Chapter 23

Adrian's POV

"Adri. Adri, wake up, the Chargers are playing," Derek whispers, waking me up.

"What time is it?" I question.

"It's almost noon. You fell asleep on my shoulder."

I look away in embarrassment but Derek puts a hand on my cheek and makes me face him. He examines me for a second, creeping me the fuck out because he's staring at me. My dream man is staring at my face. I see his lips quirk up a bit.

"You have drool around your mouth, Adri," Derek says, using his thumb to wipe it off.

I look at him in disbelief, but he just smiles a little. Does he realize what he's doing to me? Does he realize how difficult he's making it to not stare at him all the time? Does he know how good looking he is? He has to know he's attractive, right? He's tall, muscular, blonde, and if he just felt around his jawline, he'd realize he's majestic as fuck.

"Uh, th-thanks," I stutter.

"Do you wanna watch the Chargers?" Derek asks and I nod.

"Yeah. Yeah, for sure."

Derek turns it to the Chargers game and I take a moment to just wake myself up a little. Waking up to Derek using his bare thumb to wipe spit off of my mouth is crazy. He has his fucking arm around my shoulder right now! I feel like I'm hallucinating, this can't be real.

"Did you sleep well?" Derek asks, still staring at the TV.

"Uh, yeah, thanks for uh, letting me sleep on you."

"No problem. It wasn't that uncomfortable. You're really peaceful when you sleep."

I take a deep breath. "Thanks. My mom always said I was a heavy sleeper."

"I can tell. Should we heat up some food?" he asks and I nod.

"Yeah, I'm hungry."

"Adri?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you wanna go out to eat tonight? Like somewhere nice, like the Cheesecake Factory, or something like that?" he asks. My heart skips a beat and I might've bit my lip a little bit.

"Yes. I would love that. I'll pay."

"No you won't. This is my treat, okay? Just let me pay," he says.

Is this a date? I want to ask him but I don't want him to make fun of me. I want it to be a date, but I can't really imagine it being one. I think he's just being nice right now, which is kind of disappointing, but it's alright.

Last night was insane. I got jumped by offensive and defensive linemen while Josh just stood back and pretended to help. I was crying so much, and Derek saw everything and didn't care. He just held me in his arms and rubbed my back. I've never felt so safe with someone that isn't a family member of mine. My head was completely dug into Derek's chest while I ruined his shirt. He didn't care. He held me tighter, making sure I felt safe. He smelled so good. Like vanilla and flowers. He smelled like everything that makes me happy. I wanted so badly to kiss him after that, but that would be going way too far.

If I want to kiss him, I need to make sure he actually wants that. His lips are so plump and beautiful. I don't know if this is the right way to describe them, but they are unchapped. They look wet and not dry.

Neither of us have made any efforts to get up and heat up food, we're just sitting here still. I adjust my sitting position to get more comfortable, and Derek smiles at me and pulls me closer to him. There is major skin to skin contact between our legs. Derek clearly doesn't skip leg days. He has the holy quads and calves. I don't work out as much as he does, but I also have good legs. I'm fast too.

"One day we'll be playing in the NFL, I bet," Derek says as he begins to rub my shoulder. I'm one second away from being absolutely, painfully bricked up because of this man.

"You definitely will. I don't know about me."

"You'll make it to the NFL, don't worry. It's saying a lot that we're already starting in our freshman seasons. We have so much time to improve, and by the end of our senior year, we'll both be at the top of our position," he states.

I would let him be the top in our positions.

Pause.

I mean, I'm not really lying, and no one heard me say that, so I'm in the clear.

"We probably should eat soon, we want a full appetite for dinner, Cheesecake Factory has massive fucking entrees," Derek points out.

"Yeah, you're right. I don't really wanna get up though."

"I'll heat your stuff up for you, don't worry. You want orange chicken, potstickers, and chow mein?" he asks.

"Yeah. That would be great. Thank you so much."

"Of course."

Derek gets up, grabs a plate and puts the food I want on it and puts it in the microwave for 3 minutes and returns next to me. Derek deserves the world. I want to be the world for him, but I don't really know what his type is. I have completely expelled any other person from my romantic interests other than Derek, and now he's quite literally the only guy I like.

"We don't have a game next week," Derek says.

"I know."

"What are we gonna do?" he asks.

"I don't know. We could just stay in like this, or actually go somewhere. We could go to a different football game. I think Cal is in town playing USC, we can watch them and then say hi to Frank and Jeremiah," I suggest.

"That sounds fun. The rest of the team can come too."

"Yeah."

Eventually my food heats all the way up, Derek's food heats up all the way, and we eat together while continuing to watch the Chargers. They're alright, significantly better than I expected them to be, that's for sure.

