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They never did it when they were anywhere in public. Not in the dorm's kitchen, the rose maze, or the empty hallways. But when they were in each other's room, Trey and Cater would gravitate toward each other and kiss.
Sometimes, they were brief and chaste, usually because they were sitting too close and one of them looked up. But sometimes, when one of them slid his hand through the other's hair and pulled him close, they would be deep and long and far too heated.
But no matter which type they were—the playful ones they peppered each other with during study sessions or the messy ones they moaned into as they lay in bed—they were only kisses and nothing more because, after all, Trey and Cater were only friends and nothing more.
It started because Cater mumbled under his breath while hanging out in Trey's room one day, just like he often did when he had nothing better to do. He was sprawled over the sheets and scrolling through his phone while Trey worked on his homework at his desk. Then, he came across a post that made him hum curiously.
"Interesting," he muttered, double tapping the post and scrolling past it.
Trey, whose concentration had already passed the point of being viable, looked over at him. "What is?"
"Hm?"
"You said something was interesting," Trey said, leaning back in his chair and resting his arm on the back of it.
"Oh, uh. Yeah, I guess I did." Cater's eyes flickered to him before moving back to his phone screen.
"So? What's so interesting?"
Trey's persistence made Cater sigh, and he sat up. "It's nothing much. Just some 'informational post' about how to make kissing feel really good. Something about massaging the ears of your partner to make them all dazed or whatever. Here, see?" He held his phone out to Trey after he scrolled back up to the post in question.
Trey took the phone from him and read through it. "Interesting," he said, just as Cater had moments ago. He handed the phone back.
"Right? Well, not like I'll be able to know if it works or not."
"Why not?"
Cater stared at Trey in disbelief. "I'm almost afraid to ask, but what do you mean by 'why not'?"
"I mean, don't you have a lot of friends?" he went on.
Cater rubbed his forehead. "Are you implying I just go up to any ol' friend and ask them to make out with me?"
Trey paused. "Okay, maybe not in so many words."
"Trey-kun," Cater said, "I can't just ask a friend to let me kiss them because I want to try something out. That's weird." He stopped and cocked an eyebrow mischievously at Trey. "Unless…?" But before Trey could say anything back, Cater barked out a laugh. "Just messing with you."
For a few seconds, Trey sat there without saying anything. Cater had gone back to scrolling through his phone again, but Trey wasn't done with the conversation yet.
"I wouldn't mind," he said.
Cater's eyes widened for a split second, and he looked up. His voice was thin when he spoke. "What?"
"I wouldn't mind kissing you." Trey pushed his glasses up. "It would be a good way to experiment with that technique."
"Are you for real?"
Trey nodded. "Well?"
"Well…" Cater parroted and played with his phone distractedly. "I mean, I guess you have a point? And, I'unno, it could be good practice for the future. You know, when we start dating someone. And it's not like we have anything to lose... Alright, I'll take up your offer! C'mere, Trey-kun!" His hesitance quickly turned into enthusiasm, and Cater patted the spot on the bed next to him.
Trey, feeling equally exasperated and amused by Cater's change of heart, did as he was instructed and sat down on the bed. He turned his body slightly so he was facing Cater.
"Oof, okay, we're really doing this, huh?" Cater said with a lopsided grin. He shifted so he was angled toward Trey as well. "This is a lot weirder than I thought it would be already."
"We don't have to do this," Trey said.
"I'm not saying I don't want to try. I'm just saying this feels funny. Anyway!" he said and patted his face a few times to get rid of nerves, then cleared his throat. "Let's do this."
Trey smiled with furrowed brows. It was almost like Cater was bracing himself to get water thrown in his face or something. But as casually as Trey tried to act, he couldn't stop his heart from racing.
They both fell completely silent as they got ready and leaned toward each other with their eyes half-closed. Just as their lips were about to touch, Cater's mouth twisted into a smile and he burst out laughing.
"S-sorry," he wheezed as he grabbed on to Trey's shoulders and ducked his head. "Pffthahaha!"
Trey laughed as well and patted Cater on the back. The air between them had gotten so serious so quickly that it was impossible not to find it funny. It took a couple of minutes for them to calm down, but the second Cater recovered and looked up at Trey, he cracked up and had to bury his face into his hands.
