āYouāre mad at me.ā
Charles barely glances up from his magazine. Heās engaged. Heās riveted, really, and Erikās not distracting and Erik doesnāt deserve his attention. Charles is mature. He leagues more mature than Erik.
āIām not mad at you,ā Charles says. He rustles the magazine and focuses his attention on the article heās reading. āI donāt know why you would say that.ā
āIām saying it because you always make that snooty face when Iāve done something that doesnāt quite meet your approval, like you canāt believe you allow yourself to be seen with me.ā
Charles wrinkles his nose and pushes his reading glasses up. āThatās absurd,ā Charles says. āI absolutely do not. And Iām not angry. Youāre just projecting because you feel guilty.ā
āNope,ā Erik says, and Charles steals a peek, watches him stirring his coffee, and god, itās really not fair how fucking attractive Erik always is, even first thing in the morningāwell, one in the afternoonāeven when Charles isāyes, okay, annoyed with him. āI donāt feel guilty at all, because when I said, āDo you want me to go to the Summersā kids recital with you?ā You said, 'You donāt have to, you can come along if you wake up in time.ā And I said, 'Thereās no way Iāll wake up in time, but Iāll go if you want me toā and you said, 'It doesnāt matter.āā
Charles huffs and doesnāt say anything.
āCharles, if you want me to do something with you, Iāll do it. You just have to actually ask,ā Erik says. āWeāre not all telepaths.ā Charles opens his mouth to snap at him, but before he can so much as draw in a breath, Erik continues. āBut, since Iām such a nice guy, Iām going to finish my coffee and then Iām going to make it up to you.ā
Charles can feel Erikās smirk, even though Erikās back is to him. His back, fuck, and his waist and those jeans andā
āBloody hell, you drive me mad sometimes,ā Charles mutters, and Erik just laughs.
āIf you think thatās bad, wait until I finish my coffee.ā


















