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

Chapter Twenty Two

Chapter Twenty Two (First half will be about Adam's date and second half will be towards the end of the week so we can skip to Nick and Charlie being together)

[THE NEXT NIGHT]

Adam:
"Dude, it's going to be fine!" Nick says.
"How do you know that?"
"Well, for starters, you're the one that asked him out to dinner. It's not like you're taking him somewhere romantic that people would assume you're on a date AND you're parents are hours away."

I take a deep breath and look at him.

"You're right, I'm just panicking a little."
"A little?" He chuckles. "Luckily I've had enough practice with Charlie that I think I know what to say to calm people down."

I laugh.

"I mean, you're not wrong. I definitely feel a bit better."
"Is he picking you up or are you meeting him there?"
"Picking me up."

Nick pushes me a little.

"GET EXCITED!"

I fake a cheesy smile and then roll my eyes.

"I said get excited, not look like an idiot," he jokes.
"Very funny," I say.

I look down at my phone and see that Jacob texted me.

Jacob: I'm here (:
Adam: Be right there!

"He's here! What do I do?"

Nick gives me a weird look.

"I don't know. Should probably go in his car so he can drive you guys to dinner, but that's just my opinion."
"HAHA. Do you think you're a comedian or something?"
"Right now? Maybe," he laughs. "Go, have fun!"

I give him a slight smile before heading out the door. As I walk over to the parking lot, I try to steady my breath. Nick was right. This was my idea, I wanted this; and no one was going to assume we were dating just because we were having dinner. I have dinner with Rob all the time. I reach Jacob's car and smile as I get into the passenger seat.

"Hey," I say. "You look nice.
"You don't look too bad yourself," he says with a smile.

On our way to the diner I see that Jacob's hand is resting on the console in between us. I know that once we're outside I probably won't make any sort of "moves" or anything like that, but inside his car feels safe. I place my hand on his. He quickly looks at me and smiles before looking back at the road.

"I'm really happy you want to do this; get to know each other again and just see what happens," he says as he intertwines our fingers.
"I'm really happy that you are giving me the space to navigate through this how I want, no need to. I know it's only been two days, but you have already been so patient and so great."

He smiles again as we reach the parking lot. We walk inside the diner and sit in a booth in the back. We order our food and just fall into conversation.

"How's your family by the way? I realized I never asked," I say.
"They're great! Still as happy and loud as you probably remember," he says with a chuckle.
"I loved your family. They were always so amazing. I was always envious of your relationship with your parents. I always wondered what that kind of openness would feel like."

He gave me a sympathetic look.

"I'm sorry. I know not all families are like mine. But you never know, they could surprise you. Some families think they feel a type of way about things until it's THEIR family that it affects."

I let out a small sigh.

"Yeah, maybe. I would hope that's the case. Maybe if we win this Rugby season I can tell them then. They'll be on such a high from the win that I bet they wouldn't even bat an eye."

He laughs as he lightly kicks his leg into mine underneath the table.

"You don't have to tell them if you don't want to."
"I know; and I won't until I'm ready for whatever reaction they may have."

After dinner, Jacob drives me back to my dorm.

"Do you want to come inside?" I ask.
"I actually have to finish a paper. Are you free this weekend?"
"What did you have in mind?" I ask with a smile.
"Not sure yet. But, as long as I get to see you, I know it'll be a good time."

I look around the parking lot. It's dark and I don't see anyone. I move closer to him and quickly kiss him on the lips again.

"Thanks for the date," I say with a smile. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight," he says as he lets go of my hand.

[FRIDAY]

Nick:
I get out of class and walk over to Darcy's room and knock on the door.

"Jeez, haven't you been out of class for like two minutes? Are you already going to start rushing me to leave?" She jokes as she opens the door.
"If you want to see your girlfriend then yes," I tease. "I still need to pick her up along with Elle and would like to get into town before it's dark so I can spend some time with Charlie."

She grabs her bag and rolls her eyes with a smile.

"Lucky it's you because if anyone else was rushing me I would literally take all day."

We head to my car as I already placed my bag in it this morning. We drive over to Tara and Elle and they are already waiting outside. Darcy jumps to the back to sit with Tara and Elle joins me up front.

"So Darcy, are you going home or are you staying with Tara?" Elle asks.
"Definitely staying with Tara. And if they don't want me there, I'm staying with you," she says with a smile.
"That's fine with me," Elle says with a chuckle.
"Excited to see Tao?" I ask.
"YES! I can't believe I haven't seen him in over a week."
"Yeah it sucks that he couldn't come up last weekend. I'm sure he's really excited to see you too."
"I bet he is," Tara says as she makes kissy noises.
"Are we all hanging out over the weekend?" Elle asks. "I'm excited to see Tao but I also miss you guys, not Tara since I see her everyday," she jokes. "And Charlie, I miss him a lot. AND ALED!!! I'm so excited to see him."
"Why don't we all hang out Sunday before we have to start heading back?" Darcy asks.
"PERFECT!" She says.

I drop off everyone and make my way to Charlie's. He knows I'm coming home this weekend but I didn't tell him what time. I pick up some food that I know he likes and as I'm walking back to my car I see a sweatshirt with Charlie's favorite band on it in a store window. I smile as I walk inside to buy it. I reach Charlie's house and knock on the door. He opens it and looks confused but then smiles.

"Hi," I say, holding up two bags.

He jumps into my arms and hugs me.

"Hi," he says with a smile.