The pure relief bursting out of every pore felt just as warm as the rays of sunshine caressing my skin. The doors to the University closed behind me with a certain finality. The last test was done, the sky was impossibly blue, everyone smiled around me—all in all, I felt on top of the world.
I was pretty confident that I'd scored enough points on my last exam to make myself and my parents proud, and unlike a year ago, I could walk out of the last day of school and look forward to a wonderful summer.
Gripping my bag tighter, I tried to repel that thought. What Gabriel had started by throwing me out last year shouldn't have affected me today. My strangely calm therapist, Dr. Fincher, had tried to give me all these lessons on what to do when memories overwhelmed me—or rather, my task was to stop the thoughts before they took me that far into chaos.
My phone beeped with Chris' signal.
I'm buying you ice cream when you're done.
Warmth seeped into my heart. Ice cream was perfect, both a comfort food and celebration. Hopefully, he thought about the latter. Wouldn't want the guy to lose faith in me, after all.
I texted back.
I'm done, and for your information I want the supreme extra special :)
The reply was instant.
There isn't a supreme extra special...
A very typical Chris-answer.
There is one now.
I chuckled as I imagined Chris' wincing, but it was definitely worth it knowing that I was pushing his buttons. He would still buy me an ice cream, and he would go all in.
We texted back and forth a couple of times, deciding to meet in ten minutes at the ice cream booth down on Trent Street.
No longer staring at the phone, I opened up to the world around me, watching faces pass by one by one. A few months ago, I hadn't seen others, not for real. I had walked around inside a dark cloud, far removed from everything unless I had perceived a threat coming my way. With a fake smile, I had trudged forward without knowing where I put my feet. In fact, I hadn't been aware of its existence until it lifted.
I continued to walk along the cobbled pathway, avoiding the dancing shadows of the trees lining the street. It felt as if I was channeling my inner child who wanted nothing but to smile and enjoy the day. Turning a corner, I quit playing around and joined the crowd that steered me toward the shopping streets in this part of the city. Trent Street wasn't the busiest one, but the ice cream place had enough traction to bring a fair amount of customers their way.
Chris waved from one of the rickety tables, prepared with two ice cream sundaes. The grin he wore matched how I felt. Obviously, he'd done well on his last exam.
The chair squeaked precariously when I sat. I don't know why they thought it was a thing to have chairs and tables that barely held together. Maybe the owners thought they looked nice, or maybe they just wanted to go all out with the 1950's theme.
"Dude, we gotta celebrate tonight," Chris said, pushing the sundae in my direction.
I smacked my lips at the sight of three different kinds of chocolate ice cream, plenty of fresh raspberries and a layer of whipped cream on top.
"Earth to Adam."
"Huh?" I looked up and saw Chris facepalm himself.
"You're hopeless around ice cream. I can't understand how you were able to work at an ice cream parlor last summer without gaining an extra layer of padding."
Shrugging, I grabbed the spoon and cut through the soft goodness with reverence.
Chris cleared his throat. "So, I was saying, we should celebrate tonight."
"O'course!"
"Jeez, don't talk with your mouth full." He let out a groan, but the sound barely hinted at annoyance. He was charmed—I was sure of it.
I swallowed and used the yellow napkin at the corner of my mouth. "Of course."
With a slight shake of his head, he continued, "Have you talked to Cameron yet?"
The chocolate suddenly tasted bland in my mouth. "No. Can we talk about something else?"
"He's not even your teacher anymore." He placed the sundae back on the table and took my hands as if he were about to say something particularly important. "He caught me in the hallway this morning. He asked how you were doing."
I fought the smile that threatened to reach my lips. Unfortunately, I wasn't very successful.
"There you go, you should talk to him. Ask him how he is and what he'll do this summer."
"He asked how I was. That doesn't mean he wants to talk to me. It's a standard phrase."
Chris shook his head. "I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't push. It's just sad to know how both of you feel and not being able to fix it."
My voice barely worked. "There's nothing to fix."
Chris looked into the distance, dipping his plastic spoon into the melting sundae. He didn't want to hear my lies.
My chest squeezed, but I knew he was right. I had to move on, and I could at least visit Cameron to say goodbye and thank him for everything he'd done for me.
* * * *
I stared at the plain gray door in the middle of the long corridor, shifting from foot to foot as I contemplated the implications of what I was about to do.
