Remi really wanted nothing more than to sext Dimitrios, but the last thing he needed was to smell like arousal when he went to meet Cade at the library. He wished he could blow it off and tell him they’d meet up next week, but he was too dedicated of a student to slack off on schoolwork.
Dimitrios:Okay sweetheart. I’ll see you this evening.
Remi:See you then
Aiden was giving him a knowing look as he sent the message and slipped his phone back in his pocket. He tried to ignore the smirk on his friend’s face, but it was impossible as it grew wider and wider until it was a full blown smile.
“What?” Remi asked finally, annoyed.
“I’m guessing that was your mystery alpha. You’re blushing like crazy and I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look as soft as when you were looking at his messages.”
“So what?”
“So… I think you like him. It’s cute. I didn’t know you could be so cute and sweet. You can say whatever you want about your relationship, but I know that alphas who don’t care about you, don’t send over enough food to feed an army without having feelings.” Aiden teased.
“He was just being nice.”
“Okay. Sure. Whatever you say.” Aiden’s tone made it clear he didn’t believe him.
As class was dismissed, Remi and Aiden split ways outside the classroom. Remi headed to the on campus café to grab a sandwich and water, eating quickly as he rushed to the library to meet Cade.
The alpha had beaten him there, and was sitting at a table in the far corner alone. Remi suppressed a sigh as Cade waved enthusiastically to get his attention. It wasn’t Cade’s fault that Remi was distracted by the prospect of meeting Dimitrios again later.
“Hey, Remi. Are you ready to get started?”
“Hey, Cade. Yeah, I’m ready.” Remi said, suppressing a sigh.
“I made some notes on the recipe, and a list of reference books we should consult to see what ingredients will work best.”
Cade turned his notebook around to show Remi all his notes and list of books for reference. Remi felt a little bad that he hadn’t done anything the previous night, but he guessed that he’d already done a lot of the work since they were using his personal recipe. He read the list of notes quickly and was impressed at how insightful and well worded they all were.
“Great! Let’s pull these reference books and then we can get started.”
They each took two books off the list and went to find them in the massive library, meeting back at the table and beginning their search for the information they needed. Remi and Cade worked in relative silence for a little over an hour, making separate notes and reading from the reference books about different processes and ingredient combinations.
After making notes for a while, they started to share their ideas and thoughts, winding up with three different variations of the recipe. The next step would be to try them out in a real life kitchen and see what worked the best. Trial and error, the scientific method for cooking.
“So, I looked at the schedule on my way over here. There are several time slots open at the campus kitchens for this weekend. Do you want to maybe work on the recipe Saturday afternoon, then maybe we can go out to dinner or something?” Cade asked hopefully.
Remi felt bad for what he was about to do, but it was all for the best. He had to crush the alpha’s hopes entirely, and it was going to sting. He tried to keep his face politely smiling.
“Sorry, Cade. I can’t this weekend. I’m staying over at my boyfriend’s place all weekend. I’m actually going over there after we finish up here. Sorry. I’ll check the schedule after this and see if we can get an afternoon time slot for one day next week.”
“You’re… staying over for the weekend?” Cade asked, looking shocked at this news.
There, he’d done it. The implication was there. Staying at his boyfriend’s place was basic code for,‘We’re gonna fuck’.Hopefully that would sink in and the alpha would finally let go of his dreams of Remi and him getting back together. Because it was never going to happen, no matter how nice Cade was, he just wasn’t the right alpha for him.
“Yep. He’s been out of town for a few days, so we’re making up by spending the weekend together. What about you? Any big plans for the weekend?” Remi asked with a smile that he hoped didn’t look as forced as it felt.
“One of the frats over at NYU is having a party. I might go to that.” Cade shrugged, looking like he was trying hard to be nonchalant.
“Cool. That’ll be fun.”
Now that they had their rough draft recipes, there wasn’t much more for them to do. They packed up all their supplies, returned the books, and parted ways outside the library.
Remi went to the campus kitchens and found an availability for Tuesday at 3:30 PM. He confirmed with Cade that that time was okay and added their names to the list before walking off campus to the nearest bus stop. He had to get home. He’d spent four hours in the library with Cade, and it was almost five o’clock. Remi still had to get home, pack a bag and get all the way across New York during the busiest time of the day on a Friday.
Remi took his usual bus route home and sprinted up the stairs to his apartment. He shuffled around in his closet for a little bit, figuring out what clothes to wear, though he only had a few options. He shuffled things around in his backpack and made room to fit the clothes in along with his laptop, notebooks and textbooks. He still had homework he had to work on at some point this weekend. He put his extra clothes inside, added panties, socks, and toiletries. It took a total of about fifteen minutes to get ready, and just as he was about to leave he had a thought.