Chapter 6
Howie stood at his door bewildered as he watched Matthew disappear into the stairwell. What had just happened? Slowly he turned, unlocked his door, and walked into his apartment. Sergei and Katya came running to him, rubbing against his legs and mewing loudly. He hardly noticed they were there.
Robotically he walked through the living room into the kitchen where he prepared and fed them their dinners. He then returned to the living room where he slumped down onto the sofa, staring blankly at the wall in front of him, his jaw slack, his hands folded between his knees. Gradually, his brain began to function and he tried to piece together the events of the evening, concluding with Matthew’s hasty exit.
Everything seemed to be going so well. The mutual s****l tension had been ther
