation as Rob and Jacqueline join us on the couch. We play some games and watch some TV before Jacob says he needs to leave. 

"You sure you need to go?" Rob asks.
"Yeah, I should get going," he says.
"Maybe we can double date with you and your girlfriend soon?" Jacqueline asks.
"Eh. I'm starting to think it just isn't going to work out for me, but would love to hang out with you all again soon," he says, briefly making eye contact with me.
"For sure," I say with a smile.

Jacob leaves and I literally don't even know what to do with myself because I am in total shock of what happened. My phone goes off and I look at the group chat.

Rob: So I won't get clued in until later, but JACOB JUST SAID HE'S BREAKING UP WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND
Nick: WHAAAAAT?!
Charlie: Adam, what happened?! WE NEED TO KNOW
Adam: :)
Rob: THAT LITERALLY EXPLAINS NOTHING
Rob: I'll kick Jacqueline out right now.
Adam: LOL relax! I'll tell you guys when we all hang out next
Nick: We're definitely free for a quick hang right now.
Charlie: Adam, I'm sure you forgot something you need at the dorm and I'm sure Rob would be more than happy to drive you here to get it.
Rob: Yeah dude, how are you sleeping here without a toothbrush? LETS GO.

I shake my head laughing and look up at Rob and Jacqueline.

"Oh shit, Rob. I forgot my toothbrush and laptop; I need to finish an essay for tomorrow. Do you mind driving me to my dorm really fast?"

Rob smiles and looks at Jacqueline.

"We'll be right back babe," he says as he kisses her forehead.

Wow. What a day.