Page 25 of Stand By Me

Mario sighed, pausing in front of the corner building next to a laundromat.

"Sounds great. Anyway, we're here."

The abruptness of their evening coming to an end took Clay by surprise, even though he'd already dragged it out as long as he could.

"I'd love to do it again," he said, refusing to overthink it. He'd already made Mario wait too long before texting him in the first place. There was no reason to put this part off, too. "If you want to, of course."

Mario's whole face brightened. "I do. I had a great time tonight."

"Me, too." Clay reached out and brushed his fingers over Mario's cheek. He knew he couldn't really feel it heating up under his fingertips, yet it seemed like it as he watched the blush spread on Mario's face. "Dinner next, maybe?"

"Yeah," Mario breathed out.

There was no way Clay could miss the way Mario's gaze fell to his lips.

He took a step closer and leaned in, slowly, but there wasn't even a shadow of hesitation in Mario's eyes. He met him halfway and, as their lips brushed against each other, there was a spark Clay hadn't felt for a long, long time.

Maybe since his teenage years, when everything had been brand new and exciting, and over-the-top intense.

Their kiss was brief, but long enough for Clay to want to pull Mario closer and let himself forget everything else but this, right here. He wished he could drag him upstairs—or anywhere,fuck, even that dark corner to their left was tempting—and get his hands on Mario's naked skin to see where that blush ended.

But Clay also wanted to do this, whatever it was, right.

"I—" He pulled back, instantly fixating his gaze on Mario's lips. "I should go," he whispered, but did not move away even an inch, instead brushing his thumb over Mario's cheek.

Mario blinked slowly.

"Okay," he murmured, but didn't move away, either. At some point, he'd put his hands on Clay's hips, and Clay wished he didn't have layers and layers of clothes on, so that he could feel Mario's touch on his skin.

He leaned in for another kiss, soft, and slow, and just as good as the first one. It was almost innocent, if not for the havoc it caused inside him.

A car speeding through the otherwise quiet street broke the moment, and Clay did take a step back this time, reluctantly, but didn't drop his arms until Mario had done so first.

As they stared at each other, Clay hoped he read everything right—the heat in Mario's eyes, the brightness in them, the soft smile unlike any he'd seen before.

He wondered what his face showed Mario in return.

"Dinner on Friday?" he whispered, still afraid of speaking too loud in the intimate space between them.

Mario nodded. "Yeah. Yes," he repeated after clearing his throat. He blinked a few times and looked around the street as if remembering where they were. "Friday's good."

"Okay." Clay forced himself to take another step back. It was time to say goodbye, now.

Still, it took Mario disappearing inside his building for Clay to turn and head home, the taste of their kisses still lingering on his lips.

CHAPTER TEN

Mario slumped against the entrance door to his building as soon as they closed.

Jesus.

He ran his teeth over his lower lip, trying to chase the sensation of Clay's touch. Those kisses had been…Wow.

The giddiness overflowed inside him, pushing out joyful, unbridled laughter that made him clamp his mouth shut quickly to not alert the noisy neighbor from the first floor.

Clay Jackson had kissed him.

He'd kissed Clay Jackson.

---