"There are two kinds of radicals, cations and anions."

I gazed at the sheet of paper in front of me. I marvelled silently at the sunlight that cascaded onto it, making the black print stand out even more. I leaned over the granite counter, placing my elbow on it and resting my face on my hand as I gazed in front.

We had a two hour chemistry lab on Tuesday mornings. It was located on the topmost floor in a long room. The room filled with rows of counters set with shelves on top of it and a longer countertop where the experiments were supposed to take place. My eyes flitted over to Caleb. He sat behind the professor's table. Professor Hodgkin stood in front of him, his scarce, curly hair bobbing on his head as he spoke.

Gazing around, I could see that I wasn't the only one who was staring at him. I studied him again, it would make sense that most students in the class were more focused on him than our professor, who was helplessly dull.

I tried to focus on Hodgkin as he continued talking about the different groups of salts. I gazed at the chart in front of me. Six groups. They all seemed pretty straightforward to me, although, from my solo studying I could only remember the easiest one, group five. Flame test. I smirked slightly. Always a delight.

"This will also form a part of your practical exams later this semester so I suggest you pay attention to it."

I stifled a yawn. Last night, I hadn't slept very well. Mainly because I was erotically charged (a more efficient term now that I was in college) and also because I wasn't used to someone being so close to me as Jeremiah had been. Except for Gray. My heart lurched at the thought of him and I quickly focussed on the paper again till I spaced out into daydreaming.

The good thing about morning classes being chemistry practicals was that I didn't have to socialise with anyone much. Although from what I could see, I was much younger than the other mature students, most of whom seemed to be closer to thirty. I was gazing at the paper in front of me, unseeing as Hodgkin droned on before I felt a sudden tingle travel up my spine. My head snapped up and I gazed straight ahead.

Caleb.

He was gazing intently at me, his grey eyes glittering. He saw me looking and smiled softly. Did he mean for me to see him looking? I stared back at him for a while, my heart racing despite myself. He smiled wider, almost smirking in a challenging way. He bit his lower lip. My heart rate increased and I felt my face flushing.

What the fuck? Was I getting a crush?

I tore my eyes away from him and focussed on the professor instead. Caleb was a nice guy, but even Poseidon couldn't make me cheat on Gray. As for now, his harmless gazes weren't a problem.

I lifted my eyes to him again. He leaned back, drumming his fingers on the table. His gaze was fixed on Hodgin but seemed to turn to me the moment that I looked at him. Our eyes met. He seemed pleased to find me looking. With a jolt, I realized that me staring at him so much might make him think I was into him.

I focussed on the experiment for the rest of the lab duration. It was easier to stop thinking about my fucked up heart while I concentrated on trying to find out which radical my salt was. I performed the test for group five straight up, gazing despondently at the normal coloured flame.

I heard a soft chuckle and started, gazing to my right and saw Caleb leaning over the counter, a small smile on his face. "You look so disappointed that it's not group five."

I sighed, raking a hand through my hair. "Would've been too easy I guess."

He gazed at the test tube I had set in the stand and spoke. "You already got a precipitate. Why are you going for a flame test now?"

I shrugged. "Those precipitates didn't really look significant to me."

He shook his head. "That's literally flesh coloured, Xavier."

I was quiet, stunned at the effect him saying my name was having on me. "Er... Yeah. So-"

"Manganese."

I sighed. "Yeah. That."

He sighed softly, leaning in closer to me. "You're smart, Xavier. But I don't think your head is in this. Did something happen?"

I shook my head. "Nerves I guess."

He nodded and leaned back, patting my shoulder. "Alright. Head in the game, Easton."

He gave me a swift smile and started walking through the different rows to overly enthusiastic girls. I let out a breath, my head slightly woozy. My heart fluttering as if in anticipation. I realized I was making a conscious effort to not breathe in his scent. His confident gait, his alluring smile, his raw sexual appeal. I realized with a jolt that he was basically a blonde, curly-haired version of me.

The class ended and I left the lab hurriedly, my chest a turmoil of emotions.

*

"EASTON! EASTON! EASTON! EASTON!"

I jolted awake and sat up straight in my bed, my heart pounding in my chest.

"XAVIER!"

Jeremiah's loud voice called again and I got to my feet, messaging my temple to ease the head rush pain. I glanced at the window and saw that it was dusk. The dark golden rays cascaded into my room and I gazed at them momentarily mesmerized. I had been asleep for three hours. Classes had been more draining than I had expected. My subjects included calculus, biology, chemistry, physics and English, something that I had taken simply hoping to relax.

I opened the door and was faced with a beaming Jeremiah. "Come on man," he said, gesturing behind him. "There's a whole thing in the common room. You don't wanna miss it."

"What..." I yawned, rubbing my eyes. "What thing?"

"Like a house warming thing," he grinned widely. "Come on."

He led me to the common room where almost a dozen other guys were sitting. Laughing. A raucous uproar.

"Hey, Hunt!" A thin guy said, smiling widely as Jeremiah waved at him.

"This is my roommate, Xavier Easton," Jeremiah announced as there was a scattered greeting to which I replied awkwardly.

"Ah, I have already had the privilege to meet your roommate before, Jeremiah."

