Page 4 of Stand By Me

She winced. "Damn, really? I thought this one would stick around. Maybe not forever, but…"

"Yeah, me too." He grimaced. Carina probably had a point about his face scaring people, but since there was a lull in visitors now, he didn't care. "Apparently, he stuck aroundjustlong enough."

"Then he's an asshole."

Mario wasn't going to argue with that. He'd met Terry a month ago at the gallery exhibit Andie had dragged him to, and he thought they clicked. There had been sparks, but Mario made it clear he wanted to wait a while before jumping into bed. He was tired of fuck 'em and leave 'em types, and all the first dates that ended up being one-night stands and nothing more.

Terry agreed, and everything seemed to be going well. One date turned into two, then three. They texted a lot, too.

And then, yesterday, after they'd slept together on Friday, Mario got a text that boiled down toWe're looking for different thingsandThanks, bye.

Seriously, if half of those guys hadn't written to him at some point later on suggesting a booty call, he'd start doubting his skills in bed.

Instead, he was left doubting everything else.

"Where are all those non-assholes, then?" he asked, not really expecting Carina to answer.

She did seem to have something to say, but before she could do that, the front door opened and Mario turned towards the entrance, straightening up.

He'd noticed the sharp suits first, before glancing up at the faces of the two newcomers.

He froze.

It couldn't be.

But it definitely,definitelywas.

"Clay?" Mario still asked, as if he wasn't sure. As if there was a chance in hell that his first, hopeless crush wasn't standing in front of him now, in a suit cut to perfection.

Clay's eyebrows shot up. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

Get it together, Mario told himself, ignoring the small ping of disappointment Clay hadn't recognized him.

"I'm Mario de Silva. Ben's best friend all the way from when we were about ten," he added, in case his name alone wasn't enough. After all, the man had been out of the country for over a decade. There was a lot of things he hadn't known or remembered about his brother, to Ben's occasional frustration.

"Of course!" Clay smiled brightly and looked Mario up and down. "Wow, it's been a long time."

I hope you like what you see. Mario bit down hard on his lower lip to make sure the words didn't get out, and he didn't miss the way Clay's gaze paused at that for a split second.

He could feel his face heat up and glanced at the other guy in search of a distraction.

"Hi, I'm Diego Martinez, we're from KRK Security. We're here in preparation for the upcoming gala."

Mario nodded, reminding himself they were all on the clock, here, and he needed to forget about his teenage fantasies. He cleared his throat and handed them both visitor passes before leading them away from the entrance.

For the next hour and a half, they walked through every room on the ground level that was going to be open for the gala, and while Mario sometimes answered questions about foot traffic, bathrooms, and who had access to certain areas, mostly he just watched them work. It was actually interesting to look at the familiar space from their perspective. Never before had he seen anyone so thoroughly ignore any exhibits and focus on entrances, windows, vantage points, and whatever-else.

But Mario wasn't going to lie—he spent the majority of his time staring at Clay.

The sheer presence of him in the room made something in Mario sit up and take notice. There were things he remembered—Clay's wide shoulders, his dark brown hair, his calm and steady voice—but the changes caused his heart to beat a little faster, too. The beard, for one. Mario wanted to run his hands over it, again and again, to feel it against his skin. Then there were also Clay's smiles, coming so easily now. Twelve years ago, he'd been tense and serious, and when he'd smiled, it was always a quick, fleeting thing.

Twelve years. Jesus.

Mario had heard from Ben that his brother was back in DC, but since Clay was a thorny topic for his friend, Mario had never asked for any details. He definitely hadn't expected to see the man in the flesh.

He hadn't expected to joke around with him, hoping for another one of those smiles, either.

Sure, he'd imagined their meeting a few times, but he'd figured it would be like any other precious childhood memory crushed by the harsh realities of adulthood. He'd pictured either disappointment, or total indifference on his part.

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