My Type of Socializing | ✓

Chapter 6

Adam didn't want to admit it to himself, but he was looking forward to going to Assad's place. He tried to tell himself it was because Assad had promised that there would be food, but deep down inside he knew that all his daydreams about snuggling under a blanket as he binged the office drama Assad had texted to him in preparation was what he was looking forward to.

He told himself that it was because he was lonely and that Assad was talkative enough to fill the void by himself, and even if the explanation was enough for him now, he knew it was something deeper.

Adam Taylor had not had a proper friend in three years.

Not one.

Keeping himself in his house and looking like the living dead in his last year of college had driven the few casual friends he had made.

Getting texts from Assad had taken some getting used to. At first, Adam would leave the younger man on 'read' for hours at a time, but that had been because he never knew what to say in response to the funny pictures, or random train of thought texts Assad liked to send, but recently he had been replying to the block of texts with emojis and that seemed to be enough for Assad.

Adam felt Assad was either extremely patient or genuinely content with the limited interaction that would have thrown some people off after a while.

Adam had the slight feeling that Assad liked him in some way, but it was a thought that was very quickly put away after consulting common sense. Why would Assad want to date someone that currently looked and dressed like he was homeless, and there was no way Assad would be this patient with him if the man liking him was the case. Adam knew he wasn't the best company. He didn't smile or talk much, and all he did was eat Assad's food.

"Why are you thinking about that?" he asked himself out loud as he blinked and came out of his thoughts. He rubbed his eyes with a fist, before letting out a sigh and grabbing his desktop mouse to keep working on the commission he had taken recently.

It was weird, he had taken on more work, but he didn't feel busy or tired. It was probably because he was eating well now, and the fact that his apartment had miraculously managed to be clean for weeks at a time now.

Adam would like to think that he started cleaning up because he wanted to, but he knew that it was because the few times Assad had almost let himself in when he came knocking had given him a heart attack. Though, he couldn't explain why the thought of Assad seeing his apartment in disarray would be embarrassing to him. Maybe with the food that he was eating some human emotions like shame and self-respect were returning.

That would explain why he was also paying more attention to his appearance and sorting out his laundry instead of giving items of clothing a good smell to figure out if they were clean enough to wear.

At least that's what he wanted to believe, and Adam did believe some beliefs were worth faking until he internalized them.

He could not have a crush now. He had barely had full conversations with people aside from his client for years. How would he even approach dating?

As Adam was lost in thought again, his phone buzzed. He sat up, reaching out for the phone that was sitting on his desk before checking out what the notification was about.

A text from Assad.

His expression softened.

Message from: Assad.

Hey, I was wondering if you played any video games? I was playing Counterstrike and got a little bored because I'm on my own. My friends are studying for midterms.