Excerpt from Seven Thousand Minutes

“Leo and…” John groped around in the hat for a long time, and then pulled out the second piece of paper with a flourish. Unfolding it, he was about to say the name of the lucky lady who was to spend seven minutes in Leo heaven…

And then he burst out laughing. “Jakob!” he hooted, waving it around for everyone to see. The room erupted in drunken cheers, and Leo joined in. Jakob looked wide-eyed and awkward, but that wasn’t unusual. The guy seemed intent on going through life inviting criticism and derision with a gauche kind of stoicism.

“Okay then,” Leo smiled and stood up – a little uncertainly, but not clumsily enough to look like an idiot. The game had chosen him, and he mustn’t let his friends down. They wanted a good show.

But Jakob didn’t move a muscle. “Come on, be a good sport,” Leo cajoled. “I promise I won’t go past second base.”

That earned him another round of guffaws. Jakob looked up at him with an inscrutable expression on his face – almost as if he was sad. But Leo kept holding his hand out until Jakob’s finally came up to meet it. His slim fingers crept into Leo’s palm like a kitten begging for a petting. Leo closed his hand on them, pulling Jakob up in a single, smooth motion. Jakob staggered a little and ended up with his nose almost touching Leo’s.

“Hey, don’t sneak extra minutes!” someone hollered, whipping up new giggles.

Leo slipped an arm around Jakob’s waist and then mimed an ass-grab: anything for his audience. Anything to keep the mood light and fun. But when he looked at Jakob, something tugged at his ribs. He seemed so small. As if he was trying to creep inside his own skin and hide.

“Come on,” Leo said again and pulled at Jakob’s hand. He could feel the reluctance in the way that hand lay too stiffly in his, but there was no hesitation in Jakob’s feet. Murmurs of laughter followed them all the way to the closet. When he’d closed the door behind them, Leo let go of Jakob’s hand and switched on the light. Jakob blinked a little in the glare. “Sorry, man. I just thought, you know…”

“No sweat,” Jakob replied quickly. “I get the joke.”

Said with the most somber face in the history of mankind. Leo couldn’t help cracking up. “Yeah, I can see that.”

“Seven minutes and counting!” John shouted just outside the door and banged on it. In the background, the other guests sniggered. “And turn off the light, you’re killing the mood,” John added in a saccharine voice.

Shrugging, Leo obeyed. “Or else he’ll never stop,” he explained to the darkness. He thought he could hear Jakob exhale.

“Six minutes and fifty seconds,” John informed them.

“Shut up and go away,” Leo barked.

“Ooh,” John cooed as he walked back to the others. “Lovebird is getting possessive.”

“Don’t mind them,” Leo said. “You know what they’re like.”

Jakob didn’t reply.

“What’s the matter, Jakob? Disappointed that we’re not making out?” Leo giggled. “I’ll feel you up if you want.”

He took a step forward and caught Jakob in his arms. He turned rigid, but didn’t fight Leo’s hand as it crept down his thigh in a parody of seduction. Jakob’s breath came in tiny starts against Leo’s ear, and something in the sound felt strangely intimate. Heart twisting a little in his chest, Leo launched into full goof mode. “Yeah, baby,” he whispered into Jakob’s hair. “Ooh, you feel so good.”

There was a weird sound in Jakob’s throat, almost like a sob. But he still wasn’t resisting the joke. To be fair, he wasn’t playing along either. He was just sort of standing there, straight as a rod, letting Leo enact his little farce without saying anything.

“Come on, Jakob,” Leo smiled into his neck. “It’s your seven minutes of heaven – maybe the only ones you’ll get tonight!” He regretted the words as soon as they hit the air. Jakob turned as fragile as glass, and he started pulling away, but Leo caught his arm. “Shit, Jakob, I’m sorry. You know I didn’t mean that.”

“No, you’re right,” Jakob whispered. “I should enjoy it while it lasts.”

And with that, he grabbed hold of Leo’s chin. Leo didn’t understand what was happening until his back gently hit the wall and something covered his mouth. Breath hitching, he felt the tip of Jakob’s tongue brush his lips. He thought he was about to turn his head away and laugh it off, but that wasn’t what happened. Instead, his mouth fell open, and Jakob’s tongue pushed all the way in.

It only lasted for a few seconds. Then Jakob drew back and a cold string of saliva snapped between them, landing on Leo’s chin. “Was that what you wanted?” Jakob asked low in his throat. And then the door opened on a slash of light as Jakob slipped out of the closet and into the cheers and applause of the rest of the party.

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