New York, New Man

Chapter 2

(If anyone is wondering, the song John and Alexander listen to in the car is called Lookalike by Conan Gray, I would 10/10 recommend! Now happy reading!)

Back in the safety of his hotel room, Alexander tried to assess whatever happened a few minutes ago. They seemed pretty friendly. And whoever beat up Laf seemed like a massive jerk. And whoever that John Laurens guy was, he was kind of cute. Alexander wasn't ashamed of his sexuality, but he didn't exactly flaunt it either. Back home in the Caribbean, only one person knew. Of course, he didn't have that many people to talk to. So maybe he hid it a little bit, but he definitely didn't hate himself for it.

Any plans of sleeping were foiled by the memories of Alexander's first interaction with John. He kept replaying that moment. The concern in John's eyes was a bit saddening, but it somehow sparked a little flame in Alex. The watch on his bedside table beeped. It was 2 in the morning. Classes started that day at 8:15. Alex grunted, rolled over, and fell asleep.

He ended up rolling out of bed at 6:03. After putting on some worn Crocs (very fashionable) he trudged downstairs in his pajamas and made himself some coffee. At 6:20, on the dot, a man barged through the automatic doors of the hotel lobby. He looked curious. And familiar. "John?" Alexander hesitantly stood up from the table he had meticulously organized his journal on.

"Alexander, hi," John made his way to Alex, who was trying to hide the fact that his cheeks were flushed bright pink.

"What are you doing here?" Alexander took John by the arm and led him to the table.

"Well, I just wanted to say hi. Also what are you doing in the lobby of a Hilton hotel at 6:30?"

Alex looked down at his plaid pajama pants and sighed. "I could ask you the same."

"Just wondering if you'd let me drive you to class today. It's supposed to rain." John shrugged.

Alexander was caught off guard by what John was proposing. "Uh, yeah, that would be great." his hands started fidgeting.

"Anyways, I should probably get ready." Alexander said over his third cup of coffee.

"Yeah, sure," John stood up, about to walk to his car.

"Uh, you can come up with me if that's okay with you," Alex slowly crept towards the elevator.

"K," John sighed and followed Alexander, his hands deep in the pockets of his hoodie.

The elevator creaked all the way up to floor 5. The doors rattled open and Alex stepped out first, leading the way to his hotel room. He slid his room key in the reader and shoved open the door. A bit of light streamed through the curtains, shining on the beige carpet. John walked about, examining the organized desk, the suitcase laid out on the bed, the unmistakable smell of coffee and a vague hint of cologne. Without any warning, Alexander removed his shirt, folding it neatly on the bed. John stared at his shirtless chest. He wasn't very muscular, but he definitely didn't have any fat. You could nearly see his ribs. Suddenly realizing he was staring, John's eyes snapped down to the floor. He could feel his face flushing. Fortunately, Alexander put another shirt on and decided to finish getting dressed in the bathroom. John was left standing in the middle of the room, rocking back and forth on his heels.

Minutes later, Alex emerged from the bathroom wearing jeans that he had to cuff at the ankle, a light green plaid button-up, and the messiest ponytail John had ever seen." Alex, did you even brush your hair?" John studied Alexander's fashion choices. Classy, but just very... thrown together. Herc could give this guy some major pointers.