The engine had long gone quiet, but neither of them moved.
Cleo sat in the driver's seat, one hand still resting loosely on the gear shift, the other cradling Riz's fingers where they lay across his thigh. The sun had dipped low, bleeding gold and amber across the windshield, painting them in soft warmth. Outside, the parking lot was empty. Everyone else had scattered after the club mixer—but Riz had asked to stay a little longer. Said he didn't feel like going back yet.
Cleo hadn't asked why.
He'd just nodded and turned the key off.
Now, the only sound was the gentle hum of the evening and their quiet breathing.
Riz shifted toward him, angling his body so he could see Cleo more fully. His curls caught the last of the light, and his eyes—soft, searching—held a quiet vulnerability that tugged at something deep in Cleo's chest.
"I like this," Riz said softly.
Cleo looked at him. "What?"
"This. Us. Being close without anyone around. It feels like..." He trailed off, mouth twitching into a small smile. "Like we're the only ones that exist."
Cleo didn't answer—not with words.
Instead, he leaned in slowly, giving Riz time to move away if he wanted. But Riz didn't. He met him halfway, their lips brushing once—tentative, breathless. Then again, firmer this time, with more certainty. Cleo's hand came up to cradle the side of Riz's face, his thumb brushing across his cheek as their mouths moved together in a rhythm they were starting to know by heart.
The kiss deepened.
It wasn't frantic. It was warm. Lingering. Like they were pouring everything they didn't know how to say into every press of lips, every sigh shared between them.
Riz slid closer, lifting the center console lid and swinging his leg over until he was straddling Cleo's lap. The space was tight—cramped—but neither of them cared. Riz's hands settled on Cleo's shoulders as their foreheads pressed together.
Cleo's voice was low. "You're gonna fog up the whole car like this."
Riz laughed under his breath. "Let it."
Their next kiss was messier, deeper—Cleo's hands firm on Riz's waist, pulling him closer, closer, until they were chest to chest and everything else blurred away. The windows started to mist, trapping the heat between them like a secret.
When Riz pulled back slightly, his lips were pink, eyes half-lidded. "This is dangerous," he whispered.
Cleo grinned. "Good thing we like danger."
Their laughter filled the small space like music. Cleo leaned forward and kissed the corner of Riz's mouth, then his jaw, then the soft skin just below his ear. Riz shivered, fingers tightening on Cleo's shirt.
"Stay with me tonight," Cleo whispered.
"Only if you hold me like this the whole way home," Riz murmured.
"I'll never let you go," Cleo promised.
They stayed like that for a long time—bodies pressed together, breaths shared, the quiet darkening around them like a cocoon. In that car, under the fading light, they didn't need anything else.
Just each other.
---
The air was thick with summer heat, even at night. Crickets chirped somewhere beyond the hedges that lined Cleo's backyard, and the water in the pool shimmered under the pale glow of the moon.
Riz stood at the edge, barefoot and shirtless, looking up at the stars as he slowly unbuttoned his jeans. He glanced sideways at Cleo, who was already waist-deep in the water, watching him like the universe had gone quiet just for this moment.
"You sure your parents aren't coming back tonight?" Riz asked, smiling as he slipped into the pool.
Cleo reached for him, tugging him into the water by the hand. "I'm sure. They're in Singapore for a conference. I've got the house to myself."
"Convenient."
Cleo smirked. "Very."
The water wrapped around them like silk as Riz floated closer, arms naturally finding their way around Cleo's shoulders. Their bare chests brushed in the quiet ripple of the pool. Everything else—assignments, group projects, architecture critiques, circuits—disappeared.
You look different under the moon," Riz murmured, fingers ghosting over Cleo's collarbone.
"Yeah?" Cleo asked, drawing Riz nearer. "How so?"
"Like you're trying not to burn the world down," Riz whispered. "But you still might."
Cleo laughed softly, leaning in until their foreheads touched. "You're so dramatic."
"Says the guy who kissed me behind the library shelves like we were in a movie."
Cleo's smile faltered—replaced with something softer. "I meant that kiss."
"I know," Riz said. "That's why I haven't stopped thinking about it."
Their lips met in the water—slowly at first, like they had all the time in the world. The kiss was warm and lingering, mouths brushing, deepening with every breath. Cleo's hands slid around Riz's waist, guiding him closer until there was no space left between them.
Riz's fingers found Cleo's jaw, the curve of his neck, anchoring him in the kiss like he'd wanted to for years.
The world went still.
The water gently lapped around them, the only sound between their quiet sighs and the muted splash of movement. Cleo's thumb traced lazy circles on Riz's back as he deepened the kiss, tasting the sweetness of his mouth, the softness of surrender in the way Riz melted into him.
"I still can't believe you're real," Cleo murmured against Riz's lips.
"You've known me since we were kids," Riz teased gently, brushing a thumb over Cleo's cheek. "I'm definitely real."
