Page 51 of Under Construction

They put themselves back together again—Dennis tucking himself away and straightening his clothes with meticulous attention.

When he glances at Chris, he finds him still looking fucked out and undone, fumbling with his own buttons amidst soft pants and heavy breathing.

Without thinking, Dennis reaches over to help—tucking Chris in, smoothing his shoulders straight and fixing his collar until he looks presentable again.

Chris's hands settle warm around his waist, then slide up to his ribs and back down.

Their eyes meet, and something in Chris's expression makes Dennis lean in automatically. In this moment, it feels strangely normal to do this, like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

The kiss is different this time—clean and sweet. Just lips pressing together, tongues meeting briefly to remember the shape of each other.

Then, the car doors open noiselessly in the quiet night as they climb out.

Chris circles around to hold open the passenger door for Dennis. He waits until Dennis is settled before closing it, then walks around to the driver's side.

The key turns in the ignition. "Where to?"

“I’ll send you a pin.”

Bzzz.

"Oh."

The single syllable carries something Dennis doesn't want to analyze right now. All he knows is that he can't assume it's an invitation to Chris's bed.

Anyway, he needs time to think. To lie awake replaying every moment of tonight while his heart pounds and his cock hardens at the memories.

Besides, he doesn’t want to look too eager. Chris has clearly done this before. Hemustbe a bit of a player, surely, while Dennis…

Well, Dennis just made everything messier than it needs to be—as usual.

The drive passes in silence, their hands and thoughts to themselves.

Chris pulls up outside Dennis’s building, leaving the engine running. He takes in Oakview Heights' gleaming facade, his features unreadable.

"This is..." His voice sounds strange. "You live here?"

Dennis frowns at him, somewhat confused. "Problem?"

"No." But something flashes across Chris's face, like he’s seeing something he doesn’t want to. "Just... different world up here I guess."

Dennis hesitates, his hand on the door handle. He doesn't want to assume, so he doesn’t lean in one last time. Chris makes no move to close the distance either. So he settles for:

"Thanks for the ride.”

"Anytime, princess."

Their eyes meet in the rearview mirror.

Something flickers in Chris's expression—something that makes Dennis’s chest tight. But before he can figure out what it means, Chris looks away.

"See you on Monday?"

"Yeah." Dennis gets out. Monday."

Dennis doesn't invite him up.

Tells himself it's better this way.

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