Chapter 2-1
879 Words
Chapter 2
“How many times do I have to drive by your place?” Tucker asked Harris, who sat hunched down in the passenger’s seat, the smell of dirty leather practically burning his nose.
“Until Dalton’s car is out of the driveway.”
“Fine.”
“When’s the last time you cleaned your car?” Harris asked, feeling something sticky on his shoes.
“If I keep the car dirty, my boss doesn’t send me out on deliveries.”
“That’s actually smart,” Harris said.
“Don’t sound so surprised. Anyway, I would have cleaned it for you, but I didn’t think we were going to play spy today.”
“You see anything?”
“Uh, oh damn, yeah. Assface Dalton just left the house. He looks really stoked about something.”
“Not helping!”
Harris couldn’t help but picture Dalton’s handsome face, his I’m gonna get laid grin beaming.
“Sorry. I’ll drive around the block, and then he should be gone by the time we get back.” Tucker turned the wheel, his eyes locked on the road ahead.
“Good. Thanks.”
Harris pictured Dalton’s sheepdog grin as he entered his car and drove away. He was probably already hard and anxious to be dominated. Harris banged his head against the dashboard.
“Careful, you could set off the airbags,” Tucker hissed.
“Sorry.” Harris tapped his foot on the gross car floor, eager to get the whole sad affair over with. His body was cramped, his mind felt muddled, and his soul felt used.
Three years. I just wasted three years of my life. For absolutely nothing!
Tucker drove at a slow, steady pace until he parked the car and told Harris, “All clear.”
Tucker parked the car and Harris sprang out like a clown before an audience. He stretched and cracked his back while Tucker stepped out, and then led the way into the old brick building and up to the second floor apartment. His mind checked off the familiar sights and smells on his way up. The stained carpet. The creaking stairs. The smelly hallway. He unlocked the door and hurried Tucker inside.
“Okay, so what are we grabbing?” Tucker asked.
“Everything that’s not bolted down.”
Tucker’s eyes fell to the cardboard box in his arms. “We’re going to need a bigger box.”
Harris felt almost out of his body as he grabbed random items and ran downstairs with them. He remembered bringing his clothes up, his movies, his books. He’d moved in with Dalton feeling exhilarated. A new life, starting his real life. Dalton had been so excited. They’d carried the mattress up, bitching at each other, but it was so worth it in the end.
The empty apartment slowly filling with their things. Setting up the TV, their TiVo, the PlayStation. The posters, the toiletries, the incense.
Harris dropped to his knees in his bedroom.
Not my bedroom anymore.
Tucker dropped his box, stood next to Harris, and put his hands on his back. “You want to talk about it?”
“No.”
Tears came and Harris fought his quivering lip. “It’s stupid. I shouldn’t cry about Dalton.”
“It’s okay, honey.”
“No, it’s really not. I’ve done everything to make this work. Three f*****g years gone. I can’t be twenty-four again. I can’t start over.”
Tucker dropped to his bony knees next to Harris and gave the guy a hug.
“Take it from a twenty-four-year old, it’s a shitty age, anyway.”
“Thanks.” Harris forced a smile. He pulled back from his friend and stood up. “Let’s grab the last of this s**t and get out of here.”
“But there’s a lot more to take.”
Harris thought about touring the empty apartment. Dalton couldn’t make it. Harris had gone on his own, had to make the decision. The landlord, an asshole who he later realized had lied about half the rooms, had shown him every inch. This will be changed. This will be cleaned. I’m a decent guy.
It was either keep seeing Dalton only on weekends or move in together. The apartment was the best choice. All that wasted money. The fights with the landlord that could have been saved. The stress.
“I don’t care about any of it. I just want to start over.”
* * * *
The apartment was completely empty. Harris had brushed past the gossipy neighbor to show Dalton inside.
“What do you think of it?”
Dalton smiled. “It’s not what I pictured.”
“Okay. But?”
“We could put the TV right there, and that’s a decent fridge. Stove needs cleaning, but that’s no problem.”
Harris threw his arms around Dalton. “I’m so glad you like it!”
“Like is a bit strong, but I could live here.”
“What’s it matter what the place looks like?” Harris asked.
“It doesn’t, you’re right. I just thought it would be bigger.”
“In this city? You want to pay double, I could find a slightly larger apartment.”
“No, no, it’s not that.”
Harris showed him into the bedroom. Dalton had complained nearly every week that they didn’t spend enough time together, but he hadn’t found one apartment for them to move into. This was the third, and final, place Harris had looked into. The best and cheapest didn’t allow smoking, and Dalton wasn’t about to quit.
They’d toured the first place Harris had looked at, and found it to be miniscule. It would never fit any of their stuff. And so Harris had jumped the gun and okayed the only apartment that would fit their basic needs.
He expected Dalton to be over the moon, not nonplussed.
“The shower’s too short,” Dalton said.
“It’s fine, we can get a better nozzle.”
“How much is that going to cost?”
Harris sighed. “I’ll handle it.”
“Great.” Dalton slid his hands across Harris’ hips. “You want to break in the apartment?”
“Uh, there’s no bed yet.”
“Don’t be boring,” Dalton said. He dropped one hand, sliding it over Harris’ crotch. “I don’t need anything. Just you and me.”
Harris leaned up and kissed his boyfriend, their bodies melting together in youthful enthusiasm. They screwed for an hour on the hard, cold floor and the new place felt like home.
- Writer