That's not what I mean," Cleo said, eyes searching Riz's in the moonlight. "I mean this—you and me. I didn't think I'd ever get to feel this."
Riz leaned in, his nose brushing Cleo's. "You always could have."
"I was scared," Cleo admitted. "I kept pretending what I felt for you wasn't anything."
"And now?"
Cleo smiled softly. "Now I don't want to pretend anymore."
Riz kissed him again—slow and sure—and wrapped his arms around Cleo's neck, holding on as though letting go would mean waking from a dream. Cleo lifted him slightly, spinning them once in the middle of the pool as they laughed quietly into each other's skin.
Later, they rested against the edge of the pool, Riz sitting on the ledge with his feet in the water while Cleo leaned between his knees, hands on his thighs, chin tilted up.
"Stay the night?" Cleo asked.
Riz smiled, carding wet fingers through Cleo's hair. "I thought you'd never ask."
--------------------
Riz wrapped a towel around his waist, hair damp and clinging to his forehead as he followed Cleo inside. The house was still, quiet in that way only empty homes could be, shadows long and soft under the glow of warm overhead lights. Cleo reached for his hand as they passed through the hallway.
Neither of them spoke.
They didn't need to.
Cleo's room was tidy in that barely-lived-in kind of way, his desk cluttered with blueprints and parts, but his bed freshly made. Riz stood in the doorway, watching as Cleo tugged off his own towel and pulled a dry shirt over his head.
"You okay?" Cleo asked softly, catching Riz staring.
Riz nodded. "Just... I've imagined this before. Being here. Like this."
Cleo stepped closer, his hand brushing Riz's cheek, gently tucking a curl behind his ear. "And now?"
"It's better than I imagined," Riz murmured.
They kissed again—slow, like they were relearning each other in a different kind of silence. Cleo's hands moved carefully, reverently, as if mapping every inch of Riz's skin was something sacred. They undressed each other with quiet touches and soft glances, fingers brushing over ribs and shoulders, hips and spines. It wasn't rushed. It wasn't about urgency.
It was about closeness. Trust.
Love.
They slipped beneath the covers, their bare legs tangling as they found comfort in the quiet rhythm of skin against skin. Cleo kissed Riz's temple, then his cheek, then the curve of his jaw, lingering like he was memorizing him. Riz clutched at his waist, lips parting with a quiet exhale as he looked up at him.
"I've wanted this for so long," Riz whispered.
Cleo rested his forehead against his. "Then let me give it to you. All of it."
What followed wasn't rushed or loud—it was slow and honest. Every sigh, every whisper, every glance between them said *you matter* and *I'm here.* They moved together gently, breathlessly, two boys finally letting go of the walls they'd built between rivalry and desire.
Afterward, they lay wrapped around each other in the dark, the sheets still warm, their breaths evening out in the hush of the room. Riz had one arm across Cleo's chest, head tucked under his chin. Cleo's fingers were brushing slow circles along Riz's shoulder.
No more words were needed.
The silence held everything.
---
*The Next Morning*
Riz woke to warmth.
Not the kind that came from sunlight streaming through the curtains—though that was there, too—but the kind that came from Cleo's arms still wrapped tightly around him, their legs tangled, their bare skin brushing under the sheets.
He blinked slowly, letting himself adjust to the soft light, to the quiet. It felt surreal for a moment, like he was still dreaming.
But then Cleo shifted slightly in his sleep and pulled Riz closer with a sleepy breath, his nose nudging against Riz's collarbone.
Definitely real.
Riz smiled, heart swelling.
He reached up, fingers brushing through Cleo's dark hair, damp at the roots and tousled from sleep. "Hey," he whispered, not really expecting a reply.
But Cleo's eyes opened anyway, still heavy with sleep. He looked at Riz for a long moment, as if taking in the sight of him like it was the most important thing he'd ever seen.
"Hi," Cleo said, voice low and raspy.
"Hi."
They smiled at each other—shy, quiet smiles that belonged to a morning after something real.
"Did you sleep okay?" Riz asked, thumb brushing Cleo's cheek.
"With you here? Yeah." Cleo leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to Riz's shoulder. "Better than I have in weeks."
Riz chuckled lightly. "You snore, you know."
Cleo groaned. "Lies."
"Recorded evidence coming soon."
"You're evil."
"You like it."
Cleo grinned and shifted to roll halfway on top of Riz, his arm sliding beneath Riz's back, lips grazing along his jaw. "I do," he murmured. "I like you a lot."
Riz's smile softened. "I like you too. A lot."
They kissed again, slow and sleepy and full of quiet affection. There was no rush, no fear. Just the comfort of shared space and whispered warmth. Outside the window, birds chirped, and a soft breeze stirred the curtains, but neither of them moved.
"Let's stay here," Riz whispered. "Just for a little longer."
Cleo nodded against his skin. "As long as you want."
And so they did.
Wrapped in each other, in quiet promises and the stillness of morning, they stayed.
--------
End of Chapter Eight