Miscommunication (boyxboy)

Chapter Sixteen

~ Adam ~

Adam left his Physics class the following Tuesday afternoon to find Cole waiting outside his classroom.

The older boy leaned against the railing overlooking the quad below, which was quickly filling with students as they made their way to their next classes.

Adam stopped a few feet shy of the raven-haired boy. "Hi."

"Hey." Cole jerked his chin upward in greeting.

"What are you doing here?"

Cole raised an eyebrow. "We had a date, remember?"

The tips of Adam's ear flushed pink. "D-date?"

With a half-hearted shrug of one shoulder, Cole revealed the textbook and notepad gripped in his hand. "Foundational Maths? You said you'd tutor me."

"Oh! Uh, of c-course. I didn't forget. I just, um, how did you know where my classroom was?"

Cole's eyes fell on the wall behind him. Adam turned to follow his gaze, landing on a sheet of paper tacked to the brick wall beside the doorway.

Physics 2B

Adam spun back around. "Right," he said, biting the t. 

"My class ended at twelve. I thought now would be a good time to get started."

Adam's eyes widened. "You waited around two hours for me?"

Cole studied him carefully. "Is that a problem?"

"No!" Adam fought the blush creeping into his heated cheeks. "I'm just surprised is all."

"You don't normally have people waiting around for you?"

"Can't say it's a common occurrence."

"Yeah, no. I can't comprehend that." Cole tapped the books against his thigh once and shoved one hand into the pocket of his leather jacket. "The cafe will be quiet this time. How about a cup of coffee?"

"Uh," Adam said weakly. Normally he would spend this block studying in the library. Leo usually joined him but had cancelled earlier for unexplained reasons. "I've got to be at work in an hour. Maybe some other time?"

Cole checked his watch. Adam tried to ignore the Rolex displayed across the black surface of the device's face.

"Your last seminar was two hours. Let me buy you a drink so you at least have a pick-me-up before work." Cole said.

This time Adam did flush red. He held up his hands and took a step back. "No, that's really okay. I don't-"

Cole shook his head once in dismissal. "It's more for me. I'm two hours past my last caffeine dosage and I need another hit. Come be my collateral damage?"

"So, in other words, you're gonna Hulk out if you don't get your next caffeine fix?"

"Less green, same temper."

Cole smirked then at the small smile crossing Adam's face. Hook, line, sinker. 

Adam sighed. It was clear the other boy wasn't giving up. He'd just have to let go of his colour-coded studying regimen beginning at precisely 2:15pm on the dot because that's when students cleared out for next classes just for one afternoon.

"Okay," Adam agreed. "But I have a condition."

Cole lifted one brow.

"We study in the library."

The brow dropped as Cole's face scrunched up. "Oh no. I don't do the library. That place is riddled with dust and sad people."

"Those would be scholars."