Page 51 of Disciplinary Action
“Callum. Stop stalling,” Gideon said, tone leaving no room for argument.
Cal gave a stilted nod before following the instructions to the portal. Once there, he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before clicking the link, peeking one eye open and gasping when he saw the word ‘congratulations.’ “I got in. I did it.”
Gideon grinned. “Of course, you did. You’re one of the smartest people I know. You’re going to blow them all away.”
He scanned the letter. He’d earned an academic scholarship. “Full ride. I-I got a full scholarship.”
Cal’s euphoria plummeted as something occurred to him. “Harvard is so far away from here. I’ll be a thousand miles away.”
Gideon kissed his forehead. “Then it’s a good thing I’m filthy rich. We’ve got the whole summer to worry about logistics. Okay?”
Cal swallowed the lump in his throat, relieved Gideon wasn’t ready to give Cal up, even if the sadness of not seeing Gideon every day still lingered.
“I don’t want to be that far from you,” Cal said, burying his face in Gideon’s neck.
“I know, baby. I don’t want to be that far from you either, but we’ve got lots of time to worry about that. For now, just let yourself be happy you got into your top pick school.”
“Okay,” Cal mumbled.
Gideon sighed at Cal’s mopey face. “Stop pouting, bratty boy.” He kissed Cal’s bottom lip. “Come on. Let’s take a shower and get ready for school.”
“Ugh, do I have to? It’s a half-day. I already got into college. I’m done,” Cal grumped.
“Be a good boy and I’ll blow you in the shower.”
Cal’s head popped up. “Really?”
Gideon laughed. “Yes, but only if you get up and get moving.”
Cal popped up, using all his body weight to haul Gideon to his feet after him.
Cal stood at the sink in the boy’s bathroom, his hands under the cold water, backpack at his feet, no longer washing his hands but deep in thought. He’d been contemplating his future since he’d gotten his Harvard letter, and he’d been a roller coaster of emotion for the last two hours. He didn’t want to be away from Gideon. Not for a semester, hell not even for a day. Sure, it was stupid to be so in love and so invested after just a few weeks but he really didn’t care. He didn’t care if it was impulsive or childish, he loved Gideon, and Gideon said he loved Cal back.
But Harvard. His number one pick. The school he’d dreamed of attending since he was five years old. His mother’s school. Gideon talked like they’d find a way of making it work, but part of Cal wondered if Gideon was just humoring him, just making him feel like there was a chance so that he didn’t squander the opportunity he’d been given.
Cal startled as the bathroom door opened, hinges screeching like in a horror movie. His brows shot up when he saw who stood there. Bastian. They both froze, staring awkwardly at each other. Cal broke off his gaze as Bastian moved to the urinal. Cal didn’t leave, just stood there, pretending to wash his hands again. He hated this. Bastian was his only friend. Had been his friend for his entire high school career. He didn’t want to leave for college barely speaking to his only friend, but he also didn’t want Bastian losing his shot at his athletic scholarship.
“Hey,” Bastian said quietly, joining him at the sinks.
“Hey. How’s it going?” Cal asked, surprised Bastian was initiating the conversation.
Bastian grinned. “Awesome. I got my scholarship to Duke. Gonna play lacrosse there.”
Cal turned off the sink, drying his hands. “That’s great, man,” Cal said, meaning it.
Bastian leaned against the wall, hands stuffed in his pockets. “What about you? Heard back from anybody?”
“Yeah, this morning. I got my full ride to Harvard,” Cal said, face flushing as he grinned.
Bastian smiled back. “That’s awesome. I’m not surprised. You have the highest grades in the school.”
“And the highest SATs,” Cal reminded him with a smirk.
“Yeah, yeah, we get it. Such a big brain. We’re all intimidated.”
Cal laughed, feeling for just a few moments like he used to, back when he was just one of the guys on the lacrosse team and they used to call him Einstein. But those days were long gone. Three years of great memories erased by months of hateful ones. “A few more weeks and we’ll be out of here for good. I can’t fucking wait.”
“What about you and Daddy? Has that finally crashed and burned?” Bastian asked. “‘Cause Hillary says he hasn’t hit her up in a hot minute, and she’s a little pissed about it. You stole her best client.”