"I might wear an actual shirt instead of a tank top to the Cheesecake Factory," Derek says.

"Oh wow, is this a really important dinner?" I ask.

"Well, it's a nice restaurant, so I don't want to just be wearing clothes that I would be wearing in the gym. It just doesn't look great." I know damn well he looks great in those clothes, that's for sure.

"I don't really mind, I could care less about what you wear," I lie. I'm just trying to convince him to not wear a normal shirt and still wear his tank top. It's so tight on his skin, and it just shows off everything. He never wears white tank tops too, just black tank tops all the time, and he looks great in them because they compliment his tan skin. I don't really remember him wearing tank tops all the time in high school, but he would wear them sometimes. Now they have become his go to outfit.

"Eh, I'll still wear something decent. I don't want people looking at me weird." People look at him weird because they are in the process of falling in love with him. I don't know if he realizes that. He should realize that, because he is the hottest person I know.

"Yeah, I guess that's a good idea," I reply.

Once we're finished, we go back to damn near cuddling on the couch. I am sure it's only because he feels bad for what happened to me last night, and he's just trying to console me and make me feel better. Well, I feel way more than better. Derek's hand being on me, even if it's just my shoulder, is really consoling, and also really making me go crazy. His hands are big by the way, and his arms are so fucking veiny. Even without getting a pump, his arms are so veiny. He's ripped, but in a really aesthetic way. He's not overdoing it. He's probably from 200-210 pounds and he's 6'4, so he's basically a giant.

"Does your eye feel better?" he asks, smiling at me.

"Yeah. Thanks. Sleeping helped. Your shoulder is uh, pretty comfortable."

"I'm glad," he says.

I laugh awkwardly and pray that he didn't hear it. I look up at him and see his tongue fan over his lips before going back in his mouth. I just want to reach up and touch his face. His skin is so fucking clear and beautiful. He's touched my face before, but again, that's only when he's trying to console me or make me feel better about myself.

I see his eyes kind of travel down, so he's side eying me. I turn my attention straight back to the TV but I swear to God I saw him smile a little. I can almost feel when he's smiling, it's kind of crazy. Have I really spent this much time with him that I can tell when he's smiling? That's insane.

A few hours later, and a few more hours of one sided sexual tension between me and Derek, we both decide to change into something nicer before we go out and get dinner. He went back to his room to change and he hasn't gotten back yet, and I already changed into a navy crewneck sweatshirt and jeans. I really hate jeans, but if I have to wear them I'll wear them. I think I look good in this outfit combo though, so that's good.

Derek soon returns after about 20 minutes, and he's wearing a t shirt, which is also tight on his skin, making it impossible not to stare at him more.

Hopefully I can make it through a dinner without being super awkward and scaring him.

Derek's POV

I needed to get back to my room, and changing was a good excuse to just let myself catch my breath. I am freaking out right now. Adrian is the only thing running through my mind right now and I can't do anything but think about him.

I need to call Aaron right now, he would know what to do. I take out my phone and call Aaron, waiting for him to pick up.

"Derek? What's up?" he asks.

"Oh thank God you answered, holy shit. Listen, I am going fucking insane. I asked Adrian out to dinner, we'll probably be going in like 30 minutes, but I can't make it through a dinner with him. I am so fucked. I'm gonna be sweating my ass off if I look at him again."

"Damn, you really like him, don't you?"

"Yes, I like him so unbelievably much. I never thought I would want someone this bad, but Adrian has completely changed me. Please tell me what to do," I beg.

"Be honest. Since you want him so bad, tell him. Tell him that you want nothing more than to hug him and kiss him. Unless you're not catching a vibe from him."

"I don't know if I'm catching a vibe. I'm awful at reading signs."

"So am I, honestly. I didn't realize Jason like me back, I didn't realize Cam loved me," Aaron agrees. "Cam probably doesn't know signs either, neither of us knew we loved each other, Alicia and Devin saw each other and fell in love immediately, and were pretty open about their feelings. Kai and Jax are a complete mystery, DeShaun was the one sending out blatant signs to his girlfriend. None of us really know how to read signs, or have really been in that position to be reading signs. You might be on your own on this one, I'm sorry, bro."

"Shit. I'm so fucked. I'm already stressing out so bad, and I bet he's just waiting for me in his room right now, completely chilling," I state.

"Derek, listen, don't stress this too much. All Adrian thinks is this is you and him going to dinner as friends. From what you've told me so far, he doesn't know that this is a dinner that you are intending to confess your feelings at."

"Yeah, that's true I guess."

