Daniel’s reply comes almost instantly.
> When do you need them?
Need them? Is there anyone who ever has an actual need for sweatpants?
< No rush. Just want to relieve you from their burden
> Please, they’re just lying on my chair. I’ll bring them next time I see you?
Todd pretends that he isn’t happy about the fact that there will definitely be a next time.
< Sure, don’t stress about it when you have midterms to focus on. I have more sweats to lose at people’s houses before I’m going to demand to get them back.
> I’m picturing a protest outside my house. Signs and all.
Todd snorts and now he’s picturing this too.
< Free the sweats!
> I think this is getting out of hand.
> Admittedly I’m having fun.
Todd bites his lip at the second text in a row from Daniel. It reminds him of the night they met.
< I promise that there will be no protest outside your house. I’ll send a petition though
> It does sound like the most peaceful option.
< Don’t think that I don’t get that you’re procrastinating studying right now
> I’m that easy to figure out, am I? I’ll get back to it. Going to let my sister hide my phone again. Sleep well!
Curling on his side, Todd smiles to himself as he sets the alarm for tomorrow. Maybe they can end up being good friends. God, he hopes so.
* * *
> Were you serious with the offer of having me over if I had business in Brooklyn?
Todd never expected Daniel to take him up on the offer to stay the night whenever he’s in Brooklyn and doesn’t want to go back to Manhattan. Todd thinks that he should know better by now, considering that everything he does seem to come back to bite him eventually. It’s only been two weeks since they saw each other, but as soon as he reads the text, his stomach starts swirling.
< Sure, when?
> Fri-Sat?
He sighs in relief. His parents are going to D.C. over the weekend. His dad would never let this go.
< That works. I don’t have a guestroom to offer, but you can have my bed if you’re okay with that?
He quickly pushes away any thought of Daniel in his bed. Friends don’t think of friends like that.
> If it’s too much trouble I’ll find another solution. Don’t worry.
Daniel needs to use smileys. If Todd didn’t know that he’s the most polite person he’s ever met, he’d think Daniel was being passive-aggressive.
< It’s not, unless you’re not comfortable with sleeping in my bed :)
> I don’t mind sharing your bed.
Todd swallows, and types as quickly as he can. Thank god for autocorrect.
< You don’t have to share it with me. I’ll take my parents’ bed or crash on the couch
> I can sleep on the couch.
Todd rolls his eyes. Jesus Christ.
< No. My bed is comfy. You don’t wanna miss out on this opportunity. Believe me
> Fine. I’ll bring your sweats back to their natural habitat as a thanks.
< Wow, your generosity knows no limits
It takes the kids in art class five minutes to notice that he’s distracted that Thursday. His brain jumps between having Daniel in his home and the future of the gallery looking darker every day.
“But we’re not talking cubism,” Clara points out for the second time in half an hour when Todd has mixed up his facts—again.
“Sorry.” He scrubs a hand over his face. Get a grip. With a twinge between his ribs, he looks at their eager, patient faces. If this is the last semester he has with them, he’s going to make it count.
“You’re absolutely right, Clara. So back to Fauvism. You’re going to like this one, Jamal—it’s all about colors.”
When other kids have left. Logan peers at Todd over the front desk, biting his lip.
“Why are you sad?”
Of all the questions Todd thought he would come up with, this isn’t it. “What do you mean?”
“You look sad. Why?”
“Sometimes I have a lot on my mind that worries me. I’m trying to make it right, but I don’t know if I can, you know? So I’m sad.”
Logan rests his chin on the desk and rolls an abandoned pen back and forth with his middle finger. After a moment he says: “It’s okay if you tried your bestest, though.”
Todd swallows the lump in his throat as he watches Logan leave with his dad. Trying doesn’t really count in this particular situation. How is he going to spend his Thursday evenings if he doesn’t have them?
