Page 10 of Stand By Me

With that, he turned away and headed towards the next room. Mario felt like he'd made a mistake here, somewhere, but didn't know what it was.

Was Clay angry about the staring? Or about him pulling away?

Or was Mario reading too much into things, trying to make it seem like Clay cared when he probably didn't?

Mario stayed quiet for the rest of their tour, limiting himself to answering their questions when asked. He kept watching Clay, though—noticing how comfortable he looked in that suit, how he quickly calculated distances and angles Mario only half-understood, how his quiet confidence shone through as he worked…

Even all those years ago, Mario had always admired Clay's commitment. He'd been juggling community college, various part-time jobs, and taking care of Ben when their mother couldn't. He'd trained to be accepted into the Secret Service, and then he'd given his all to the agency as well. He'd barely been home, which Ben saw as indifference and abandonment, but Mario saw it as hard work and the drive of someone who would never admit he'd taken too much on.

And sure, some of it was Mario's crush talking. But not all.

Now, it seemed like Clay was still working hard, but through the years he'd gained the confidence which—looking back—hadn't been there before he'd left.

On the other hand, Clay was a few years short of forty. He should know his worth by now.

Mario would love to learn more about his journey to get there—or anything else, really. He wanted to know Clay, toreallyknow him. See him for who he was behind all the shine of a childhood crush that exploded back to life.

It was a big risk, though.

Less risk than trusting yet another asshole from the app you delete every other month, the voice at the back of his head that sounded way too much like Carina pointed out.

Then they got to the end of the tour and headed back towards the front entrance. If Mario was going to take a chance, he was running out of time.

"Excuse me, I need to make a phone call before we leave," Diego said out of the blue, halting their little group. "Mario, it was nice to meet you. Thank you for all your help. Clay, I'll meet you outside in a few."

Mario watched him go, wondering if there was a chance that the guy was doing what Mario thought he was doing.

Oh, God.

He risked a glance at Clay, praying that his face wasn't as red as he thought it was. Clay seemed to be hesitating and Mario stilled, waiting, but in the corner of his eye he saw Carina waving at him to get a move on, so maybe he shouldn't wait, maybe he should just—

"Clay?" The voice to his left made Mario turn, but not before he saw a flash of surprise on Clay's face.

The voice belonged to Jake Wilkinson. Mario had never spoken to the guy, but it was hard not to know who he was. A former president's son becoming their co-worker had been quite a story among all the Smithsonian employees a while ago.

"Hey," Clay greeted his—what, a client? His former charge? His friend?

Hopefully nothing more, Mario thought, as if he had any right to do so.

"What are you doing here?" Jake moved closer, and Mario took a step back, suddenly feeling like he was the one intruding.

Clay glanced between the two of them, and that seemed to clue Jake in that he'd interrupted something.

"Oh! Sorry!" He looked at Mario and winced. "I'm sorry, I was surprised—"

"It's fine," Clay told him. "I'm here on assignment, we're scoping the place before the gala. Mario here," he added, offering Mario a brief smile, "got stuck with giving us a tour, but it turns out we go way back. He's Ben's friend."

He was that, yes. So why did it sting to be introduced like this?

"Hi, I'm Jake. I work in the geology department." Jake reached out and Mario shook the offered hand.

"Mario. I'm in PR," he said with a polite smile. "I've been tasked with showing the guys around, which was quite a different tour from the usual but very interesting."

Jake frowned at that and turned to Clay. "You should've called if you needed anything."

Andthatwas Mario's cue to go.

"I'll leave you to it," he said before Clay even opened his mouth.

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