Chapter Two
Adam sucked in a deep breath to ease his rising anxiety. His high school campus shared libraries with the local community college. Normally not a big deal. But the library was swarming with college students. He had to visit the library because he had a paper to write, and needed about a dozen sources. Was it strange that he felt young and vulnerable among all these strangers?
Everyone seemed to put together and organized. Adam wasn’t even certain how to go about finding all the resources he needed. He found a free computer near the back. Space to breathe, and think.
Someone sat kitty-corner at an open desk, nose buried in a book. The guy had nice shoulders, even though they were hunched. His hands rested in his dark hair, face mostly hidden, but Adam allowed himself a nice once-over. He’d gotten good at admiring from a distance. The guy was probably a college kid, since Adam didn’t recognize him from any of his classes.
Adam spared him one last glance before sitting down to do a few searches. With less than an hour before practice, he had a lot to do. And little idea where to begin. Maybe he should have asked Bas for help?
Fifteen minutes passed, and he felt a weird itching down his spine telling him someone was watching him. He glanced up and met the startled pale-blue gaze of the dark-haired guy. The guy glanced back to his book guiltily.
Adam hid a small smile. Had the guy been looking at him? Adam wasn’t out since, at sixteen, that was social suicide, but he was well aware of where his preferences lay. A look didn’t mean much, and he’d never really had anyonelookat him before. He couldn’t help but glance the guy’s way a few more times.
Now that Adam could see his profile, he was stunned. The guy looked like some sort of celebrity. Perfect skin, thick lips, endless lashes, and thick brows that blended well with his shaggy hair, gorgeous. The guy’s eyes had a slight slant, but were wide and blue. Mousy brown hair fell around the edges of his face. Adam fought to keep from staring.
He’d glance up, and Adam would look away. It was a game he enjoyed for a while as he searched halfheartedly for information on how interracial couples sought and won marriage equality. The topic had sounded interesting when his English professor, Mrs. Saudi, had handed the class a list of suggestions on controversial topics for a paper on creating an argument and building supporting evidence.
But that had been before Pretty Blue Eyes had glanced his way.
He wondered what had brought the guy into the library that day, and if Adam would have seen him if he visited the library more. Sure, Adam admired some of the college guys from afar since they all shared a parking lot, and he saw his fair share. But none of them looked at him the way this guy had. And none of them set a weird feeling turning in his stomach, some kind of odd mix of fear and excitement. What would happen if they actually spoke to each other? Would Adam even know what to say?
Though Adam regretted having to move, he probably had a stack of stuff clogging up the printer. Leaving his spot for a minute to retrieve them, he hoped the hot guy would still be there when he got back, and maybe Adam would even talk to him.
He went to the counter. “I’m Adam Corbin. I have some printouts to pick up,” he told the woman behind the desk. She patted her gray poofy hair and looked around confused for a moment before realizing the printer was right behind her. All high school stuff went to that printer. The college kids had to pay for their own stuff, so they had a wall of printers they had to log into to print.
She handed Adam a stack of papers, and he dug out what was his, returned the rest, then headed back to the computer.
The guy was gone. Adam sighed sadly. He had left his stack of books on the table; music books and biographies about musicians. Three about Madonna. Okay, so maybe the guy was gay. Did straight guys like Madonna?
Wasn’t there some unwritten rule that you had to be gay or female to like her?
Adam opened his folder to stick the printed articles inside, and a slip of folded paper popped open. Unfolding it the rest of the way with nervous hands, he glanced around to see if anyone might be watching, but saw no one.
The paper just said “Ru” and a phone number. He probably stood there for several minutes gaping like a fish at those beautifully etched numbers, both terrified and hopeful. His heart sped up in a bit of panic. What if other people noticed? Had there been too much in the glance? Was it the way he talked or walked? What about the way he dressed? He spent a lot of time being very careful with everything he did.
Only one guy in school wasout, and he was way out, wore heels and makeup. He had an undeniable swish to his hips and that awful lisp Adam feared would somehow develop if he came out.
Bas was also one of the smartest guys in school. Everyone gave him trouble, even the teachers sometimes. Adam had always tried to be polite.
They had been friends in junior high until Adam started noticing he liked boys in the way most other guys liked girls. Then when Bas came out, Adam had followed the crowd and kept his distance, fearing what everyone else would do if he didn’t.
Adam did a lot to fit in. He played sports he didn’t care for, like football. He was small and fast and ran on the track team. He wasn’t a brain-case or a jock. He was sort of a middle-of-the-road guy, and he worked hard not to stand out. With a year and a half until graduation, he had hoped to continue to coast until the final bell rang, then get the heck out of town.
He remembered when Bas came out and the beating the man had received. Only then had Adam stepped up and starting pushing people back when they shoved him. He had seen firsthand what the other kids could do to you if you let them. But he was nowhere near brave enough to be like Bas was, even if he’d been inclined that way.
Heels and makeup wasn’t his thing. But guys were. Especially the hot brunet who really liked Madonna.
The panic began to fade as he headed toward the locker room and practice. Maybe the guy hadn’t known. Maybe he was just hoping. Hell, Adam was trying to make a plan to call him and be nonchalant about it. Every day he was surrounded by guys, some really good-looking, but none who really interested him. There was a difference between knowing you liked guys and actually finding someone around exciting enough to risk social isolation.
In the locker room, where guys walked around almost naked most of the time, Adam had looked the first few times, but pretty was pretty and that’s it. None of them did anything for him. Which he guessed was good, since popping wood around a crowd of guys twice his size would probably end up with him getting his ass kicked. Other boys talked about girls and awkwardly about sex, yet he found himself walking away whenever the conversations began. Did that make him different? Was that because he was gay? Surely gay guys were interested in sex by sixteen too? So why wasn’t he?
He changed into track pants and slipped a long-sleeved running shirt over a clean tank; late September was not known for warmer temperatures in Minnesota. Soon the snow would come, and then he’d be stuck indoors, which was never as peaceful as a full-out run through fresh air. Still, all he could think about were those stunning pale-blue eyes.
Ru. What sort of name was Ru?
After programming the number into his phone, he stared at it for a while, unconscious of everyone around leaving the locker room until the coach called him. “Corbin, you playing today or too busy daydreaming?”
“Sorry, sir. I’m coming.” Adam stuffed everything into his locker and quickly tied his shoes before heading out to the field. Maybe running a few miles would get his mind off the blue-eyed stranger.
