I thought he was taking me to the living room but when he turned to the stairs and climbed up, I returned to my senses.

Why is he taking me to his room?

Does he want to do the.. Uhm.. Hanky panky?

Oh my God! Are my legs shaved?

Wait! What if I smell bad?

Shit! I'm wearing the most unflattering pair of undergarments. I'm not ready to get naked in front of him.

Oh God! Save me.

"Are you coming?" Adam's voice emerged from the other end of stairs and I looked at him with blank face. For a second, my dirty mind misinterpreted his words and when I realized what he was actually asking, I nodded and rushed up the stairs.

Entering his room, he motioned me to sit on the bed. And after I settled myself in the center of his bed, he flopped beside me and pulled out his notebooks and textbooks from his bag.

My eyes shifted between his face and the books while I tried to make the connection.

Is it some new kind of foreplay?

Wait! Oh, fuck.

"Did you bring me to your room to study?" I asked, cocking my head to one side.

"Obviously. We have a test tomorrow, remember? What else did you think?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Um.. Nothing." I said and cursed myself internally for having a dirty brain.

...

After studying for the test for about an hour, Adam went into the bathroom and I lied down on his bed. A Sceince magazine on the side of his pillow caught my attention and I picked it up. I was turning the pages when few papers appeared out of nowhere, folded nicely and hidden in between the magazine pages.

Straightening up, I gave a sharp look to those papers, my eyes widening with surprise when I read the subject of the letters.

Few seconds have passed when the papers were snatched from my hand. "It's unethical to read someone else's letters." he frowned at me but ignoring it, I hopped out of the bed and hugged him in excitement.

"Why didn't you tell me that you have received your acceptance letter from Harvard?" I shrieked in an excited voice and pulled apart, my hands still wrapped around his shoulders.

"I got one from Columbia University too." he said with a bored expressions and pulled apart, sitting on his bed and resting his head against the wall. .

"You got accepted by two Ivy League institutes and you are acting like it's not a big thing." I exclaimed and slouched down beside him. "Have you even told anyone Tiffany?"

"No." he said and opened his notebook again.

"But why?" I asked him and pulled the notebook away from his hands.

"Because it's not a big deal. Now stop with this nonsense." he spat in a sharp tone and I flinched, a wave of sadness hit me and I scooted away from him.

"Alicia!" he said guiltily as soon as I jumped out of his bed and prepared to leave.

"Alicia! I am sorry." he said again and gripped my wrist.

"L.. Leave my hand Adam." I said in the same sharp tone and jerked my hand away from him.

"I'm sorry Alicia." he whispered again, rushing in front of me and blocking my way.

"Adam!" I yelled in exasperation. "It's not how things work. You can't just be plain rude one moment and then apologize the next."

"I know." he said, stepping closer to me. "And that's why I am saying I apologize."

I shifted on my feet, thinking whether to let it go or not. Sighing finally, I walked back to his bed and collapsed on it once again.

He settled beside me in a way that our legs were touching and his hand was resting over mine. For a moment, neither of us spoke anything. We just stayed still, enjoying the silence and exhaling loudly.

"It's complicated." Adam started after some time. "I want to join Harvard but I need to stay closer to New York, for reasons I can't tell you." he told me and despite what he said, I knew why he couldn't move away. It's because of Adaline, the girl or woman he went to visit in that rehabilitation center.

I patted his arm, like Dad used to do whenever I was sad. "You can join Columbia. I mean both are such great options. You shouldn't worry about this." I smiled.

"Yeah, you are right. I'm being ungrateful." he admitted, lacing my fingers with his. As cliche as it may sound, our hands felt like they were made for each other.

"Look at me, I haven't received any acceptance letter yet." I said in a dejected voice.

"You'll get one. You are smart." he said and I blushed at his words because this was probably one of the very few times when he was complimenting me.

"Are you complimenting me Adam?" I teased him.

"Yeah. I mean you have been taught by the best." he smirked and I slapped him on his shoulder.

We talked for an hour, teasing each other one moment and having a serious conversation the next. I loved that, being able to talk to him without hesitiaing or making a fool of myself.

...

"So are you both a couple now?" Emily asked in hushed voice because we have been already scolded by the librarian for speaking out loud.

"I don't know. I mean it's not like he has asked me out." I told her and jotted the points down from the reference book.

"But he kissed you in the kitchen. Right?" she asked.

"Yeah but that was it. We just talked after that. Like he could have asked me out if we wanted, no?" I trailed off.

"I don't know. I'm not a relationship expert either." she shrugged and turned her face back to her notebook.

"By the way, have you gotten any acceptance letter yet?" I asked her, thinking about the letters that I found at Adam's house.

"Yep. Got one from Juilliard yesterday. It was Mom's Alma mater so I guess I might be joining it." she said.

"Wow. That's great." I said a little loudly and got an intimidating state from Mrs. Bradley the very next moment.

After finishing my assignment, I made my way to the Cafeteria to satisfy my hungry stomach but stopped in my tracks when I caught Noah messing with a short, thin guy who looked petrified of him.

"Noah!" I narrowed my eyes at him and pulled him away from the guy. "Stop bullying others."

"What? Is it my fault that he couldn't defend himself." he said, walking behind me.

"Yes. It is your fault that instead of instilling confidence in an already self conscious person, you're bullying him." I argued.

"Whatever!" He rolled his eyes and put his arm on my shoulders.

"You're heavy." I said, pulling apart.

"Not heavy idiot, Ripped. Girls worship this body." he smirked.

"Well, some of us have seen better." I taunted and he made a contorted face.

"Better than this." he acted surprised at my words and pointed towards himself.

"Sorry but this-" I pointed towards his chest. "doesn't even come closer to my standards."

"Now who's bullying." Noah pouted, pulling her lower lip out and using his puppy dog eyes.

"Bullying the bully isn't a big crime." I shrugged and walked forwards, while Noah made his way to the playground where a practice session was being held.

I have taken few steps ahead when a hand wrapped around my wrist and someone pulled me inside the Janitor's closet. I tried to scream and stopped when I realized who it was.

"Adam." I asked, feeling breathless because Adam had pinned me to the wall and his arms were caging me inside.

"Hi." he smiled sheepishly, and like I have said many times before, such smile on his serious face makes him look constipated.

"What are you doing?" I asked, looking deep into his beautiful eyes.

"Nothing. Just making sure you don't spend too much time with that shithead. It's bad for your brain cells." he said without stepping away from me, his body still pressed against mine.

"Adam? Are you by any chance jealous?" I asked, grinning wide and he looked as if I had caught him off-guard.

"Jealous?" he narrowed his eyes at me like typical Adam. "Why would I be jealous of that dimwit?"

"I don't know. You tell me." I smirked at him.

"I am not jealous." he said through gritted teeth, his brows furrowed in anger.

"Of course you aren't." I teased again, making an innocent face.

"Don't tempt me Alicia!" he said, looking offended.

"Tempt you to do what?" I was in full mood of pushing his buttons.

"To do this." he leaned towards me and claimed my lips, knocking the breath out of my lungs.

I stood there still, gasping, while he dipped his tongue in my mouth and his other hand pulled my hair back to give him more access. Breaking off the trance, I returned his kiss with my eager flicks, tasting the sweet taste of strawberry juice from his tongue, sucking and biting gently.

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