spacious living room, with great natural light and refinished hardwood floors. “It’s expensive. I’m thinking I should stick with that garden level place…”
“Garden level,” interrupts Travis, “is just real estate code for depressing, basement apartment. And that neighborhood is horrible. Not to mention the disgusting carpet.” He turns around and watches me opening closets and inspecting their ample interior. “Mickey, you have to let yourself have something nice. You can afford it. And you deserve it.”
I sigh. The place is a dream come true. I can’t imagine it being all mine. With everything happening so fast, I don’t know how to get my mind around it. “There’s no guarantee this job is going to work out, you know. Then I’ll be stuck with the rent.”
Travis approaches me and puts an arm around my shoulders. “This check will keep you solvent for the rest of the year, even without work. And if something happens and you don’t keep the job, you now have proof that your work is awesome and you’ll be able to find another one. Come on. You’ve paid your dues. Let your first real apartment be a beauty.”
He turns me around and walks me over to the bay windows. There’s a view of the Front Range just past the rooftops. The mountains look misty and blue in the afternoon light. I picture myself standing here alone on mornings with a cup of coffee, starting my day with that view. It sends a thrill all through me. Could I really do it? I hear the muffled sounds of a busker playing the guitar and singing down the street. I smile.
“You’re right.” I look at Travis, my eyes dancing with excitement. “Why not?”
Travis throws his arms around me and swings me in circles. “Can you believe it? After all this time. You fucking did it. You finally fucking did it!”
I laugh and squirm until he sets me down again. But instead of releasing his grip in the normal friend way he always has, he keeps his arms locked around me. His eyes are piercingly blue. Loose black curls hang over his right eye; his handsome face is angled down toward mine.
“You done good, Mickey,” he says in a low, husky voice I’ve never heard before. It’s almost a boyfriend voice. His chest feels warm and strong against mine. I can feel it expand and retract with each breath.
I remember that first year in college when I longed to be the object of Travis’s affection. Back then I’d watch him hold girls close and gaze down at their pretty, perky-nosed faces with his dopey puppy dog eyes. It’s like I’ve fallen into a vortex where all of my old fantasies are coming true at once. I’m just not sure I want this one anymore.
Whether I care to admit it or not, Lazarus’s hands felt right on my body. Travis’s don’t. I slip out of his grasp, playing it off as a joke.
“Thanks, Dad!” I laugh and turn away, afraid to see his hurt expression. Before he can say a word, I clasp my hands together and jump up and down like a little kid, trying hard to bring him back to the goofy friendship we’ve always had. “Now lets go look for furniture!”
Travis drives me to a tony street in Cherry Creek that looks way too rich for my blood. Still, I follow him along the sidewalk, gazing into shop windows filled with furnishings that cost more than my parent’s entire house. When we pass a sprawling furniture store with beautiful sofas and mango wood dining tables, Travis grabs my hand and drags me inside. Dance music thrums from hidden speakers.
“Dude, I can’t afford this stuff,” I mutter.
Travis collapses into a leather armchair and kicks his feet up on an ottoman. “Ooooh,” he groans. “You have to get this, Mickey. Because I don’t think the sales folk will ever get me out of it.”
“What a deal,” I laugh. “It comes with its very own boozy smart ass! Just what I needed!”
Travis makes a face and pushes himself up. His eyes lock on something across the
“Garden level,” interrupts Travis, “is just real estate code for depressing, basement apartment. And that neighborhood is horrible. Not to mention the disgusting carpet.” He turns around and watches me opening closets and inspecting their ample interior. “Mickey, you have to let yourself have something nice. You can afford it. And you deserve it.”
I sigh. The place is a dream come true. I can’t imagine it being all mine. With everything happening so fast, I don’t know how to get my mind around it. “There’s no guarantee this job is going to work out, you know. Then I’ll be stuck with the rent.”
Travis approaches me and puts an arm around my shoulders. “This check will keep you solvent for the rest of the year, even without work. And if something happens and you don’t keep the job, you now have proof that your work is awesome and you’ll be able to find another one. Come on. You’ve paid your dues. Let your first real apartment be a beauty.”
He turns me around and walks me over to the bay windows. There’s a view of the Front Range just past the rooftops. The mountains look misty and blue in the afternoon light. I picture myself standing here alone on mornings with a cup of coffee, starting my day with that view. It sends a thrill all through me. Could I really do it? I hear the muffled sounds of a busker playing the guitar and singing down the street. I smile.
“You’re right.” I look at Travis, my eyes dancing with excitement. “Why not?”
Travis throws his arms around me and swings me in circles. “Can you believe it? After all this time. You fucking did it. You finally fucking did it!”
I laugh and squirm until he sets me down again. But instead of releasing his grip in the normal friend way he always has, he keeps his arms locked around me. His eyes are piercingly blue. Loose black curls hang over his right eye; his handsome face is angled down toward mine.
“You done good, Mickey,” he says in a low, husky voice I’ve never heard before. It’s almost a boyfriend voice. His chest feels warm and strong against mine. I can feel it expand and retract with each breath.
I remember that first year in college when I longed to be the object of Travis’s affection. Back then I’d watch him hold girls close and gaze down at their pretty, perky-nosed faces with his dopey puppy dog eyes. It’s like I’ve fallen into a vortex where all of my old fantasies are coming true at once. I’m just not sure I want this one anymore.
Whether I care to admit it or not, Lazarus’s hands felt right on my body. Travis’s don’t. I slip out of his grasp, playing it off as a joke.
“Thanks, Dad!” I laugh and turn away, afraid to see his hurt expression. Before he can say a word, I clasp my hands together and jump up and down like a little kid, trying hard to bring him back to the goofy friendship we’ve always had. “Now lets go look for furniture!”
Travis drives me to a tony street in Cherry Creek that looks way too rich for my blood. Still, I follow him along the sidewalk, gazing into shop windows filled with furnishings that cost more than my parent’s entire house. When we pass a sprawling furniture store with beautiful sofas and mango wood dining tables, Travis grabs my hand and drags me inside. Dance music thrums from hidden speakers.
“Dude, I can’t afford this stuff,” I mutter.
Travis collapses into a leather armchair and kicks his feet up on an ottoman. “Ooooh,” he groans. “You have to get this, Mickey. Because I don’t think the sales folk will ever get me out of it.”
“What a deal,” I laugh. “It comes with its very own boozy smart ass! Just what I needed!”
Travis makes a face and pushes himself up. His eyes lock on something across the
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