Page 31 of Stand By Me

"Martinez spilled." Clay sat back in his chair and Mario's thoughts were temporarily derailed by the line of his shoulders, stretching the black material in the best of ways. "I asked him about something I saw and he gave me the rundown on Who's Doing Whom or Who Would Like To Be Doing Whom in our company. It was… eye-opening."

"A lot of office romances, huh?"

"Nothing that's currently public, but there's some potential. I wouldn't be surprised if it went there. It's an adrenaline-fueled environment, and if there's a spark… I can't say I wouldn't have gone there, back in my Secret Service days, if I knew someone who was interested."

Mario bit his lip. There was a question that had been on his mind, buried but ever-present, for well over a decade at this point. He probably shouldn't ask it, though.

Definitely, he corrected himself.Definitely shouldn't.

"You okay?" Clay frowned. "I'm not saying I'd go there now, at KRK. I wouldn't bring this up—hell, I wouldn't even be here—if I planned on hooking up within the company." He paused and rubbed the top of his nose. "I'm sorry if I made it sound like it."

"No, no." Mario shook his head. He was happy to hear that, sure, but he knew it hadn't been where Clay's head was when he said it. "I just thought about—" He paused. "Feel free to tell me it's not my business. I know I'm probably overstepping, and we're not at the point of swapping these kind of stories, but. I thought about Jake."

Clay narrowed his eyes momentarily before his expression cleared again.

Fuck. Mario was about to ruin this date, was he? But he'd already passed the point of no return on this one.

"Have you and Jake ever—" He waved his hand. "You know. Slept together. Been together."

Oh God, kill me now.

"No," came Clay's reply and Mario felt compelled to meet his gaze. Whatever Clay was thinking, he wasn't relaxed anymore, that was for sure. "I know that's what many people think, especially judging from all the media garbage after Jake's coming out, but the answer is no. Not in the White House, not in Switzerland, not after." He frowned at the bread basket. "He's still very important to me, though."

Mario wanted to reach out and touch him, but the waiter came back with their food, so as they sat there in silence waiting for the guy to go away, Mario tried to formulate a different response.

"I'm sorry," he said as soon as they were alone again, this time with the food neither of them moved to eating. "I shouldn't have asked."

Clay nodded, but Mario had no idea if it was an acknowledgment of his apology or an agreement with his point.

"Did I blow it?" he asked after the silence stretched too long for him to handle. "Did I blow our date with that question?"

The thought alone made him want to go hide somewhere and not come out for a week.

Thankfully, Clay offered him more grace than he deserved.

"No." He straightened in his chair, as if he was coming back from wherever he'd gone in his head. "I understand why you'd ask."

"Still, that's not a second-date question." Mario slowly picked up his utensils. He needed something to do and the honey-laden smell of that chicken made his stomach growl.

Clay followed his lead and started on his dish.

"Probably not. But close to two decades of knowing each other gives you a pass."

Mario startled and smiled down at his plate.

Close to two decades. That was a big chunk of his life—Clay's, too. They hadn't been in contact this whole time, of course, but such a long span of time still counted for something.

"Thanks. No more questions about Jake, though. I promise."

It was a loaded topic, after all, even without Clay and Jake sleeping together. It represented the eleven-year-old gap, a gap that was especially hard for Mario's best friend.

Thinking of Ben wiped the smile off his face, but then he noticed Clay was frowning at his plate again, not eating.

"Clay? You okay?" Mario leaned closer. "Have I put my foot in my mouth again?"

"No, it's nothing you did." Clay hesitated. "It's just… weird right now between me and Jake, and I'm overreacting. Ignore me."

"You sure? Because we can talk about it if you want."

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