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Adam sucked in a deep breath. Was he actually going to fucking do this? He must be going mental. He started keying in numbers before locking his phone screen and throwing the birthday card with Eric Effiong’s number on the floor beside his bunk. FUCK!
He scrubbed his face with his hands and tried to think logically. Eric wouldn’t have given him his number if he hadn’t want Adam to call. He just had to call. Key in eleven numbers and wait for the other boy to pick up. He leaned over and grabbed the card again. Three weeks earlier he had received a birthday card with a trombone on the front and a simple message.
Dear Adam,
This is a Trombone. For your information, I play the French Horn.
Happy 18th Birthday.
Eric x
And underneath his name, Eric had simply left his phone number. Nothing else. No instruction on what to do with it. Not that it was rocket science. But Adam had stuffed the card under his pillow and left it there until tonight.
Adam dialled again and this time waited for call to connect.
“Hello, this is Eric Effiong speaking,” he heard. Adam smirked. Even his telephone voice was so, Eric.
Adam cleared his throat. He reminded himself to act cool. He could do this. “Alright, Tromboner?”
“I mean, really? You clearly got the card if you are calling me. For the last time, I play the French horn!” Adam could definitely hear the amusement in Eric’s voice.
Adam didn’t know how to begin. “So…”
He could almost hear Eric raise an eyebrow. “So?”
It was now or never. Adam’s heart was pounding through his white shirt. “I kind of wanted to ask you something.”
“Ask away,” Eric said so simply. As if this was just a regular phone conversation.
“You can say no,” Adam rushed to confirm. Just in case Eric thought that he couldn’t. Not that Eric was a pushover.
Eric came up with the most logical response. “How can I say no to something I know nothing about?”
“I’m just saying. Don’t feel like you have to say yes just ‘cause we…” Adam didn’t know how to word it. It’s not like he could say what he was thinking. ‘Just because we kissed and I sucked you off like my life depended on it and it gets me so freaking hard every time I remember how you kept moaning my name over and over again?’
Eric grew impatient on the other end of the phone. “Adam, spit it out.”
Adam silently willed his boner to go away. “So as a reward for good behaviour or some shit, the head officer said they're gonna be having a school dance-“ Adam was suddenly interrupted.
“Yes!” Eric exclaimed.
Adam paused in confusion. “Yes, what?”
“Yes. I’ll be your date!” The excitement in Eric’s voice was clear until a little hesitation set in. “That is what you were going to ask, right?”
Adam scratched his head. “Yeah, but I thought it was going to be a lot harder than that. We haven’t talked in five weeks.”
“Well who’s fault was that?” Eric accused. “You were meant to call me weeks ago! Are you going to text me the details of this dance then?”
“Okay.”
“Cool. See you then.” He could hear Eric’s voice fade.
Adam grit his teeth. “Wait!”
“Yeah?”
The taller boy knew he was pushing his luck. “Could you maybe wear that outfit you wore that night? At the Moordale Dance?”
Adam was nervous. He was so freaking nervous that he was sweating through his blazer even though there was a light frost on the forecourt. This was a shit idea. Eric was gonna see him all sweaty and shit and run a mile. He looked down at his phone screen again. No missed calls or texts. Maybe he wasn’t coming. Adam wouldn’t have blamed him.
Just as the deflation set in, he felt a tap on his right shoulder.
Turning around he gulped.
Eric.
Looking fucking gorgeous in his traditional Nigerian clothes and make up. Adam open and closed his mouth trying to find the right words.
“Too much? I have a change of clothes in my bag in case you changed your mind about the outfit-“
“NO!” Adam quickly quashed. “You look- Wow- I mean, fuck me…” he finally breathed out.
Eric grinned. “I don’t sleep with guys on a first date.”
“No, you just let guys suck you off at school during detention,” Adam teased playfully.
“If I didn’t know any better, I would think you were trying to flirt with me Adam Groff,” Eric said cocking his head a little, smoothing down Adam’s lapels.
“It’s a good thing you know better then,” Adam said easily. He could get used to this. “You ready?” Adam said jutting out his right elbow?
Eric hesitated. “Are you sure? Everyone’s going to look. You won’t be able to undo what happens tonight.”
Adam moved closer to the other boy. “I told my house officer, Officer Samuels, about you. What I had done. What I wish I had done. And you know what he told me? ‘He said the best I could do was become a man you are proud to be with.’ So that’s what this is. I want you to want to be seen with me.” Adam shrugged, digging his large hand into his jacket pocket finding, pulling out his cigarette carton and lighting up.
Eric shook his head. “You are so fucking weird,” he said as Adam felt the darker skinned boy grab his hand and head towards the brightly lit dining hall. He stopped for a beat before pulling out the cigarette between Adam’s lips adding an afterthought. “And if you want me to be proud of you, stop smoking. It’s tacky and gross,” before dragging Adam into the dining hall.
As Adam lay in bed that evening, he thought about how things had unfolded. He wasn’t gonna lie. There were more than a few stares. But seeing Eric laugh, dance and generally have a good time made it more than worth it. What’s more, was that Officer Samuels was beaming at him throughout. He had even slow-danced with a boy and it turned out to be one of the most erotic things he swore he had ever done. Which would have explained how Adam ended up being on the receiving end of a hand job behind the sports shed ten minutes later.
He knew could deal with all the shit the next day. Especially when he received a text.
Thanks for an amazing night. Was a great first date. xxx
It was a 100% official. The grin on his face was gonna be a permanent fixture.
Just as he began to fall asleep, his roommate shuffled in. “Groff, you awake?”
“What?” he asked groggily.
“Your date, he was, well-“
“You got something to say, Miller?” Adam growled defensively, getting out of bed and squaring up to the other boy.
Alex Miller shook his head.
Adam squinted. “I didn’t think so.”
Getting back into bed Adam turned his back on him. And to think Adam had considered him a mate. Fuck him.
His phone buzzed with another message. Adam figured it was Eric again. But it was from Alex.
It was a picture of Adam and Eric slow dancing, with Eric taking the lead of course. An impossibly beautiful picture.
I just thought you might want this. You guys looked so cute together I couldn’t help taking it. A
Adam turned around to find Alex on his bed with a smile on his face.
“Thanks,” he mumbled sheepishly.
He looked at the picture again for a few more moments, and then opened up his Instagram. He tagged himself and Eric with the location. No caption, no hashtags but it was there for the world to see.
And Adam couldn’t be happier.