Page 36 of To Love You

He ignored Grant and went into his bedroom, grabbing a pair of clean joggers and an undershirt from the dresser. He finger-combed his hair and joined Grant in the living room, his friend sitting on the couch with an array of white takeout boxes already strewn across the coffee table.

Adam’s stomach growled. “I didn’t even realize I was hungry.”

“I’m glad you do now because this is way too much food.”

Adam sat on the couch and leaned forward, loving the fragrant scent of the Chinese meals Grant had picked. He pulled open two pairs of chopsticks, sliding one toward Grant and taking the other in hand. Adam grabbed a box of noodles and settled against the back of the couch, shoving a hearty bite into his mouth and moaning gratefully as he chewed and swallowed.

“You’re eating like you’ve never eaten before,” Grant mused, picking up a piece of chicken and taking a much more manageable bite.

“I feel like I haven’t.”

“What did you have for lunch?”

“I…I don’t think I had anything for lunch,” he said.

“Healthy.” Grant chuckled.

“I was busy at work. I’m eating now.”

“How has work been?” Grant asked, raising a brow. “And other things.”

“That’s not the lead-in you think it is,” he said.

“Question stands.”

Adam shifted his weight, leaning forward to trade the noodles for some sweet and sour pork.

“Work is fine,” he said.

“And other things?”

“You mean Cooper?” Adam sighed. He wasn’t ashamed of what had transpired between him and Cooper the last time they saw each other, but it wasn’t necessarily something he wanted to talk about. While he and Cooper talked about it at length on Monday night, and the pieces had connected, they were barely touching. The concepts in his head were far from tied together, and he wanted to be more secure with everything before he started to verbalize some of it. But Grant was his best friend, and Grant was the only person who knew what had driven him and Cooper apart so many years before. If there was anyone he could talk to about the developments in the bedroom, it was Grant.

“Yes,” Grant answered, deadpan and giving him a blank stare.

“Things are…good?”

“You don’t sound so sure.” Grant leaned over and pulled a piece of pork out of the container Adam was eating from.

“No, they are,” he said quickly. “It’s just not what I expected.”

“Are you properly switching now?”

“I don’t even know how one would do that properly.” He rolled his eyes and traded the pork back for an untouched container of fried rice with what looked like barbequed pork.

“I think you’re trying to use semantics to avoid answering the question.”

“I don’t hate it when I let him be in charge,” Adam said with a shrug. “I’m learning some new things that I like, which has been enlightening.”

“Care to share with the class?”

“No.” He pursed his lips.

“Okay.” Grant smirked to himself, shoveled some food into his mouth, and set the container back down on the table. He cracked open a can of soda and gave Adam an expectant look. “What’s the rest?”

“It’s a learning experience,” he said. “And I feel silly learning things at my age.”

“Did you think you knew everything?” Grant snorted. “Really?”