My Type of Socializing | ✓

Chapter 30

Archie only got a suspended sentence, much to Assad's annoyance, but he and Adam had concluded that it was good enough. The man now had a criminal record, and he had to do community service and answer to a probation officer so the man would be out of their hair for a few years at least.

The two had also moved to a better apartment that was closer to Assad's college. It didn't make sense to keep paying individual rent when they practically lived with each other, and it didn't make sense to keep living in such a run-down place when Adam was making the amount of money he was making now.

They had a small leaving party with their neighbors before moving. The new apartment was a two-bedroom place with a large kitchen that both Adam and Assad adored equally. Assad has asked about adopting a cat or dog, but Adam had turned the proposal down, explaining that he had to be sure he could take care of himself before putting a dependent living creature under his care. Adam still visited his therapist—two times a week. They mostly just talked about his past and how it compared to his current. A lot of the initial anxiety tied to engaging with his therapist had left, and now he sometimes even looked forward to giving the man an update on how he was doing or asking him to talk him through a memory he had randomly recollected.

Assad's mother and aunt called often, and so did Adam's parents. The two visited their relatives every other weekend to catch up and talk about mundane things like work and school.

It was nice.

Adam liked how causal and mundane his life had become. It was no longer meaningless yet inherently mentally tasking. He looked forward to waking up beside Assad every morning. He looked forward to talking to his parents, and he looked forward to working and having a social life.

He liked being alive, and although it might not seem like much, it was a radical change for him.

Adam was watching an instructional video by his study desk when Assad unlocked the front door and rushed in, so he hadn't noticed. He didn't acknowledge the man's presence until one of the younger man's strong hands grabbed his shoulder, and the other moved to pull off his headphones.

"Adam, I've been calling you." The younger man sounded excited. Adam turned in his seat, observing the wide grin that he knew so well.

"What happened?" he asked as Assad took a few steps away from him. The younger man turned, before walking over to the sofa where he had dropped his bag and books.

The man looked through the mess, before picking something up. "This happened," he said, standing up straight before turning and flashing a brown envelope at Adam.

At first, Adam wasn't too sure what Assad's excitement was about, but when he squinted, he noticed a smiling stamp that the envelope his job letter had come in had.

"Oh my God," he said, as the edge of his lips curved into a smile. "Oh my God, it came."

After waiting in vain for a couple of months, Adam had concluded that Assad wasn't getting an internship placement, so he forgot about it, but if the younger man was pacing around his living room with an excited smile, there was only one guess he could come up with.

Assad must have gotten the placement.

"Why would you go and do things like this behind my back?" Assad asked, chuckling so it was obvious that he wasn't mad. "Is this why you asked me for my portfolio? Holy shit."

Adam winced a little. The younger man swore a lot when he was excited, but he has gotten used to it—for the most part, anyway.

Assad took out the letter stating that he had been accepted for a summer internship for its envelope before doing a dramatic reading of it. It made Adam laugh. The older man even got up and walked over to Assad to have a better look. Like he has guessed Assad had been placed to work with the animation backgrounds and set dressing.

"I have to call the graphic design company I had already accepted an internship at. It'll be awkward, but this offer is marginally better," Assad rambled, letting his free hand reach out to touch Adam's hair. He ran his fingers through it, humming to himself as he kept smiling down at the letter.

"Are you just going to keep staring at it?" Adam asked, laughing a bit.

Assad shrugged, dropping his hand before turning to look at Adam who had snuggled up to his side. "No, I'm just kind of shocked."

Adam nodded, closing his eyes a bit. "I understand."

They stood side by side in the living room for a bit, not doing or saying anything until Assad took hold of Adam's shoulders and turned him enough so that they were looking directly into each other's eyes.

"What?" The older man whispered, watching as Assad's eyes fell on his lips.

"Nothing," the younger man said, leaning forward until their foreheads touched. "I want to kiss you."

The announcement made Adam's face warm up. "Well..." he started saying, wrapping his hands across Assad's back. "You can kiss me if you want." His heart raced when Assad reached up to hold his face before pressing a kiss to his lips. It didn't last for too long, but it was enough to warm Adam's body up from the tip of his toes to the crown of his head.

When they pulled apart Assad made a beeline for the couch with his things, to put his offer letter away before standing up straight when his phone buzzed in his pocket.

Assad took out his phone, swiping the screen a bit before pausing and reading what Adam assumed was a text message.

"Adam, we got invited to a rave, do you want to come?" Assad asked, looking up from his phone.

The older man pursed his lips, humming a bit. "How many people?"

"Err..." Assad trailed, pulling up his phone and looking at the screen again. "About five hundred. It's from ten in the night to four in the morning—"

"I don't think I can do that," Adam said, cutting Assad off before the man could finish. The dark-skinned man looked up from his phone. He locked eyes with Adam, who moved his gaze to the floor as his face warmed up. He hated being the killjoy, but there was no way he was going to be in a crowd of five hundred drunk, and probably high people.

"Maybe we can watch a movie or go to a bar, but I just can't—" Adam paused, sucking in his lips as he tried to explain himself in a way that didn't make him come off as paranoid. "You know I'm not good with people and crowds. I like things small."

"It's okay, that's just your way of socializing," Assad said with a small nod as he put his phone away. Adam smiled a little, relaxing a bit as he watched Assad move to grab something from the fridge.

"Yeah," the older man said, grateful for how patient everyone was being with him. He was recovering from years worth of abuse, and it would probably be a lifelong process. "Yeah, it's just my type of socializing." he agreed, grateful that he was being given the space to slowly but surely come out from his shell.

THE END.