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“Make it two nights and I won’t follow you out to the clubs next time you go,” Oliver tried, easing himself from the bed. He gave his sibling a cautious look, but Leo’s attention was on the alarm he was setting.
“Whatever you say, Ollie.”
It was as close to a promise as he’d get, he knew, so he took it as a win. Backing up, he cast his sibling one more look before shutting the door and heading to his room to get ready for his day.
* * *
For the firsttime in a long time, Oliver’s classes dragged. Normally, he prided himself on being an active participant in discussions—maybe to feed his ego a little, but also because despite his lackadaisical attitude toward life, he did care about his degree. But he found himself silent in class, answering questions when asked, taking half-notes if any at all.
His mind was wandering, fixated on soft eyes and a mess of dark curls. He was crushing. It was a strange feeling, swimming in this unfamiliar territory, and he wasn’t sure how to go forward with it. Yes, he’d fancied people before. He rarely had trouble getting someone to go home with him for the night—but he wasn’t really thinking of sex. Not entirely. He was making a valiant effort to envision a nice dinner, holding hands, walking near the boardwalk—whatever other romantic couples did.
He’d never actually tried to woo someone.
He wasn’t even sure that word was even valid in the dating world anymore.
Oliver gathered his laptop, shoving it into his bag at the end of his final class. It was only four, and he knew Gabe said after six, so he busied himself attempting to study at the library, though it was difficult with Gabe on his mind. He knew if he wasn’t careful, if he continued on his same path, he’d screw this all up. And this time, he didn’t want to. This time, he actually cared that it went well.
He didn’t get much done at the library beyond a handful of emails, mostly sending memes and jokes to his sibling, and replying to a couple of old friends in London he kept in vague touch with. The minutes were creeping by like years, and at five-fifty, he pulled out his phone and typed out a quick text.
I’m on my way to the café. Not sure if you’ll get this, but I hope you haven’t changed your mind since this morning. x
He hit send before he could stop himself, then spent the entire ten-minute walk feeling like an absolute, clingy moron. But it was what it was. He was a man in his twenties who had no idea how to date someone. It was tragic. A disaster waiting to happen.
He reached the café just as the clock went six. Pacing a little, he peered in the window, but there was no sign of Gabe anywhere. Feeling the urge to play with his hair just to have something to do with his hands, he turned on his heel to leave when he heard a quiet giggle behind him.
Spinning, his eyes widened when he saw Gabe leaning against the side wall, one leg cocked up against the bricks, a cigarette pinched between his first and middle finger. He gave Oliver a nod of hello, then beckoned him over.
“Alright, Gabe?” Oliver said, half-jogging across the distance.
“Not bad. How are you?” As he asked the question, he offered Oliver a cigarette.
“I shouldn’t. I smoke way too much when I go out drinking and I’ve been trying to cut back.” He felt ridiculous saying it, but his chest unknotted a bit when he saw Gabe’s soft smile of understanding.
“I only do it when I’m working,” he said with a shrug, taking another drag. “I shouldn’t, but it’s the only excuse my boss accepts when I need to get the fuck out for ten minutes.”
“Public service jobs,” Oliver muttered. He was trying not to stare, but it was difficult. He was fascinated by the sharp cut of Gabe’s jaw, by the stubble, by the way his eyes and nose seemed to take over his face, but in a way that screamed, ‘kiss me, you fool!’ He wanted to run his thumb over Gabe’s pouty bottom lip, and then dig his fingers into those curls and snuggle up with him for days.
“You’re staring,” Gabe said, flicking some ash from the end of the cigarette.
Oliver sighed. “Sorry. You’re so cute, I can’t help it.” He could flirt, he knew that, and by the high blush in Gabe’s cheeks, he thought maybe it was the right thing to say.
“Ah. Well. How’d studying go?” Gabe was grinning shyly, which made Oliver feel weak in the knees.
Mouth a bit dry, Oliver shrugged one shoulder up as he got comfortable, lounging next to the other man. “It would have been good, except I was distracted today. I kept thinking about my interesting morning.”
Gabe’s mouth quirked up at the corner. “Oh? Interesting, was it?”
“See, I woke up next to this really cute bloke, and I’ve never done that before.”
Letting out an undignified snort of laughter, Gabe shook his head. “Oh really? You’ve never spent the night in a dude’s bed? Or a woman’s?”
“I never stay long enough for morning cuddles, is what I’m saying,” Oliver replied with a shrug. “But it was nice. Extremely nice.”
Gabe bit down on his lower lip, and Oliver had to physically restrain himself from grabbing Gabe by the shoulders and replacing those teeth with his own. “Well…I wouldn’t be averse to doing it again, you know.”
Oliver couldn’t help his grin as he nudged Gabe with his elbow. “You mean it?”
“I mean it. I have Thursday off this week. If you want to maybe do something?”
