Summer Love Box Set

Drowning in Neptune’s Pool-6

Instead of taking him to his apartment, I dragged Landry to mine. After another trip to get his stuff, I laid him on the couch and threw a blanket over his snoring body. He was going to have a monster headache when he woke up in the morning. Completely exhausted, I took myself off to bed, deciding to shower when I awoke.

At four A.M., I woke up and heard someone hurling in the bathroom. It all came back to me, then. Landry probably felt like s**t. I left him to it and turned over in bed to get more sleep.

When six o’clock rolled around, I hauled my ass up and went to the bathroom. It reeked of vomit. I cleaned it thoroughly, then took a shower and shaved. I dressed in an old T-shirt and shorts and headed for the kitchen to make coffee.

As I walked by the living room, I checked to see if Landry was still there. Yup, there he was, sprawled all over the couch and sawing logs. I could smell his body odor from where I stood.

Jesus.

Not worrying about making noise, I made my coffee and took the frying pan out to cook eggs and bacon. When I was done, I sat at the kitchen table to eat my breakfast. Halfway through my meal, there was a groan from the couch.

“f**k,” Landry said as he sat up.

“Morning,” I called out. He winced. “Don’t yell, man,” he begged, rubbing his face. He’d grown lots of stubble overnight.

“Sorry,” I replied. But not really.

“You carried me here?”

“Yup.” I kept on eating.

“Thanks.” He sniffed his armpits and smelled his shirt. “I stink.”

“Yes, you do,” I said.

He stood and glared at me. “You’re just a fount of information today, aren’t you?”

“I’m not the one who was so drunk he passed out on a bench last night. You’re lucky someone was around to help you get home. What happened to the rest of the band?”

Landry yawned. “They left pretty soon after the show. Took the money and ran, basically.”

“Good show, by the way,” I offered, chewing on a strip of bacon.

He grunted. “You gonna offer me some coffee and breakfast?” Landry asked, walking slowly toward me.

“You’ve got some nerve asking me for that.”

“What’s with the bug up your ass, man?” Landry growled as he stopped at my table.

I could smell his breath, and it was foul. He was a mess. “Look, Landry, you need a shower and a toothbrush, okay? I’ll make you some coffee, but then you need to take yourself home and clean up. Whatever happened to you that turned you into a slobbering, passed-out drunk, you need to figure it out. Do you do this often, man?” I got up and poured more beans into the grinder.

“Not really,” he replied. “It just…happened, I guess.”

There was more to the story, but I was in no mood to push. Once the coffee was brewed, I set a steaming cup before him on the table.

“Thanks, Jimmy.”

I shrugged and made some toast, since I was still hungry. I took butter and jam out of the fridge and set them on the table, along with another plate and a couple of knives. I set the toast in a stack in front of Landry.

“Eat,” I said gruffly and made more for myself.

He mumbled something, then ate everything.

We said nothing more to each other until the food was done.

Then Landry asked, “So you liked the show? I appreciate you coming out to see us.”

“It was fantastic. Certainly better than anything I’ve heard of that caliber,” I replied, since it was the truth.

“Thanks,” he said, but he didn’t sound happy.

“Isn’t that what you wanted to hear? That you were awesome, the best thing ever?”

“Only if it’s true,” he replied.

“It is.”

He burped and leaned back in the chair. “Why don’t you want to hang out with me anymore, Jimmy? I thought we had a good thing going.”

I sighed. “Now’s not the time to go into that, Landry. You need to go home, take a shower, and get some rest. You have to teach tomorrow.”

“What is with you, man? I can’t figure you out. Are you playing games with me, hot and cold?”

“Huh? I’m the furthest thing from a player. You simply have too much going on in your life to spend time with someone on an intimate basis, and I’m not sure you really want to, anyway. It’s like you use the multitude of activities surrounding you as a shield to guard against anything serious,” I replied.

“How would I have known you wanted something intimate unless you told me? What, I’m supposed read your mind? So what, our little feel-good music sessions changed to something you didn’t like, and instead of asking me what was going on, you get pissy and quit? Grow a f*****g pair, already!”

Landry’s eyes widened as he realized he might have gone too far. “Ah, geez. I’m sorry, Jimmy. I didn’t mean to—”

I stood, stalked to the door, and flung it open. “Get the f**k out of my apartment.”

Landry scrambled out of his chair. “Wait, Jimmy. I’m sorry. What I said, it’s just my hangover talking. Forgive me.”

“Get. Out,” I said, enunciating each word carefully.

He got the hint, grabbed his stuff, and walked out into the hallway. “Jimmy, please listen. I’m really s—”

I shut the door in his face. Asshole.

I spent the rest of the day cleaning, and I washed the blanket Landry had used. Twice. Maybe it was overkill, but I was so pissed, I couldn’t see straight. Who the hell did Landry think he was, talking to me like that? I wasn’t a coward, was I?