Habits Of My Heart

Chapter 34

“I'm hoping there's a but in that sentence.” he said.

Tristan exhaled, letting out a breathy laugh, and nodded, “But you're different. I want a real serious relationship with you, I haven't known you for long and I know it's weird but I feel a connection with you.” he said, “And I'm really not on the mood to get my heart broken so if you don't feel a connection it's better to say so now than wait until later, until I'm too far gone.”

Jae kissed him softly, “I told you once, before, when we went on our first date that I wanted to see you again, that I wish I'd met you earlier.” he said, “I wouldn't have said that if I didn't feel anything.”

“Oh thank God.” Tristan breathed, and kissed him back, his hands grabbing his broad shoulders, “I was really scared for a second.”

“That's cute”, Jae cooed, and put a hand down next to Tristan's head, hovering over him, “You're so small.”

“Shut up, am not, I'm just skinny. I'm above average in height.” he said, “I have a high metabolism, okay? And I do football, a lot of cardio in that.”

Jae smirked, “You're perfect.” he said.

Tristan remembered when he first met Jae, at the bar, and was surprised to find out his ID was also fake, that he was only a year older. He was tall, though only a little taller than Tristan himself, and had a broad chest and broad shoulders. He wasn't bulky, but he did have more muscles than most kids Tristan's age, and seemed more mature too, with a more square, strong jaw and a deeper voice.

He blushed, hitting Jae lightly on the chest, “Stop~” he said, biting his lip.

Jae gave a playful grown and grabbed his hands pinning down above his head, his face inches away from Tristan's, “So I should be seeing more of you now?”

Tristan felt his submissiveness kick in and gulped, “I really hope so.” he said, “But I'm going back to my own school tomorrow, we just got an extra day because we made it to the finals, otherwise I'd be gone by now. I'll be going far away from you again.”

“It's not that far.” Jae countered.

“It's a two hour drive.” Tristan deadpanned, “How many times a week are you willing to make that trip, because I'm not allowed to.”

Jae shrugged, smirking, “For you, seven.” he said, “Plus didn't you say you have a dorm all to yourself? That means I don't even have to go back home everyday, I can stay the night with you on the weekends.”

“Oh, you know that's not allowed.” Tristan said, “It's still a school, Jae.”

“Yeah, but who's gonna find out?”

Tristan pouted, thinking, “Well I guess you could sneak in, we'd have to be really quiet, and you'd have to come in before 7 because friends aren't allowed past that time.”

A grin spread across Jae's face, “See? We'd make it work.”

Tristan rubbed the tips of their noses together, his eyes shutting, “You and me, baby, we can make anything work.”

***

When Adrian finally went down for lunch— he had been avoiding it but then came to terms with the fact that he couldn't stay in the room forever— he was greeted by Mason, who jumped up when he saw him and came bounding towards him, hopping lightly on the tips of the his toes. He then stopped, leaned against the doorframe in the entry to the hall, crossed his arms, and smirked.