Aren’t We Friends?

Riley's cheeks puffed out, continuously blowing air as he gave a nervous laugh. He patted his face with his palms several times. The redness that tinged his cheeks felt hot after. But it at least made him remember why he was there in the first place.

To ascertain Draco heard him, Riley raised the volume of his voice and recounted his conversation with Lark and his plan for tonight.

"Uhm… I know this was sudden, but Lark offered to pick me up and give me a ride back later. I can go with him. Keith's place is close, about a 15-minute drive from here..."

Riley wanted to say more but did not expect Draco to reply casually, "It's fine. Tell him to send you the address of the resto-bar. I'll go with you."

Stunned, Riley was speechless, "Huh? You? No, no. How could I… inconvenience you? I can't do that. Anyway, Lark can give me a ride."

"Little Riley, I can take you. No need to trouble your friend."

Still worried that he is causing Draco difficulty again in his spur-of-a-moment decision, Riley quieted. He seriously thought of canceling with Lark and rescheduling at a more appropriate time.

Draco must have noticed his long silence and interpreted it as reluctance. His head peeked out of the doorway. Looking intently at Riley, his eyebrows rose in question.

"Little Riley, you don't want me there when you meet your friends?"

Riley wanted to retort that it was not the case. But Draco did not give him a chance.

Disappearing back into the closet, he heard the other man sigh. Sounding aggrieved, the man said, "Little Riley, were you just patronizing me when you said we're friends? You don't really see me as a friend, do you? Not like the brothers? Well, I feel sad."

Feeling panicked about the conversation getting out of hand, Riley immediately declared, "Of course, you are my friend! And I even consider you my most cherished friend. How can it not be so?" Riley said those words with feelings. He was almost out of breath after. God knows he expressed the words from deep within his heart.

Calming himself, Riley continued to explain his reasons. "And it is not that I don't want you to come, Draco. I'm sorry if it came out like that. I did not mean to imply anything. Tomorrow is still a workday, and I know you are a very busy man. I don't want to take so much of your time. You have done so much for me already… And believe me, I would love for you to meet my friends. "

Behind the doorway, Draco had a devious smile on his face. Little Riley was too innocent to catch his ruse and fell deep into the pit of it. Having decided that the excitement may be too much for the young man, Draco relented.

"Alright. I believe you. I, too, treasure our friendship. Let me get dressed. Wait for me downstairs, and we'll go."

Riley released a long sigh. Then he gave a shudder of relief. Smiling, he replied,

"Then I'll meet you downstairs."

When Draco hummed his reply, Riley turned to step out of the room. He was about to close the door when he could not help but mutter, "Draco Sy, why are you so good to me…? It makes me feel like a spoiled brat…"

Tilting his head to one side, Riley walked down the stairs as he dialed Lark's number. He told him to send Keith's bar address and agreed to meet there.

"You sure you don't want me to pick you up instead? I'm willing, you know."

Riley smiled knowingly. If his guess was correct, Lark's persistence in picking him up was probably only to show off that he now drives and owns a car.

Riley fondly remembered that Keith would repeatedly have a conflict with Lark because the latter had a bad habit of taking his car without permission and driving without a license. More often than not, Riley gets coerced to sit shotgun in those drives. He could not stop Lark but still went, afraid his friend would get into trouble. So, Riley would bravely come to control Lark. It was possibly the craziest thing he'd done, not to mention he was so scared the whole time. Scared that they would crash or that Lark would get flagged down by police.

It was apparent that Lark already had a wild streak in him since then. Plus, he could not wait to be an adult and drive his own car. It was his idea of adulthood.

Those memories made Riley anticipate the more his coming meeting with Lark.

But Lark would not let up, so Riley had to mention he would be coming with a friend.

"A friend? Which friend? You did not mention this friend to me when we were talking a few minutes ago."

When Riley felt real doubt and worry from Lark's endless questions, he began to doubt his earlier assumptions. Okay, maybe he misjudged Lark, and the other may have thought that he was just being polite. In previous occasions, it would not be far from the truth. It's in Riley's personality.

Riley chuckled. "It's true. I'm staying at his house right now. He was the one who helped me. Anyway, it's a long story. I'll tell you all about it later when we see each other. So, quit being a worrywart. We'll be there in a few minutes."

Lark finally yielded and got a promise from Riley to tell him everything. Rolling his eyes, Riley vowed to do so.

Getting off the phone, Riley tried to guess Lark's reaction once he found out who the friend he was talking about was. Just the address alone had brought so much excitement to his friend. What more if he recognizes Draco Sy. 

"He'll definitely freak out," Riley mumbled, shaking his head.

"Who will freak out?" Draco asked from behind.

Riley, deep in his thoughts, did not hear Draco coming. "Oh, nothing. I was just mumbling to myself. "

What a lame excuse. Even Riley thought so. Fortunately, Draco did not insist anymore.

The other man, Riley noted, was wearing a casual dress shirt. His wavy hair was not styled like usual for a more relaxed appearance. He even forgoes leather shoes for chicer sneakers. Riley was amazed. Draco looked much younger than his age. Seemingly not much older than Riley.

Draco was pleased to see Riley's admiring gaze. For the first time, another man's positive appraisal of him was something he craved to achieve more. He wanted to attract Riley's interest in any way he could. He was getting greedy, Draco admits and wanted to monopolize the boy.

Feeling good, he asked Riley to wait at the front door as he drove the car from the garage.

In no time, the two were on their way to the rendezvous.

It was an easy 15-minute drive. Draco successfully avoided awkward moments and initiated small talk to keep Riley at ease. The boy was exceptionally smart. Draco did not have a problem racking his brain for topics to discuss. And he loves that about the boy.

Pulling up to a parking lot of a 5-story building, Draco and Riley walked to the elevator going up the floors.

They were waiting in front of the elevator when it opened, and out came a man in his late 20s. He was wearing a flashy blue suit, half of the buttons of his inner shirt open. One of his arms was slung across a skimpily dressed girl while the other was holding a bottle of wine. He was clearly intoxicated and had to be supported as he sauntered unstably.

Riley was standing in the middle and was almost hit by the staggering pair when strong arms pulled him to safety and into a hard chest.

Enclosed in Draco's embrace, the man's fresh manly scent assailed Riley's senses. That made his heartbeat quicken and blood rush to Riley's face.

"Are you alright, Riley?" Draco asked in concern.

Draco must have bent his head close to Riley's. His hot breath fanned the young man's cheeks as he spoke. It smelled minty, Riley noticed. Realizing the closeness did not help calm Riley's already chaotic heartbeat. Instead, it made it worse. Loud, like dozens of galloping horses. 

Pushing himself away from Draco's body, Riley fiddled with his clothes which got disarrayed in the process. Head still lowered, fighting for composure and unable to look directly at those perceptive grey eyes, Riley answered, "Yes. I'm fine. Thank you…"

Draco apparently saw Riley's odd behavior and beet-red face but pretended to be blind, not pointing out the obvious.

Furthermore, he did not want to push the boy's limits too much. He would not want to see the boy distancing himself from him.

"Let's go. Your friends must be waiting." Draco urged Riley, patting him on the shoulder.

They both entered the lift, and Draco pushed the button to the 5th floor.