"Exactly. Just act normal, you'll be great. Now, me and Cam are going to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner, so I have to leave," he says.

"You're going to the Cheesecake Factory too?" I ask.

"That's where you're going?"

"Yeah. Can you like, try to sit near where me and Adrian are sitting, and if things are going alright, just leave us alone, and if things aren't going well, could you just be a distraction for a sec? I don't know if I can really hold it down for an entire dinner," I tell him.

"Yes. Absolutely. We're your friends, and we can absolutely be your wingmen. If you need help, we'll swoop in and be a distraction for a sec, don't worry about it."

I let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much, Aaron, seriously, I can't thank you enough. I really appreciate you."

"Don't even mention it. I'll see you at dinner, I guess."

"Yeah. See you there. Bye," I say.

"Bye."

Aaron hangs up and I get changed into something half decent, a t shirt and nice jeans. I know the t shirt is tight, but my body is one of the best things I can show off about myself. I have a really aesthetic body, not to be a bitch ass bragger.

Once I'm done, I go back to Adrian's room and take a deep breath before going in.

"You ready to go?" I ask and Adrian nods.

"Yeah, let's go," he beams. Already, my confidence has gone out the window. I am not scared of Adrian, but he's so beautiful and I don't know what to do.

We go to his car and he gives me the keys to his car. I might not be fit to drive a car right now, I will not be paying attention to the road as much as I'll be paying attention to the man in the seat next to me. This is gonna be a long night for me.

"I'm really craving tacos. Cheesecake Factory has those, right?" Adrian asks.

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure they do."

"Cool."

We get to the Cheesecake Factory and I think Adrian has noticed now how tense I am. I don't know what it is, but this beautiful man has just gotten into my head and is truly, not intentionally, fucking my entire mind up. I can't handle myself right now, especially when this guy is standing next to me.

"You okay?" he asks.

"Uh, yeah, yeah I'm doing great." I am about to tweak out in this bitch.

"Should we go in?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

We walk into the Cheesecake Factory and all I can pay attention to is Adrian still. He is so cute and I can't handle this anymore. Falling for him wasn't a good idea, and now I have to just try to suppress my feelings and still be his friend. That's the thing that matters to me the most.

"Hi, table for 2?" the person at the front desk asks.

"Yeah. Thank you," I answer.

She grabs two menus and leads us to a booth near the complete other side of the restaurant, which, like all Cheesecake Factories, is huge. They can easily fit more than 200 people in this place and still have many seats still open.

Me and Adrian sit down and I immediately start reading the menu because I can't risk looking at Adrian and not being able to look away.

"What do you think you're gonna order?" Adrian asks.

"I don't know. I think I might get the Korean fried chicken, it looks really good."

"Nice. Do you want to share any appetizers?"

"Uh, let's get the nachos. I don't think either of our meals are enough for us, so nachos should probably be enough. We have all this bread here too," I point out.

"Yeah, for sure. Thanks for taking me here, I know it's expensive, I can pay for my own stuff if you want," he offers.

"No, don't pay for your stuff, I'll pay for your stuff, it's fine. Besides, I still feel horrible about what happened last night. You didn't deserve for that to happen to you."

"Yeah. But coming out came with the risk of something like that happening, and I just wanted to be open about myself. I didn't think hard enough about what would happen to me after I came out, because Aaron came out and it was really smooth. I came out, it was smooth too, but I've had to deal with some of the things Aaron didn't really have to worry about."

"Still, you coming out doesn't mean what happened last night was your fault. It's 100% not your fault, and I really feel horrible that you feel that it is. You did nothing wrong. You're the kindest person I know, and I wish people would get to know you before calling you slurs and being asshole homophobes to you," I tell him.

He smiles at me a little. "Thanks for picking me up after all that shit happened. You have no idea how much that meant to me, and you have no idea how much I value our friendship. You've really helped me get through the most difficult time in my life, and I wish I could repay you."

My heart skips a beat at his words. "Being your friend is enough for me."

He smiles at me and I think probably didn't purposely lick his lips, but it happened and I saw that and now I just want to keep reading the menu and not giving into my urges.

"Hello, gentlemen, welcome to the Cheesecake Factory, can I get you anything to drink?" a waitress comes up and asks.

"Could I please get a strawberry lemonade?" Adrian asks.

"Yeah, for sure."

"Thank you!"

"And for you?" she asks me.

"I'll just have a water, thank you," I reply.

"Are you two ready to order food?" she asks.

"Yeah. I'll have the Baja chicken tacos," Adrian answers.

"And you?"

"I'll have the Korean fried chicken. And could we get nachos to share?" I ask.

"Yeah for sure. Is that all?"