I backed away, staring down the quiet hallway. The possibility of a silent escape from the situation pulled at my determination. Plan escape was about to win the ongoing argument in my brain when the door squeaked and opened.
Something pummeled down my stomach, causing all those butterflies to roar to life.
"Adam."
Cameron was smiling. A careful smile—a hopeful smile. Way to make a guy melt. Damn it.
"Hey."
"I was just leaving. Want to walk with me or should we talk in the office?"
I weighed the pros and cons. Walking was a cure-all, so maybe that was the only solution. "We can walk if you want." I tried to smile back, but my lips were pressed too thin.
"Great."
Why did his eyes have to be so amazing? They made it far too difficult to think around him, much less think rationally.
Lost in my thoughts, I didn't realize that he was running around like a hen without a head until he let out a frustrated groan.
"What?" I asked.
"My keys."
I stifled a laugh, momentarily forgetting about the tension. "Have you checked your pockets?"
He felt at them again, patting his slacks. I noted he was dressed less casually than normal—dark slacks, a white-ish shirt that probably had rolled around with something blue in the laundry once upon a time, and a slim black tie that made him look a bit like a hipster.
"I must have forgotten them in the classroom," he said.
"Then how did you get into your office?"
"Good point." He rushed inside the bright room again, pushing around piles of photographs on the desk.
"I can check your desk if you want to check your bag," I offered.
He didn't look up. "It's all right, you can check my bag. I'm out of secrets."
Feeling a warm tingle of affection, I opened his leather briefcase and leafed through the photographs, scanning for a key somewhere in the general mess. I grasped around something that reminded me of his key chain, pulled it up and blushed as I stared at a pair of handcuffs.
"Seriously?" I mostly asked myself, but Cameron caught me in the act of dangling the metal piece in the air.
"Oh, that..." He cleared his throat. "Never know when something like that comes in handy."
"Handy?" Blushing was most likely the wrong response on my side, but I was a tad too innocent for this stuff, and a pun didn't help—even if it was funny.
He scratched his head, and I thought I saw a faint tinge of red on his cheeks. Cameron blushing might be the most adorable sight ever.
"Well, you know..." he tried.
I waved him off. "You don't have to explain." I dropped the handcuffs back into the briefcase then continued to search until Cameron announced his relief.
He held the keys in the air and shook his head. "Can't believe I put them in the drawer."
"I can," I said, not the least bit surprised. I was more surprised that he'd put a pair of handcuffs in his briefcase.
Silence stretched for one second too long, and suddenly the walls appeared to move closer, trapping us in a space that barely fit the two of us.
"What did you want to talk about? Or was there another reason for coming?" he asked.
Words escaped me. Air escaped. Nothing worked apart from my beating heart that thumped louder and louder. Maybe Chris had read the signals wrong. Why had I even listened? This was a disaster in the making.
"I-I...are you free tonight?" Maybe he already had plans. Maybe he had a date with someone else. Maybe he thought it was silly to go on a date anyway. Or maybe he wanted to wait until the grades were settled, or any other... I tried to pause my jumbled thoughts.
His hand landed on my shoulder as if he heard the chaos inside my brain. "I'm free."
Such a simple sentence, but what did it mean?
Another silence covered both of us like a heavy blanket—stifling and suffocating.
"Want to have dinner?" I asked, almost too nervous to meet his gaze.
His face lit up in a smile. "I'd love that."
I couldn't believe he'd said yes. I was freaking out, big time.
"But only if I get to take you out, not the other way around."
"Huh?"
"It's my treat. I've wanted to ask you first, but you beat me to it."
"Oh, okay." I was trying to process his words. Had he said that he wanted to ask me out?
"Adam?"
"Yes."
"You spaced out."
"Oh, sorry." The constant embarrassment couldn't be healthy.
"Favorite restaurant?"
"I don't mind where we go. Just no funny business."
He burst out laughing, shaking his head again and again until he managed to calm down. I couldn't believe I had said that.
With a certainty that I lacked, he took my hand and squeezed gently. "I promise."
I thought I would die right there in his office. Death by embarrassment. What a way to go.
A/N ADAM IS BACK!!! OMG, I loved writing this chapter. Adam is so adorable when he's acting himself without being dragged down in filth by Gabriel's hold.
More amazing fan art. I don't know if I've shared this banner before from the genius RT_Cipher
And another one from Anonymous78912 who is just as much of a genius. I LOVE YOU BOTH FOR THIS!!!