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

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

[THE NEXT DAY]

Adam:
After Nick and Charlie wished me luck and left I open my phone and see that I have a message from Jacob.

Jacob: Does "today" Adam still want to hang out? (:

I smile and shake my head.

Adam: Not anymore
Adam: Solely because of that "today Adam" comment :p
Jacob: RUDE
Adam: You can come over whenever by the way. Just let me know when you park and I'll meet you outside so you don't get lost trying to find my dorm LOL
Jacob: Okay, I'll be there in like 20 

As soon as I read that message, the butterflies were immediate and I could hear my heart beating in my chest. What did I do? Should I text him and just say forget it? Breathe Adam. You know Jacob and it's not like he's going to walk in here and start making out with you. You know this guy and trust him. It's just two old friends catching up .... two old friends, potentially more .... catching up. Breathe. I sit down, close my eyes and count to ten. I've always been an anxious kind of person and I find that just bringing myself to a quiet place, taking a deep breath and counting tends to help my mind ease up; it doesn't take all of the anxiety away today though, but at least it quiets the noise. Soon enough my phone starts to ring and I get ready to go outside to find Jacob. I look in the mirror and take a deep breath before leaving.

"You got this," I whisper to myself.

I go outside and wave over to Jacob who was getting out of his car in the parking lot. Once he gets close enough, he looks at me and smiles.

"Adam," he says with a smile.
"Jacob," I say, also smiling.

We walk to my dorm and once I close the door, I feel my hands start to sweat. Breathe.

"So do you want to play some video games or something?"
"That sounds fun," I say. "Charlie has been kicking my ass lately so it would be good for my ego to play some rounds with you."

He looks up at me as I hand him a controller.

"Oh really? Insulting my gaming abilities when I haven't even been here for five minutes?"

I smile as him.

"Well, if I can be honest about such a huge thing in my life to you; then I figured I can be honest about the fact that you've never been really good at video games and I always use to let you win back in high school."

His jaw drops.

"You're lying," he says.

I pick up a controller for myself.

"Why don't you see for yourself?" I ask as we start to play.

After a couple of rounds he looks at me.

"Okay, fine. Either you got really good at video games these last couple of years, or you were always good and let me win," he says with a laugh.
"I mean, it's definitely the second one, but if it makes you feel better, we can say I just improved my skills over time," I tease.

I order us some pizza and we just continue to catch up with each other.

"Still playing Rugby?" He asks.
"Like I'd be able to stop even if I wanted to; but luckily, I still love it and yes I'm still playing," I say.
"Your Dad still the same about it?"

I laugh sarcastically.

"Of course. I wonder what would be more of a shock to him; me coming out as bisexual or god forbid if I don't make it to the professional league."
"I'm sorry that they haven't changed. I'm happy you have," he says while looking down.
"I'm not sure if I changed, really. I just, am tired of hiding and not knowing if there's a chance of something better out there for me, something that will make me happier than I ever thought I could be."

He looks up at me and our eyes meet. I don't think I've ever been this nervous in my entire life.

"Sounds like you've changed to me," he confesses; still looking into my eyes.

I place my hand on his and can instantly feel the chemistry; the connection is obviously there. The butterflies haven't left since he walked in. All I want to do is kiss him, but I am so nervous.

"Yeah, maybe I've changed a little," I say with a soft smile.

I start to move closer to him and he does the same but quickly kisses me on the cheek.

"I'm sorry. I'm afraid that moving too quickly might freak you out. I don't want you to kiss me because you feel like you have to; I just want you to want --"

I cut him off by crashing his lips into mine.

Nick:
After we drop off Tao, I look at Charlie with a smile. 

"I still have a little time before I have to leave, want to come over and maybe have a quick lunch with Mum? See Nellie?"

A smile appears across his face.

"If you're only coming for Nellie then you can forget it," I tease.

He pulls me close and kisses me.

"More time with you PLUS Nellie; PLUS seeing Sarah? Count me in," he says.

I kiss his hand before I start to drive off to Mum's. I can only stay for a little bit but I didn't want to leave without seeing her. I knock on the door as walk in.

"Mum?" I say as Nellie runs over to Charlie. 

I guess Nellie also loves Charlie more than he loves me. I smile to myself.

I see her pop her head out from the kitchen.

"Nicky?" She asks as she walks quickly over to us and gives me a hug.
"We got on the road a little earlier this time so I thought I'd stop by really quickly to see you."
"What a nice surprise," she says with a smile. 

She also hugs Charlie.

"Charlie, good to see you again. Thanks for coming by to say hello and to walk Nellie. It gets lonely without Nicky here."
"Tell me about it," Charlie says with a smile.

We all sit down and chat for a little bit. It's nice to see Mum and I can tell she really misses me.

"I'm coming down this weekend to stay here, is that okay?"
"This is your home, Nick. Of course it's okay," she says as she pulls me into another hug.

We say our goodbyes and I drive Charlie back to his house.

"You'll be coming right after class on Friday, right?"
"Straight away," I say as I place my forehead against his.
"Are you going to ask Elle if she wants to come down to see Tao and her family? Darcy and Tara too?"

I nod.

"I'm not sure Darcy will be too excited about the thought of coming down here but maybe she can stay with Tara or Elle."
"Okay, but you better make sure I get some alone time with you," he says with a smile.
"Charlie Spring, this is literally all you think about now," I say with a laugh.
"I literally meant I just wanted to be with you alone; even if it's just laying down. My mind isn't always in the gutter," he teases.
"I mean, your mind definitely has a reserved space in the gutter though," I joke as we both laugh.

We kiss goodbye and before I start to drive, I decide to text Adam to make sure I won't be interrupting anything.

Nick: How's everything going over there?