A Touch Of Sin [BxB] - Chapter 49: Chapter 49

"Don't you look adorable," Jake grins at me. "Look at you with your little backpack."
I roll my eyes. "What? I need something to hold my laptop."
"And this?" he smirks, clutching my freshly-packed lunch box in the air. "You're in university, not preschool, Cal."
"Do you know how expensive food is here?" I defend myself, reaching for my lunch which embarrassingly still has stickers of superheroes on them. "I'm being organised and efficient."
Jake concedes, letting me take my lunch and pack it in my bag. "Okay, fine. Bit dorky, but that's what I love about you."
"I have to go, otherwise I'll be late."
"Doesn't your lecture start at 10?" asks Jake with a handsome arch of his brow.
"Yep."
"It's 9:15."
"So? I'm walking and I want to be there early."
Jake blinks at me in mute for a few moments. "Wow. You're more of a dork that I ever realised. Let me guess, you'll probably sit at the front."
"Well, you can hear and see better," I admit.
"You're such a nerd. I'll drive you."
"That's okay, I want to walk."
"Don't be a freak."
"Walking is good for you, you should try it sometime."
"Okay, are you on some cleanse or something that you haven't told me about?" he asks curiously, jingling his keys in his hand.
I shrug. "I guess I just want this fresh start to be done right, you know? I'm serious about uni."
"Noted. I'll walk, then. But we have to get coffee on the way."
"Deal."
The walk to my building is quite scenic. They've created a path away from the roads that are lined with huge, beautiful trees that have dropped thousands of purple petals onto the ground. I sip at my coffee and thread my fingers through Jake's. This is how I imagined it to be.
Jake's managed to snag a construction-labour job and he's going in for a trial run this afternoon. I hope it's not going to be too rough on him, even though I know he can handle it.
"What class is this one?" Jake asks.
"It's an intro to communication class."
"A class that teaches you how to communicate?" he side-eyes me. "I think you mastered that a few years ago."
I laugh. "Essentially, but there's more to it. It goes into critical thinking and writing and how you perceive different communications of the world."
Jake's face blanks. "You've lost me. That sounds boring."
"It's interesting."
"You and I use that word very differently."
We emerge from the walk and cross the road which leads us towards the buildings.
"This is where we part ways," I declare. "Good luck this afternoon. Let's meet for dinner."
"I'll take you on a date," Jake smirks at me devilishly.
"A date?"
"You know, where two people who like each other meet at the same place at the same time?" he jokes.
"You mean, people go out in public, go do things together that don't include fighting and making out in secret places?" I ask in faux shock.
"Shut up," he rolls his eyes. "I'll pick you up at seven. And if you suggest walking again, I'm going to have to kick your ass."
"Yes, boss."
"Have fun at school," he kisses the side of my head.
I smile as I climb the stairs. I'm so glad we're together for this. It's nice to have him here – something warm and familiar during this time of change.
I'm not the first one to be waiting at the doors and it gives me a sense of comfort that there's other out here as eager as I am. I lean against the wall and send a text to Bec.
Cal: How's your first class?
"Didn't appreciate what happened at the party."
I exhale and look up to Rhett. Unfortunately, we will be sharing most classes together considering we're doing the same degree. Hopefully, we've opted to do some different electives so that we're not stuck together for everything but knowing my luck, we will be.
"Look, I'm sorry. That wasn't okay and neither was what happened when we were away. It's a mistake I'll live with the rest of my life and it's one I'm going to tell Jake. Just give me the chance."
"I've given you plenty, Callum. If the roles were reversed, you'd want to know."
"I know," I reply angrily, brushing my hair back from my eyes. "But Rhett, I've made it clear I don't want to be around you. Take the hint."
Rhett fists his hands. "You're driving me crazy, Cal. We're both into each other. We share the same interests. We make sense – so much more than you and Jake. Clearly, you feel the same way, otherwise, you wouldn't have kissed me back."
"If I felt the same way, I'd be with you now."
"You don't want to hurt Jake because you care about him."
I groan, pushing myself from the wall and creating much-needed distance between Rhett and I.
"Back off, Rhett. I mean it."
"Don't make this harder than it needs to be, Cal. We're in the same classes. We live on-campus. We need to make this work."
"Then listen to what I fucking say!" I snap at him.
Several eyes swivel to us and I realise we've gained an audience. I angrily sigh and walk to the other door and wait there. I was having a really good morning until now. This isn't what I was hoping my first class would be like.
I push this to the back of my mind and follow our lecturer in. I see Rhett head down the front so I walk to the opposite side and further back. I organise myself and sink into my chair, waiting for class to begin, trying as hard as I can, not to let Rhett get to me.
***
I slide across the leather seat and lean over to Jake. His lips are warm as we kiss. It was meant to be a peck but soon leads to a heated make-out session where my hair is now tousled and the horn was accidentally beeped more than once.
For a moment, I totally forgot why we'd even met up.
"Where are you taking me?" I ask breathlessly, clipping the seat belt in, half-tempted to go back inside and spend the rest of the evening in bed.
"A place that looked cool when I drove by today," he answers. "How was school?"
"Information overload. My brain hurts. And I have an assessment due already, but it's easy. Just a post on the discussion board responding to one of the weekly readings."
"What's a discussion board?"
"It's like a chat room, kind of, with the other students about the subject we're in."
"Don't you go talking to other nerd boys on there," he points to me.
I laugh. "Can you stop calling me a nerd?"
"But you are?"
"If you say so. How did you go today?"
"It's hard work and it's hot and I feel like a bloody cold beer," he answers. "But good. I'm going to enjoy it."
"Good," I smile. "That's good to hear."
I reach over and place my hand on his thigh.
"I'm excited to build a life here with you," I say.
"Me too," he smiles.
"Jake, there's something I have to tell you –" I begin to say when suddenly the car swerves to the right.
A startled scream leaves me as I slam to the side, my head bouncing from the glass of the window.
"Fuck!" Jake yells out and that's when I see that his hand had blocked me from going forward. "I'm so sorry, Cal, I didn't even see it."
My heart is racing as I stare out the window to see a kangaroo hopping away. We missed it, but it was a close call. I reach over and grab Jake's shoulder.
"It's fine, it's okay."
There's a weird silence for the rest of the drive. We're both in a bit of shock.
"How's your head?" he asks once out of the car. He tenderly touches the side of it, looking at me with a frown.
"Sore but I'll live."
He lightly kisses it, before leading me towards a restaurant. The music is loud, the lights low and there's a line out the door. It looks to be the busiest place on this street.
"This is cool," I comment, looking around at the beer garden. "I like the vibe here."
"Me too."
The décor has a retros vibe and 80s music blasts from the speakers. We manage to find the last two-seater table left. Vinyl records drape from the ceiling on strings, buzzing in vibration with the music playing. Warm, golden candles light the venue and the bar is lit up with red and blue lighting.
"Like it?" he asks.
"Love it," I grin.
We go through the menu, each deciding what we want. Jake grabs us a couple of beers and it goes down almost too well. In these moments, I forget the guilt. I enjoy being with my boyfriend without the threat of Rhett hanging overhead.
"We should do this more often," I say to him.
"What?"
"Dinner dates. Drinking, dancing, just going out in general."
"I agree," Jake smiles. "We're going to have a really good year."
Refusing to let anything ruin this moment, I clink our glasses together.
"This will be our year."