"I think so. When we're done could we also get the cheesecake menu?" I ask.

"Yeah. Definitely."

"Thank you," I say, smiling up at her.

"Thank you," Adrian repeats.

"No problem. Your food will be out soon."

Me and Adrian talk for the entire time while we wait for the food to come out. Behind Adrian, Cam and Aaron sat down at a booth and Aaron looked at me and I shook my head at him. I think I'm doing better now, I've calmed my nerves down and I'm no longer terrified of embarrassing myself and making Adrian think I'm weird.

"Do you watch a lot of basketball? I know we watched a couple Lakers games together but other than that do you watch a lot of basketball?" Adrian asks.

"Not really, it's not my favorite sport, obviously, because if it was I would be playing that instead."

"Yeah. You have the build for it," Adrian says.

"Thanks. But yeah, other than the few games we've watched on TV, I haven't really been watching basketball that much."

"Is it boring for you?"

Nothing is ever boring with you, I want to say. "No, it's fine. We're not even watching the game as much as we're just talking, so it doesn't matter that much."

"Yeah. You're right."

Soon enough, our food comes out and we eat. Adrian's black eye is still obvious, but he said it doesn't actively hurt anymore. Seeing him in so much pain and so hurt last night was horrible. I just wanna tell Adrian how much he's valued by everyone on the team, and how all of us would come to defend him if any of us had to.

"These nachos are good," Adrian says.

"Yeah. They are."

Once we finish eating our food, the waitress comes back and gives us the cheesecake menu and leaves to give us time to decide what we want.

"I don't know if I can have an entire cheesecake right now. Do you want to share one?" Adrian asks and I practically levitate.

"Uh, yeah, sure. What sounds good to you?"

"I don't know. What do you want?"

"Whatever you want I'll share it with you," I state.

"Do you wanna share the strawberry one?" he asks.

"Yeah. Sure. That sounds great."

We order the strawberry cheesecake and it doesn't take very long for it to come out. The waitress brings us two small forks and we both take one.

Adrian takes the first stab at it, taking a bite and-much to my dismay-moaning a little bit because of the taste. I take a extremely quiet deep breath to calm myself down again, before taking a bite of the cheesecake myself.

"Damn, this shit is good," Adrian laughs.

"Yeah. This is, uh, this is really good."

I think I'm gonna ask him to be my boyfriend. I don't know if I have it in me though, I am usually decently confident, but when someone that looks like Adrian is the person that I'm supposed to be asking out, that confidence fades immediately.

"Hey, Derek, you okay?" Adrian asks, noticing that I'm just staring at the table.

Be my boyfriend, I desperately want to say, before chickening out. "Yeah, everything is great. How about you?" I ask.

"This cheesecake is great, I have no complaints."

I smile at him, happy that he's happy. I want nothing more than to see him happy, because that's what everyone wants and deserves. Adrian deserves the world, and clearly because of the fact that I have no balls, I don't think I can be the world for him.

Once we finish up, I pay the check and we leave. I frown at Aaron a bit as we leave. He frowns a bit too. We walk back to Adrian's car and go back to the dorms.

"Derek, you've been acting weird all night, is everything okay? Did I do something wrong?" Adrian asks and my heart shatters.

"No, no, no, Adri, you've done nothing wrong, okay? Don't think for a moment that you've done anything wrong, okay? I'm just kind of tired. That's all. Thanks for being concerned though."

"Of course. I care about you, so of course I can be concerned."

I finally start to build some confidence as we step out of the car and begin walking to his room. Maybe I should do something. I swear I can feel myself sweating.

"Adri?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you, uh, do you want to go to the mall next Saturday?" I ask, chickening out once again. I am so frustrated with myself. This is why I can't be happy, I'll never gain the confidence to ask out the only person in the world that I want.

"Yeah, of course," Adrian beams.

"Cool."

Fuck, he has no idea that I'm falling so hard for him. I'm ripping my hair out whenever I'm with him and he's just being himself.

Himself is exactly who I'm falling for though.

A/N: I am really burning y'all slowly with this one. I hope I captured the tension well in this chapter. I tried to do that thing where Adrian falls first but Derek falls harder. Just to make it clear, Adrian has no idea that Derek wants him. Adrian thinks Derek is just acting weird and believes Derek when he said that he's just tired. Derek has no idea that Adrian likes him back, so everything is messed up here. I love these two so much, I feel like Cameron and Aaron as a couple were cute but Derek and Adrian are gonna be cuter. Cam and Aaron love each other a lot, and I don't know if that level can be matched. Derek and Adrian will come close though, and I am so excited to start writing fluff between them. Thanks for reading!!!