The first week of school was like a dream. We were in the honeymoon phase, not only as far as being college students rather than the children we were a few months earlier in high school, but also as a couple. Like every year since kindergarten, I woke up before the birds, springing out of bed and anxious to get to my first class. I showered, savoring the extra time since the rest of the suite was still asleep, then made Gabe his first cup of coffee.

When it finished brewing, I sat it on the dresser we’d decided to use as a makeshift nightstand and perched myself on the edge of the bed. I ran my fingers along the length of his spine, still amazed I could touch him like this whenever I wanted. He grumbled and buried his head beneath the pillows. I bent over, placing one tender kiss against his shoulder blade, chuckling when he stirred a bit more. Allowed my hands to drift to the small of his back, pressing past the waistband of his sleep pants. “Mmm, come back to bed.”

“No time,” I told him, even though it was still nearly an hour before the dining hall opened for breakfast. If I crawled back into the bed with him, we’d fall back to sleep and miss our first classes. Or even better, he’d wake up and we’d lose track of time making out. “I made you coffee.”

He rolled to his back and sat up, eyes still closed as he reached for the steaming mug. “God, I love you,” he sighed after the first sip.

I tensed, still uncomfortable with how easily he threw the phrase around. I wanted to laugh it off but didn’t want to risk my reaction hurting his feelings if he was serious.

“Seriously, Trev, why are we up so early? My first class isn’t until ten,” he complained.

“Yeah, well mine’s at eight, and you said you wanted to eat together since we don’t have any of the same classes this semester.”

“I’m beginning to think I was overcompensating for the whole having to keep us a secret for so long,” he grumbled. He threw back the blankets and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. When he stood, it put his morning wood on full display. We jerked off together enough times I was certain I could sketch his body in perfect detail, but I was ready for the next level of intimacy. While I was trying to work up the courage to pull down his pajama pants and lick the tip of his dick before drawing him into my mouth, Gabe disappeared into the bathroom.

When he returned, he laughed.

“What’s so funny?”

“You.” He crossed the room and kissed the top of my head. “You’re sitting there concentrating as though you’re trying to work out a complex math equation.”

“Nope. Just trying to wake up,” I lied. So far, Gabe opted for a snail’s pace with our relationship. I’d hinted a couple of times that I wanted more, but he always reminded me there was no need to rush anything. It was sweet, but also incredibly frustrating. And now was not the time for me to grow a set of balls and tell him what I wanted, because I wasn’t sure I could handle any sort of rejection before having to face a lecture hall of new faces several times today.

“That’s your own damn fault. We could’ve still been sound asleep, but you’re the freakazoid would has to get up before the alarm for the first damn day of school. You’d think that’d wear off eventually.”

“Maybe it will, but this is a huge day.” I was practically bouncing on the bed by this point. Gabe shook his head and grabbed his shower caddy. “Once you’re dressed, we’ll head down for some breakfast. Tell me, are you going to walk me to class like a good boyfriend would do?”

“I might,” he responded playfully. “Is your first class in the same direction as Port Java?”

“Of course,” I scoffed. “I’ve known you your entire life. Do you seriously think I’d suggest you walk in the opposite direction of your beloved coffee with a scoop of ice cream?”

I thought Gabe was going to cream his pants the first day we’d walked into Port Java and he saw that they offered hot and cold drinks with ice cream in place of sweetener. At first, he’d resisted because the ice cream would cool the coffee too much to be any good, but after the barista told him he could order one and she’d make him something else if he didn’t like it, he was hooked. Ever since then, Gabe’s primary source of exercise had been walking to the coffee shop at least twice a day.

“You’re too good to me.” He kissed me once more, then headed off for the shower moments before Seth’s alarm started blaring on the other side of the wall. While he was gone, I pulled clothes out of the dresser for him. It wasn’t weird, I told myself, because I was simply trying to save time, not dictating his wardrobe choices. The fact he wouldn’t walk into his first classes looking like a rumpled mess was simply a side bonus.

Gabe kissed me quickly before getting dressed. It would’ve been so easy for me to tug at his towel, leaving him naked with his long, slender cock at the perfect height, but I didn’t. Damn priorities.

We walked to the dining hall together, loading up with enough food to get us through the day. Seth sat alone at a table in the corner, so I cocked my head for Gabe to follow me over there. The kid seemed like he was struggling to make friends, and I knew the pain of being the weirdo no one wanted to sit next to.