On Friday, he meets Daniel outside the coffee shop. It’s almost midnight, and Todd has been spending his evening with a few people from his modern art class. Usually he’d prefer to stay home alone, but the idea of just sitting around waiting for Daniel to text him was too anxiety-inducing, so he caved when he got the invitation.
Daniel looks amazing where he stands waiting, glowing in the light from the street lamp above him. His cheeks are a bit ruddy from the cool night air, and his face lights up, eyes bright, when he spots Todd. He’s wearing a jacket and a knitted sweater underneath it. Todd wants to stick his nose in it and take a few breaths. It’s that kind of sweater.
“Hey, how’s your night?”
Daniel’s smile widens. “Good so far. How’s yours?”
“Great! I don’t live far from here, so maybe we should go before I freeze to death.”
“It’s fifty degrees,” Daniel snorts.
“Don’t be like that.”
The walk is short. It’s cold, but the lit windows are glowing like a thousand portals into other lives, and sometimes he wonders about the people who live behind them. Daniel’s shoulder bumps against his, their arms graze, and Todd’s heart jitters in his chest. His fingers itch to grab Daniel’s hand.
Letting Daniel through the front door, Todd sees his home with new eyes. He takes in the earthy colors of the wood and all the greens and browns in the interior. Books are piled everywhere—a tell of his mom—next to items Dad has brought with him from one of his many trips home to Mexico. Todd’s favorites are the patterned clay pots in the cabinet with glass doors. The many plants scattered all over the place and the large blankets on furniture calm him whenever he comes home from a busy day. All in all, it’s a stark contrast to the whiteness, marble, and sleek steel in Daniel’s home.
He watches as Daniel looks around with open curiosity. There’s a tiny smile on his lips, and his gaze sweeps over the items in the hallway and what he can see of the living room.
“Where are your parents?” is the first thing he says, after turning toward Todd.
“Away in D.C. for the weekend. They left a couple of hours ago.”
Daniel nods, seemingly confirming something to himself. “Can I look around?”
“Sure. Go ahead.” Todd starts to gesture in invitation to do just that, but then he lets his arm fall limp to his side. “It’s not exactly like your house.”
“No,” Daniel agrees, but it doesn’t sound as if he’s disapproving, and Todd follows him through the kitchen, where he stops. The newspaper is still on the kitchen table and there’s a used napkin crumpled on the counter.
Todd winces. He should’ve cleaned up.
“It actually looks like someone lives here,” Daniel comments. His eyes are bright, and his fingers trace the patterns in the surface of the table. Todd remembers carving them there with a table knife many years ago. He’d been furious that Evan got to go to the movies without him. He had been in so much trouble, but his parents kept the table.
“It’s home.” Todd shrugs.
“Can I see your room?”
“Yeah, of course. You’re going to sleep there.”
He pushes his h
ands deep into his pockets after pushing the door open. Everything in there is so predictable, from the multicolored string lights, to the collage on the walls. Most are made by his classmates, but some are his own.
Someone that doesn’t quite fit in, though, is Sandwich. She’s on the floor, ignoring the unknown visitor in favor of spreading hay all over the rag rug.
Todd groans. She isn’t exactly helping with the first impression of their home.
“Sorry about the mess,” he says, but Daniel doesn’t notice.
All his focus is on Sandwich, and he crouches, puts his bag against the wall, and extends a hand toward her. He freezes halfway and looks up at Todd.
“Can I pet it?”
“Sure. She doesn’t bite.” Todd shifts his weight from one foot to the other. “She might pee on you if she likes you, though.”
At that, Daniel shrugs and fully extends his hand. Sandwich pauses in her hay chewing and eyes Daniel’s fingers. Then, she hops closer, pausing a few times as if to check that Daniel isn’t making her hop all that way for nothing.
Todd has a hard time determining who’s more pleased when she finally gets to sniff his fingers and then allows him to pet her between the ears. Daniel slowly strokes her back and sides and touches her big feet.
