Xavier (Sugar Baby 2) ✔️

tenth: crush

"There are two kinds of radicals, cations and anions."

I gazed at the sheet of paper in front of me. I marvelled silently at the sunlight that cascaded onto it, making the black print stand out even more. I leaned over the granite counter, placing my elbow on it and resting my face on my hand as I gazed in front.

We had a two hour chemistry lab on Tuesday mornings. It was located on the topmost floor in a long room. The room filled with rows of counters set with shelves on top of it and a longer countertop where the experiments were supposed to take place. My eyes flitted over to Caleb. He sat behind the professor's table. Professor Hodgkin stood in front of him, his scarce, curly hair bobbing on his head as he spoke.

Gazing around, I could see that I wasn't the only one who was staring at him. I studied him again, it would make sense that most students in the class were more focused on him than our professor, who was helplessly dull.

I tried to focus on Hodgkin as he continued talking about the different groups of salts. I gazed at the chart in front of me. Six groups. They all seemed pretty straightforward to me, although, from my solo studying I could only remember the easiest one, group five. Flame test. I smirked slightly. Always a delight.

"This will also form a part of your practical exams later this semester so I suggest you pay attention to it."

I stifled a yawn. Last night, I hadn't slept very well. Mainly because I was erotically charged (a more efficient term now that I was in college) and also because I wasn't used to someone being so close to me as Jeremiah had been. Except for Gray. My heart lurched at the thought of him and I quickly focussed on the paper again till I spaced out into daydreaming.

The good thing about morning classes being chemistry practicals was that I didn't have to socialise with anyone much. Although from what I could see, I was much younger than the other mature students, most of whom seemed to be closer to thirty. I was gazing at the paper in front of me, unseeing as Hodgkin droned on before I felt a sudden tingle travel up my spine. My head snapped up and I gazed straight ahead.

Caleb.

He was gazing intently at me, his grey eyes glittering. He saw me looking and smiled softly. Did he mean for me to see him looking? I stared back at him for a while, my heart racing despite myself. He smiled wider, almost smirking in a challenging way. He bit his lower lip. My heart rate increased and I felt my face flushing.

What the fuck? Was I getting a crush?

I tore my eyes away from him and focussed on the professor instead. Caleb was a nice guy, but even Poseidon couldn't make me cheat on Gray. As for now, his harmless gazes weren't a problem.

I lifted my eyes to him again. He leaned back, drumming his fingers on the table. His gaze was fixed on Hodgin but seemed to turn to me the moment that I looked at him. Our eyes met. He seemed pleased to find me looking. With a jolt, I realized that me staring at him so much might make him think I was into him.

I focussed on the experiment for the rest of the lab duration. It was easier to stop thinking about my fucked up heart while I concentrated on trying to find out which radical my salt was. I performed the test for group five straight up, gazing despondently at the normal coloured flame.

I heard a soft chuckle and started, gazing to my right and saw Caleb leaning over the counter, a small smile on his face. "You look so disappointed that it's not group five."

I sighed, raking a hand through my hair. "Would've been too easy I guess."

He gazed at the test tube I had set in the stand and spoke. "You already got a precipitate. Why are you going for a flame test now?"