It wasn't like Trey had grown impatient, but he knew they would never get anywhere if they couldn't get past that point, so he took matters into his own hands. "Cater," he said softly and rested his hand gently against Cater's jaw and neck.
Immediately, Cater stopped laughing and froze. He let Trey bring his face up without resistance and, when Trey moved closer to him, he instinctively closed his eyes.
Their mouths pressed against each other clumsily, and neither of them moved. Then, Cater experimentally moved his lips. Trey responded in kind, not really sure what to do but just going with the flow. When Cater licked his lower lip, he opened his mouth and slipped his tongue into Cater's mouth.
Cater was warm and soft, and Trey was surprised when Cater used the tip of his tongue to touch his. They rubbed their tongues together, not quite matching each other's rhythm and constantly bumping their chins and noses together, but they didn't mind.
Trey remembered what they started kissing in the first place for and started stroking his thumb over Cater's ear, using his palm and thumb to massage his neck, and pulled lightly on Cater's earring. The response he got was immediate, and he felt Cater shudder. Cater's breath hitched, and the hand he had resting on Trey's knee tightened. Encouraged by this, Trey brought his other hand up and started playing with both his ears until Cater melted.
When they finally pulled away, both their mouths were wet with saliva and their faces and bodies were hot. Cater looked like an absolute wreck.
"Okay, so," he said panting breathlessly. He licked his lips and swallowed. "The post was right." Cater laughed. "It was very right."
Trey had to resist the urge to kiss him all over again.
Cater whined and moaned on his bed as Trey pushed his tongue into his mouth and dragged his hand down Cater's side. The fabric of his shirt and fuzzy pajama pants dulled most of the sensation, but it wasn't enough to filter out the strong grip Trey had on his hip. He smoothed his own hands up and down Trey's back and tilted his chin back in an attempt to break the deep kiss.
Trey knew he was being rough, but he couldn't get enough of the tiny whimpers that slipped from Cater's chest whenever he licked into his mouth. But when Cater began patting him on the back, he reluctantly pulled back. He ignored how Cater wheezed and took his time licking the saliva from his chin instead.
"Alright," Cater said after he caught his breath. "Not gonna lie, that was pretty hot and I was able to handle that because it's me, but Trey-kun, you can't just kiss someone that deep! Think of your poor future partner! You'd probably suffocate them if you kissed them like that." He frowned as he scolded Trey.
Trey's face clouded, and he furrowed his eyebrows deeply.
Dreamily, Cater sighed and absentmindedly stroked Trey's arms as he continued speaking. "Whoever ends up dating you is going to be so lucky, though. You've gotten really good at kissing. Not saying that I haven't improved, but phew. You're real good. Anyway, good sesh. Needa go to the bathroom, so can you let me up real quick?" Instead of letting him go, however, Trey didn't budge. Confusion filled Cater's face. "Uh, Trey-kun?"
Trey was tired of the game they had been playing for so long. At first, he played along, thinking Cater would eventually forfeit the unsaid rules he created for them, but when that didn't happen, Trey started getting frustrated.
They both knew. For Trey, it had been sometime in their first year. He didn't know exactly when it had been for Cater, but it had to be at least before their third year. The line that Cater had drawn between them and stubbornly labeled "best friends" was wearing thin, and "best friends" had long since stopped being an appropriate title for them.
Trey had stood staunchly on his side and waited patiently, not wanting to rush Cater to step over if he wasn't ready. And for so long he waited, but when it became clear that Cater was never going to overstep that boundary, his patience began to fray.
He didn't know what Cater was so scared about. It could have been that he was nervous about ruining a perfectly good relationship or that he was too anxious about what would happen after, but Trey wished Cater knew that he didn't need to be frightened. He was ready to stand there with Cater and support him the whole way through, and all he needed to do was step over the line.
And if Cater wasn't going to, then he would.
"It doesn't matter as long as you like it," he said quietly.
"What?" Cater's confusion grew.
"Why does it always have to be someone else I'm with in the future?" Trey pressed. "Why can't it be you? Why does it matter what other people will think of my kissing when the only person I want to kiss is you?"
Trey pressed their foreheads together, and Cater's face screwed up. He twisted his fingers into the front of Trey's shirt.
The line between them dissolved, and Cater knew there was nowhere else to run.
"Trey-kun," he said, voice shaking and eyes scared. He opened his mouth and sucked in a deep breath. "I—"