“Hey, you guys ready for today?” Seth asked as we approached. His eyes widened as we sat next to him. “It’s so weird to think we only have to take a couple of classes each day. I thought it’d be more like high school, where we had to juggle a ton of classes and books.”

“I’m totally down for a few hours of learning and the rest of the days free,” Gabe replied. I shook my head, because he still thought it was going to be easy with so few classes. He was woefully unprepared for how much harder classes would be this year.

“Yeah, well I’m going to reserve judgment for now,” I told them. “My classes this semester are killer.”

“I still don’t know what you’re trying to prove. You’re going to make the rest of us look bad, taking as many credits as they’d let you right off the bat,” Gabe teased. He bumped his shoulder into mine, sending the bitter sludge that passed for coffee in this place onto my plate. Nothing looked less appetizing than residence hall scrambled eggs soaked with coffee.

“Sorry.” He switched plates with me and instantly started eating the eggs. Sometimes, I wondered if there was anything the man wouldn’t put in his mouth⁠—other than my dick, because that hadn’t happened yet no matter how much I hoped it would.

Seth watched the two of us but didn’t say anything. I felt like the subject of a research study with his critical analysis. He shook his head quickly, curled an arm around his plate, and started shoveling food into his mouth. It was the move of someone who was used to food disappearing before he finished. The kid had a story, and I was pretty sure it’d make our problems seem like a fairy tale.

The alarm chimed on my phone, alerting me it was time to head to class. Gabe chuckled, grabbed our trays, and told me he’d meet me at the door. Seth wished us luck and we returned the sentiment.

Gabe offered to walk me all the way to the lecture hall, but I dismissed him when we got to Port Java. I wasn’t ready for that level of public attention. He stopped himself from kissing me and turned away with a frown. Before I could second guess myself, I reached for his hand.

“Hey, it’s going to be fine,” I parroted the words he told me so often.

“Yeah, I know.” I stood at the intersection, watching him cross the street and disappear into the coffee shop. It felt like I messed up something huge.

* * *

The following Monday morning crashed down around us like a hurricane. My alarm blared at six and Gabe threw a pillow at the wall, demanding I shut that damn thing up before he pitched my phone out the window. I chuckled, realizing he would never be a morning person. As much fun as it’d been to wake up every morning and have breakfast together last week, I let him sleep.

I entered the password on his phone and set six alarms, just in case five weren’t enough. Even then, I knew I’d have to call him between my first and second classes to make sure he hadn’t turned off his phone so he could sleep uninterrupted. After showering, I quickly dressed and sat in what’d officially been dubbed the smelly chair⁠—despite the fact it no longer reeked like stale beer after a thorough cleaning⁠—and surfed the internet on my phone while I watched Gabe sleep. When he rolled over and curled his body around my pillow, I snapped a quick picture for posterity.

Shortly after nine, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out as discreetly as possible and smiled at the message. You were supposed to wake me up.

Sorry, you were too cute to disturb, I texted back before tucking the phone away so I could pay attention to the professor droning on the historical development of Western culture. This course was going to be mind-numbingly boring, but I was trying to not fall into a false sense of security that the semester would be a breeze. The professor came across as one who would be a total hardass, despite the first-day pep talk he’d given us about how passions were meant to be embraced and he was there to guide us through our journeys.

I told myself I wouldn’t keep checking my phone, but when it buzzed for the fourth time, I decided to look. Gabe had text-bombed me.

9:32 - I’m not cute.

9:33 - Okay, so I totally am, but that’s beside the point. Wake me up from now on.

9:35 - On second thought, don’t. Sleep good. But I need to get up earlier. Didn’t have time for my Port Java run today.

9:47 - Heading in now. Wish me luck. Pizza night?

Dad had given me a lecture about utilizing the meal plan he’d paid for, but the food in the dining hall seriously lacked flavor and texture. There were other options available, but by the end of the day, I had zero energy to go back out into the real world. I could only hope it got easier once I got into the swing of the semester.

By the end of the first month of school, I knew I was in over my head. I hadn’t listened when everyone told me I didn’t have to take the maximum allowed credits. Unlike most students, I loved a challenge, so I figured packing my schedule would be a good plan. The reality was there was exponentially more homework in college.

I missed Gabe. Sure, I saw him every day and slept next to him every night, but it wasn’t enough. When his eyes grew heavy and he couldn’t concentrate anymore, we’d pack up our books and he’d head to bed. I, on the other hand, would fall into the chair under the loft and keep working until I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. Lesson learned. If I survived this semester, I’d rethink how many credits I took on for the spring. I wanted to regain the balance between my academic and personal lives.