with the Thai food?” he asked kindly. “I put it in the refrigerator!”
Kenny smiled. “Beer?” Will had reasoned out the trick to good beer—obscure labels. This one had a kangaroo on a bicycle—Kenny figured it could be a one-of-a-kind six-pack in his fridge.
Will nodded and got heavily to his feet. “Glass or bottle? I’ll get it if you like—keep working! I like your stuff!”
Kenny grinned and allowed himself to preen. Praise a skill he was proud of—so sue him! It didn’t matter that Will was a little plain—square face, square shoulders, meaty thighs—he just sort of radiated this goodwill, like warm peach cobbler. You never got tired of eating warm peach cobbler and ice cream, and so far this evening, Kenny wasn’t getting tired of Will.
“I’ve got chilled glasses in the freezer,” he said. “Go ahead and pour us each a glass!”
Kenny lost himself in another sketch, this one of a tiny pet-like alien that rolled on retractable spikes like a sea urchin. This one was supposed to be cute, and a little bit deadly, so that, too, was a challenge. By the time Will came back, Kenny had drawn the large, expressive eyes, choosing stylistics over anatomical function and making them hover somewhere around the body amorphously.
Will set the chilled beer mug down with the bottle next to it and then sat down himself with a glass of ice water.
“You’re not having beer?” Kenny asked plaintively, and Will shook his head.
“I’m a lightweight,” he apologized. “You’ve seen that. And I brought clothes for the morning, but I may still drive home tonight—the beer was for you. You’ve been really nice to put up with me when I’m sure it’s the last thing you want to do.”
Kenny kicked back a long draft of beer, set the mug down, and filled it from the rest of the bottle. “Good shit!” he praised before taking another sip. And then he addressed the implicit question.
“I’m doing okay,” he said carefully. “I mean, I know you saw me at a really, uhm, delicate time, but honestly—I was sitting here, drawing your guys, and thinking of all the reasons I was glad Gif was not here.” Oh God. For one thing, even if Kenny had known Will before the breakup, Gif would not have been kind. Gif was great at making snarky, bitchy comments about people who didn’t measure up to his standard of beauty or intelligence, and Kenny could hear the litany now. Jesus, Kenny—this guy’s built like a refrigerator. Are you really gonna feed him takeout? Oh my God! Look at his nose—he’s like a Roman general without an army! I don’t care what he writes about, he moves like he’s on Thorazine—I bet he’s that much fun to hang out with too. Ruthlessly, Kenny shut down his inner Gif, because seriously? This guy had just brought him fine beer and a fun distraction. If Kenny couldn’t defend himself from Gif’s infidelity, the least he could do was defend Will from Gif’s nasty lingering aftertaste.
“Not much company?” Will asked, and he sounded overcasual. Kenny looked up and saw nothing but guileless goodwill.
“Yeah—actually, it was just hitting me what a nozzle the guy was. I mean, it was probably heading for a breakup anyway, right?” Was it? What did it take for Kenny to break up with a guy?
“Well, besides the cheating, what was he like?” Will asked, settling back with his laptop. He tapped desultorily, and Kenny wondered if he was creating a new character or a new arc or adding to what he already had. He was almost afraid to ask—he liked the plot arc for the first two novels so very much, he didn’t even want to see what else Will could do.
“Well, he’s a nurse,” Kenny said, because wasn’t that the first thing you thought of when you thought of someone?
“Well, that’s a nice profession,” Will said encouragingly, but Kenny wrinkled his nose.
“There are a lot of serial killers out there who posed as nurses,” he told Will, trying to be practical. “I mean,
Kenny smiled. “Beer?” Will had reasoned out the trick to good beer—obscure labels. This one had a kangaroo on a bicycle—Kenny figured it could be a one-of-a-kind six-pack in his fridge.
Will nodded and got heavily to his feet. “Glass or bottle? I’ll get it if you like—keep working! I like your stuff!”
Kenny grinned and allowed himself to preen. Praise a skill he was proud of—so sue him! It didn’t matter that Will was a little plain—square face, square shoulders, meaty thighs—he just sort of radiated this goodwill, like warm peach cobbler. You never got tired of eating warm peach cobbler and ice cream, and so far this evening, Kenny wasn’t getting tired of Will.
“I’ve got chilled glasses in the freezer,” he said. “Go ahead and pour us each a glass!”
Kenny lost himself in another sketch, this one of a tiny pet-like alien that rolled on retractable spikes like a sea urchin. This one was supposed to be cute, and a little bit deadly, so that, too, was a challenge. By the time Will came back, Kenny had drawn the large, expressive eyes, choosing stylistics over anatomical function and making them hover somewhere around the body amorphously.
Will set the chilled beer mug down with the bottle next to it and then sat down himself with a glass of ice water.
“You’re not having beer?” Kenny asked plaintively, and Will shook his head.
“I’m a lightweight,” he apologized. “You’ve seen that. And I brought clothes for the morning, but I may still drive home tonight—the beer was for you. You’ve been really nice to put up with me when I’m sure it’s the last thing you want to do.”
Kenny kicked back a long draft of beer, set the mug down, and filled it from the rest of the bottle. “Good shit!” he praised before taking another sip. And then he addressed the implicit question.
“I’m doing okay,” he said carefully. “I mean, I know you saw me at a really, uhm, delicate time, but honestly—I was sitting here, drawing your guys, and thinking of all the reasons I was glad Gif was not here.” Oh God. For one thing, even if Kenny had known Will before the breakup, Gif would not have been kind. Gif was great at making snarky, bitchy comments about people who didn’t measure up to his standard of beauty or intelligence, and Kenny could hear the litany now. Jesus, Kenny—this guy’s built like a refrigerator. Are you really gonna feed him takeout? Oh my God! Look at his nose—he’s like a Roman general without an army! I don’t care what he writes about, he moves like he’s on Thorazine—I bet he’s that much fun to hang out with too. Ruthlessly, Kenny shut down his inner Gif, because seriously? This guy had just brought him fine beer and a fun distraction. If Kenny couldn’t defend himself from Gif’s infidelity, the least he could do was defend Will from Gif’s nasty lingering aftertaste.
“Not much company?” Will asked, and he sounded overcasual. Kenny looked up and saw nothing but guileless goodwill.
“Yeah—actually, it was just hitting me what a nozzle the guy was. I mean, it was probably heading for a breakup anyway, right?” Was it? What did it take for Kenny to break up with a guy?
“Well, besides the cheating, what was he like?” Will asked, settling back with his laptop. He tapped desultorily, and Kenny wondered if he was creating a new character or a new arc or adding to what he already had. He was almost afraid to ask—he liked the plot arc for the first two novels so very much, he didn’t even want to see what else Will could do.
“Well, he’s a nurse,” Kenny said, because wasn’t that the first thing you thought of when you thought of someone?
“Well, that’s a nice profession,” Will said encouragingly, but Kenny wrinkled his nose.
“There are a lot of serial killers out there who posed as nurses,” he told Will, trying to be practical. “I mean,
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