A smooth, deep voice spoke and my heart froze for a second. Caleb sat at the very end of the wide room and grinned at me, a bottle of beer in his hand.

Jeremiah smacked me in the shoulder, grinning widely. "There's a league game on in five, Xavier. Grab a seat."

I thanked him awkwardly and went to the very back of the room. Caleb looked at me intensely, inviting. I tore my eyes away from him and sat at the other end, forcing myself to instead glance at the large television fixed on the opposite, cream coloured wall. I wasn't going to give him any hints.

The common room was massive, a few mattresses littering the ground, on one of which I sat. There was a shelf with a random assortment of drinks and snacks, set at the front of the room.

I sat cross-legged, gazing silently as the game began. I had hardly had the time to be into sports. Until a few years ago when I had busted a coach who was doping his own players. Even then it had been fencing, not something I was particularly adept at.

I decided to stay there for a while out of respect for Jeremiah's friendliness. But soon it would be evening and I could call Grayson. The thought made my heart flutter happily.

"Not into sports are you?"

I glanced at Caleb as he took a seat beside me, leaning against the wall and spreading his long legs in front of him. He handed me a beer. I gazed at the bottle for a while before I took it.

I opened the bottle and took a sip. "I didn't realize you'd be here."

"I switched to a single room the second year of doctorate," he grinned at me. "I guess I'm not too good at sharing space."

I was quiet, taking another sip. He gazed at Jeremiah before speaking to me, "Your roommate is quite the man," he shook his head. "He already seems to be really popular."

I shrugged. "Yeah. He's a nice guy."

He looked at me. "So? What's your story?"

I gazed questioningly at him.

"Well you know," he shrugged. "You're twenty-one. You're a freshman. Something went wrong."

I laughed. "Well...yeah. My dad's in jail and mother kinda OD's herself."

He was quiet. He rested his hand on my knee, squeezing as he spoke in a soft voice. "That sounds horrible, Xavier."

I felt heat rising in my neck and realized I had to put a stop to whatever this was.

I sighed softly and looked at him. For a second, I was taken aback by his closeness. The white glow of the high tube light reflected off his irises. Making them look more silver than grey. His full lips accentuated by the dim light. His curly hair tumbling carelessly onto his forehead.

"Caleb I..." I sighed, slowly sidling away from him. "Maybe I'm being presumptuous or something...I don't know but I have a feeling that you might be into me and-"

He smirked a sexy, confident smirk. "You are really perceptive Xavier," his eyes flitted to my lips before backing to mine as he continued. "I find you really fucking attractive and sexy."

I was taken aback by his forwardness. Caleb was an attractive man and someone I could see dating. If I wasn't already insanely in love with Gray. "I...I'm flattered Caleb but...I have a boyfriend. I'm in love with him. We live together."

I hated the way I sounded. Like I was trying to justify Grayson.

Disappointment flared in his eyes but he quickly recovered. "Is he your first boyfriend? Living in at twenty one...I'm guessing he is."

I nodded, unsure of where he was going with this.

"Then...how do you know you're not missing out?"

I sucked in a breath, feeling annoyed. "What...what do you mean?"

He sighed softly, his eyes tender. "I'm just saying...there's a lot this world has to offer," he shook his head. "Such as a sexy, pro-top, doctoral candidates with a penchant for BDSM."

I started laughing. He grinned devilishly at me. I could feel the alcohol slowly suppressing my senses as I doubled over, giggling.

"What does he do?" he asked.

"He's in the precinct up in East."

He raised an eyebrow. "East? That's a tough spot to get. He must be older than you."

I nodded, taking another sip of the beer. "Yeah, he's twenty-eight."

"That's...a massive age difference," he shook his head. "Are you sure, you're not..." he sucked in a breath, leaning in towards me. "Missing out?"

I gazed at him, my vision was slightly hazy. I had never been a hard drinker. I smiled at him and shook my head. "Grayson is the most amazing, beautiful, brave, intelligent and kind man I've ever seen. I love him more than anything in this world. And..." I smirked, taking a sip of the bottle. "He fucks me like Eros."

The disappointment was etched in his face as he leaned back and laughed. "He's...a lucky man."

My heart felt full as I thought of the startling emerald I was so in love with. "I consider myself to be the luckier one. I'm not...the easiest."

He smiled softly. "Yeah? Why?"

Despite the fact that I loved Gray, I couldn't help feeling a little bad about Caleb. He had really thrown himself at it. He sounded sad.

I shrugged. "Well I've...I've been quite...the wild child I guess," I gazed at him, trying to sound kind. "What about you?"

He smiled sadly. "I've been really low-key really. Just started trying to come out of my shell after masters. And...well..." he grinned. "The first time I was actually up front about a guy I like, I got shot down really hard."

I shook my head as I drank. "I'd say you dodged a bullet, Kingsley."

We talked late into the night, my brain getting more and more intoxicated as I transcended to whisky and rum. By the end of the night, I found myself vaguely cheering for whichever team I thought the others were cheering for.

I passed out a few hours after midnight. I barely remembered Caleb's grey eyes and his large, warm hands on me. I fell into darkness soon after that, my heart beating uneasily in my chest.