When Daniel looks up at him again, Todd makes a go-ahead gesture.
“You can pick her up. Don’t say I didn’t warn you about the peeing, though.”
Daniel doesn’t seem to mind the risk of getting peed on, because he sits cross-legged on the floor and scoops Sandwich into his hands. She looks surprisingly small. He holds her face-level, and then to his chest and lets her ears touch his chin.
“What’s her name?” he asks, voice softer than Todd has ever heard it.
“Sandwich.”
“What?”
“Sandwich,” Todd repeats.
Daniel frowns, pausing as if he’s trying to puzzle something out. “I’m sorry, but I can’t make that out at all.”
“I can fingerspell it?” Todd offers, because he knows the alphabet by now.
Daniel’s eyes light up in a way that makes Todd’s chest ache. “That’d be great.”
Fighting the urge to chicken out when stage fright hits him, Todd slowly spells out S-A-N-D-W-I-C-H and mouths it as he works his way through the word.
Daniel bites his lip, clearly holding back a smile. “Sandwich?” he asks, checking.
“Yeah, I didn’t name her.”
“Spell it out again.” Daniel scoots closer across the floor. When Todd gets to the N, Daniel reaches over with his free hand, and gently nudges his fingers, so that the tip of his thumb sticks out between his middle and ring finger instead of his ring finger and pinky.
Crap, he mixed up the M and the N again.
“There you go,” Daniel says, voice gentle. Then he gives Todd a funny look. “Why Sandwich? It’s a bunny.”
Todd’s used to the reaction.
“I found her in a pet store, and she bit anyone who tried to touch her, so the owner said that she was going to be snake food.”
“Snake food?”
“Yes. He called her snake sandwich. I had to buy her, I mean, for obvious reasons. She won’t listen to anything but Sandwich, though. Don’t think I didn’t try with any cute name I could come up with.”
Daniel chuckles and presses his nose to Sandwich’s head briefly before he puts her on the floor. She sticks close to him, apparently no longer in an overwhelming need to eat her hay all over the place. The risk of Daniel getting peed on just increased.
“You don’t come off as a bunny person.”
“I wasn’t until I couldn’t let her get eaten by a snake.”
“I support that decision.”
Todd looks at Sandwich. It’s easier than looking at Daniel. “On the plus side,” he says, “you won’t be sleeping in here alone.”
“What?”
“You won’t be sleeping in here alone,” Todd repeats.
“Changed your mind about the couch?”
Todd’s face heats. “No, I meant that you’ll have Sandwich here with you.”
“Oh, of course.” Daniel gives her a quick glance. “I’m sure she’s great company.”
Todd sits on his desk chair. “So, how come you’re in Brooklyn?”
“I did an interview.” Daniel shrugs. “About being an athlete who’s hard of hearing. The journalist didn’t have time until nine and I suspected that it would take a while.”
Todd frowns. “The journalist didn’t have time until nine?”
“It’s a friend of mine. I wanted to do him a favor and I had to finish practice before I could go.”
“Oh, I see. That’s nice.” Todd digs his fingers into his thigh. “Did it go well?”
“Sure. If I get my name out there in a positive way, it’ll increase my chances. I mean, my average and the LSAT are more important, but you know how it is.”
Todd doesn’t, but he nods anyway. “That’s really cool.”
Silence falls between them, and Todd racks his brain for something to say, but he gets caught in the way Daniel sits on his rug, seemingly relaxed and at ease—in Todd’s room.
“Thanks for letting me stay over,” Daniel says suddenly, bringing Todd out of his thoughts. “I finished my midterms yesterday and seeing another human being outside of school is a welcome break.”
Todd’s heart stumbles. “It’s no problem. Sorry I can’t quite offer the same luxury you gave me.”
“Just getting to hang out is more than enough.”
Todd has to remind himself that it’s not him. Daniel would have felt the same way about getting to spend time with anyone right now. Todd is just conveniently close by.
“Same. I met up with some people from one of my classes earlier, and it was exactly what I needed.” He continues quickly as he realizes how that might come off to Daniel. “Having you over’s definitely making that even better.”
Daniel smirks as if Todd’s momentary panic is obvious to him. Instead of replying, he scans the room.
“Except for Sandwich, this is everything I would’ve imagined your bedroom to look like.”
Todd rolls his eyes. “I’m predictable, I know.”
“Most of you isn’t.” Daniel looks at him for a long moment. “At least not what’s under the surface.”
Daniel comes to stand beside him and looks at the canvas on his desk.
“Did you make this?” Daniel asks reaching out as if to touch, and Todd has to grab his hand to stop him.
“Sorry,” he says, when Daniel looks at him. “The paint hasn’t dried yet.”
“What?”
“The paint hasn’t dried yet.”
“How long does that take?”
“Almost a day, I’d say. It’s usually touch-dry within twenty hours.” Todd shrugs. “And yeah, I made it. It’s just a new technique I’m trying.”
He glances at the vivid colors. He used almost every bright color he has, but maybe he’s been a little excessive with the yellows and reds. It’s supposed to be an abandoned parkway, surrounded by autumn trees. Like most of his works, it’s best observed from a little distance.
“What kind of technique?” Daniel asks, and Todd has to wait with his answer, until Daniel looks away from the painting. “I’m sorry, I just really like it.”
“I’ve started using knives instead of brushes. I think the effects are pretty cool.” He skips the nerdy talk of why he prefers the metal painting knives over plastic ones and how he found his current set by chance in a thrift shop.
Daniel’s gaze flicks back to the painting and then to Todd’s face again. “I haven’t seen anything like this before.”
Todd resists snorting. Clearly, Daniel hasn’t ever heard of Afremov. Todd could stare it his works for days. “I’ll show you
some really cool ones, if you want?”
He expects Daniel to say no, because giving Todd a compliment isn’t the same as having an actual interest, but he nods.
Opening his laptop, Todd brings up his folder with some of his favorite Afremov paintings. They’re vivid, and his technique is refined compared to Todd’s own clumsy work. He shifts on his chair, wanting to point out the richness of the colors, when he finds Daniel completely enraptured, eyes fixed on the screen.
Todd, his core growing warm and turning to liquid, nudges him with his elbow until Daniel looks at him. “I’ll text you his name if you want to look into him more?”
Daniel’s gaze falls to Todd’s painting before they lock eyes again. “Do you sell these?”
“Oh, no, definitely not that one.” Selling his work? That’s for people with more talent than he has.
“That’s a shame, I would’ve liked to buy it.” Daniel scrutinizes him before he adds, “Let me know if you change your mind.”
Todd stares at him and then at his painting. When he looks back, Daniel is checking the time. It’s got to be super late by now. Here’s a chance for him to leave this subject. He taps Daniel’s arm to get his attention.
“Do you wanna go to bed or maybe watch some Netflix or some-thing?”
“Netflix sounds nice.”
They curl up on Todd’s bed with his laptop on the desk chair in front of them with the captions turned on. Todd can’t quite pay attention to the show Daniel picked. It’s a crime show, but Daniel seems to find it entertaining.
Todd soaks in the warmth Daniel’s body is radiating. It seeps through his clothes and his skin, down to the marrow of his bones. He aches a little when he looks at Daniel. He’s close enough to touch, but at the same time light-years away. God. Todd knows he’s messed up so bad.
“Another episode?” Daniel asks suddenly.
Todd blinks and nods. He hasn’t noticed that they’ve finished one already.
At some time during the third episode, when his body grows heavy and his brain slows , he has to get up to brush his teeth and switch to sweatpants.
When he returns, Daniel has changed clothes, too, and is holding his toothbrush in one hand. Todd shows him the bathroom.
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